by
Keith Hunt
The below is taken from the little booklet "Our Daily
Bread" one of the 2007 editions.
"Out of the depths" the psalmist cries to God (Ps.130:1). His
problem surfaces: terrible guilt for things done and undone in
the past. "If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who
could stand?" (v.3).
But, thankfully, God forgives. He does not keep an account
of past sins, no matter how many and how grievous they have been.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus" (Rum. 8:1). God's forgiveness then leads us to fear
Him (Ps.130:4). We worship and adore God, for grace and
forgiveness cause us to love Him all the more.
But what happens if we slide back into old sins? What if sin
lingers? We are to rent and "wait for the LORD" and be patient
while God works (vv.5-6). We are not hopeless cases. We can
"hope" in the One who will deliver us in His time.
We now have these two assurances: God's unfailing love - He
will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb.13:5). And God's promise
of full redemption in due time - He will redeem us from all our
iniquities (Ps.130:8) and present us before His glorious presence
without fault and with great joy (Jude 24).
We're forgiven! We're free! With the psalmist, let's worship
the Lord as we await His coming. - David Roper
How blest is he whose trespass Has freely been forgiven, Whose
sin is wholly covered Before the sight of heaven. - Psalter
WHEN WE'RE FORGIVEN, NO RECORD IS KEPT OF OUR FAILURES.
Now, this above teaching is wonderfully correct! Most of
Christianity teaches this great and glorious good news. We, as
repentant sinners, are FORGIVEN of our sins through the shed
blood of Christ Jesus our Savior. What is also taught by the Word
of God is that when our sins are washed away, God does not
REMEMBER THEM, if He did, then as we have read above, who would
be able to STAND. Maybe someone like a Job, would have a good
chance of standing, BUT few indeed are a Job. The rest of us
could not stand before God.
The good news is that God does not keep an account of our
sins, if we are a humble repentant child of His with Jesus as our
interceding High Priest and Savior.
Note these verses:
"Blessed is he whose transgression is FORGIVEN and whose sin is
COVERED. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth
(remembers) not iniquity...." Ps.32:1-2
"Hide thy face from my sins, and BLOT out all mine iniquities.
Ps. 51:9
"Thou hast FORGIVEN the iniquity of Thy people, thou hast COVERED
all their sin" Ps.85:2
"As far as the EAST IS FROM THE WEST, so far hath He removed our
transgressions from us." Ps.103:12
"'Come now, let us reason together' says the Lord, 'though your
sins be as SCARLET they shall be as WHITE as snow; though they be
RED like crimson, they shall be as WOOL." Isa.1:18
"I, EVEN I, an He that BLOTTETH out thy transgressions for mine
own sake, and WILL NOT REMEMBER they sins. " Isa. 43:25
"...for they shall know me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will FORGIVE their
iniquity, and I will REMEMBER their sin NO MORE." Jer.31:34
"If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he hath
robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing
iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not die. NONE of his
sins that he hath committed SHALL BE MENTIONED unto him ... he
shall surely live." Ezek.33:15-16
"I will be MERCIFUL to their unrighteousness, and their sins and
their iniquities WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE." Heb.8:12
PLAIN AND WONDERFUL
The teaching of the Scriptures is CLEAR! When a person
REPENTS and is from that point on a humble repentant child of
God, then their sins are FORGIVEN, washed away in the blood and
interceding work of Christ Jesus. The Father looks upon His
child as white as snow, as white as wool. Sins are blotted out,
washed away, cleansed from the book of life. Those sins God will
NOT REMEMBER or hold against us ... EVER! They are GONE! They are
not there! They do not exist!
I give EMPHASIS to all this simple and plain truth, because
the some parts of the Christian world have another teaching that
CONTRADICTS this. I have in the past heard the same church and
the same teacher, weeks apart maybe, but nevertheless the two
teachings coming from the same church or fellowship. We have on
the one hand, all the teaching of a FORGIVING God that washes
away sin form the life of the repentant believer, yet at the same
time it is preached that one day we must all stand before the
judgment seat of God and be judged for all that we have done and
said and thought.
The latter teaching is usually backed up with such verses
as:
"I said, in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the
wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every
work." Ecc.3:7
"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee
in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart,
and in the sight of thine eyes, but know thou, that for all these
things God will bring thee into judgment." Ecc.11:9
"And God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." Ecc. 12:14
"Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be
justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Mat.26:36-37
"For there is nothing hid, which shall not be made manifest;
neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come
abroad." Mark 4:22
"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;
neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye
have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that
which ye have spoken in the era in the closet, shall be
proclaimed upon the housetops." Luke 12:2-3
"But why do you judge thy brother ... for we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ ... So that everyone of us
shall give account of himself to God." Rom.14:10,12
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall
declare it ..." 1 Cor.3:13
"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to
what he has done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Cor.5:10
"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment." Heb.9:27
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it ... And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before god; and the books
were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of
life, and the dead were judged out of those things that were
written in the books, according to their works..." Rev.20:11-12
There maybe other verses that are used, but I think you get
the sense of it all.
First, we are told correctly that God FORGIVES and FORGETS -
does not REMEMBER our sins, if we are truly His child (how we are
His children is fully and in-depth, explain in many studies on
this Website), then we are told by some, that one day when we
stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that all of our good
and bad things come up to be judged.
Many people have the idea that when they come before the
judgment seat of Christ, there will be something like a GIANT TV
screen, and all things we have done, in body, mind, thought,
action, will flash up on the screen for ALL TO SEE! It will be to
some, kinda like the old TV series "This is Your Life" but with
the title "This WAS your life" and everything we have said and
done and thought, will be made manifest for all to see and hear.
