Thursday, April 28, 2011

like a Net...

Matthew 13:47-50 (ESV)
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. [48] When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. [49] So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous [50] and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And throw them into the fiery furnace… Jesus speaks of hell throughout all these parables. It is one of those things we don’t like to think about, but it is a reality. Jesus believed that there was more to the end of this world than heaven. For some their would be an eternity spent in divine punishment.
But the kingdom is like a net, it catches all, indiscriminately. But the good are thrown into good containers. In the end God rules the whole world, not just the church. He rules the church by grace, by forgiveness. But the rest of the world is his kingdom too, and those who will not hear the gospel, will not be spared.

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