That is a very cute cartoon I suppose, but the little man is drawn wrong. He should not be wearing a helmet, instead he should have a fiery dart sticking out of his head.
Does God ever make a promise then not keep it?
John 6
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and
he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life:
and I will raise him up at the last day.
What this says is clear. Believe on the Lord and be raised up on the last day. If God said it it must be so. Your cartoon man says that this is false, based on such warnings as this...
1 Corinthians 6
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God.
So whether the argument goes that if you truly believe you will not continue in sin, or if you sin, you will lose your salvation... both of these arguments equal the same answer which is you have to work for salvation. There has to be a misunderstanding somewhere...
Ephesians 2
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
John 3
16 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.
If we have obtained this salvation by God's love for us, it is the same love that He had for the whole world. If by our works, we are able to keep His love, when He had this love for us
while we were yet sinners then we must be working for our salvation. Or if we say that it is God working in us, not our own works that allow us to obtain salvation, how can we not boast that God
loved us more than the unsaved?[/B]
The only way to reconcile these two seemingly incompatible doctrines, which are both biblical, is by rightly dividing these as two different aspects of salvation. The promise to believers is to be raised up on the last day. We see in Revelation that the last day is AFTER the 1000 yr reign of Christ in the Kingdom.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
After the 1000 yrs, we have the great white throne judgment:
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Hell is not the final stop for the damned in eternity, the lake of fire is.
We are told to work for the reward of the Kingdom over and over again throughout the NT, yet we are supposed to have our assurance of ultimate salvation on the last day. In 1 Cor, Paul seems to consider this to be the milk of the word.
1 Corinthians 3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it,
neither yet now are ye able.
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the
fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned,
he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that
ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
So we should be preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Believe on the Lord and be saved from eternity in the lake of fire. Believe on the Lord and OBEY and be REWARDED with reigning in the Kingdom, and SAVED from Hell for 1000 years.
