Why Does Entering The Kingdom Require Tribulation?

UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES

We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts. Here again are Dave and Tom: This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the Book of Acts, chapter 14, Dave, we will pick up with Verse 23, Acts chapter 14 Verse 23. “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia. And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the disciples.” Good missionary journey, Dave, they were excited about what God had done.

Dave:

Yeah, earlier it says they went back and confirmed the converts where they had been. This is a follow-up visit on their way back to Antioch. I guess we could call this Paul’s first missionary journey, and he has won a lot of people to Christ. He has established churches in many different places.

Tom:

Now Dave, Verse 22, since you sort of brought us back to this thing, it ends: “and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” Now that would confuse some people. They would say, Now, wait a minute, I thought all you needed to do was believe, put your faith and trust in Christ.

Dave:

Yeah, and that Christians aren’t going to go through the Great Tribulation. Well, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12, “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” We often quote it, John 15, Jesus said: Because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you, if they persecuted me, what do you think they are going to do to you?

Tom:

Yeah Dave, but that’s after you become a Christian. But this says: “and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Dave:

Well, these people are Christians that he is confirming, and he’s telling them. And to enter into the kingdom of God, well, that’s going to be in heaven. He’s not talking about a kingdom on this earth. And how you may enter that kingdom it may be by martyrdom in those days, or it may be a life lived in service for the Lord. But by the time you get to that point where you are going to be taken to heaven you should have been through much tribulation, much persecution. This is what the Bible said, now that’s the way that I would understand that.

Tom:

Well, let’s apply it to today. Dave, certainly throughout the world there are many Christians who are undergoing persecution that brings tears to our eyes. Well, what about us here? What about---I think about my own life in Christ, and it’s not that I’m looking for persecution, I’m looking for tribulation, but certainly, compared with others I don’t see it in my own life.

Dave:

Well Tom, we do suffer persecution in many different ways, and it may be coming more than we realize here in the U. S., as Islam takes over in various places. For example---I don’t know whether I mentioned it, but one place where we were in England a couple of weeks ago, 75% Muslim there, and they boast that it will be 100% Muslim. And they are going to have a string of cities in a crescent shape, 100% Muslim, and they are going to adopt Sharia. So, England may be getting some persecution. Tom, you know, you’ve suffered it yourself, we have been, we have lots of lies told about us. You can go on internet, go to Google and look up Dave Hunt and you’ve got several thousand references and most of them, I think, critical, telling things that aren’t true. So we do get some persecution even from Christians.

Tom:

That was just a thought, Dave. Certainly we look to correction, and legitimate correction, but that’s not what we are talking about. I guess when you read books about the martyrs, you read books about those in missionary fields, and so on, as I said, I’m not looking for this, but at the same time I wonder, Lord, I want to be faithful. I want to be true to the Lord, and I just don’t see this happening compared to others.

Dave:

Well, Tom, I remember the Iron Curtain days. We’ve been back behind the Iron Curtain several times. And you know, the Christians, this was a question they raised, of the Christians back there. They were really persecuted. They had to meet in secret, and why didn’t that happen in thee United States? Why didn’t that happen everywhere? Well, there’s some places where it is not yet the fashion to persecute you, take your head off, to kill you. But you can suffer, Tom, you know, ex-Catholics who suffered quite a bit from their families.

Tom:

Right, right, people who left the Mormon church, right.

Dave:

I know ex-Calvinists, Presbyterians or Lutherans. I have friends who were ex-communicated from the Lutheran church here in the United States for getting baptized after they got saved. They didn’t get saved in the Lutheran church, they got saved through the gospel, and then they realized, well, that infant baptism, that’s not biblical baptism, biblical baptism is believer’s baptism. Phillip said to the Ethiopian, If you believe with all your heart you may be baptized. Okay. So, there’s some of that going on today in families, and Tom, it can really hurt when your family won’t talk to you anymore. And then there are Christians who have had children taken away from them as well, because the state has felt they are too narrow minded. So anyway, the ordained elders in every church, not the way it’s done today, but we don’t have the apostle Paul around, generally they vote them in someone. But it should be a person who really is doing the work of an elder. They ought to be recognized by the fellowship. And they commend them to the Lord on whom they believe, but they do this with prayer and fasting. A little bit different from the fun and feasting that we have today. I’m sorry! In a lot of church you notice you get more people out when you’ve got a pot luck than if you have a prayer meeting. That’s amazing, isn’t it! I don’t know if it is amazing but it’s sad. “And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.” I love the Verse 25, “And when they had preached the Word in Perga, they went down into Atttalia.” They preached the Word! Paul practiced what he preached! He said to---I just quoted it earlier in the program---he said to Timothy, 2 Timothy Chapter 4, Preach the Word, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time is going to come when they will not endure sound doctrine. And Tom, we live in that day today, as you well know. “Then they went down to Attalia, and thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.” That happened at the beginning of Chapter 13. So, in two chapters, chapter 13 and 14, we’ve got---Wow! how much has happened? Paul has been to so many cities. He didn’t fly in a jet, he didn’t even ride on a horse, he walked. And it’s amazing what God has done through this man. Now, he goes back, he reports to those who had been praying for him. And they had really been upholding him in prayer, and we ought to do that for missionaries or whoever we’ve send out from the fellowship. Don’t forget them, but be daily in prayer for these dear servants of the Lord. So, Paul goes back and he reports, and we have that happening today, sort of.

Dave and Tom will resume their discussion on the topic of salvation next week, we hope you can join us. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.

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