Then adding all the events up from the record books of our
life, we shall be rewarded accordingly. We may have LIFE and a
pretty good REWARD but nevertheless our sins (body and mind) and
righteous deeds HAVE COME UP BEFORE ALL TO SEE!
This idea to me is not only frightening, but will be
TERRIBLY EMBARRASSING!!
I sure do not want to see all my sins (body and mind) from
my entire life, being brought forth to ME, never mind the rest of
the universe. I can think of nothing more embarrassing to have
ones sins shown to the universe. Yet, some teach that this is
what Scripture tells us will happen to each and every one of us.
It is enough for me to have recorded some of David's sins, and
other sins of the children of God, in the Bible. I sure do not
want to see up on some heavenly TV screen ALL the sins of David
that he committed in his life (body, and mind). I sure do not
want to see all of mine flashed before me and everyone.
A FALSE DOCTRINE
Fortunately, this idea of judgment for the saints, is
totally false, and will not happen. Our sins will not be
broadcasted for all the universe to see and hear.
First, we need to have the clear picture of SALVATION. We
have seen above, the plain verses that tell us that a child of
the Father, a child with a humble repentant mindset, is clean
from sin, is to God, as white as snow, as white as wool. All sins
are not only forgiven through the total work of Christ, but they
are also NOT REMEMBERED by God.
This is the very truth of the matter, this should be very
good news to all true Christians. Our sins will not appear, not
be flashed up on some heavenly TV screen for all to see, in the
judgment day.
So what is judgment day all about?
The Scriptures do say ALL will appear before the judgment
seat of Christ. But the children of God NOW in this life, are
BEING JUDGED. Yes, our judgment is NOW. This truth is told us in
1 Peter 4:17, "For the time IS COME that judgment must begin at
the house of God ..."
Salvation is by GRACE, not works. God is not judging or
accounting in some books, adding up our good works and bad works
to determine if we qualify for salvation. If we are a true child
of God (by our attitude of repentance and having Jesus as our
personal Savior) then salvation for us is not a judgmental matter
that God still has to tally up. Salvation does not depend on
having more good works than bad works. We are not SAVED by works,
but by GRACE. This wonderful truth is fully expounded in my study
on this Website called "Saved by Grace."
But, the Bible makes it also clear that our REWARD that we
get at the coming of Christ in glory, when we shall stand before
Him, before His judgment seat or throne, is determined by how
WORKS.
One verse to prove that is Revelation 22:12. There are other
verses that say the same thing, but one should be enough. God is
not obliged to have to repeat it two or three or a dozen times
to make it stick.
So with all this basic truth laid down, it should be evident
that the judging NOW upon the house of God, the church of God,
the children of God, is a judging that will determine our REWARD
that is given to us when Jesus returns, handed out to us at His
judgment seat. The book of Revelation says it is when we appear
upon the sea of glass before and with Him, that we receive our
reward - see Revelation 11:15-18; 14:1-5; 19:1-16; 20:1-4.
Notice in Revelation 19:1-8. The servants of the Lord, the
WIFE to marry the LAMB - the Church of God to marry the Son of
God is granted that she should be in CLEAN AND WHITE fine linen -
the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the saints. There is NO DIRTY linen
connected to this marriage. The Lambs 'wife does not have a
mixture of clean and unclean linen, she does not have linen that
is both white and black. She ONLY APPEARS to marry Jesus the Lamb
in CLEAN AND WHITE LINEN! The sins of the Church of God, the
people that make up the church, ARE NOT THERE!! I guess not, for
we have seen the Scriptures tell us that God's true children have
been FORGIVEN of their sins, have had their sins WASHED AWAY, and
God does NOT REMEMBER them any longer!
Nothing could be clearer than this in the Bible. I will not
see your sins, and you will not see mine, in the day of standing
before the seat of Christ. PRAISE THE LORD!
Now the picture should becoming clear. All will appear
before Christ, that is made clear to us by many verses in the
Bible, and the New Testament especially. You will either appear
before Him with NO SIN, as His clean Bride, dressed in white
linen, or appear before Him WITH sin. There are TWO basic classes
then. This is what Paul was saying in Romans 2: 6-8; "Who will
render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by
patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory and honor and
immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious,
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath."
This is the same truth recorded for us way back in Ezekiel's
day. "But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful
and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his
transgressions that he hath committed, they shall NOT be
MENTIONED unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he
shall live (true repentance in humility and a mindset to serve
and follow the correct pathway of God's life gives you LIFE where
none of your sins are remembered)....But when the righteous
turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and
does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does,
shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall NOT
BE MENTIONED: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in
his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die." Ezekiel
18:21-24.
There it is friends. You do the right about face - repent
and serve the ways of the true God, you will have life, and NO
SIN mentioned or remembered. If you will not repent or turn
away from serving God back into a life mindset of sin, you
die, with no righteousness that you may have done remembered.
Kind of SOBERING is it not. Yes, but GLORIOUS and WONDERFUL
for those who are the children of God. For them the day of
standing before the judgment seat of Christ, means NO SIN
mentioned, not even remembered. What LOVE, from the Father, what
JOY and FREEDOM for His children!
If you are a practicing sinner, one who was not called in
this life, or one who turned down his calling, or turned away from
his calling at some point, then as Paul said, there is
indignation and wrath. Only sins will be remembered. For those in
sin who were not called and chosen in this life time there is
HOPE, but that is another truth of God that is expounded in
another study "The White Throne Judgment" - or "The Last Great Day
Feast" - so I refer you to it, and will not take the time here to
go over that truth.
