Thursday, August 27, 2009
Matthew 13:47-50 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to the shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
ETERNITY GIVES PERSPECTIVE TO VALUE
Here in time the value of the Gospel is hidden and unknown by great many people. The world goes on and His word is not taken to heart by many, but when time is stopped, the value of the Gospel will be clearly seen by all people.
In the parable of the dragnet we are shown how the Gospel has eternal value. The dragnet was a familiar fishing tool for the disciples. When this huge net with weights on one end was lowered into the sea it would capture everything in its path. Some of the fish gathered in by the dragnet were not suitable to sell, and they would quickly be tossed back into the sea. The good fish were stored away into containers and kept.
This is a picture of what will happen on the Last Day as the angels gather all people and make a permanent separation of believer and unbeliever. The just and the wicked, the concerned and the unconcerned, the hypocrites and the faithful will all be gathered up and then divided into two groups--the "good fish" and the "bad fish." There is no purgatory. There is no eternal halfway house for those who are "so-so" in this life. There is no place for a person who did all the right things, but had no faith. There is only the furnace of fire and the paradise of heaven.
Faith in Jesus is the dividing line between eternal life and eternal death. Through faith we are declared to be good and righteous in God's sight. Since everyone must face the judgment, and since the news of Jesus is the difference between heaven and hell, nothing else can have greater value than the Gospel of Christ.
