At the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, there was only one family that was removed before the destruction of the cities of the plains.
At the time of Noah, there was only one family that was protected from the wrath of God when He destroyed the people of the world.
In each situation, many people left behind in the destruction were family members who refused to listen to the prophets who spoke for God. They argued against the word of God, even mocked and demeaned it and the prophets because of their stubbornness.
Before the tribulation, there is only one family that will be protected and rescued from the wrath of God, and that is the family of Christ. Those who have trusted in Christ will be taken out before the tribulation. Sadly, many people who will be left behind are family members who refused the truth in favor of their pleasures and self-exaltation.
Christ came into this world to die for the sins of mankind, His death paid for our sins, and His resurrection proved He is God.
There is only one thing every individual must do to be counted in the family of Christ, and that is to believe in Him and desire to be cleansed by Him. If there is no desire to trust in Him or be cleansed by Him, then the belief in Him is in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:1-3 "1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,…"
The devil doesn't have to believe in Christ; He already knows Who He is and has rejected Him. And, many people who have heard the gospel will say they believe but never trusted in Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:4-6 "…4 For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. And though we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve you. 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you— unless you actually fail the test? 6 And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.…"
Each person who says they believe in Christ must examine themselves to see if they have trusted in Him or if they have merely professed without a desire to be transformed by Him. If there is no desire to be changed and controlled by Christ, then there is no salvation.
James 1:23-24 "For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."
Romans 8:10 "But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness."
Many people want to think they are Christians, but have never confessed their sinfulness and have never craved the metamorphosis required by Christ to become His child. A transformation that no one can do to themselves, but is only done by Christ, and once finished can never be changed back again into the old creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17 "17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Many people want to be seen as good people by joining a Christian club and doing all the rituals, but ignore or reject most of what Christ wrote in His Word, the Bible. They have added to His word things they wish to be true while ignoring Him, His principles, and commands. These same people barely speak of Him, if at all, throughout their week.
Matthew 7:21-23 "I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Deuteronomy 4:2 "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you."
Mark 7:13 "13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."
The modern church is full of traditions of men that negate Christ while claiming to be from Him. These rituals and traditions have diluted the message of Christ and emphasized the pleasures of man.
These traditions are so strong within the gatherings that those who are dominated by them fight to defend what God never commanded and which weakens the Christian walk and often is evidence that those who love them have never trusted Christ.
Not everyone who practices these traditions is unsaved, but at the very least, they massage their fleshly desire to do things their own way while ignoring much of God's Word. However, I notice that the world loves these traditions too. When the world loves something, I have to wonder why they would love anything that is proclaimed as from God?
If the world loves it, then it is most likely not given to us from God. I notice that the celebration God gave us has been ignored by the world and even most Christian gatherings, namely the Lord's Supper, in which believers proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ and what that did for mankind.
Beloved, it is time to pray for discernment so that we will not be sucked into the vortex of worldly and fleshly thinking that entices those who are self-absorbed, self-willed, and looking for enjoyment rather than desiring holiness.
