Death closes probation; no saving in the grave - Pastor
Published:Tuesday | December 22, 2015 | 11:56 AMTamara Bailey
Mandeville, Manchester:
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." Thessalonians 4:14-17
Many have put on hold the act of giving their lives to God on a day gifted to them, citing the next day, the next month or the next year as the 'best time'. But the reality is one can only plan for the day he sees as tomorrow, which may be too late, tomorrow is promised to no man.
There is no chance for forgiveness, no room for the Saviour's grace and no chance to enter into the kingdom when one dies without Jesus. Pastor of the Royal Flat Seventh Day Adventist Church, Donald Valentine in a recent sermon established that God allowed sin to enter this world so we could have eternal life, it just requires us to make the right choice.
"Sometimes we have misconceptions of God; sin and destruction must run its course. If God in His wisdom stopped it then it's horrible effect would not have been realised. The one who knows the beginning from the end allowed sin because if He had killed Satan instantly, then where would we be?"
He added, "The night comes when no man can labour. God is a loving God; He is not malicious, yet persons refuse and reject him in their lives. He is not like stories we hear about parents who wait until a child is asleep to correct the child. No, He says the day is coming when us who are sleeping will hear the trumpet."
Pastor Valentine continued that while many of us calculate the time of the Lord's return, we allow moments of reconciliation with God to pass.
Fleeting pleasure, he asserted, is not worth the price for salvation. Instead, he calls for all to look to God and hold steadfast to His promise of preparing for us a better place.