No Such Thing As The Middle

Last Sunday I had the privilege of bringing the message at the Rustburg Baptist Church here in Rustburg, Virginia. It was for their 116th anniversary. It was also the 25th anniversary of their pastor, Rick Cole. Again, I was honored. My text was from John 3:1-16.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear in Hebrews 9:27 that it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment. It also says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And in Romans 6:23a that the wages of sin is death. But it also goes on to offer hope at the end of Romans 6:23b by letting us know that in spite of that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And in Romans 5:8 that God commnendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And in Romans 10:13 that whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved. And finally in vv.9-10 of the same chapter, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

There is a scarlet thread of redemption that runs it way through every book of our Bibles that culminates in our Lord Jesus Christ. The church, this church, is a part of that plan.

Sometimes I believe in our world of tolerance, we’ve forgotten what happens to those who have not been born again. There is no such thing as the “middle” when it comes to salvation. The Bible states that either God is your father or Satan is your father. Either you are in a relationship with Christ, or you’re not; either you are born again, or you’re not. You are either God’s child, or you are God’s enemy; you are either storing up wrath, or you are storing up mercy; you are either heaven-bound, or you are hell-bound. No one is in the middle. No one is “almost there.” (Fay, p.7)