Why Some People Will Perish

 Why Some People Will Perish
 
2 Thes. 2:10-12 - "…and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.  NASU 

• Many People Lack This 

What many people lack is a love for the "truth" or another way of saying this would be a love for the "Word of God".  John 17:17 says it this way - "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
 
If you want to avoid getting in trouble with God then have a love for the truth or His Word. We can see that Charlie Kirk had a love for the Word of God or truth and yet it cost him his physical life.
 
Why did it cost him his life? The answer is because the coward who shot him hated hearing the truth.
 
It has been said there are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. There are plenty of people who don't want to believe the Word of God, but I can tell you this killing people who do believe will not make it any less true.
 
So all you have to do is look around and you will see plenty of people who do and do not believe the Word of God is truth. What is really important is what do you believe? 

• How To Get Along With God 

It is rather simple to get along with God. All one has to do is worship Him according to His Word which is truth as stated in John 17:17.
 
John 4:23-24 - "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth ; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
 
God is seeking us to worship Him in "spirit and truth". The only way for us to find out what it is that God wants from us is to study the New Testament. If you say you are a worshipper of God then you will listen to Jesus.
 
Jesus is very clear that God will not accept any type of worship. One's worship must be done in the spirit and according to His Word, which is "truth".
 
In John 18:37 - "…Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  This was Jesus speaking to Pilate. Right after Jesus says this Pilate asks Him that question that many still ask today:
 
In verse 38 - Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him. 

• How Not To Get Along With God 

Let me see if I might help make this a little clearer. What can we do and not do to worship God in "truth"?
 
Revel. 21:8 - "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
 
The apostle John states in the book of Revelation that the following types of people will be sent to the lake of fire and they are 'the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars,…"
 
Cowardly comes from the Greek word "deilois" which means timid or faithless.

Unbelieving comes from the Greek word "apistois" which means disbelieving or without Christian faith.
 
Abominable comes from the Greek word "ebdelugmenois" which means to be detested. Your actions will make you detestable in the eyes of God.

Murderers come from the Greek word "phoneus" which means to slay or the unlawful killing of a person.
 
Whoremongers come from the Greek word "pornos" which means prostitute.

Sorcerers come from the Greek word "pharmakeus" which means a drug or spell-giving potion.
 
Idolaters come from the Greek word "eidololatres" which means a worshipper of images.

Liars come from the Greek word "pseudesin" which means deceitful, erroneous or untrue.
 
If in your lifestyle you are practicing the things above you will be guaranteed to be an adversary of God and therefore will find yourself ending up in the lake of fire.
 
The apostle Paul gives us a list of things not to participate in also.
 
Gal. 5:19-21 - Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
 
The key word to understanding these verses is "practice" in the Greek it is "prassontes" which means to perform repeatedly or habitually. It doesn't mean you do them once or twice. It means that these are apart of your lifestyle. 

• Conclusion 

We all have a choice to make in our lifetime and that is do we want to be a friend of God or one of His adversaries? I was an adversary for years until I heard the gospel of what Jesus did for me. I believed it and made the necessary changes in my lifestyle.
 
I encourage you today to be a friend of God and not one of His enemies. Believe the "Truth" about Jesus and become one of His disciples.
 
Think About These:
 
It is pretty hard for the Lord to guide a man if he hasn't decided which way he wants to go.
 
God still speaks to those who take time to listen.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word