What You Don't Know Can Hurt You!

1 Thessalonians 4:13 – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!

What you don’t know can hurt you! Uncertainty often leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to worry and worry causes all kinds of problems both physical and spiritual. Ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease. Decreased faith, insecurity, fear.

For the Thessalonican Christians, the problem was what happened to those they love when they died. No doubt they had heard from false teachers the same lies that Satan has propagated from the beginning of time. “When you die, you’re dead.” Or “when you die, your soul sleeps until God decides to resurrect your body.” Or “only certain people get to go to heaven, and the rest remain in some sort of purgatory.” There is no joy in those teachings. No hope to be found.

In other passages of Scripture, we are taught that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Co. 5:6-8). Jesus told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus which clearly reveals that death does not result in sleep or nothingness for either the Christian or the lost person.

So over the next several days, we are going to journey through the process of death, life, and the rapture because, like Paul, I do not want anyone to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep. Let me begin by saying this: those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives receive life abundantly on Earth and eternally in heaven. Those who do not accept Him receive enslavement to sin on Earth and eternity in Hell. Every human being makes the choice and reaps the consequences. My prayer for you is that you will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ through prayer and repentance of sin. Paul tells us that “godly sorrow produces repentance” (2 Co. 7:10). When we truly are sorry, broken-hearted over our sin, we cry out to God admitting our sin and asking for His forgiveness. John tells us that if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just and He forgives us (1 Jn. 1:9). Paul then tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sin, and on the third day rose again, we are saved (Ro. 3:23; 6:23; 5:6-8; 10:9-10).

Would you do this today? If so, let me know. Call me or e-mail me. I would love to sit down with you or send you some information to help you become a faithful follower of Jesus.