Are You Prepared?

Articles

Ross Triplett
09/22/19 - Articles

Are You Prepared?

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged everyman according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire, This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

As Solomon said, “the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7), mankind is assured, by divine revelation, as well as through natural observation, that this life shall end.

Knowing that life shall end, what preparations are being made for that inevitable day? An individual is not “prepared” simply because they think they are. Suppose you were told to pack for an adventure, and not told where you were going, or how you were going to get there: you start to pack, you have visions of sunny beaches, pleasant evenings, and all the amenities that would make life grand, and when the time comes for your departure, with no opportunity to “repack,” you find that your trip will take you into the heart of the north pole.

In order to be prepared for one’s inevitable day of death, and subsequent accountability, would it not be wise to know the standard by which you would be judged?

The Apostle Paul said, “each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The Apostle Paul, also said, God “who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil” (Romans 2:6-10). In each case, as it was also stated in Revelation 20, each shall be judged by their works.

These works will be judged by God’s standard: “in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16). Jesus affirmed so, saying, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

With these thoughts in mind, ask yourself the question, “Am I properly packed for the inevitable day of my death?”

Remember the words of the Lord, saying, “For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life eternal; the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:49-50). ret