The end was near. That was what they were saying, that the end was near. News agencies carried headlines to the effect that “Doomsday writer says, based off the Bible and Egyptian pyramids, Planet X will collide with earth on September 23.” Fox News website along with others carried the following:

Doomsday writer says, based off the Bible and Egyptian pyramids, Planet X will collide with earth on September 23. Is the end near? According to Christian writer David Meade, the answer is yes. Meade theorizes a so-called Planet X, AKA Nibiru, will hit the earth on September 23, 2017. Meade believes recent events like the solar eclipse and hurricane Harvey are signs of the coming apocalypse. Through codes in the Bible and a “date marker” in the pyramids of Egypt, Meade was able to pinpoint the date of September 23. NASA has repeatedly said Planet X is a hoax.”

Well guess what…the end didn’t happen on September 23. You are surprised by this fact I am quite sure. What is amazingly amazing is the fact that there are those that will set dates, those that claim there are signs happening now of the end coming, etc. Mr. Meade is not the only person to predict the end of time. The list is long, undistinguished, and unfulfilled, but consider a few of the more popular ones:

William Miller, whose followers were called Millerites, first predicted the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would occur before March 21, 1844. When this date passed a new date was predicted, April 18, 1844. After this failure, the date became known as the Millerites’ Great Disappointment

Jehovah’s Witnesses leader Charles Taze Russell prophesied that Jesus would return and set up His kingdom in 1914. When nothing happened, he decided that the kingdom was set up in Heaven and that Jesus came invisibly. Other failed dates which they predicted as the end: 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, and 1975.

Harold Camping, a former evangelist, predicted that the world would end on May 21, 2011 with a series of earthquakes After the world was still very much in tact on May 22^nd, Camping changed the date to October 21, 2011. And when the world still wasn’t destroyed then, Camping apologized for his “sinful” statements.

Even David Meade is now saying that September 21^st is just the beginning of the end and October 15^th, “that’s when the action starts”. He then makes references to some doctrines of premillennialism which are found in certain “scholars” imagination but are not founded in the Bible.

So where does that leave us? Oh, make no mistake, the world will end with great noise and fire, 2 Peter 3:10. The Lord Jesus Christ will return (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:7b-10), the material universe will be done away (Hebrews 1:11-12), and eternity will begin (John 5:28-29). This event will be unexpected, Matthew 24:37-39.

It is not a matter of setting dates for the end of time because “of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” Mark 13:32. What does matter is if the world ended today, is one ready to meet their Maker? Those obedient to Christ will hear “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” and the disobedient will hear “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”. What a person hears on that day is ultimately most important.

-Jerry D. Sturgill

In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas came into Lystra and healed a lame man.  The superstitious people of Lystra started to worship them as Greek gods.  Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes and declared themselves to be merely men.  They encouraged the people to turn from idolatry to the true and living God. In Acts 13, Paul appealed to Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament as proof for Jews who had yet to become Christians, but these in Lystra were idolatrous Gentiles. How did Paul address them?  Did he simply quote an Old Testament scripture?  No, he didn’t. He knew it would not have much effect.  Paul appealed to creation as a witness to the existence of God.  Does the fact that we cannot see, touch, or feel God mean that we have no witness from God? No.  God’s goodness is shown in the creation through rain and fruitful seasons (Acts 14:17).  Paul declared to those at Lystra that God has not left us in the dark; He has given us a testimony of Himself in nature.

In Acts 17, Paul entered Athens, the intellectual center of the empire where the greatest philosophers had debated for centuries.  Present were two schools of philosophy – Epicureans and Stoics.  The Epicureans were followers of one Epicurus (342 BC) a materialist who believed all that exists is material or physical, and thus, there was no life after death.  The Stoics believed in an impersonal god. In defending the faith against these false philosophies, where did Paul go? Paul said, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24).  He argues that God is the origin of the universe and not originated by man.  Some stoics in earlier generations had taught there was one creator, but the many shrines in Athens to various gods showed the present generation had not embraced this concept. Paul, versed in their writings, then said your own poets have acknowledged this.  There are a couple of Greek poets Paul could have referenced.  Cleanthes, a stoic who lived from 331 to 233 BC, wrote, “O God most glorious, called by many a name, we are thy children, we alone of all.” About 270 BC, Aratus said essentially the same thing.

