Easy to be Saved, Hard to be Lost

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And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Revelation 20:7-9

As sad as this picture is, the people in this passage have accomplished an incredible feat. More miraculous than breaking the 4-minute mile, more incomprehensible than swimming the English Channel, with more stamina than those who climbed Mt Everest, these people have accomplished a feat totally unmatched. These people have managed to be lost!

God “would sooner send every angel out of glory to the relief of faithful souls, to make a hedge about them, than have them deceived and led away by the lying wonders of Satan.” (Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 88 But the people described in Revelation 20:7-9 fought hard day and night over a lifetime to overcome all the angels in heaven, and even the Godhead itself in order to be lost! This feat is as remarkable as it is tragic!

True, Jesus says in Matthew 7:14, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way” …

Yet do not therefore conclude that the upward path is the hard and the downward road the easy way. All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God’s love has made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves. (Ellen White, Thoughts From The Mount of Blessings, p. 139)

“The way of transgressors is hard,” but wisdom’s “ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.” Prov 13:15; Prov. 3:17

Those who wind up being destroyed fought hard against God’s will and plan. When the Son of Man sadly appoints them to their destination, He also tells them they are lost because they took control of their own fate, instead of surrendering to God’s will and plans. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41

Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell is not prepared for you! If you end up there it is because you waged a great fight against all the powers of heaven. It also means you fought hard to earn the right to be destroyed. The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23. Wages come from working hard, and you have to work hard to be destroyed when all heaven is working to save you.

While hell is prepared for the devil and his angels, Jesus tells us what is prepared for us:

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2

Hell is not prepared for you, my friend. Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels. The kingdom of God is prepared for you.

Instead of working hard to earn the wages of sin which is death, why don’t you surrender to the One who said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light”? (Matt 11:30)

Yes, I am asking you to surrender your battle against God and all His angels. I am asking you to surrender your just wages of death, which you rightfully have worked hard for and deserve. If you give up all that sin and death stuff which is rightfully yours, after you have worked hard for it, and surrender it to Jesus, He would love to give you His gifts, which you have not worked for at all. Jesus has an everlasting kingdom prepared for you. He has rooms in His mansion where you can live Him and his Father. Surrender your will of self-destruction to His will of giving you the gift of eternal life and in His kingdom. Don’t be in the multitude who accomplish the incredible feat of overcoming all the powers of heaven, scratching, biting, kicking and clawing their way to destruction. Surrender the hell that you have earned for yourself, for the eternal life which God has prepared for you.

“The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God’s dear Son.” (Steps to Christ, p. 27)

7 comment(s) for this post:

Siddell James Tobias Bloodsaw:
23 Oct 2012 this is so touching because God wants to save us not have us lost! thank you so much for this! definitely food for thought!
Jane Sirignano:
23 Oct 2012 Great combinations of ideas here and very comprehensive with regards to how much God loves us and does all He can to bring everyone, everywhere to His side. It is our choice to be a Christian and being the gentleman He is, God never forces our will. I like to think of committing my will and life to Jesus. The true force of the will is strong and we need to keep all the strength of that will but with heart and mind choose to be on God’s side. Commit has the meanings: deposit (as a trust or for protection) commit (the keeping of), put forth, set before. To me the meaning of commit is positive. The Bible uses the word commit many times. Each morning and evening I try to remember to do this and all thru the day when there are decisions to make. Psalm 37:5 (KJV) Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 2 Timothy 1:12 (KJV) For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 1 Peter 4:19 (KJV) Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. The word surrender is not in the Bible but we use it so frequently. Whenever I see the word surrender in writing or song, I think, commit. Surrender may or may not involve choice, and can be influenced by coercion, force, fear, intimidation, manupulation, etc. so I find the meaning of surrender is more negative: sur·ren·der verb (used with object) 1. to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress: to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police. 2. to give (oneself) up, as to the police. 3. to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc.: He surrendered himself to a life of hardship. 4. to give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.). 5. to yield or resign (an office, privilege, etc.) in favor of another. Thanks William for a wonderful discussion of hope for everyone.
Thomas Nyamete Nyang'wono:
23 Oct 2012 we dont fight to be christian but we fight a lot to get lost,Those who wind up being destroyed fought hard against God's will and plan. THANKS for this wonderful message.
Adrienne:
24 Oct 2012 I didn't understand the meaning of the text "wages of sin is death" to mean we work hard to be lost! I always interpreted it as being we were born in sin so it's "automatic" that we die and only by God's grace we are saved. It is true that God wants to freely give us eternal life all we have to do is accept it by faith and obey but you know it always baffles me that if you say to someone I will give you £1 million but you don't have to work for it we would be so happy for the money that we'll obey and stop working but Jesus says the same thing and we put up a fight. He says stop working to be saved and just accept my gift of salvation but on the contrary we work to be lost. Strange! May God help us!
Don Emanuel:
27 Oct 2012 Thank you William. I always enjoy reading from you. Keep up the great work. I to believe that it is easier to be saved than to be lost. Matthew 11:28-30.
Jane Sirignano:
27 Oct 2012 Sometimes the word surrender is totally appropriate: The great battle that Jesus fought in Gethsemane and on His cross was "Not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39). In order to say His amen to that prayer, He had to surrender His own life, yes, His own eternal life. Jesus repeatedly assures us that in His becoming one with us, He took on His soul a "self" as we all have a self to contend with (John 5:30; 6:38; Luke 9:23; Rom. 15:3, etc.). But the love (agape) that He was as God, as the Son of God (1 John 4:8), confronted this "self" which He had taken upon Himself, and He denied self and all self-centered motivation. He denied His own human will.
William Earnhardt:
27 Oct 2012 Thank you all for the encouragment and prayers. It's good news isn't it? We dont have to convince God to Save us, He has to convince us to let Him save us!