If you are one that has been called and you rejected that
calling, or one who turned away from that calling, who did not
endure to the end in that calling, then indeed WRATH will be
yours. Hebrews chapter 10:26-31 is about those who have rejected
salvation. They will have no righteousness they may have done
mentioned. They will have only sins before them and before the
judgment seat of Christ.
TWO categories exist before the judgment seat, or in the
judgment day of the Most High God's time table. You are either
righteous, in clean white linen or you are filthy, in unclean
linen of sin.
Jesus spoke about this a number of times during His
ministry.
"When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the holy
angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory
(the righteous and judgment throne). And before Him shall be
gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from the
other, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats..."
Mat.25:31-32.
The parable Jesus continues to give is pretty clear. The
sheep are on ONE side, the goats are on the OTHER side. The sheep
on His right hand and the goats on His left hand. You will notice
the sheep ONLY HAVE GOOD things said about them. The true
children of God are NOT perfect, they do sin in this life time,
the rest of the New Testament makes all that very clear (see 1
John 1:6-2:6). But their sins are washed away through Christ,
their sins are REMOVED, NOT REMEMBERED, and hence they have only
good things said of them. They have only a clean and white
garment for the wedding, they are a bride clean and white to be
presented to Christ, when He comes to marry them, when He sits
upon the throne of His glory.
The others, on His left hand, the goats, they have only bad
things to remember them by. No good deeds are mentioned in
Matthew 25. They go into the judgment seat, the throne of Jesus'
glory, with only sins, and they are punished accordingly.
Now, many of the sinners group, will shout out and say to
Jesus that they had many fine righteous acts in their life-time,
that they even called Jesus "Lord." See it in Matthew 7:21-23.
They will proclaim they did this or that in Jesus' name, they
will try to give forth many "works" to say they qualify to be in
the Kingdom. But the BASICS were not there (covered in my study
called "Saved by Grace") - and so ONLY the fact that they are
still considered by the Lord to be workers of iniquity, or as the
Greek really is, "lawlessness."
You have TWO categories - those that built upon the ROCK
and those that built upon the SAND. Those that built upon the
rock have no sand brought up to them. Those that built upon the
sand have no rocks brought up to them. You are either dressed in
clean fine and white linen of righteousness or you are in filthy
rags of sin. There is no mixture!
IT'S ALL OVER THE GOSPELS
Jesus gave another parable at another time. It is recorded
by Luke in chapter 19 of his Gospel. It starts in verse 11 and
ends in at verse 27. A nobleman goes into a far country and gives
out to his servants a certain number of pounds or dollars. He
comes back eventually and wants to see what his servants did with
what was given them to work with. Those that used the gift given
to them were given more and were said to be good and faithful
servants. Nothing bad is said of them. But the one who did
nothing with what he had been freely given, was classified as
"wicked" - no good things were said of him, and for those who
just would not let the master reign over them, were classified as
"enemies" and were to be slain - they were to live no longer!
We have the parable of the fish, the wheat and the tares,
the seed cast forth by the farmer, the reaping of the harvest by
the angels at the end of the age. We have Jesus telling us over
and over again this important truth. JUDGMENT - the day of
showing forth to the universe the children of light and the
children of darkness, will be just that - light or darkness!
If you have walked in the light given you, if you have been
called and you lived in that calling with the mind of Christ in
you (Phil.2:5), you will come before Christ as part of the Bride
of Christ. You will only be in white, clean linen. Only your
light and righteousness will be seen and revealed to the universe
- no sin - no unrighteousness - you may have done, will be
mentioned or brought up in any specific way. But, if you denied
your calling, if you practiced sin, lived a life with a mindset
of not wanting God to reign over you - you will have none of your
righteousness mentioned - you will only be shown to be
unrighteous and still in sin.
This is the simple and yes, wonderful (to the children of
God that is) truth of your Bible. For the children of God there
is no FEAR in judgment, there is no condemnation. We are free
from the accusations of Satan the Devil. We shall be free from
his accusations he may want to bring up about us in that day of
judgment, when we shall stand before the seat of Christ as His
Bride. We shall only be dressed in clean and white linen.
OUR REWARDS ARE BEING JUDGED NOW
Jesus said we shall be rewarded according to our WORKS! So
there is a judgment that will VARY between the children of God.
We shall not all have the same reward. You may remember David
said in one of his psalms that he would rather be a "door-keeper"
in the house of God than dwell with the kings of this earth. So,
someone in the family of God will be door-keepers. But the
important thing to remember is that THEY WILL BE IN THE HOUSE OF
GOD, IN THE FAMILY OF GOD!!
They will still be SAVED, and in the very FAMILY of God. And
that my friends is MORE than you have probably every been shown.
That mind-bending truth is all expounded upon in my study called
"A Christian's Destiny." If you have not studied that study,
PLEASE DO SO! You will be stunned at what the Father and Jesus
are going to do with us humans.
The apostle Paul was inspired to tell us about "judgment to
rewards." It is found in his epistle to the Corinthians - his
first epistle too them, chapter 3, starting in verse 11.
"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ."
It all begins and ends with Christ Jesus - He is the
foundation to eternal life. Paul goes on to say that we build
upon that foundation. We can build gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble. We can all see the progressive decline
downwards from gold to stubble. Paul says every man's work will
be made manifest; for indeed the day will declare it - judgment
day or reward day when we shall all appear before the throne of
Christ. As we build on the foundation fiery and tough things will
come along to determine our work, of what sort it is (gold or
stubble).
