Saints and Sinners

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered prior to our sing-along service on Sunday, the 31st of October, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today, October the 31st, is Halloween.  That word, Halloween, is a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening, or All Hallows’ Eve.   And All Hallows’ Eve is the night before All Hallows’ Day, or All Saints Day.  All Saints Day is the time when the Christian church remembers and honors the saints, and especially those who were martyred for their belief in Jesus.  Here in America, the fun of Halloween has eclipsed the solemnity of All Saints Day, but I do think it is important for us to remember our saints, and to pay honor to believers everywhere.

Please listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle John’s Book of the Revelation of Jesus, of a time yet to come.  I’ll start in chapter 8 verses 1 through 5 reading from the English Standard Version of our Holy Bible, and then I’ll be switching over to the New King James Version for chapter 21 verses 1 through 8…

8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

--Revelation 8:1-5 (ESV); 21:1-8 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we are here to worship You.  May the words and songs from our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

I love that imagery from chapter 8 verse 4 of the smoke of the incense and the prayers of the saints rising up before God on His throne.  In chapter 21 verse 7 God promises that those saints will inherit all things, everything there is.  He freely offers eternal life to those who will accept His Son, but the fate of the unbelievers, the evil-doers, is not so pleasant.  The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will perish in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, the second death, there alongside Satan and the beast.

On Halloween, it has become popular tradition to dress up like some of those in verse 8 that we are told will be condemned.  Sure, it’s all in fun, a little escapism for the kids and an excuse to gather in bunches of candy.  But we need to teach the children about the real and eternal peril of being a true, unrepentant sinner.  And tomorrow, All Saints Day, would be a good time to start.  They need to know the truth, so that when it comes times for them to choose whether to support Satan or work for Jesus, they’ll choose to be saints.

Actually, there are plenty of adults out there we could help in this regard, too.  So let’s share what God has to say about the fates of saints and sinners.  And maybe we can make a huge difference in someone’s life.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for letting us know exactly what we have to look forward to, whether we be counted among the saints or the sinners at the last.  Thank You for telling us of what is to come so that we can make the right decisions now while there is still time.  Sometimes we let ourselves get caught up in whatever popular craze is current and we forget about Your timeless truth.  Please, Father, help us be more obedient.  Help us strive to be saintly in all our endeavors.  And give us the strength and courage to share Your word with others.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.