The So Great Salvation Podcast

Lacy Evans
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  • Christianity
  • Updated Semiweekly

We're just a group of regular guys exploring the deeper doctrines of Christianity, especially those that pertain to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, Bible preservation, and prophecy.

  1. Sep 29

    The Horrible Truth — Part 7A: GLORY (Glory Defined)

    The Horrible Truth — Part 7A: GLORY What if one of the greatest motivations God has given His children is something we have barely stopped to consider? Glory. Not merely the glory that belongs to God—but the astonishing possibility that, in the coming Kingdom, we may actually share in the glory of Christ. The Bible speaks about glory in ways that are difficult to comprehend. It speaks of honor, recognition, reward, authority, and radiance. And when we put these passages together, we discover something remarkable: God does not merely save us from something. He is preparing something for us. Jesus said, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Paul speaks of believers being “glorified together” with Christ. He tells us that there is coming a day when “the Lord Jesus Christ… shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” And then there is Moses. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after being in the presence of God, his face literally shone. The glory he had encountered could not remain entirely hidden. Something of what he had experienced became visible upon him. Could that be more than an isolated Old Testament phenomenon? Could Scripture's repeated references to shining, glory, brightness, and being transformed into the image of Christ point us toward something astonishing about our own future? The word glory carries the idea of weight, honor, splendor, and distinction. It can involve something being seen and recognized for what it truly is. And there is a profoundly personal dimension to this. Imagine hearing the words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Not from a teacher.Not from a parent.Not from a friend.But from Christ Himself. The One who saw every unseen act of faithfulness. Every temptation resisted. Every kindness nobody noticed. Every sacrifice made when there was no applause. Every moment when we chose mercy instead of retaliation. Every time we persevered when quitting would have been easier. God saw it all. And Scripture tells us that there is coming a day when what was done in secret will be brought into the light. This is not about earning salvation. Salvation is the free gift of God through faith in Christ. But the New Testament repeatedly teaches that what we do as believers matters—and that there is a coming judgment where our service, faithfulness, and works will be examined. That means the Christian life is not meaningless after conversion. It is preparation. Preparation for responsibility.Preparation for reward.Preparation for the Kingdom.And ultimately, preparation for glory. The world tells us to seek fame—to be noticed, applauded, followed, remembered. But what if the greatest recognition imaginable is not being famous before men, but being known and commended by God? What if the greatest audience we could ever have is Christ Himself? And what if the glory He offers His faithful servants is far more substantial than a metaphor? In this final segment of The Horrible Truth, we are going to explore the incredible biblical possibility of sharing in the glory of Christ in His coming Kingdom—the glory of recognition, the glory of reward, the glory of reigning with Him, and perhaps even the astonishing reality of shining. This is not pie in the sky. It is one of the most powerful motivations Scripture gives us to live faithfully right now. Because one day, the King will come. And when He does, the hidden things will be revealed, the faithful will be honored, and the glory of Christ will fill His Kingdom. So the question is not merely, “Will I be there?” For those who belong to Christ, there is another question worth asking: “What will He find when He looks at me?”

    The Horrible Truth — Part 7A: GLORY (Glory Defined)

  2. Sep 25

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6E: MERCY Practical Mercy in the Hands and Feet

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6E: MERCYPractical Mercy in the Hands and FeetWe've talked about mercy as an investment.We've talked about its power to motivate us.But now comes the practical question:**How do we actually invest in mercy?**How do we put mercy into our hands and feet?The Bible is remarkably practical.Jesus said:**“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”**Mercy isn't merely something we feel.It is something we **do**.Sometimes mercy means forgiving someone who has wronged us.Sometimes it means refusing to retaliate.Sometimes it means helping someone who cannot repay us.Sometimes it means giving when we could keep.Sometimes it means being patient with someone's weakness because we remember our own.And sometimes mercy means simply **holding our tongue.**Proverbs says:**“It is the glory of a man to pass over a transgression.”**That's an investment.Someone gives you an offense, and instead of returning it, you give mercy.Someone deserves your anger, and you give patience.Someone owes you a debt, and you release it.Someone expects retaliation, and instead receives kindness.These are the moments where mercy moves from our theology into our hands and feet.But there's another question:**How do we get mercy?**Jesus gave us the answer:**“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”**James says:**“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”**That's serious.If we want mercy at the Judgment Seat, Scripture tells us to become people who practice mercy now.And notice how accessible this investment is.You don't need money.You don't need position.You don't need education.You don't need a ministry.You don't even need someone to know what you did.You simply need an opportunity—and opportunities are everywhere.So start looking for them.**Forgive quickly.****Give generously.****Speak gently.****Help willingly.****Judge carefully.****Pray for those who hurt you.****Don't keep a ledger of offenses.**And when you have the opportunity to choose between getting even and showing mercy—**choose mercy.**Because every one of those moments is an opportunity to sow something that God can multiply.We often pray for God to show us His mercy.Perhaps we should also pray:**“Lord, show me where I can show mercy today.”**Because mercy isn't merely something we receive.It is something we can **store up**.And if the promises of Scripture concerning the Judgment Seat are true, then the mercy we give away in this present life may become part of an eternal harvest far beyond anything we could imagine.**So don't wait for a great opportunity to serve God.**Start with the person standing in front of you.Start with the offense you haven't forgiven.Start with the need you can meet.Start with the kindness you can give.Put mercy in your **hands.**Put mercy in your **feet.**And then trust God with the harvest.