Notice verse 14, "If any man's work ABIDE which he has built
thereupon, he shall receive a REWARD!" Paul is talking about
building on the basic salvation in Christ FOR A REWARD - NOT to
gain eternal life, but the reward we get when we enter eternal
life. Verse 15 proves this. "If any man's work shall be BURNED,
he shall SUFFER LOSS, but he himself shall be SAVED, even coming
through the fire (the tests, trial, ordeals of life)."
The issue here is NOT "being saved" but what our REWARD
shall be when we are saved, when we inherit salvation, when we
stand before the judgment seat of Christ, upon His coming to
earth in glory, to establish and set up the Kingdom of God on
earth.
We are to build upon our salvation (that is a gift from God
through grace and faith not of works). With what we are given
(one talent, two talents, three talents etc.) we do something
with it all - we produce certain fruits - we do certain works.
Under the fiery tests of life we may bear up doing things very
well (gold) or well, or not very well, or even very little
(stubble), but we do SOMETHING (the person with one talent or
pound, or dollar, went out and gained another talent or pound or
dollar - not necessarily in the literal money way) with what we
have been given. All through our life we are being judged, going
through life's fiery ... whatever. At the end of it all, God
judging us NOW (remember what we read in 1 Peter 4:17) determines
our REWARD for work done - maybe gold, maybe silver, or maybe
stubble, but we did do something so we do get a reward. Even
though we may not have done a lot in life, maybe we could have
done more works, and have received precious stones reward instead
of a hay reward, we SHALL BE SAVED, we shall inherit the Kingdom
of God.
We may end up as a "door-keeper" in the House of God, but we
WILL BE THERE! And that is FAR GREATER, WAY FAR GREATER, than
dwelling in the house of a king on this earthly and physical
habitat.
GIVE ACCOUNT OF EVERY IDLE WORD
Now Jesus did say that we will give account of our words, of
our every idle word that comes from us.
Are we to take Jesus' statement and figure from it that
there will be this HUGE TV screen before the judgment seat of
Christ, on which every word we have ever spoken will come up, and
Jesus will point out to us (and the whole universe) all our idle
words. Here we are again, back to this idea of all our sins and
worthless words being shown to us and all the other saints and
angelic beings.
I do not think we are to take Jesus' words about our
accountability for idle words, and understand it all with the
above idea.
We shall in a very real sense be judged now in all our works
(and words from our mouth is one of our works) - God will take
into account what comes out of our mouth in words from the
tongue. James chapter 3 tells us about the importance of the
tongue in our Christian life. I think if we get a reward of say
"hay" (not literally of course), then we shall know that we did
not possibly do as much good work as we maybe could have done. We
may have been a sincere Christian, salvation - no question, and
being saved - no question, but we were somewhat loose with our
tongue at times, just not careful enough as to the words that
came out of our mouth at times. We maybe did not take to heart
the instructions James gave to us in his epistle concerning the
tongue. We shall be SAVED - no question, but with a little more
care with our words and tongue we may have received a reward of
"wood" instead of "hay."
Do you see then how we can be judged now, give account of
every idle word, yet NOT have some reward ceremony on the sea of
glass before Jesus' throne, that goes through all we have
thought, said, done, practiced, be it good or be it bad.
I speculate here. We get a reward of hay, we say to Jesus,
"I thought I might have gotten a reward of at least wood. Where
did I fail? What was it that kept me from getting wood?" Jesus
may simply say, without going into any details, or pulling up the
details on some TV screen, "You had too many idle words, you
could have been more careful with your tongue."
I think most of us would "get the picture" pretty quick, and
not want Jesus to get into the nitty-gritty of amplifying His
statement, to us or everyone around.
THREE TYPES OF JUDGMENT
The Church of God, its members, the individual saints, from
all ages were (if now dead) and are (if still alive) JUDGED
during their physical life. The truth of judgment must now begin
at the house of God. Our sins are blotted out, God will not
remember them. We are white as snow, white like wool. We shall
not have any of our sins brought up to us per se when we stand
before Christ. We shall wear only clean and white linen as His
Bride. We shall receive our rewards according to our works. We
shall know how well we did with what we were given when our
reward is either gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or
stubble. I cannot see anything else about how God arrived at
those rewards for His children having to be amplified. Surely the
words "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the
joy of thy Lord" is all we need to hear.
God's saints surely do not want or need to have the sins of
saints blasted out in front of everyone. Surely it is enough to
know in this physical life that we are sinners, falling short
many times, missing the mark of holy righteousness, without it
being driven home to us in some embarrassing open judgmental
disclosure. THANK GOD He teaches no such open shame will be put
on His children on that day of judgment rewards.
That day for the saints will be their WEDDING DAY - a
marriage to Christ Jesus. It will be a wonderful, happy, joyous,
exhilarating day. We shall be PERFECTED in resurrection, as John
said, "We shall be like Christ for we shall see Him as He is" (1
John 3:1-3).
We shall have no human nature only perfect holy nature, we
shall not be angry or upset or jealous at others who received a
silver reward when we got wood. There will be no vain "puffed
out chests" and a "look at me all of you, I got a gold reward."
There will be saints of humility, you will not be there if
you can't be humble - see Isa.66:1-2. The saints will have had
judgment rewards handed out and there will be only peace, joy,
laughter, love, gentleness, kindness, and praises, at that
marriage feast of the Lamb and His Bride.
A SECOND JUDGMENT
Many will not be in the first resurrection (Rev.20:4). They
will rise in the WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT RESURRECTION, a thousand
years after Jesus has been on this earth as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.
This will be the time for all people, children, and all who
were not called by God in their life time to know and understand
the truths of salvation through Christ. They also will be saved
by grace through faith, and be rewarded and judged for reward
according to how they relate to the "books" - the Bible books.
