"The Fats is in the Fire" Lesson 169

“THE FAT IS IN THE FIRE”

This proverb or adage signifies that something has been “let out” inadvertently which will cause a regular flare up. Something unwise has been said or done that may cause irreparable problems or harm. The saying actually came from time past, when cooking on an open fire, sometimes caused the fat to spill into the fire onto the hot coals, and thus the smoke and the blaze would spoil the cooking food. The fat fell into the fire for the first time when Lucifer declared that he would ascend to heaven and take the place of God , but he was brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit (Isa. 14:12-15). This “fat” is still in the fire and has come to earth to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). Jesus Christ died on the Cross to save the world from frying in the fire but there are still those who do not respond to the Holy Spirit’s calling. “Anyone who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:32). This old earth is being reserved for fire on the Day of Judgment and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare (2 Pet. 3:7-11). That old “fat” serpent, the devil, will be cast into the lake of burning sulfur and the smoke of the torment will rise forever and ever (Rev. 14:9-10, 20:10) and anyone whose name is not in the book of life, will be thrown into the lake of fire with Satan (Rev. 20:15).

This fire was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41) and not God’s people. He has given all Christians a way to avoid the burning torment through His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18). “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5, John 14:15, 16:33)! The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes and since this Word of God has been made plain, men are without excuse to know and accept this gift (Rom. 1). If you insist on a stubborn and unrepentant heart, you are storing God’s wrath against yourself for the Day of Judgment, for God will give to each person according to what he has done. All have sinned and deserve to be punished, but with three simple little words; “Lord forgive me”, the Lord will never count these sins against you. The God who gives life and calls things that are not as though they were is able to pull you away from the fire into eternal salvation if only we call on His name. No where in the Bible are we promised that this life on earth will be worry or trouble free, but we should rejoice in the fact that we are saved from God’s wrath and reconciled through the death of His Son.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved from the pits of hell. It is just that simple! There are no clean up rules or stand in line for one hour to receive this free gift. And best news of all is that there is no refund line and no one can repossess you (John 10:28, Rom. 8:38-39), for God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). There are many rules, however, for living for Jesus after you are saved and through the strength of God you will be able to live a life pleasing to Him. We become a part of the Body of Christ and no longer are members of the worldly crew, becoming transformed by the renewing of our minds, discerning the will of God. Along with the gift of salvation come the gifts of the Spirit, given by the Spirit and used to edify the church body and glorify God (1 Cor. 12:1-11). We accept those whose faith is weak, without passing judgment or for sure the fat will be in the fire and we will say things we cannot take back, causing another to stumble. If you are blessed with strength in your faith, bear with the failings of the weak, not to please yourselves but God. We are commanded to be like Christ and even He did not please Himself but took the insults that were meant for mankind upon Himself. We are commanded to accept one another just as Christ accepted us in order to bring praise to God (Scripture taken from the book of Romans unless otherwise noted).

James has a lot to say about the fat being in the fire when he teaches on the tongue, saying that no man can tame it. Men have been made in the likeness of the Father but yet with our tongues we curse them. “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). Once again our Lord offers a way to overcome this fiery “disease” by generously giving us wisdom (James 1:5) and advising us to set our thoughts on things above (Col. 3:1). Study the Word of God, humbly accepting it and do what it tells you to do, keeping a tight reign on your tongue (James 1:21-22, 26). Wishing good blessings on people might do nothing unless you help out a little (James 2:16), giving yourself fully to the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). Using a metaphor, Paul described the Galatians’ Christian experience as a race that they had begun well but someone cut in on them causing them to break stride and stumble. Many false teachers were disturbing the Galatians and the result was that the believers were no longer obeying the truth but were attempting to complete the race on their own steam rather than faith. These false teachings did not come from God who had called them by and into grace but from other voices that preached a false gospel. False teachings like yeast, spreads and could affect the entire church. One apparently small deviation from the truth can “put the fat in the fire” and destroy the system of grace to irreparable damage (Gal. 5:7-10).

Again I say that there is no reason to “fall into the fire”! God brought His only Son into the world to experience everything that we would and will experience. Therefore we are without excuse to say that we have suffered too much to expect salvation from the same God that allowed the suffering. He suffered when being tempted and is able to help those who are being tempted. God sent angels to minister to Jesus as He cried out to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane and has sent ministering angels to those who believe in Him. Our believing and accepting Christ as our Savior makes us a member of God’s household watched over by the Son and I am convinced that He was sent to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8b) and is able to guard our salvation until the day of judgment (2 Tim. 1:12b). I am also convinced that God has given us the power, through pray and faith, to “snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 22). To Him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy, we give the glory, honor and thanks!