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6E: MERCY Practical Mercy in the Hands and Feet

  3. Sep 22

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6D: MERCY Encouragement: Power to Live

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6D: MERCY Encouragement: Power to LiveWe've talked about mercy as an investment, and about the coming Judgment Seat of Christ.But there's another side to the promise of reward:**It gives us power to live.**Some argue that looking toward future rewards is just “pie in the sky”—that Christians should simply do what is right without thinking about what we might receive.But is that really how God made us?From childhood, human beings are motivated by reward.A paycheck motivates us to work.A child works for good grades because there's an ice cream waiting afterward.An athlete trains because he wants to win.And even apart from material reward, there is something deeply satisfying about accomplishing a difficult task **excellently**.Reward cultivates desire.Desire produces effort.Effort produces progress.And progress produces excellence.So why would we think God would never use the hope of reward to motivate His children?In fact, Scripture repeatedly does exactly that.The hope of reward isn't meant to make us earthly-minded.**It is meant to make us eternally minded.**When we understand that our choices today can have consequences at the Judgment Seat of Christ, ordinary moments suddenly become significant.Mercy matters.Forgiveness matters.Faithfulness matters.Excellence matters.And every act of grace and mercy we sow today can become part of an eternal investment that God Himself will evaluate and reward.Think about the promise of **thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and an hundredfold.**What if the mercy we sometimes think is being wasted is actually being stored up in heaven?What if the grace we give away today is not disappearing—but waiting for God's multiplied return at the Bema?That's not “pie in the sky.”That's **hope.**And biblical hope isn't passive.It gives us **power to live.**The anticipation of reward can strengthen us when obedience is difficult, encourage us when nobody notices, and inspire us to pursue excellence when mediocrity would be easier.We aren't working for salvation.We're already saved.We're running for the prize.And perhaps one of the greatest motivations God has given us is this:**What we faithfully sow today, God can abundantly multiply tomorrow.**So don't despise the small opportunity.Don't underestimate the quiet act of mercy.Don't think your faithfulness is forgotten.**God sees it. God remembers it. And at the Bema, God will have the final word.**And if He chooses to return our little offerings of grace and mercy thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or even an hundredfold—**then the investment was never small at all.**

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6D: MERCY Encouragement: Power to Live

  4. Sep 18

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6C: MERCY. The “Judgment Seat of Christ” Kind of Mercy

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6C: MERCY. The “Judgment Seat of Christ” Kind of MercyWe've talked about mercy as an investment.But now I want to take that thought directly to the **Judgment Seat of Christ**.If we are going to stand before Christ and give an account of how we lived, then one question becomes especially important:**How did we treat people who hurt us?**Did we forgive?Did we show mercy?Did we humble ourselves when our flesh wanted justice?Because Scripture repeatedly connects the mercy we show to the mercy we receive.Jesus said:**“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”**And James gives us a sobering reminder:**“Mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”**The Judgment Seat will reveal what we did with what we believed.And God has established a remarkable principle in His kingdom:**What we sow, He is able to return—with increase.**Jesus explains this principle in the parable of the sower:**“And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”**— Mark 4:20Think about that.**Thirtyfold. Sixtyfold. A hundredfold.**God doesn't merely see what we sow. He can multiply its return.And that makes mercy a very different kind of investment.When we forgive, God sees it.When we show mercy, God sees it.When we humble ourselves, God sees it.Perhaps the person you forgive today is giving you an opportunity to prepare for the Judgment Seat tomorrow.Perhaps the offense you choose not to retaliate against is more valuable than you realize.Because at the Bema, we may discover that some of the smallest acts of mercy in this life carried the greatest eternal return.So let's take a closer look at **the Judgment Seat of Christ kind of mercy**—the kind that forgives when it hurts, releases the debt, refuses revenge, and trusts God to keep the books.**Because when God returns an investment, He can return it thirtyfold, sixtyfold, even an hundredfold.**

