Don’t Harden Your Heart

Jesus in Luke 4:4 said that man is to live “by every word of God.” He taught that the wise will build his life on the foundation of obedience to the word of God (Matthew 7:24-25).

God’s word judges us. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). “Discerner” is from the Greek κριτικός, an adjective that means able to judge or discern (Greek-English Lexicon, Bauer, Arndt and Gringrich). The English word “critic” is derived from the Greek word used here. Kριτικός is a cognate of κριτής (kritēs), a judge, and κρίνω (krinō), a verb meaning to judge or distinguish or decide. God’s word judges us, and in a sense is our critic. It penetrates beyond the surface to our innermost being. In the final analysis, everyone will be judged by God’s word (John 12:48).

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Are the ‘Lost’ Predestined to Hell?

Traditional Christianity has taught that when one dies, whatever judgment awaits him is made and that is final. Some have gone so far as to teach that God chose and “predestined” some for salvation from the beginning of time, and that all others are destined for “hell.” Logically, this would mean many, even the vast majority, of humanity are “predestined” to be sent to hell for eternity (as hell is often imagined). Are the “lost” of this age predestined to eternal torment in hell? Continue reading