"Worthy to Escape"

Section 1 Part 5
“The Rapture of The Church”

“Worthy to Escape”

A Study in Bible Prophecy
“A Scriptural Approach to Eschatology”

Section 1 Part 5
COCFM Bible School
“The Rapture of The Church”

“Worthy to Escape”

For those who are “in Christ,” Jesus issued a stern warning that they should be.....

“ACCOUNTED WORTHY to escape all these things that shall come to pass [upon the world]” (Luke 21:36)

The word “worthy” is so significant in the study and preparation for the Rapture that it would be remiss no to include it here even through the two terms, it seems, overlap.

“watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be ACCOUNTED WORTHY to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36)”

The word “worthy” is a significant word as used in the New Testament; it means “to have worth or value.” The Greek word for “worthy” is axios, meaning “deserving, to deem entirely deserving, fit.” Obviously, these definitions carry the idea of “meritorious works”. Intrinsically, we are a people of infinite worth to God. He saw something in us that was worth redeeming; and, thank God, He did redeem us through the atoning work of Christ! Although redemption is a free gift of God, He intends to prove our worthiness by testing us so that we may see whether we are living and walking in the faith; in other words, whether we are genuine. This is the reason Jesus exhorted us to....

“watch.... and pray always”

.... that we may be proved worthy to escape the wrath to come.

There is a vast difference between works for salvation and works that are a result of salvation. The Apostle Paul explained this difference in the familiar passage in Ephesians:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, LEAST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST. For we are his workmanship, CREATED IN Christ JESUS UNTO GOD WORKS, WHICH God hath before ordained that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

By faith all our “good works” are a product of our being “in Christ” and God working in our heart and life. It is proof that God is indeed working in our life. These good works were prepared (ordained) by God that we should walk in them.

Further on, the Apostle Paul said:

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT... Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10).

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye WALK WORTHY of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1).

It is trails that prove our faith, and proven faith is......

“more precious than of gold that perisheth” (1 Peter 1:7).

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians concerning the worthiness of their faith in relation concerning the worthiness of their faith in relation to escaping the coming wrath.

“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would COUNT YOU WORTHY OF THIS CALLING, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power. (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

No doubt Paul's prayer and encouragement referred to the trials the saints were already going through and commending them for their “patience,” “faith”, and “charity” that they may be....

“COUNTED WORTHY of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-5).

Not only was this word “worthy” important to Paul, but it was used also throughout the Gospels. It was used first by John the baptist in telling the Jews that were coming for the baptism of repentance that they should....

“bring forth therefore fruits meet [WORTHY, axios] for repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

The Greek scholar A.T. Robertson said of this verse, “John demands proof from these men of the new life before he administers baptism to them. “The fruit is not the change of heart but the acts which result from it.”

The only proof that a man is “in Christ” is that his fruit will bear him out (Matthew 7:15-20; John 15:1-8). If John demanded proof of their sincerity by the fruit that they produced, did Jesus do less? No. Notice how Jesus used the term to indicate those who are deserving to escape “the wrath to come.”

“And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire why in it is WORTHY; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it; And if the house be WORTHY, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not WORTHY, let your peace return to you.” (Matthew 10:11-13)

And then the real test:

“He that loveth father and mother more than me is not WORTHY [not deserving] of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not WORTHY of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not WORTHY of me.” (Matthew 10:37-38).

These are strong statements coming from the LORD Jesus and a far cry from the shallow, non-demanding preaching so prevalent in our pulpits today. Look back at the latter part of Matthew 10:10 for another quick reference:

“For the workman is WORTHY of his meat.”

The opposite would be just as true: if he did not produce works, he would not be worthy of pay.

One other reference of this word, found in Christ's Parable of the Marriage Feast, may be mentioned here:

“Then saith He to His servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not WORTHY.” (Matthew 22:8)

Here a rejection of the invitation is synonymous with unworthiness.

Yet a little Further on in the parable it is stated that not only those who refuse to come, but also those who accept the invitation but refuse to put on the wedding garment, are counted as unworthy (Matthew 22:11-14). The wedding garment, it seems, is a significant factor in proving a person's worthiness even though he has accepted the invitation. It is even more significant when we consider that the garment is a gift that will identify the guest.

This analogy of the garment is carried even Further in the Lord's message to the Church in further in the Lord's message of the Church in Sardis:

“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which HAVE NOT DEFILED THEIR GARMENTS; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are WORTHY” (Revelation 3:4).

Here it is not the rejection of the garment that proves a person's unworthiness, but, rather, the defiling of the garment. Those not defiling their garment...

“shall walk with me in white: for they are WORTHY” (verse 4)

Why is this garment that is a gift to the saints of such significance?

“And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the RIGHTEOUSNESS of saints” (Revelation 19:8).

Most translations read this as “righteous deeds” or “righteous acts” of the saints. The scene is just prior to the Second Coming of Christ when the Marriage Supper of the Lamb takes place. The Bride is composed of all saints of all ages who have put on the “righteous acts” of Christ, and are not dwelling in the New Jerusalem.

Again, is it any wonder that Jesus exhorted us to.....

“watch... and pray always, that ye may be ACCOUNTED WORTHY to escape” (Luke 21:36).

... that is, being found “doing” the will of God? It may be worth mentioning here that one test of the New Birth is that a Christian....

“doeth righteousness”. (1 John 2:29)

Also, in John's day just as today, many persons were being deceived by the easy-believing philosophy that 'it doesn't matter how you live, it's what you believe that counts.” Listen to John's warning for such a philosophy:'

“Little Children, let no man deceive you: HE THAT DOETH RIGTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, even as He is righteous. HE THAT COMMITTETH SIN IS OF THE DEVIL; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:7-8).

“Examine Yourselves”

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that....

“every man's work shall be made manifest [tried]” (1 Corinthians 3:13)

He then expressed concern for his own labors among them:

“Are not ye MY WORK IN THE LORD?” (1 Corinthians 9:1).

To be sure that his preaching and teaching were producing the necessary fruits to survive the trails ahead, he urged them:

“EXAMINE YOURSELVES, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

“The word “examine” here means “to test, to try”. In other words, we should try ourselves to see whether Christ lives in our heart and life. It is not enough just to say, “I believe”; we must test ourselves continually.

The Apostle Paul mentioned to Titus that there are counterfeits to the faith.

“THEY PROFESS THAT THEY KNOW GOD; BUT IN WORKS THEY DENY HIM, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Titus 1:6)

The original meaning of the word “reprobate” is “not to stand the test, to be disqualified, morally corrupt, unfit for any good deed” (compare Romans 1:28; 2 Timothy 3:8). Works and words must agree. Here the people professed that they knew God, but their life bore no fruit to prove their profession.

Because of the rejection of the preaching of ......

“all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

....there is a great emphasis on tolerance and permissiveness on the part of the religious world. Too, because of the humanistic influence on the Church and society--- teaching that man is basically good, and all that society needs is education and freedom from the Judeo-Christian restraints that have hindered man's progress--- there has been a deemphasizing of the 'judgment' teaching of the Bible. A preacher today who reasons with his congregation over such things as....

“righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come” (Acts 24:25)

... as Paul reasoned with Felix and Drusilla, would not last long in a modern pulpit.

Today it is considered negative thinking to talk about sin and “judgment to come.” But is it negative to insist on the same demands as Jesus and Paul insisted? Listen to the demand of Jesus:

“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

Jesus was talking not about “works salvation,” but about the fact that those who desire to follow Him must obey Him. Why? For their own good. Only as we submit to HIS way are we able to be WORTHY. Left to ourselves, we would fail.