GOSPEL GEM: The Net

Matthew 14:47-51

Again,

the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net,

that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Which, when it was full, they drew to shore,

and sat down,

and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

So shall it be at the end of the world:

the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

And shall cast them into the furnace of fire:

there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus saith unto them,

Have ye understood all these things?

They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

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Jude Adds - For there are certain men crept in unawares, ...ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,..I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Jude 1:4,5

"The casting of the net is the preaching of the gospel. This gathers both good and evil into the church. When the mission of the gospel is completed, the judgment will accomplish the work of separation. Christ saw how the existence of false brethren in the church would cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. The world would revile the gospel because of the inconsistent lives of false professors. Even Christians would be caused to stumble as they saw that many who bore Christ's name were not controlled by His Spirit. Because these sinners were in the church, men would be in danger of thinking that God excused their sins. Therefore Christ lifts the veil from the future and bids all to behold that it is character, not position, which decides man's destiny." Christ's Object Lessons p. 122,123 E.G.W.