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6C: MERCY. The “Judgment Seat of Christ” Kind of Mercy

  5. Sep 15

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6B: MERCY: The Greatest Investment Ever

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6B: MERCY: The Greatest Investment Ever If The Horrible Truth has taught us anything, it is that we should take the warnings of Scripture seriously. The Judgment Seat of Christ is real. The prospect of millennial exclusion is not something we should casually dismiss. But God doesn't warn us simply to frighten us. The warnings are intended to change the way we live. Scripture gives us both sides of the equation—the goodness and severity of God. There is encouragement, and there is warning. There is the carrot, and there is the stick. And both are designed to move us toward the same thing: faithfulness. So where does mercy fit into all of this? It may be one of the greatest investments God has ever made available to us. What does it cost to show mercy? Sometimes, almost nothing. You choose not to retaliate. You forgive an offense. You overlook an insult. You give someone the benefit of the doubt. You refuse to keep score. You respond gently when you could respond harshly. You recognize that you, too, are a recipient of mercy—and then extend that mercy to someone else. And here's the remarkable thing: Opportunities to sow mercy are everywhere. We don't need a pulpit, ministry, or audience. We simply need to humble ourselves enough to recognize the opportunities God has already placed in our path. Pride makes mercy difficult because pride keeps a ledger. They hurt me. They don't deserve it. I'm right. They owe me an apology. Why should I be the one to forgive? But humility asks a different question: How much mercy have I received? Once we remember how much God has forgiven us, how patient He has been with us, and how many times He has withheld what we deserved, showing mercy to someone else doesn't seem so unreasonable. It becomes an investment. Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” James tells us: “Mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” That doesn't eliminate God's judgment. It helps us understand something about the heart of the God who judges. His severity is real—but so is His goodness. His warnings are real—but so are His promises. And perhaps one of the greatest mistakes we could make in considering millennial exclusion would be to become so focused on the possibility of loss that we overlook the opportunities for gain God is giving us right now. Every day, we are handed opportunities to sow. And mercy may be the easiest seed to find. Look around. The difficult person at work. The impatient driver. The family member who said the wrong thing. The friend who disappointed you. The stranger who was rude. The person who doesn't even realize they've hurt you. These aren't merely interruptions to your day. From the perspective of eternity, they may be investment opportunities. The next time someone wounds your pride, you may be standing in front of a kingdom investment account. The cost of the investment? Humility. The return? Mercy. And the One keeping the books? God. Perhaps the question isn't merely, “Why does God allow people to treat me this way?” Perhaps sometimes the better question is: “Why has God given me another opportunity to show mercy?” Because if The Horrible Truth is true, then eternity matters. Rewards matter. Loss matters. The coming kingdom matters. And therefore, what we do with the seemingly insignificant moments of this present life matters too. So let's talk about the greatest investment ever. Not an investment that requires money. Not fame. Not extraordinary ability. Just an investment that requires us to humble ourselves, recognize the opportunity, and choose mercy. Because the easiest opportunities to miss may be the ones standing directly in front of us.

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6B: MERCY: The Greatest Investment Ever

  6. Sep 11

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6A: MERCY The X-Factor of Millennial Exclusion