So it will be the same for them concerning rewards as for
us. How you work with what you have been given to work with,
determines your reward. God knows all the facts and all the
situations we live in and work in, the rewards are just and good
and correct for us and so it will be for those who are in this
second resurrection.
I have written an in-depth study on this important judgment
resurrection. It is on this Website, and is called "The White
Throne Resurrection" or the the catagory of the FEASTS it is "The
Last Great Feast Day."
This great general resurrection is depicted by the LAST
GREAT FEAST DAY, in the Festival Salvation plan that God has for
all peoples from all ages. It is a wonderful Feast Day and you
need to KNOW what it pictures for a HUGE part of mankind, if fact
the majority of mankind.
JUDGMENT TO DEATH
The last verses of the last book of the Old Testament gives
it to us with no punches pulled.
"For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and
all the proud, yes, and all that do (practice as a way of
life) wickedness, shall be stubble: and the day that comes
shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch. but unto you that fear
my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in
his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of
the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked for they
shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that
I shall do this, says the Lord of hosts" Malachi 4:1-3.
The Bible is full of verses that says the end result of
those who will not repent of sins, and will not have the Lord
reign over them, those who will reject the calling to salvation,
will be that they shall DIE ... be BURNT UP, BE ASHES under the
feet of the righteous. Those sinners will not live, ever again,
they will be gone from the universe, forever!
Those who deliberately and knowingly reject God's offer to
salvation by grace through faith, those who will not have THE God
as their Lord and Savior, will be destroyed by fire, as in an
oven that burns them up into ashes. Not pleasant at all, the
apostle Paul tells us about it in Hebrews 10:26-31.
Jesus got at times pretty frustrated with some of the
religious leaders of His day, and said, "...How shall you escape
the damnation of hell" (Mat.23:33). The Greek word often simply
translated as "hell" in the KJV translation is "gehena" and is
connected to the trash heap of fire that burned outside of
Jerusalem. It was the city land-fill for trash and rubbish, only
it was a fire burning up the garbage and not a land-fill as we
think of land-fills in our western world.
The truth is that those who do not want salvation as God
offers it, will be burnt up into ashes and be no more. The in-
depth study of this you will find in other studies on this
Website.
Those willful sinners will be judged in the lifetime they
are given to live on this earth. If they have been called, if God
has indeed set His hand to call them to salvation, and they have
rejected it, they will face (by being resurrected - Jesus said
that ALL in the graves would one day be resurrected - John 5:25-
29) the punishment fitting for such - DEATH in the fires of
gehena.
By reading the Gospels you will find Jesus talking about the
judgment of gehena - the judgment for sinners who will not
repent. It is a fact and truth of the Bible that there is coming
a condemnation day, a judgment to death, for the rebellious
wicked.
So, the judgments are complete. We have now come to the end
of Revelation 20. Now the time has come for the NEW heavens and
the NEW earth. The time has come for God the Father to dwell on
the new earth with all His children. The holy city, heavenly
Jerusalem will also come to earth, and all that we read about in
Revelation chapters 21 and 22 will be a reality.
Now even death is judged, and is cast away from the
universe. Only light, truth, holiness, and righteousness, will
remain. Judgment for all humans is no more. Judgment itself has
been judged, it served its purpose on the human race, now those
humans who did accept salvation are in the very family of God,
and no judgment is needed on the God family. All is perfect and
holy.
..................
Written September 2007
Holding Fast - Are You?And to What?WHAT DOES IT MEAN "HOLD FAST TO THAT WHICH YOU WERE TAUGHT?"
by the late Richard C. Nickels (founder of Giving and Sharing)
Many today are claiming to be "holding fast to that which
they were taught." What does the Bible say about "holding fast"?
Are you really holding fast?
A Stubbornness To Let Go of the Truth
Prov.4:13 states, "Take fast hold of instructions let her
not go, keep her, for she is your life." Once one comes to a
truth revealed by the Eternal, he must never let go.
Job had this tenacity that we likewise must have. He held
fast his integrity, refusing to curse his Maker, Job 2:3,9. He
said, "till I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me. My
righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go..." Job 27:5-6.
Job was righteous, but failed to ascribe his righteousness to his
maker. Until the Eternal's revelation of Himself to Job, he held
fast to what he knew, an example of tenacity for us today.
All too many in our time adopt ideas of Biblical teaching
without real proof, and later discard them with equal speed. They
do not hold fast to instruction, stubbornly refusing to let go.
Vigilance and Manly Strength
Some religious groups change with every wind of doctrine,
their followers glibly accepting whatever is taught. This
is evidence of childishness, Eph.4:14. Small children usually
cannot keep their attention for a long span of time. However,
mature faith in our heavenly Father must be steadfast. I Cor.
16:13, "Watch ye (be vigilant, on guard), stand fast in the
faith, quit you like men, be strong." Maturity means being sure
you are right first, then watching that one does not slip and
fall. At times it means admitting you are wrong and correcting
error. It takes a man to confess a mistake. Are you holding to
your faith vigilantly, like a real man?
Refusing to Return to Former Nays of Bondage
"Holding fast" can also mean an adamant refusal to return to
former evil ways. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith
Christ has made us free, and be not en tangled again with the
yoke of bondage" Gal.5:1.
How many former brethren do you know who have renounced the
faith, returning to Sunday-keeping and crass materiality, when
just a short while ago they would supposedly have given up their
lives rather than break the Sabbath, and cheerfully gave to the
Master's work? Like a dog returning to its own vomit, 2 Pet.
