Daily Devotional for Sunday April 28, 2013

God has Given Man Free Will to Accept His Free Gift of Eternal Life

(Philippians 2:10-11)

***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, I have recently read a daily devotional that really has disturbed me as it said it is an insult to God for Christians to ask for forgiveness. Because He died for all our sins (previous and future). So if this is true, how can Christians truly repent?

ANSWER: First, you NEVER read that here. Sadly, in the internet age, there is a plethora of people writing online with ZERO theological training. That is why it is critical to know WHO you are reading. What you read is 100% INCORRECT. In 1 John 1,written to Believers, that we ALL sin. Just because we have confessed our sins, asked forgiveness, repented (turned from our sin), we still need to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness daily...since we ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God. The wonderful thing is we have the assurance from God's Word we will be forgiven.

The Bible says at the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow, and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The actual Greek in this passage says MUST bow. The fact is my friend, there will come a day in the life of EVERY living person when they will bow their knee to Jesus and confess Him as Lord! The only question that remains is WHEN they will do it.

God has given man the free will to accept His free gift of everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ, or reject that gift. That is a choice each person must make during their life. The fact is, the Bible warns us that tomorrow is promised to none of us. That is why the Word says TODAY is the day of salvation. The reality is, you may not see tomorrow. So the ultimate choice each living person has to make is to bow their knee to Jesus and confess Him Lord and receive God's free gift of everlasting life, or reject Christ in this life and spend eternity separated from God.

EVEN THOUGH A PERSON MAY CHOOSE TO REJECT CHRIST DURING THIS LIFE, THERE WILL COME A MOMENT WHEN THEY DIE AND STAND BEFORE GOD WHEN THEY WILL BOW THEIR KNEE TO JESUS AND CONFESS HIM TO BE LORD BEFORE THEY ARE SENTENCED TO ETERNITY IN HELL!!!

When Pontius Pilate died, he bowed his knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When Nero died, he bowed his knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When Buddha died, he bowed his knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When Gandhi died, he bowed his knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When Hitler died, he bowed his knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When Madelyn Murray O'Hare died, she bowed her knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When Mohammad Attah died, he bowed his knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord! When any person dies that has rejected Christ, before they are cast into everlasting darkness they will bow their knee to Jesus and confess Him to be Lord!!!

Sadly, there are many people walking this planet today that have chosen to live their lives in complete rebellion to God and to His Word. They have rejected Jesus Christ in their life and refuse to acknowledge Him for who He is. You can't force anyone to believe, you can only share with them the Good News and the truth of God's Word and pray for them to open their heart to that truth. But the fact remains, they will at some point bow their knee to Jesus and confess Him to be Lord.

I love you and care about you so much. For those who have already bowed your knee to Jesus and confessed Him to be Lord, you have the assurance of everlasting life with your Savior when this brief journey here is over. That is why no matter what may be happening in this world, we can never lose sight of the fact that our hope is in a better place. Like those heroes of faith we read about in Hebrews 11, we long for a better country, a heavenly one. A place where we will dwell with God our Creator for all of eternity.

For those who are reading this today that have not bowed your knee to Jesus and have not confessed Him to be Lord, I am praying for you. He loved you enough to die for your sins so that you could not only receive everlasting life, but know true joy, true peace, and true abundance in this life as well. I pray that you will take a moment right now and ask God to open your heart and then read the words at this link: http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

May God richly bless you today and let me leave you with this most beautiful passage of Scripture from the Book of Philippians, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!" (Philippians 2:6-11)