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6A: MERCYThe X-Factor of Millennial ExclusionUp to this point in The Horrible Truth, we have spent a great deal of time in doctrine—examining the warnings of Scripture, the Judgment Seat of Christ, the possibility of millennial exclusion, and the sobering consequences of failing to walk faithfully with Christ.But now, we need to make a turn.Because if what we have been saying is true—if the warnings of Scripture are real, if there really is a coming judgment of believers, and if some who possess eternal life can nevertheless suffer loss and exclusion from Christ's millennial kingdom—then there is a natural reaction.It is the same reaction the disciples had when Jesus confronted them with something that seemed humanly impossible:“Who then can be saved?”And Jesus answered:“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”That brings us to what may be the greatest practical X-factor in everything we have been discussing:MERCY.Mercy is not merely a comforting side note to the doctrine of exclusion. Mercy is one of the great leveling principles of Scripture.Why?Because mercy is available to everyone.You don't have to be wealthy to show mercy.You don't have to be powerful.You don't need a platform, a title, a degree, or a ministry.You don't even have to wait for some extraordinary opportunity.You can sow mercy today.In fact, you probably already have opportunities sitting right in front of you.Someone irritates you.Someone insults you.Someone overlooks you.Someone takes advantage of you.Someone says something unfair.Someone hurts your feelings.Someone doesn't give you the respect you think you deserve.And right there—in that tiny, ordinary, almost invisible moment—you have an opportunity to make an eternal investment.You can answer injury with injury.Or you can show mercy.You can keep the score.Or you can release the debt.You can demand what you believe you are owed.Or you can give what you did not have to give.And Scripture tells us that God pays attention to those choices.This is what makes mercy so remarkable.It is perhaps the easiest kingdom resource to invest, because opportunities to exercise it surround us every day. And yet, if Scripture is telling us the truth, it may also carry an extraordinary return.Jesus said:“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”James said:“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”Think about that.In a doctrine that can leave us asking, “Who then can be saved?” Scripture points us toward something every one of us can begin practicing immediately.Mercy.This doesn't make the warnings less serious.It makes them more personal.Because millennial exclusion isn't merely about some distant prophetic event. It brings the coming kingdom into our ordinary Tuesday afternoon.It asks:What will I do when I'm offended?What will I do when I'm wronged?What will I do when someone doesn't deserve my kindness?What will I do when I have the opportunity to retaliate—but choose mercy instead?Perhaps the greatest irony of The Horrible Truth is that the very doctrine that can initially overwhelm us may also reveal some of the simplest opportunities God has given us to invest in eternity.Every wound can become an opportunity.Every slight can become an investment.Every offense can become a kingdom transaction.And every act of mercy may be laying up something that will matter far beyond this present age.So in this segment, we're going to stop looking primarily at the doctrine from a distance.We're going to talk about MERCY—the X-factor of millennial exclusion.Because if there is a coming judgment, then perhaps one of the most important questions isn't merely:“What will happen to me then?”Perhaps the question is:“What am I doing with the opportunities God is giving me today?”

    The Horrible Truth – Part 6A: MERCY The X-Factor of Millennial Exclusion

  7. Sep 8

    The Horrible Truth — Hell: Part 4 "Israel as a Picture"

    The Horrible Truth — Hell: Part 4"Israel as a Picture" What if one of the clearest pictures of the Christian journey in the Bible was given to us thousands of years before Christ ever walked the earth? Israel’s exodus from Egypt is more than an ancient historical account. The New Testament tells us these things were written for our examples—and the parallels are remarkably difficult to ignore. Israel was redeemed from Egypt. They passed through the blood. They crossed the Red Sea. They were baptized unto Moses. They ate manna from heaven. They drank water from the rock—and Paul tells us plainly: “That Rock was Christ.” They were God’s people. They had been delivered. And yet many of those same people never entered the inheritance God had promised them. Why? Because redemption from Egypt did not guarantee entrance into Canaan. And that is where the picture becomes uncomfortable for the Christian. The blood on the doorposts points toward Christ and His crucifixion. The Red Sea gives us a picture of baptism and identification with God’s deliverance. The manna and water from the rock point toward Christ and the spiritual provision God gives His people. And then comes the rebellion. The golden calf. The murmuring. The testing of God. Finally, the spies return from Canaan with a report about giants—and the people refuse to believe God can give them the inheritance He promised. They had been delivered from Egypt. But they would not enter the land. That distinction is at the heart of this series. Could Israel’s wilderness experience picture the Christian who has genuinely received God’s salvation, yet through rebellion, disobedience, or unbelief suffers loss of inheritance and exclusion from the coming kingdom? Paul certainly thought the story was relevant to Christians. In 1 Corinthians 10, he reminds believers that these things happened to Israel “for ensamples” and warns Christians not to fall after the same example of disobedience. And perhaps the most startling example is Moses. Moses led Israel out of Egypt. He witnessed the Red Sea, received God’s law, spoke with God, and led the people through the wilderness. Yet Moses himself was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. He saw it. He stood upon the mountain. But he did not cross the Jordan. If Moses could experience exclusion from the inheritance while remaining God’s servant, perhaps we need to rethink what Scripture means when it warns God’s people about judgment, discipline, reward, and kingdom entrance. Because the story doesn’t end in the wilderness. The Jordan is still ahead. The wilderness generation provides the negative example—the believer who fails to reach the inheritance because of unbelief and disobedience. But Joshua leads the faithful across the Jordan and into the land. And that gives us the other side of the picture: There is an inheritance. There is a kingdom. There is an entrance. And there is something worth being faithful for. As we bring this four-part examination of Hell to a close, we’ll follow Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Jordan and ask what this picture teaches us about our own journey as believers. The blood. The baptism. The wilderness provision. The Rock. The rebellion. The unbelief. The giants. Moses outside the land. And finally— the faithful entering in. Perhaps the most horrible truth about Hell isn’t that God has made salvation uncertain. Perhaps it is that salvation and inheritance are not the same thing—and that a child of God can be eternally secure while still suffering devastating consequences for unfaithfulness. The wilderness generation stands as God’s warning to us: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” The journey from Egypt to Canaan was real. The wilderness was real. The consequences were real. And the inheritance was real. The question is: Will we cross the Jordan?

