The Whole Truth

by Pastor Greg Laurie

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. (Jude 1:22–23nlt)

One of the complaints against the church has often been about the hellfire-and-brimstone preachers. People say they don’t like that kind of preaching.

My question is where are they? When is the last time you heard a hellfire-and-brimstone preacher? When I watch preachers on television, I can’t remember the last time I saw that type of guy, much less a mention of Hell.

We have to tell the whole truth. I know there is a discomfort concerning the topic of Hell, but the Bible deals with this subject. Therefore, we need to take a hard and careful look at it. A lot more people are going to Hell than are going to Heaven, because Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way” (Matthew 7:13 nlt).

Yes, the gospel is good news. But we can’t fully appreciate the good news until we first understand the bad news. The bad news is that we are separated from God by our sin. We are headed to Hell, and there is no way we can resolve our own problem. The good news is that God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, on a rescue operation to die on the cross in our place and atone for our sin. And if we will turn from our sin and believe in Him, we can be forgiven and know with certainty that we will go to Heaven when we die.

We hold in our hands the key to the prison door that nonbelievers are in. We have the solution, and it’s the gospel. There needs to be an urgency on our part to reach people who are headed to Hell.

Today's Bible Verse...

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. —John 6:66 

 

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

This verse haunts me. Not just because of the three numbers in the reference, but because it is a great reminder that many folks simply gave up following Jesus when things became hard to understand. When he shattered their preconceived notions of religious things, when he confronted them about their motives, they went away. What will I do when things get difficult in my discipleship and I can't figure out all the answers to what is going on? I hope, I pray, I trust that I will follow until the way and the will of the Lord become more clear!

My Prayer...

Awesome God, I confess openly that I cannot begin to understand all the complexities of your will and the way you work in our world. But Father, when I'm confused, please bring people into my life who will help me hang on to my faith until the confusion passes. And today, dear Father, please use me to help bless someone who is struggling with his or her faith. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen. 

The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware.

Today's Verse Illustrated...

KJV for a KJV Man by Larry Thomas