The Spiritual Battle - 69 Eternal Consequences Of Obedience Or Rebellion

“An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him” (Proverbs 17:11).
Loved ones, IN THIS SPIRITUAL BATTLE, despite the devil's multitude of religious systems and human philosophies promising eternal hope, Jesus Christ alone is the true and exclusive way of salvation, and that rejecting Him carries irreversible eternal consequences.
He affirms the complete sufficiency of Scripture to teach men how to be saved, how to live faithfully, and how to worship God acceptably, while warning that man‑made creeds and traditions only confuse or distort the will of God.
Drawing upon illustrations of the final judgment and contrasts with contemporary culture, the author presses upon the reader the urgency of manifesting obedient faith now—before the opportunity to choose righteousness is forever lost.
Jesus Christ Is The Only Way
A “holy war” is being fought by Iran’s radical Muslim government against the U.S. and Israel. The imams of that ghoulish religion intend to force their extreme version of Islam on all humanity. They want nothing less than to establish a worldwide caliphate and to impose Sharia law on the earth’s entire population.
The so‑called peace‑loving Muslims are as hated by the Iranian regime as Westerners are. The peaceful Muslims are branded as apostates who are worthy of death. We in the West view stories of 40,000 Iranian citizens being gunned down in the streets as barbaric. In Iran, it is just another Tuesday.
As hard as it might be to believe, those brutal leaders who have enslaved their nation believe in the afterlife. They impose their medieval practices on their people because they believe Islam is the way to heaven. We should not be surprised by this, because nearly every religion has some concept of an afterlife, and they have rules on how to enter it.
Ancient Norse tribes, like the Vikings, believed in Valhalla. They believed that one entered Valhalla by dying heroically in battle. Mormons believe in a place they call the “Celestial Kingdom.” One enters the Celestial Kingdom by receiving the Mormon ordinances, keeping the commandments of Mormonism, and being “sealed” in a celestial marriage in the temple.
Catholicism teaches that one enters heaven by living a life of constant works. Calvinism teaches that one is saved by faith and God’s grace alone. God chooses every individual who will be saved, and the rest of mankind has no hope of heaven.
When you consult the Bible, you will find that there is indeed a place called heaven. It is the abode of God (Deut. 26:15; Ps. 113:5-6). It is where Jesus is at the right hand of God on the throne of His power and rules over His kingdom (Acts 2:33; 7:55).
Heaven is also the home of all those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 21:25-26). It is a Christian’s true home; we are just pilgrims here (Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 2:11). It is a place where only the righteous will enter, and none who are wicked and sinful will have access (Rev. 21:8). There will be no night there (Rev. 22:5). Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father in heaven. Jesus shed His blood for the sins of the world so that men and women can go to heaven (1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 3:25-26).
History is polluted with countless religions and philosophies that all propose to lead men to enlightenment, reformation, and to heaven or some version of the afterlife. However, God’s only book, the Bible, teaches that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Anyone who follows an alternate pathway to eternal life is without excuse (Rom. 1:20). To choose an arbitrary, humanly devised plan of salvation that excludes all others from hope and access to eternal life is an error and is inexcusable (Rom. 2:1). Salvation for the Jew first and also for the Greek (i.e., all men) is by obedient faith in Christ (Rom. 3:21-23; 16:26).
The All-Sufficiency Of The Word Of God
The Bible is the only book on earth that can back up its claim that it was given by inspiration of God and is profitable “16 for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God’s divine power has granted unto men “all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3).
What spiritual need of man is not supplied by the word of God? The creed books and catechisms of man-made religion either restate the teachings of the Bible—making them pointless—or teach things that contradict the Bible, making them heresy (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 John 9-11). In either case, the creeds of men fail miserably.
The Bible teaches men how to be saved. Every church of men has its own unique plan of salvation. Some churches ask people to pray a “sinner’s prayer,” while others urge people to “accept Jesus into your heart.” Some require infant baptism, while other churches stress sprinkling or pouring instead of baptism (immersion).
Yet Sacred Scripture never contributed one word to these confusing inventions. Instead, it calls upon men to hear and believe the gospel (Rom. 10:17), confess faith in Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:10), repent of sins (Acts 17:30), and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus (Matt. 26:28), and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38). How can the creeds of men ever improve on these simple instructions?
The Bible teaches men how to live faithfully. We are raised from the watery grave of baptism to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4), and the New Testament is dedicated to teaching us how to walk with Him. Christians must be faithful to God even if it means giving their lives for the faith of the gospel (Rev. 2:10). The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is dependent upon obedient faithfulness (Heb. 5:8-9). How could the creeds of men ever improve on these simple instructions?