    The Horrible Truth — Hell: Part 4 "Israel as a Picture"

  8. Sep 4

    The Horrible Truth — Hell: Part 3 66-Book Consistency

    The Horrible Truth — Hell: Part 366-Book ConsistencySo far, we've challenged one of the most deeply ingrained assumptions about Hell: that the biblical word hell automatically means the eternal destination of the damned.We've also begun following the warnings of Jesus in Matthew, where servants—servants of the Master—are warned about the consequences of unfaithfulness. Outer darkness. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. A portion with the hypocrites. And even a period of punishment described in terms of a debt being paid.But perhaps someone could object:“That's Matthew. Those are the words of Jesus. Maybe these are merely parables. Maybe we're building an entire doctrine on prophetic imagery and difficult sayings.”That's exactly why we need to go further.In this third episode of The Horrible Truth: Hell, we're going to step outside the parables and prophetic passages and examine the testimony of Scripture as a whole.Sixty-six books. One Bible. One consistent testimony.The question before us is not whether we can find an isolated verse that seems to support an unusual interpretation. The question is whether the broader testimony of Scripture supports the possibility that a believer—one who possesses eternal life—can nevertheless experience divine discipline and exclusion during the coming thousand-year kingdom because of disobedience.And that distinction is absolutely critical.If eternal life is truly eternal, then losing it cannot be the answer.But Scripture repeatedly warns believers about judgment according to their works, loss of reward, exclusion from the kingdom, shame, discipline, and suffering consequences for unfaithfulness.So what exactly are those warnings telling us?As we move beyond Matthew, we'll examine passages from different books and different contexts—passages that aren't dependent upon a single parable or a single prophetic symbol. We'll look for the same basic pattern appearing again and again:Salvation is one thing. Faithfulness is another. Eternal life is one thing. Kingdom inheritance and reward are another.And if that distinction is biblical, then we have to take seriously the possibility that a believer can be secure in eternal life while still facing very real consequences for disobedience.That brings us back to Hell.Not the Lake of Fire.Not the final eternal destiny of the lost.But Hell as the realm of the dead, and the possibility that Scripture associates that realm with temporary judgment and exclusion during the coming kingdom age.This is where the doctrine becomes particularly uncomfortable.Because it means the warnings of Scripture may not primarily be directed toward some hypothetical group of people who were never saved in the first place.Some of those warnings may be directed straight at us—God's people.The Bible doesn't merely say, “Believe, and everything else is irrelevant.”It calls believers to watchfulness.It calls us to obedience.It calls us to faithfulness.And it repeatedly tells us that our conduct will matter when we stand before our Lord.So in this episode, we're going to test the idea against the whole counsel of Scripture.Not one verse.Not one parable.Not one theological tradition.Sixty-six books.And if the same distinction between eternal salvation and temporal kingdom consequences can be found throughout Scripture, then perhaps what we've called a strange or fringe interpretation isn't strange at all.Perhaps it is simply what the Bible has been saying all along.And that leads us one step closer to The Horrible Truth about Hell. Hell: Where in the World is it?

    The Horrible Truth — Hell: Part 3 66-Book Consistency
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We're just a group of regular guys exploring the deeper doctrines of Christianity, especially those that pertain to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, Bible preservation, and prophecy.

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