E-Mail Scams

ROB O’NEAL, DIRECTOR OF CHURCH MULTIPLICATION
If a friend read the following e-mail message to you and asked for your advice, how would you respond?

Hello, dear
I am the wife of the late Nigerian Head of State. I am presently under house arrest while my son is undergoing trial. The government has frozen all the family accounts. To save our family from financial ruin, I have managed to ship through an undercover courier company, the sum of 6.5 million USD kept by my late husband. I am offering you 30% for assisting me secure this money. Contact me immediately.

After snickering because someone has never heard about Nigerian e-mail scams, hopefully you would strongly suggest that your friend delete the message and never reply. You know the danger. Thieves will steal your money and identity. You would probably do anything you could to protect your friend from this scam.

The resurrection reminds us that there is an even bigger danger many of our friends, family members, and neighbors face. Here’s what we believe about the resurrection in the CCCC:

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

This doctrine comes as enormous comfort to us who follow Jesus. We will spend eternity with God. It also gives us courage. We can face any enemy or adversity, because eternal life waits for us.

But what about people who don’t follow Jesus? We must acknowledge the ominous note in this doctrine. The lost will be resurrected to eternal death. It won’t be pretty. The Bible makes that clear.

This doctrine leaves us with an imperative. We must share the Good News about Jesus with urgency. If we had a friend who was the potential victim of an e-mail scam, we would do everything in our power to save them from it. We have friends who are looking at a much bigger danger. What will we do?