... all tears will be "wiped from their eyes"

Belgic Confession, Article 37:

The Last Judgment Finally we believe, according to God's Word, that when the time appointed by the Lord is come (which is unknown to all creatures) and the number of the elect is complete, our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, bodily and visibly, as he ascended, with great glory and majesty, to declare himself the judge of the living and the dead. He will burn this old world, in fire and flame, in order to cleanse it. Then all human creatures will appear in person before the great judge-- men, women, and children, who have lived from the beginning until the end of the world. They will be summoned there by the voice of the archangel and by the sound of the divine trumpet. For all those who died before that time will be raised from the earth, their spirits being joined and united with their own bodies in which they lived. And as for those who are still alive, they will not die like the others but will be changed "in the twinkling of an eye" from "corruptible to incorruptible." Then "the books" (that is, the consciences) will be opened, and the dead will be judged according to the things they did in the world, whether good or evil. Indeed, all people will give account of all the idle words they have spoken, which the world regards as only playing games. And then the secrets and hypocrisies of men will be publicly uncovered in the sight of all. Therefore, with good reason the thought of this judgment is horrible and dreadful to wicked and evil people. But it is very pleasant and a great comfort to the righteous and elect, since their total redemption will then be accomplished. They will then receive the fruits of their labor and of the trouble they have suffered; their innocence will be openly recognized by all; and they will see the terrible vengeance that God will bring on the evil ones who tyrannized, oppressed, and tormented them in this world. The evil ones will be convicted by the witness of their own consciences, and shall be made immortal-- but only to be tormented in the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. In contrast, the faithful and elect will be crowned with glory and honor. The Son of God will "confess their names" before God his Father and the holy and elect angels; all tears will be "wiped from their eyes"; and their cause-- at present condemned as heretical and evil by many judges and civil officers-- will be acknowledged as the "cause of the Son of God." And as a gracious reward the Lord will make them possess a glory such as the heart of man could never imagine. So we look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Mending Bruised Reeds

One of the marks of a Christian is confession of sin. Because we know that there is now no condemnation for us (Romans 8 ) and that when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father (I John 2) we can go before the throne of grace for the forgiveness of sin again and again without deceit and without fear.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1)

The question I think we should ponder, is how willing are we to receive other sinners when they actually are humble and transparent enough to admit they've fallen? What do we do when someone admits fault? Do we point them to their navels, or to Jesus, who is faithful to forgive and has cast all our sins into the sea of His forgetfulness?

 Lord assist us by your grace to mend bruised reeds

and help us to move forward in love because you have first loved us.

"...and such were some of you, *but..."

"...and such were some of you, but..."

"Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. ***And some of you used to be like this. ***But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." ~I Corinthians 6

Two things stand out to me.

1. Because we were this way, we ought to have empathy for those who are failing and struggling in these areas. Regardless of our pet sins, we all have dark histories that have dishonored God and degraded His image.

2. The fact that we are no longer these types of sinners, is not that we no longer sin. We are at once justified and sinners (simul justus et peccator) according to the same Apostle who penned I Corinthians. (See Romans 7.) We are no longer identified by our sins, *because we are identified in Christ, and by what has been performed by our Triune God.

So, during Gay-pride month, remember to love your neighbor, and to give thanks to God Who does marvelous things for all kinds of sinners, like you and me. Point to the Father, Who sent His Son to redeem us; to the sinner's Savior, Jesus Christ, who bore all our shame and guilt; to the Spirit, sent to live in us and change our course in this life, so that we can enjoy fellowship with Him and one another forever. #Gay #gaypride2021 By way of help, I have a great resource from John Fonville for those who have struggled and failed in the area of sexual behavior/lusts, whether homosexual or heterosexual. If you have not already, listen to this series, "Do You Not Know...?" I guarantee you'll find hope and healing here. If you've listened and are blessed by this series on a personal level, please message me. I am assisting John with a project related to this series. This is part 1/9. Listen to all 9! https://www.paramountchurch.com/sermons/sermon/2012-06-17/do-you-not-know-part-1?fbclid=IwAR2LNDuzjsmMxZkOUmQiEHcka-vUTFUFz-lQfcEAQOgcAgpVAPTlSOdWhi0

#LawGospelDistinction

It is vitally important to understand that while the Law of the Lord is good, it is command. It is what God demands. There is no mercy involved. Do it and live. Break it and die. By contrast, the Gospel is all grace and mercy. It is what God has provided for us, outside of us in Christ. Only the Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation." That is *never said of the Law. #LawGospelDistinction

To view my Facebook album on Law/Gospel distinction, go to https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=MarissaNMark&set=a.10219042789084318