The Bible does not go into a great deal of detail to prove that God exists; nature shows it to be the case (Psalm 19:1-4).  There is no excuse for a man to say that he does not believe in God (Romans 1:20; Psalm 14).  Romans 1:18-32 is a passage that highlights the pleasures of sin as a major motivation for people denying God’s existence.  In describing the sinfulness of the Gentiles, Paul wrote that the judgment of God is revealed from heaven (Romans 1:18).  Repeated efforts have been made to remove any mention of God from the public sector.  Man cannot be comfortable with sin if he acknowledges God; he must cast God out of his mind to pursue his lusts.  The moral foundations of our society are under attack today.  People question the most foundational truths and involve themselves in some of the grossest immorality because they do not fear the wrath of God whose existence they doubt.  Paul preached the Gospel to Gentiles, who did not even know the true God.  Thus, we must reaffirm very basic foundations with many of our evangelistic contacts.  Even people who claim to believe in God and in the Bible must be reminded to acknowledge God or else their convictions can wane. Sometimes Christians are afraid to even talk to those who do not believe in God and the Bible. There is sufficient proof for God’s existence.  Arm yourself with it and do not hide your light under a bushel (Matthew 5:15).

-Mark Day

Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).  Jesus clearly tells us that many will be lost and few saved.  The road to hell is wide and easy.  The way to heaven is narrow and difficult.

The narrow gate of heaven will require effort on our part to enter.  Jesus said in Luke 13:24 “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”  This does not mean that heaven is attained solely by our own efforts and self-justification, for there would be no way to heaven at all if God had not opened it for us through the death of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:20).  What it means is that we cannot be slothful and look to others to do the diligence required to enter.  The final contrast in the sermon is between those who hear and do and those who hear and do not (Matthew 7:24-27).  Simply coming to church services and hearing will not cause one to enter the narrow gate.  We must examine what we hear and practice what God’s word says.  We ourselves must strive to enter.  The preacher, the elders, our parents, our friends and loved ones may encourage us, but we must make sure that we are truly following the Lord and not men.  In fact, earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ showed that one’s righteousness must exceed the self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).  It requires one to follow true religion from a pure heart rather than false alternatives that may look very similar.  Effort is required to distinguish the two.

Obviously, there are many people in the world who do not profess to be religious whatsoever and are on the broad way. However, perhaps even more people are following a false religion.  This is a subtle device of the devil.  It causes many to think they are on the narrow way which leads to life, but in reality they are headed toward destruction.  The contrasts the Lord gives in this sermon are not between religious people and irreligious, but rather between true and false religion.  In Matthew 6:1-4, the contrast is not between those who gives alms and those who don’t, but rather between those who give to be seen of men and those who give in secret out of a pure motive of love. Likewise, in Matthew 6:5-6, the contrast is not between those who pray and those who do not pray, but rather those who pray to be seen of men and those who pray in secret to seek their heavenly Father.

Immediately following the admonition of the two ways, Jesus warns of false prophets (Matthew 7:15).  Many are led to destruction thinking they are following the right path, but they are sadly following false teaching.  A prime example of this is found in what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  How many today believe they are going to heaven because they have simply given assent in their mind to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God without obeying Him?  Merely acknowledging the truth of Jesus’ identity is far short of obeying Him.  This is why many will be surprised on the day of judgment (Matthew 7:22-23).

Give diligence to make sure what you practice in religion is from the Lord and not men, and is out of a pure heart and not for show.  Your eternal destiny hangs in the balance.

-Mark Day

During Paul’s second missionary journey, he met a couple at Corinth who would become some of his closest associates. They are mentioned six times in the New Testament: three times in Acts (18:2, 18, 26), and three times in Paul’s epistles (Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19).