2:22, they have not stood fast.
Take note, there is a time to give up former-beliefs, when
one is proven to be in error. But, until then, we like lob, are
to tenaciously cling to the liberty (truth) into which we are
called. This brings us to the next point.
Holding Fast To the Faithful Word
I Thes.5:21 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is
good." If only we would always do this! Instead we too often are
gullible, following others instead of proving what the Eternal
says, Eph.5:10, I Jn.4:l. Some, in error, have concluded that
since they have found the true body of believers, that everything
that this "true church" teaches is the truth, and they must hold
fast to it (the organization's teachings). They forget that even
the New Testament Church had to be corrected continually to get
rid of the error. "New truth" was revealed from time to time.
Proving the truth and holding fast to it is a lifelong process,
not a one-time stagnant commitment. The true believer does not
revert to his wicked past. He proves and grows in truth, holds
fast to proven teachings, continually discards erroneous beliefs.
This is what it truly means to "hold fast."
False Holding Fast
2 Tim.1:13, "Hold fast the form of sound words, which you
have heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."
Paul taught sound words; never error. He did not change back and
forth in his doctrinal teachings. Yet, today there are people who
claim they are following a great religious leader, "holding fast"
to what he taught. But this religious leader has changed his
teachings back and forth. At no time did he teach 100% truth, nor
did he even at one time teach all that those who say they are
"holding fast" unto: These "holding fast" individuals are in
reality picking and choosing what they want to "hold fast" to!
They are lying when they say they are holding fast.
A true minister must be blameless, "holding fast the
faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound
doctrine both to exhort and to convince (convict) the gainsayers"
Titus l:9. Again, he is not to hold fast to what "the church"
taught 20 years ago, but the faithful word he has been taught.
This implies that the church had some error in the past that was
corrected. Also that it had presently departed from truth
it formerly taught. Hence, we are to hold fast to proven and
revealed truth, not partial truths, not former errors.
Acts 15 clearly shows the growth that the true body of
believers must go through. It is this highest level of growth
that we must hold fast onto. The NT Church of the first century
did not hold fast, they lapsed into error. It is quite likely
there were some then claiming to be "holding fast," but who were
in fact holding fast to errors taught by the gone astray church.
2 Thes.2:15, "Therefore brethren (because, verses 10-11, some
didn't love the truth and believed a lie), stand fast, and hold.
the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word, or
our epistle." Church traditions we must hold fast to are precepts
and customs not specifically from the Bible, but yet not contrary
to the Bible. Respect for right traditions and refusal to depart
from them is an important part of "holding fast".
Holding Fast In the Unity of the Spirit
Holding fast is not an individual act, it must be done
collectively: "...stand fast in one spirit, with one mind
striving together for the faith of the gospel" Phil.1:27.
Also, "...stand fast in the Lord .... of the same mind in the
Lord" Phil.4:1-2.
This certainly forbids individualizing what we are to hold
fast unto. Various ones who say they are holding fast are often
diametrically in opposition among themselves as to what they are
holding fast unto. They cannot agree on the specific doctrines
the church once taught that they should hold fast to. Clearly a
sad spectacle of confusion.
Those that are truly standing fast in one spirit many not
always agree exactly on every issue. But they have the same mind,
are helping one another discard untruth, holding fast to revealed
truth, growing together toward perfection. This is an area that
is totally lacking among some that say they are holding fast to
the truth.
Hold fast to the truth, not contentiously, but harmoniously
with your brethren. Paul was so concerned for his brethren that
he wrote, "For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord" I
Thes.3:8.
Holding Fast is a Lifelong Profession
How long will you hold fast? Only as long as the one who
taught you remains faithful? Or as long as you live?
We are the Almighty's house, "if we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" Heb.3:6 and "if
we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end"
Heb.3:14.
Holding fast is a lifelong profession, Heb.4:14, and 10:23,
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering...." Rev.2:25-26, "Hold that which you have already,
hold fast till I come .... keeps my works unto the end...."
Not Leaving the Faith
The early believers "continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine" Acts 2:42. It wasn't long before they had to be
admonished to "continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard"
Col.1:23. Some were commended for their "steadfastness of your
faith" in the Messiah, Col.2:5.
So we need to be sober, vigilant, on guard against losing
the steadfastness of our faith, being wary of our adversary,
"whom resist steadfast in the faith" I Pet.5:8-9. Remember to
"beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the
wicked, fall from your own steadfastness" 2 Pet.3:17.
Holding Fast to the Right Name
Rev.2:13, "you hold fast my name, and have not denied my
faith." See also Rev.14:1.
Holding Fast Must Entail Elimination of Error
Some say that they must hold to and continue in the things
they were taught, and that the Eternal will not reveal new things
to them. This as we have seen, is not supported by Scripture. We
must hold only to the faithful word we have been taught.
Two passages seem, at first glance, to support this
erroneous no-growth viewpoint. Rev.2:24-25, as many as have not
this doctrine (of Jezebel), and which have not known the depths
of Satan as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
But that which you have already hold fast till I come." Rev.
3:11, "hold that fast which you have, that no man take your
crown."
Does this mean that they were to hold fast, even
to some "minor" errors? This is not the Eternal's Spirit! They
were to hold fast to that truth that they had. They must purify
their garments, get rid of errors, not hold fast to errors.
Sadly, there are those who are adamantly "holding
fast"--unto error. To these, the Savior warns, "Remember
therefore how you have received and heard (through the blood of
martyrs, those who held fast unto the end), and hold fast, and
repent" Rev.3:3. Repentance must be a part of "holding fast."
