The Bible clearly states that the Lord Jesus Christ will come as a thief in the night (II Peter 3:10; I Thessalonians 5:2). We have learned that this was to be the understanding throughout the church age. Thus, Bible students and theologians were not to concern themselves with the timing of Christ’s return. They were to focus on the immediate task of sending the Gospel into all the world (Acts 1:6-8).

However, we have learned that very near the time of the end of the world, the true believers would know much about the timeline of history (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6; I Thessalonians 5:3-5; Revelation 3:3).

We are at that awesome time of history, and therefore, we have, indeed, been able to determine with great Biblical accuracy the day, the month, and the year of the timing of the end of the world.

Since the end of time is so near, we should be greatly concerned: IS THERE HOPE FOR ME? Indeed, there is great hope for anyone living today. This is so because God positively assures us that at this time in history, a great multitude, which no man could number, is being saved (Revelation 7:9-14). We should, therefore, briefly discuss God’s salvation plan.^*

In Mark 1:14b-15, Jesus declares God’s command to the human race:

. . . Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

To believe the Gospel as this verse commands means to recognize that the Gospel is from God’s mouth. Therefore, it is absolutely true, absolutely important, and absolutely authoritative. It is the law of God, the Bible, that each and every person must obey. Therefore, the person who believes the Gospel should try to be as obedient as possible, insofar as he is able to understand the Bible.

Every person by nature is capable to some degree of doing some spiritual work, including that of believing and obeying the Bible. This is because God’s law is written on his heart (Romans 2:14-15), and God has given him a conscience so that he has some sense of morality. Even though he is spiritually dead, both in body

However, he has absolutely no ability to become saved, that is, to obtain eternal life in his body or in his soul. This is so because the Gospel indicates that the payment God’s law demands for sin is that the sinner is to be punished by a shameful death. Thus, each person who has been sentenced to this shameful death for his sins will never again be alive, and has lost the wonderful inheritance of eternal life. That is why each of us must find someone to be our substitute or stand-in to bear this punishment on our behalf.

This command of Mark 1:15, to believe the Gospel and to repent (to stop sinning and obey the Bible), was given about 2,000 years ago. It declares that “The time is fulfilled.” It was at that time that Jesus the Messiah had come to make the payment demanded by the law of God on behalf of all of those He came to save.

Today, the phrase, “the time is fulfilled” is even more applicable to God’s salvation plan because we are only a very short time from the complete finish of God’s salvation plan. As we study His magnificent salvation plan for the world, we become aware that there are essentially three kinds of people in the world. They are as follows.

1. Those who throughout their lifetime have never heard any words from the Bible.

2. Those who have heard the teachings of the Bible, but who scoff or ridicule the Bible, or come to the Bible with their own preconceived ideas of truth.

3. Those who believe that the Bible is the Word of God and who earnestly and humbly desire salvation, altogether in accordance with Bible truth.

Those Who Have Never Heard

Throughout the history of the world, there are those who have lived and died without ever having heard or read any words from the Bible. And because “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17), we must believe that none of these people were elected by God to become saved. Therefore, it was not necessary for God at any time in their lifetime to place them under the hearing of God’s Word.  

Ever since God gave the command to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15), it was God’s intention that in the world, as many people as possible might come under the hearing of the Gospel. That is why, about 2,000 years ago, Jesus commanded that all the true believers are to send the Gospel into all the world (Matthew 28:19- 20).

Sadly, the reaction of a great many people who became somewhat acquainted with the Bible was either to scorn and ridicule it, or to follow their own rules rather than the Bible’s rules, as they endeavored to understand Biblical truth. Those who ridiculed the Bible were convinced there were errors and contradictions in the Bible, and therefore, they had no desire or need to obey it. Those who came to the Bible with their own man-made method of interpretation, or who had placed their trust in their church or denomination as the ultimate authority, rather than trusting the Bible, they also became obedient to doctrines that were not true to the Bible.

The Bible teaches that unsaved individuals can, to some degree, obey God’s laws. This truth explains the false hope of many people. For example, this is true for those who are members of churches that teach the five points of Calvinism, which are derived from the Canons of Dort, an historical creed.^* The first point is that we are to believe that before we are saved, we are totally depraved. Because members of these churches live decent, moral lives, and are obedient to the rules of their church, they know they cannot be totally depraved. They have been taught by their confessions that total depravity is the spiritual condition of the unsaved. Therefore, their devout lifestyle and faithfulness to their church, together with the fact that they have been baptized in water and are faithful members of their church, surely proves to them that since they are not totally depraved, therefore, God must have saved them. They fail to realize that the evidence of salvation is an intense desire to be obedient to the whole Bible. Thus, they are trapped in an unsaved condition because of trust in an unbiblical theological conclusion.

Another example might be noted. In many other churches, the key to salvation that is taught is a personal acceptance of Jesus as Savior and water baptism. In these churches, these actions, together with faithfulness to the rules of the church, and living a decent moral life, appear to give them ample assurance of salvation. However, it is a salvation program designed by theologians rather than the correct salvation program given in the Bible, in which the evidence of salvation is an intense, ongoing desire to be faithful to everything in the Bible.

