The House of God

"For the time is come that judgement must begin at the House of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the Righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:17,18). Many view the word Gospel as an ambiguous term...these Scriptures not only refer to the judgement of the ungodly, they actually provide the reader with information as to exactly who the ungodly are, and that which qualifies a person as godly. What verse 17 reveals is rather confronting when one looks deeper into the significance of its words, for what these two Scriptures present is no less than an insight into the purpose of election, and the inextricable connection between the essentiality of believing the Gospel-a completely unambiguous term-and salvation. These verses reveal the conclusive and irrevocable evidence that only Gospel believers are Righteous in God's eyes, that it is only they who are of the House of God.