Holding Fast Means Growth in the Truth
All too many brethren are merely "holding fast" to the truth
they have, refusing to grow into more truth. Opportunities to
learn more, to become more obedient to Biblical instructions,
come along, but they look the other way. New truth is so
unsettling. It took all their courage and resolve to make that
initial step into the church. Now they want to settle down to
peace and quiet.
However, this is NOT holding fast. It is being like the
"wicked servant" who produced nothing. He held fast to the one
talent(pound), but did nothing to add there unto. As a result, he
had the one taken from him and got nothing, no reward. Matt.
25:l4-30, Luke 19:11-27. Unless you are a profitable servant,
bringing increase with what you are given, you will lose what you
have.
To hold fast to the truth, you must grow into more truth.
Show us a person who says he has all truth, and that person is on
the way to losing what truth he has.
Let us "walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God," Col.1:10.
This is holding fast. It is being careful, "lest you also,
being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your
steadfastness. But GROW in GRACE and in the KNOWLEDGE of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever.
Amen." 2 Pet.3:17-18.
Are you REALLY holding fast?
.....................
TRUTH or SILENCE?Watch out for "church Dictatorships" A very fine study, written some years back, can't remember the
year. Forgotten I had it until I was going through my old files.
There are still some church organizations in existance, and people
in them, who need to take special note of this study - Keith Hunt
Speaking the TRUTH or Keeping SILENT - WHICH?
by Arlene Carmean
Do you agree with every teaching of the church organization
where you attend? Are you tired of being told you can't openly
discuss doctrinal differences? What do the Scriptures tell us to
do?
If a church organization believes that its members should
only discuss the Bible in a way that confirms official church
doctrines, is that allowing the congregation to speak the truth?
The organization would say yes. Those in charge of the
organization believe this is applying Paul's admonition of
"speaking the same thing" in I Corinthians 1:10. They believe
they are keeping unity and preventing division within the church
organization.
Church leaders believe that anyone finding an error in a
doctrine being taught by that church organization should remain
silent, in order to protect the brethren from being "confused."
Their main concern is apparently not that someone believes
something different than the official church doctrines, but that
they will speak about it. Keeping your opinions to yourself is
the approved way to deal with doctrinal differences. The leaders
tend to believe that anyone who sees an error in a doctrine may
have a motive of gaining a following, which in turn would draw
members out of the organization, either (1) into error, (2) away
from the group.
BUT AREN'T WE TO PROVE ALL THINGS?
Some church organizations believe the proper procedure for
exposing error in their doctrine is to write a paper, which is
then submitted to the ministry for evaluation. There are several
steps in this procedure, which could take as long as two to three
years to be completed. In the meantime, anyone who questions
doctrinal truth must remain silent to others in the spirit of
"speaking the same thing" and keeping unity.
Is the organization correct in this belief? When anything is
taught to us by an organization of men regarding God's truth, the
thing we all must do is to prove it! As Paul admonishes in
1 Thessalonians 5:21: "But test and prove all things [until you
can recognize] what is good, [to that] hold fast" (Amplified
Bible throughout unless otherwise notes)).
If we are to prove what we are being taught by a church
organization, where should we start this proving process? We must
begin by examining why we are attending with a particular
organization. A few reasons are: We may like the people. We may
like what it teaches. We may believe it is the "right place to
be." We may believe it is doing "the Work." Whatever the reason,
we must examine it by asking ourselves: Is our reason for being
there our own or God's?
We must also ask ourselves, if we are worshipping God within
a church organization, do we worship according to the rules of
that organization (this is not referring to administrative
details such as the time of services, the place, etc), or do we
worship God according to His Standard? The answer is found in
John 4:24: "God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality)."
In our proving process, we have established that the
standard for worshipping within an organization is worshipping in
spirit and truth. But whose spirit and whose truth - the
organization's or God's? God's, of course. "Then Peter and the
apostles replied, We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).
Even though the organization believes it is teaching God's
truth, it must be proven against what is in the Bible, and the
truth of the Bible must always prevail.
THE MEANING OF "TRUTH"
To obtain a clearer picture of what the Bible means by the
word "truth" is John 4:24, we must look at its meaning in Greek.
The Greek word for "truth" in John 4:24 is "aletheia."
Vine's s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states this
noun "is used (a) objectively, signifying 'the reality lying at
the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of
a matter' (Cremer), e.g., Rom.9:1; 2 Cor.11:10; especially of
Christian doctrine, e.g., Gal.2:5, where 'the truth of the
Gospel' denotes the true teaching of the Gospel, in contrast to
perversions of it; Rom.1:25, where 'the truth of God' may
be 'the truth concerning God' or 'God whose existence is a
verity,' but in Rom.15:8 'the truth of God' is indicative of His
faithfulness in the fulfilment of His promises as exhibited in
Christ; the word has an absolute force in John 14:6; 17:17;
18:37,38; in Eph.4:21, where the RV., 'even as truth is in
Jesus,' gives the correct rendering, the meaning is not merely
ethical truth, but truth in all its fullness and scope, a
embodied in Him; He was the perfect expression of the truth; this
is virtually equivalent to His statement in John 14:6; (b)
subjectively, truthfulness, truth, not merely verbal, but
sincerity and integrity of character, John 8:44; 3 John 3, RV."
It is interesting to note that, in the Greek, "truth" can be
either objective or subjective.
To receive more understanding from Vine's definition of the usage
of the word for "truth" (aletheia), we must clarify the meaning
of the words objective, reality, subjective, sincerity, integrity
and character as they relate to the subject of this article.
(1) Objective: having real, substantial existence external to an
observer.