The Bible teaches men how to worship. The Bible instructs believers on what constitutes true worship (John 4:24). The early disciples “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Early Christians observed the Lord’s Supper on the first day of (every) week (Acts 20:7), they prayed (1 Thess. 5:17), they gave of their material means on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2), they studied the Bible (the apostles’ doctrine), and they sang hymns (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
If your goal is to please yourself rather than God, then the Bible is not the book for you. However, if your ambition is to please Him, then the Bible supplies your every spiritual need.
There Is A Great Gulf Fixed (Luke 16:26).
A rich man died, and in the next moment he lifted up his eyes to find he was in torments (Luke 16:19-26). He also saw Lazarus, the poor beggar who had lain at his gate daily, begging for crumbs; Lazarus had died as well, but he was comforted. The rich man desperately wanted comfort, but Abraham denied his request because no one could cross the great gulf between the rich man and Lazarus. Nothing could be done to save the rich man now. When we read this text, we are watching a man’s dawning realization of his misspent life.
The awful realization of opportunities lost. Abraham told him: “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented” (v. 25). The rich man had the chance every day to extend mercy to the poor man, but he did not do it. Now his chances to live righteously were gone, and his eternal fate was sealed. If only he had given the poor man some food from his table when it would have cost him so little. Now look what his inattention cost him! We will all be judged by the deeds of our lives (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12). The wise person will make his days count.
The realization that he would never be saved. Abraham’s words must have rung in the rich man’s ears with awful dread: “Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us” (v. 26).
There will never be anything more awful than to hear the following words: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Untold millions of people will face judgment convinced of their own righteousness: “Lord, Lord, did we not…,” but Jesus will say to them: “I never knew you; depart from me, ye who practice iniquity” (Matt. 7:22-23).
Atheists will surely spend eternity regretting their unbelief, and sectarians will surely curse Calvin, the pope, John Wesley, Mary Baker Eddy, and any false teacher who influenced their false views.
The realization of helplessness. The rich man’s money could not save him. His wealth had been an illusion. He could not even help his brothers (vs. 27-31).
Amos warned his people: “14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: 15 neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord. (Amos 2:14-16). Can you imagine having to endure an eternity of helpless torment?
Friends, please learn the essential lessons from the rich man. Serve the Lord now. The great gulf is real.
Would You Vote For Jesus?
It is a midterm election year (2026) here in America, and soon we will be neck-deep in commercials and mailings begging for our votes, as candidates tell us why they are the right choice to solve the nation’s problems. We can’t help but wonder: Would anyone vote for Jesus? Would He win in a landslide, or would His platform be so upsetting to modern society that He would be soundly defeated?
Jesus would campaign for respect for authority. The Lord’s campaign slogan would be: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. . .” (Matt. 28:18). His platform would have the following planks: I am head over all things to my church (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Every knee must bow to me (Phil. 2:10). I am King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14). How many voters would cast their vote for the Lord to rule their lives, knowing that their vote would commit them to true obedience? (cf. Romans 13).
Jesus would campaign against sin. We wonder how Jesus’s anti-sin platform would poll across the land. We have Him on record saying: “29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:29-30).
The apostle Paul declared: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). How many votes would Jesus lose by telling men and women that they are sinners?
Jesus would campaign that marriage is between a man and a woman for life. Jesus would come out against divorce. He is on record on this subject: “4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” (Matt. 19:4-5).
Jesus would campaign against homosexuality. That Jesus sanctioned marriage between a man and a woman only indicates His view on homosexuality (Matt. 19:4-5). He would affirm that homosexuality is “vile affections” and “against nature” (Rom. 1:26-27). In debate, Jesus would boldly state that “9 Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). This position would surely have Jesus branded as a bigot and a homophobe and would cost Him many votes.
Jesus would call on people to obey the gospel (Romans 10:16; 2 Thess. 1:8). Jesus would campaign against false religions. He would insist that He alone provides the way to the Father in heaven (John 14:6). Jesus would plainly state that the doctrines and commandments of men represent vain, heartless worship which draw men away from God (Matt. 15:7-9).
Of course, this is all just “what if” thinking, but it puts in perspective how many people view the Lord and how far from Him they really are. Millions of American voters would reject Jesus at the polls. By David Weaks – expanded by Samuel.
The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. Through the free gift of God’s grace by Jesus’ blood (Ephesians 2:8; Revelation 1:5) and your obedient faith (Romans 1:5; 10:17; 16:26), salvation is offered. If you have Bible questions or wish to comment on this post, please do so. Lord willing, a Bible answer will be provided for every Bible question.
The churches of Christ are neither Catholic, Protestant, nor Jew (Romans 16:16; Matthew 16:18-19). We are the loving suffering ONE body of Christ (Ephesians 1:20-23; 4:4-6) – CHRISTIANS: “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16; cf. Acts 11:26; 26:28).
We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35). Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA – 4 April 2026.