There is a song by the Canton Spirituals, The Thief http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI0Ok6yTg8g, in which a thief at the end of life rebukes another thief for not fearing God [Luke 23:39-42]. Today we see many people with a lack of character [Romans 3:11-18], people that make poor choices, people that live in the world, and I wonder how a thief 2000 years ago, a person most would consider to be of the worst sort, could have more character than those considered to be godly people. Well, it would seem that this thief realized that there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed! So let's examine this....
Well there are many great men in the bible, I could name many many great men found therein, many prosperous men, and all of them would have a common trait; they feared God. Name a great man in the bible that didn't fear God and lived a long life...
Solomon, the wisest man in the bible, examined many things, and deeply searched out the meanings of many things and this is what he said at the end of Ecclesiastes. (Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.) [Ecclesiastes 12:13] What did Solomon mean by the conclusion of the whole matter? He was referring to all the questions we have in life; questions about our future, questions about who we should marry, what job offer we should accept, what church to attend.... Solomon and the Thief came to that same conclusion(sometimes we are our wisest when facing death), when he faced the end of his life, the Thief had the same choice that day that he faced everyday. He said, "Will I fear God today?" And because he did Jesus said, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." [Luke 23:43] A man that wants to be with Jesus for eternity, has to fear God.
The fear of God, should be taught by parents; both David and Solomon (Father and Son) wrote that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom [Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 9:10]. This is no coincidence! A Godly man will have Godly sons! (The fear of God was also taught from Naomi to Ruth, David's ancestor)
I could go further, but I don't want you to miss the point here... Satan is a Thief and I tell you that you won't ever experience the joy of being acknowledged by the Father. The joy of being welcomed into heaven if you fail to be approved by Jesus; don't allow Satan to steal that honor away from you. The point of this article is this, at the end of the day did you fear God? Read the last verse of Ecclesiastes....
Well there are many great men in the bible, I could name many many great men found therein, many prosperous men, and all of them would have a common trait; they feared God. Name a great man in the bible that didn't fear God and lived a long life...
Solomon, the wisest man in the bible, examined many things, and deeply searched out the meanings of many things and this is what he said at the end of Ecclesiastes. (Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.) [Ecclesiastes 12:13] What did Solomon mean by the conclusion of the whole matter? He was referring to all the questions we have in life; questions about our future, questions about who we should marry, what job offer we should accept, what church to attend.... Solomon and the Thief came to that same conclusion(sometimes we are our wisest when facing death), when he faced the end of his life, the Thief had the same choice that day that he faced everyday. He said, "Will I fear God today?" And because he did Jesus said, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." [Luke 23:43] A man that wants to be with Jesus for eternity, has to fear God.
The fear of God, should be taught by parents; both David and Solomon (Father and Son) wrote that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom [Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 9:10]. This is no coincidence! A Godly man will have Godly sons! (The fear of God was also taught from Naomi to Ruth, David's ancestor)
I could go further, but I don't want you to miss the point here... Satan is a Thief and I tell you that you won't ever experience the joy of being acknowledged by the Father. The joy of being welcomed into heaven if you fail to be approved by Jesus; don't allow Satan to steal that honor away from you. The point of this article is this, at the end of the day did you fear God? Read the last verse of Ecclesiastes....