"THE LAST FRONTIER"
THE LAST FRONTIER
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 - NKJV
As human beings, fallen and corrupted by nature, we appreciate second chances. The Lord, however, in His magnanimous grace, is a God Who gives us not two, three or four, but many, many chances and opportunities. His love towards us is immeasurable and infinite, and that same unfailing love grants us the comfort and assurance that we serve a forgiving and kind God, a merciful Father.
Nevertheless, there is wisdom in the acknowledgement that the Lord has, since the beginning of times, set up a time where all of us, personal and distinctively, will be held accountable for our actions and choices. It serves us a great deal to remind ourselves that the love of God does not annul nor obstructs or hinders His justice. From time to time in the biblical narrative, several examples are given of when the hand of the Lord came strong against sin, condemning reckless and unholy living and behavior that ultimately separated His creation from Him.
For instance, Scriptures show that the Lord judged mankind with the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden, He also planned and executed judgement by the Flood after countless warnings; He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even while emboldening Abraham’s intercession; He allowed the cruel Assyrians to invade the idol-worshipper Samaria; He permitted the Babylonians to utterly destroy Jerusalem, after hundreds of years of notifications through His prophets, and He has shown throughout History that at some point, at His only divine discretion and sovereignty, men will have to choose finally if they whether want to serve and have communion with the Living God or not.
In this messy, complex landscape of evil deceptions, ungodliness and rebellion, God then sent His only Son to save us from ourselves and from our shameful and sinful degeneration, and the redemption mission of His Unigenite Son is the last attempt from the Almighty God towards a completely powerless and vulnerable human race, once there will not be any other effort from the Creator in that regard, and Who says in His eternal Word that “He does have a Day where living and dead will be certainly judged and dealt with.”
Jesus the Christ is, for that reason, the last frontier of God’s love and salvation towards mankind. The Church is His agency and the last bearer and herald in the proclamation of that wonderful unchaining deliverance, the good news, the Gospel. There will not be another chance, there is no other opportunity or contingency of atonement besides Him. Jesus, our precious Savior, is in Himself the culminating suitable time, and the ultimate step we take offered by His loving grace before entering into eternity - with or without God. There will not be more prophets, more preaching or more alternatives after our final decision. It is, therefore, very wise for us to cling on to His gracious, yet solemn and sober advice found in Hebrews 3:15, which reads:
“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts in rebellion.”
Wishing many blessings to you and your family!
Pastor Joshua