Consequently, the churches of our day that claim they carefully follow all of the teachings of the infallible Word of God, the Bible, are filled with these decent, moral individuals who are members in full communion. These dear people have no idea that they are still under the wrath of God, nor do they see any need to carefully check the teachings of their church to determine if their church is truly faithful to the Bible.

The warning of I Thessalonians 5:2-4 should frighten them. This is so because virtually all of those who are in the churches believe they are secure with Christ, and therefore, they are content to believe that He will come as a thief in the night. I Thessalonians 5:2-4 declares:

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

The sudden destruction can refer only to the day of judgment that is almost here. How awful that these dear people are still subject to the full wrath of God that must come upon anyone who has not become saved.

In many instances, these people are decent, moral people who are very devout and faithful members of a church. However, by coming to the Bible with their preconceived, wrong doctrines, which are taught by their church, effectively, they are not hearing the Word of God. They are hearing, and desire to obey, the wrong doctrines of their church, instead of the teaching of the entire Bible. Without realizing it, they often read the Bible, and then, in their mind, twist Biblical truths to try to make them agree with their own preconceived ideas. Thus, they are not listening to the Bible with a desire to be obedient to it.

The Bible makes many references to this kind of conduct. It constantly warns that such conduct will result in God’s full wrath coming upon those who despise His Word in this way. It gives these individuals no encouragement or hope that possibly God might save them. In fact, they themselves see no need of such a hope. They believe they are already saved, or according to their own do-it-yourself salvation plan, they believe they can become saved at any time they desire.

The curious and terrible fact is that God recognizes this kind of spiritual rebellion and usually leaves these people in their rebellion. We read, for example, that Jesus came to Nazareth to preach, and the Bible reports in Mark 6:5-6:

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

While God certainly had the power to cause these people of Nazareth to believe on Him, He is surely emphasizing that people who have no desire to be obedient to all of God’s Word are in enormous spiritual danger. God’s normal reaction to these kinds of people is declared very clearly, for example, in Jeremiah 26:4-6, where we read:

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened; Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

The Bible speaks of a third kind of people, and they are those who listen to the Bible and earnestly desire to be obedient to it. They believe that the Bible, which is the Gospel, is God’s law that is addressed to them. They recognize they are shameful sinners and are in deep trouble with God. They recognize that every word in the Bible is from the mouth of God, and therefore, they must carefully listen to it. They recognize the fact that only God can save them, and even though they should be punished by eternal death because of their sins, they hope that possibly God might have mercy upon them (Luke 18:13). They try to be obedient to all they understand of the Bible, knowing full well that their obedient actions do not contribute in any way to salvation or guarantee that God will save them. They may learn that God is saving a great multitude of people at this time, and because God is merciful, they, too, might possibly become saved.

And so, they beg God for His mercy, knowing that it is only the undeserved mercy of God if they should become saved. In the meanwhile, as they patiently wait upon God (Lamentations 3:26), they try to learn all they can from the Bible, so that they might be as obedient as possible to the law of God.

We cannot know why the attitude of this third group of people is so different from that of the second group. It could be that God is drawing them in preparation to save them. It could be that it is simply a result of the fact that God’s law is written on their hearts, and their conscience is warning them of the consequences of sin. The important truth is not why they have this obedient attitude towards the Bible. The important truth is that they have this obedient attitude towards the Bible.

We must remember that anyone, at any time, who obeys any of God’s laws is doing spiritual work. But that work can never be a contribution to one’s salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation will come only to the elect, and the business  

In God’s mysterious providence, He gives spiritual ears to the elect, who are among those who are physically hearing the Word of God. We read in Matthew 12:9:

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Thus, we can know that God, in this mysterious business of salvation, speaks of people from two contrary aspects. On the one hand, He speaks of those who are physically under the hearing of the Gospel, and who, if they have any ability to even slightly understand the Word of God, will try to be obedient to the Bible. In their obedience, they are praying for God’s mercy; they are patiently waiting upon God, hoping that they, too, might become saved. In their desire to be obedient, they are at least in an environment (the Bible) wherein God will save them if God so desires.

On the other hand, God gives great numbers of warnings to those who are under the physical hearing of the Word of God, but who will not listen with a humble desire to obey the Word of God. By their actions, they are effectively indicating they despise the Word of God. God repeatedly warns that such actions, if continued, will end up with the sentence of the full shame, curse, loss of inheritance, and death that are all a part of God’s wrath against sin.

This is no time for self-pride, self-ego, self-esteem or even self-respect. It is not a time for spiritual superiority or spiritual arrogance. It is a time when we should fully recognize the complete authority of the Bible over our lives, and therefore, listen most carefully to what God is saying to each of us today.

It is a time when each one should fully realize the shame of his sins, and the certainty that because of his sins, he deserves the full measure of God’s wrath. It is a time to humbly plead with God for His undeserved mercy. It is a time when each one of us should realize that God is merciful. His incredible mercy is far greater than any one of us deserves or can possibly imagine.

Today, in His great and wonderful mercy, God is saving a great multitude of people. It is possible, therefore, that as any one of us humbly pleads for mercy, if we are not already saved, we might be one of those included in that great multitude, which no man could number.

THE BIG QUESTION IS: Are you humbly begging God for salvation, knowing full well that you do not deserve it at all, as you consider your shameful disobedience and rebellion against God's laws? Remember the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:6-10).