Topic: Egypt? Off Limits [Tuesday November 14, 2017]
Text: Jeremiah 23:33-40
Key Verse: “Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence” (Jeremiah 23:39).
The Bible condemns the doctrine of eternal (unconditional) security of the soul which states that once a person is saved, he remains saved and fit for heaven even if he renounces the lifestyle of holiness. This is far from the truth. In the Old Testament, we read of some who though saved from bondage in Egypt, (symbolizing the sinful world) did not make the promised land (typifying heaven) as they failed to sustain the saving grace they received. They trifled with it.
The same doom came upon Judas, Demas, Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament. They were once saved but became careless, not acknowledging that salvation was conditional. That is what God is teaching us in today’s reading. The people of Judah in the days of Prophet Jeremiah always mocked him over the kind of messages God gave him for them. They would ask: “Hey Jeremiah, what do you have for us again? More bad news? What’s the latest from your Lord? Come on, tell us!” It was obvious that they were making a jest of the oracle of God.
The mistake they made was that what they called bad news was really the bitter truth they needed to hear and accept in order to turn a new leaf and escape from God’s anger. About 600 years after Jeremiah’s ministry, Jesus said that it is the truth which will set the sinful free. If the Israelites in the days of Jeremiah had received this truth about their spiritual deficiency, they would have spared themselves the fatal judgment that came upon them. But they despised His counsel and He rejected them. Do not behave like them so as not to suffer a similar fate as God has not changed. He still judges. There might not be a second chance to repent before the rapture. So, strive always to “make your calling and election sure” and “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”.
Thought for the day: Salvation is a lifetime contention against sin!
Bible Reading in one Year: Isaiah 56-60
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
