"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28-29 KJV)
"This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And we know that murderers don't have eternal life within them." (1 John 3:11-15 NLT)
If I was slightly off base, I am sorry; but this thing that God has put upon my heart is really tearing at my heart and I feel it is vitally important. Maybe it just needs to be prayed over and I need to settle down and wait upon the Lord to open doors, instead of trying to jump out and make something happen. That might be one of my biggest issues: I am a sprinter, not a marathon runner!
Looking at this from a little different angle, it would appear as though Jesus is talking about people being resurrected from the dead, as if there was something common between those that have been saved and those that face damnation. Could this be the resurrection that Paul is speaking of, as we look towards the Day of the Christ being at hand? (2 Thessalonians 2) As it turns out, there will be a falling away, as if there is no real connection from some to Christ; not that they were not connected to a church, but love of Christ Jesus, being a sacrificing love towards others, was not within them.
To help and make this point more understandable, the word, "evil," that is Jesus is using is a word that speaks of worthless and selfishness. Not to bang a drum or anything, but if God has given you a gift or a calling, it is your responsibility to move in the direction that He leads you; otherwise, your no more useful than a dead carcass on the side of the road!
When Jesus is speaking of good, as if we can be good, because only God is good; He is talking about those that do what is right; right being the desire to please God. Not that we can actually please God by doing good, because our works are filthy rags to God, if they are what we count on to be good in His eyes. There is only one way that we are made right in God's eye, and that is by the blood of Jesus!
I know it sounds crazy, as some call crazy anything that is not humanly possible; but we have no chance of being good on our own, no matter how hard we try or how much we sacrifice ourselves in the fight to be good. There is absolutely only one way that we can please the Father, and that way is by accepting the Way that He has made possible for us to enter into eternal life...
"This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son. cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." (1 John 1:5-10 NLT)
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