Two Camps
There are two camps of people in this world. Those that believe God and those that deny Him. Often this basic fact is overlooked by followers of the Lord Jesus, and/or by those that want to know why He allows certain terrible things to happen, if He is God (i.e. in control).
First the Bible concludes the entire human race as dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:4-9, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". The only way out of the mess is through the Lord Jesus Christ. This was God's plan from before the foundation of the world, to join with man through the sacrifice of Himself in human form…Jesus, 1 Peter 1:18-21, "…ye were not redeemed with corruptible things….But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead…". He made us to be compatible with Him and desires those who worship Him to be real about it, John 4:23-24, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". When we believe His Word, He counts it to us for righteousness, Galatians 3:6, "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness". He gives us Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us. He makes us, therefore, a new creature in Christ and we become the sons of God, Romans 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his". Every individual who has come through the Door, (which is Christ) is part of one camp, John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture". God's children have the privilege of entering into His presence, of hearing His voice, of calling on Him, of casting their cares on Him, of loving Him, rejoicing in His love, of being directed by Him, of having the peace that passes understanding, and many other such riches, Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him". Those that refuse to believe Him, that insist on their own way make up the other camp
Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one". They find themselves victims of many dangers…the very dangers He strives to protect us from. They go their own way and never realize that with every step they get farther and farther away from life, love, peace, and every other good thing that God intends to give to them, 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour"; then they blame God for their predicament. The interesting thing about that, is that He answers all those who call on Him out of their desperation. Psalm 107 describes His faithfulness to unbelievers in detail.
Now, it's pretty easy to see the extreme cases of these two camps, but it gets more difficult to discern who's who closer to the center. There's where people who act like Christians, but have never truly trusted Him find themselves. These people may display a certain amount of kindness, generosity, and caring to a degree. They may think that attending church, or Bible study; having 'devotions' and maybe giving to the poor may certainly prove that they are Christians. But the Scriptures clearly state that if doing any or all of these things could save us then Christ would not have had to die. Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified". So, it's not about listing, but listening. Galatians 3:2-3, "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?".
And then there are those who deny Christ altogether, but act the same without any religious over or under tones. They don't think they need a Savior. Let me say that, just like you as a parent, have no authority over children that do not belong to you, God will not intervene in the lives of those Who do not belong to Him unless He is asked to do so. Jesus paid a huge price to buy back your soul. He made the deal available to everyone who takes Him at His Word. So, if you don't take advantage of His generosity, you are on your own. Even so, God is merciful. He loves you and desires you. John 3:16-19, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil". Come to safety quickly! Let the Creator, the Savior, the Beginning and the End, teach you the ways of life. 2 Corinthians 6:2, "…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation".
First the Bible concludes the entire human race as dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:4-9, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". The only way out of the mess is through the Lord Jesus Christ. This was God's plan from before the foundation of the world, to join with man through the sacrifice of Himself in human form…Jesus, 1 Peter 1:18-21, "…ye were not redeemed with corruptible things….But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead…". He made us to be compatible with Him and desires those who worship Him to be real about it, John 4:23-24, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". When we believe His Word, He counts it to us for righteousness, Galatians 3:6, "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness". He gives us Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us. He makes us, therefore, a new creature in Christ and we become the sons of God, Romans 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his". Every individual who has come through the Door, (which is Christ) is part of one camp, John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture". God's children have the privilege of entering into His presence, of hearing His voice, of calling on Him, of casting their cares on Him, of loving Him, rejoicing in His love, of being directed by Him, of having the peace that passes understanding, and many other such riches, Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him". Those that refuse to believe Him, that insist on their own way make up the other camp
Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one". They find themselves victims of many dangers…the very dangers He strives to protect us from. They go their own way and never realize that with every step they get farther and farther away from life, love, peace, and every other good thing that God intends to give to them, 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour"; then they blame God for their predicament. The interesting thing about that, is that He answers all those who call on Him out of their desperation. Psalm 107 describes His faithfulness to unbelievers in detail.
Now, it's pretty easy to see the extreme cases of these two camps, but it gets more difficult to discern who's who closer to the center. There's where people who act like Christians, but have never truly trusted Him find themselves. These people may display a certain amount of kindness, generosity, and caring to a degree. They may think that attending church, or Bible study; having 'devotions' and maybe giving to the poor may certainly prove that they are Christians. But the Scriptures clearly state that if doing any or all of these things could save us then Christ would not have had to die. Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified". So, it's not about listing, but listening. Galatians 3:2-3, "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?".
And then there are those who deny Christ altogether, but act the same without any religious over or under tones. They don't think they need a Savior. Let me say that, just like you as a parent, have no authority over children that do not belong to you, God will not intervene in the lives of those Who do not belong to Him unless He is asked to do so. Jesus paid a huge price to buy back your soul. He made the deal available to everyone who takes Him at His Word. So, if you don't take advantage of His generosity, you are on your own. Even so, God is merciful. He loves you and desires you. John 3:16-19, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil". Come to safety quickly! Let the Creator, the Savior, the Beginning and the End, teach you the ways of life. 2 Corinthians 6:2, "…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation".
