October 1, 2026
The Apostle Paul told his Philippian friends, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). This means that God is working in the lives of all His children (Christians), though we often fail to recognize it, especially when it involves adversity.
We need to keep in mind another thing Paul told the Romans. He said, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
What is the “good work” Paul is talking about? It’s the sanctification of Christians, making them more like God’s Son, Jesus the Christ. It is the making of Christians more fit for heaven, where there are no imperfections such as we suffer on earth. One of God’s chief means of working in our lives is the encouragement to study His Word (the Bible) and to communicate with Him through prayer. Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Being too busy with the things of the world may be the chief problem with Christians today. When I visit a cemetery, I always think of the lives lived and how much these now-deceased bodies worried about things that no longer matter and should not have mattered to them while alive.
When I look at a grave, I always wonder where the soul of the one interred is today. I certainly hope it is in heaven, but I have to acknowledge that it very likely may be in hell. Only those souls who believed, repented, and trusted Christ as their Savior are now in heaven. How very sad it is that so many (most) of these were deceived by Satan to disbelieve the Gospel of Christ. For they are now lost forever. They refused the simple procedure that would have qualified them for heaven. These poor souls have no hope of ever escaping their eternal punishment.
The same sad condition of souls continues today. Most people living will never see heaven because of their disbelief in Christ. Paul told the Corinthians, “But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). The “natural man” is anyone who disbelieves the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are without excuse, since they have had every opportunity to believe, repent, and call on the name of the Lord for salvation.
I grieve to think how many thousands of people leave church every Sunday still lost and as much in need of Christ as when they entered church. I grieve to see how few attend so many churches while cramming into sports arenas by the tens of thousands at significant financial cost. But it has been this way ever since Satan deceived the first couple in the Garden of Eden. It will continue thus until the Lord returns to judge the wicked and reward the righteous (saved).
I urge everyone reading this to take action today, right now, while you have the opportunity to call on and trust Christ for the salvation of your poor immortal soul. After your death, which you have no idea when it will occur, all opportunity to qualify for heaven ends. May the Lord open your eyes in time.
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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
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