A Fearful Thing

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Hebrews 10:31 KJV

If any verse in the Scriptures makes me shudder, it’s this verse, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Some translations say, “dreadful thing,” “terrible thing,” “terrifying thing,” and then one translation says, “fearful and terrifying thing.” God is the Almighty, the Omnipotent One (Revelation 1:8, 15:3, 19:6). God does NOT play games (Leviticus 10:2, 1 Chronicles 13:10, Psalm 50:3).

What is so terrifying about falling into the hands of the Living God? Because this verse is speaking of judgment. God is awesome, and He is holy. His righteousness is pure. The Lord warns us of sin and the consequences (Romans 6:23). He warns us what happens when we do not turn from our evil and wicked ways (Luke 13:3, Romans 2:5). By warning us, God is granting us mercy. By giving us a chance to repent, He is demonstrating His longsuffering and patience towards us; the Lord does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Through the Scriptures, we can see He is calling people to repentance (Matthew 4:17, Acts 3:19). When someone sneers arrogantly at the Holy Spirit, when someone mocks or reviles the Holy Spirit and shows complete and utter contempt for the Holy Spirit, they are severing themselves from the Holy Spirit. In other words, they have broken themselves off from the Holy Spirit and they are unable to know the prompting of the Holy Spirit and His leading. It’s the point of no return (Deuteronomy 28:15, Isaiah 63:10). When someone falls into the hand of the Living God, at this point, is where they discover how wrong they are, but it’s too late. Judas is a great example of this. Judas betrayed Christ, and by the time, he realized how wrong he was, it was too late for him (John 13:21-30). Falling into the hands of the Living God will be frightening for the one who has rejected and scorned the Holy Spirit and committed the outright rejection of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32, Hebrews 10:28-29). The true children of the Living God do not need to worry about facing God in judgment. Those who are not living lives that practice sin will be able to stand before God.

“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God,” (1 John 3:7-10 NLT).

“In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like him. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:17-19 BSB).

Linda A. Knowles

Point of No Return

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“Then the LORD said to me: ‘Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go. If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.'” (Jeremiah 15:1-2 Berean Study Bible)

I did a doubletake reading this Scripture when I saw it said, “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before me, My heart would not go out to this people.” Moses and Samuel were both prophets of God. They were two of the greatest prophets amongst the other prophets we see in the Scriptures. The people of Judah had come to the point of no return.

Not even Moses or Samuel would have been able to intercede for the people of Judah at this point. Judah had abandoned God and traded God for the religious systems of men, had adopted the culture of pagan nations, and worshipping the idols/gods of the nations around them. Jeremiah had already been told “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster, ” (Jeremiah 11:14BSB).

Intercession for the people of Judah would have been rendered ineffective even if Moses and Samuel were standing before God interceding on their behalf. God wasn’t even listening to the people of Judah cry out to Him because they only cried out to Him when they were in trouble. God was angry and told Jeremiah, “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to which they have been burning incense, but these gods certainly will not save them in their time of disaster. Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 11:11-13) They didn’t commune with God. They were committing the act of spiritual adultery, acting as prostitutes giving themselves away to every pagan deity and were told by God through the prophet Jeremiah “How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!” (Jeremiah 2:33BSB) They had no shame and could not even blush anymore. They flagrantly flaunted their spiritual adultery and their idolatry in the face of God.

GOD DOESN’T PLAY GAMES. God warned them over and over again, but the stench of their sin had risen up before Him, and they were only sorry they had gotten caught in their sin. They were not repentant for their sins of abandoning God and trading Him in for the religious systems of man, their spiritual adultery, and their idolatry.

This cannot get more sobering than this statement made to Jeremiah by God, “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.” Will you allow yourself to be found in the same spiritual condition as the people of Judah? Would God tell someone not to pray for you?

THERE IS NO NEUTRAL GROUND WHEN IT COMES TO SERVING GOD. I will be saying that until there is no longer breath in my body. There is no neutral ground when it comes to serving the Lord. CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.

We have been chosen by Christ to go and bear fruit. Every tree that does not bear fruit will be chopped down and burnt up (Matthew 3:10, 7:19).

“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” (James 4:4-6NLT)

Remember God does NOT bless a life of disobedience, but He does bless a life of obedience. He lavishes grace and mercy upon His children who are loving Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Favor is the shield around His children.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Repent so you are not found in the same position as the people of Judah. God had enough of their foolish behavior. Do NOT bring God to the point where God tells someone not to pray for you anymore because of your stubborn, hardened, and calloused heart. There is a time when God says, “Enough” as we have seen here with Jeremiah.

There is no neutral ground when it comes to God. You are either on God’s side or you’re not. You cannot claim to live for God and love the things of this world; in other words, you cannot be a friend of God if you are a friend of the world. The God of the Old Testament is still God in the New Testament. God promises restoration, hope, and healing for those who are truly repentant with contrite hearts, those who recognize their need of the one and only Savior.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the One and Only God. You are the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. No one compares to You. You are sovereign and holy, and You do not share Your glory with another. Father, I will seek Your righteousness first and I will follow Your ways. I will obey Your commands and cling tightly to Your truth. I choose to serve You and You alone. Thank You for being my God and my Father. Thank You for Your instruction and Your discipline. Thank You for choosing me to go and bear fruit. Be with me as I follow Your commands and seek out Your ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Linda A. Knowles