2:9-12 What profound truth does Paul underline here?
2:9-12 What profound truth does Paul underline here?
There is a very sobering teaching underlined here and we must ever be mindful of it (CP V7-14).
This teaches us that after the church is taken up from the earth, salvation will no longer be available to those still living who have already heard the gospel and rejected it. They will be lost forever if they do not repent and accept Christ while the church is still here.
This includes members of our immediate family and other relatives and friends whom we dearly love, as well as professing Christians not truly committed to Christ, and others who are backslidden.
Show them this scripture and explain what it means: that once the church is gone from the earth salvation will only be available to those who never had an adequate opportunity to receive the knowledge of the truth or to hear and understand the gospel (CP also Mt 7:21; 12:30).
If they will not listen to us we must fervently pray God to send another labourer in the gospel unto them. We must never give up on God for their salvation.
We can claim Jesus' promise in Jn 15:7 but we must make sure we meet the conditions first (CP Jn 15:7). There is no time to lose: the rapture could happen at any moment in time (CP Php 3:20-21; Tit 2:13).
This teaches that there are no prophecies yet to be fulfilled for the rapture to take place (CP Jn 9:4). That means we still have to preach the gospel to other lost souls as well in the meantime.