“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers” (Acts 18:1-3). Paul initially identified with Aquila and Priscilla because they worked in the same trade. The Jewish people took great care to teach their children a trade. In fact, a Jewish teacher, Rabbi Judah, is quoted as saying, “He that teaches not his son a trade, is as if he taught him to be a thief.”1 The inspired teaching of the New Testament shows that men ought to work to provide for their own. Second Thessalonians 3:10 says, “if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Ephesians 4:28 instructs, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” Paul set an example of honest labor. Paul could hold up his hands and honestly say, “Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me” (Acts 20:34).
Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla made tents. This was no easy task. Tents in those days were made of leather or goatskin. This trade was likely a natural choice for Paul, since he was from Tarsus in Cilicia, a province known for its production of goats’ hair. 2
Aquila and Priscilla were not only fellow-laborers with Paul in the trade of making tents, but more importantly they were fellow-laborers in ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Acts 18:24, when Paul had returned to Antioch, Apollos, an eloquent man from Alexandria, came to Ephesus where Paul had left Aquila and Priscilla. Apollos had a serious defect in his teaching. He knew only the baptism of John, which was then void because the Lord’s baptism had replaced it (Mt. 28:18-20). Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and taught him what he needed to know to complete his knowledge in the way of the Lord (Acts 18:25-26). This good teaching had positive effects that were far-reaching, even unto eternity. We may never know what sort of repercussions will come from us taking a little time to do a good deed.
To the church at Rome, Paul wrote, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles” (Rom. 16:3-4). It seems then that Priscilla and Aquila were able to return to Rome from which they had been banished by the decree of Claudius (Acts 18:2). No doubt, their exile from the capital city was not at first a pleasant experience, but look what great friends Paul gained by this occurrence. How many people do you know who would lay down their own necks for you? Priscilla and Aquila were such a couple. They obviously had brotherly love for the apostle Paul. They loved the Lord’s church; a congregation of the Lord’s church even met in their home (1 Corinthians 16:19). In the last letter Paul ever wrote, he greets this great couple (2 Timothy 4:19). Whether he saw their faces again in this life we cannot know, but they certainly were laborers together with the beloved apostle and desired to see each other in glory (1 Corinthians 3:9).

-Mark Day

1. Conybeare and Howson. The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984 reprint), p. 39
2. Ibid., p. 40

Colossians 3:1-4, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

Paul writing to the Christians in Colossae makes reference to “Christ, who is our life”. What does a Christian look like when Christ is their life? What are their characteristics?

1. They are “risen with Christ.” This is baptism that Paul referred to in 2:12, “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” They began in obedience of the Gospel. See also Romans 6:2-4.
2. They “seek those things which are above… Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Since we have been raised from the watery grave of baptism, therefore our minds should be focused on heavenly things, not on the things of the earth. (cf. Matthew 6:31-33)
3. They “are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Death in the Bible indicates a separation (James 2:26), therefore we have been separated from the guilt of our past sins. Also while we remain in the world we are no longer are of this world. Our focus is now on spiritual things; we have separated ourselves from worldly, sinful activities. Our lives are “hid” with Christ in that our lives are to conform to His will to the degree that one could not distinguish “our life” apart from our life with Christ. Paul defines this for us in Galatians 2:20 when he says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Paul goes on to say in Colossians 3:5 that those whose life is Christ will “Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (ASV). We cannot set our affections on things above and practice these sins at the same time. One who has set his mind on things above will put to death the evil practices that Paul names. We put these to death by rejecting and turning away from them.

Paul then issues a warning and a reminder in 3:6-7, “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” For those who practice such things, God’s wrath will come upon them. Paul then reminds them that they had practiced such things before their conversion. They should not want to go back there because God’s wrath waits. The challenge to dying to a life of sin is keeping it dead. Just because we put to death the old man doesn’t mean we don’t try to dig him back up sometimes. How do we keep from going back? By seeking “those things which are above”; by setting our “affection on things above, not on things on the earth”. This is to be our focus and is revealed in God’s Word. As one preacher quoted “What you go after here will determine where you go hereafter.”

-Jerry D. Sturgill