Final Destiny

If you GET what this text is saying …and if it sinks in and if it DAWNS on you… all other encouragements are … n i c e … but just weak in comparison with this one. This one can beat any life-difficulty you could ever face.

When the early Christians GOT this truth…it enabled them to face THE ARENA… and martyrdom. And not because they were some sort of brain-washed fanatics who’d stopped thinking…BUT because they got this LOGIC…a truth that liberated them to live great lives in the face of really difficult circumstances. They became willing servants of the downtrodden and helpers to the needy and their SELF-SACRIFICE was so exceptional that when the ROMAN EMPIRE FELL…the Christians were still standing…and they literally changed the world and the course of history forever.

This passage is intellectual but also EMOTIONAL… it’s lyrical but also LOGICAL… uses legal and judicial language but is also deeply PERSONAL AND RELATIONAL. It’s a remarkable case-study in pastoral warmth and also REAL doctrinal CONTENT.

So let’s look at it:
1st The Congregation’s Problems
2nd The Pastoral Method and Message