(2) Reality: the state or quality of being real or of existing in
fact.
(3) Subjective: seen from the point of view of the thinking
subject and conditioned by his personal characteristics.
(4) Sincerity: utterly honest and genuine.
(5) Integrity: moral soundness.
(6) Character: the total quality of a person's behavior, as
revealed in his habits of thought and expression, his attitudes
and interests, his actions, and his personal philosophy of life.
(New Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language,
1992 edition).
With these definitions in mind, let's look at Vine's
definition of "truth" (aletheia) again. In the objective usage,
Vine's states that Christ embodied truth or personified it. In
fact, He is all truth, real, actual. But if we let Christ remain
in the objective personified form only, we lose part of the total
picture. It was the subjective part of Christ that manifested the
truth for others to see, to hear, to experience, and to know.
Christ not only embodied the knowledge of the truth but was
the knowledge in action It is what we are thinking that becomes
our actions. It is our sincerity and integrity of character that
shows others how we live the truth of the Bible.
Worshipping God in spirit and truth is not only teaching,
preaching and believing the true doctrines of the Bible, but is
expressing, through God's Spirit within us, these truths with
sincerity and integrity of character.
David H. Stern writes in the Jewish New Testament Commentary
page 168, regarding John 4:24, "The Torah opposes legalism and
the mere performance of acts and routines without true spiritual
involvement."
This being the case, we must not only prove whether or not
the organization's official doctrines and beliefs are based on
the truth, but also if the organisation's sincerity and integrity
of character are based on the truth as well.
WAS THE CHURCH DIVIDED?
................
To be continued
TRUTH or SILENCE? #2A Church Divided over What?Continuing with part two
WAS THE CHURCH DIVIDED?
Fist we will examine whether or not an organization's
belief about "speaking the same thing" is based on the truth in
the Bible. The organization's scriptural foundation is
1 Corinthians 1:10, which states, "Now I plead with you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all
speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you,
but you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the
same judgment" (New King James Version). An organization could
contend that this Scripture clearly shows the members cannot
finely share their views about Scriptures with others unless they
are in line with official organization teaching, because doing so
would cause division. Such doctrinal discussions would only be
acceptable if they were to occur between a member and the
minister, in private, for the protection of the flock.
1 Corinthians 1:10 definitely says, "...all speak the same
thing," but should a belief; or an administrative approach, be
based on only one Scripture? Does the above interpretation, on
which the organization's belief is based, re main consistent with
other Scriptures in the Bible? Or might this one verse be taken
out of context which makes it appear to say something Paul did
not have it mind. It must be as Isaiah 28:10 reads: "For precept
must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line
upon line, here e little, there a little" (New King James
Version).
To apply Isaiah 28:10 in our proving process, we must do as
Paul admonished Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study and be eager
and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by
trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly
analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and
skilfully teaching] the Word of Truth."
To honestly study I Corinthians 1:10, we must examine the
context to find out why Paul was telling them to speak the same
thing, what it was they were saying, and why it was causing
division. Some church organizations use this Scripture to
establish that "speaking the same thing" means only talking to
other members about what is in agreement with the organization's
official doctrines. Is that what Paul is talking about?
In verses 11 and 12 Paul explains what they were doing that
was causing division: "For it has been made known to me, my
brethren, by those of Chloe's s household, that there are
contentions and wrangling and factions among you. What I mean is
this, that each one of you [either] says, I belong to Paul, or I
belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas (Peter), or I belong to
Christ."
There is nothing in those verses that says they were
speaking different things about what they saw in Scripture. Their
contentions were over who they were following as a leader. The
reason they weren't speaking the same thing and were not in
harmony and full agreement was that they were arguing over who
was the best minister!
The Jewish New Testament Commentary states, "The Corinthian
leaders wrote asking questions (7:1) but said nothing of this
much more important matter, schisms rending the community
asunder. Rather, it took some or Chloe's people to make this
known to Sha'ul [Paul]. The implication is that the leaders
should have reported it themselves.... The Gospel has been
perverted into a cult of personality; but loyalty to leaders,
thinkers or denominations must not supersede, loyalty to the
Messiah" (page 442).
These people had attitude problems about ministers that
affected what they was saying. Paul drives the point home in I
Corinthians 4:6-7: "Now I have applied all this [about parties
and factions] to myself and Apollos for your sakes, brethren, so
that from what I have said of us [as illustrations], you may
learn [to think of men in, accordance with Scripture and] not to
go beyond that which is written, that none of you may be puffed
up and inflated with pride and boast in favor of one [minister
and teacher] against another. For who separates you from the
others [as faction leader]? [Who makes you superior and sets you
apart from another, giving you the preeminence?] What have you
that was not given to yon? If then you received it [from
someone], why do you boast as if you had not received [but had
gained it by your own efforts]?"
The above Scriptures, as well as several Bible versions that
have chapter outlines before each book, make it clear that
1 Corinthians 1:10 through 4:21 is not dealing with division
caused by people who are not all speaking the same thing about
doctrines. The division Paul was dealing with was caused by
members is the Corinthian Church looking to favor men as their
leaders instead of Christ. Could the church organization's
interpretation of I Corinthians 1:10 be forcing their members,
who want to remain in its fellowship, to do exactly what Paul
admonished against? Could those in charge of an organization
actually be teaching members to follow them instead of the
embodiment of Truth (Christ)? Yes, if members believe the
leader's interpretation of Scripture and not what the Bible
actually says!
HOW TO ALL SPEAK THE SAME THING
Even though it has been shown that 1 Corinthians 1:10 cannot
be applied the way the church organization has applied it, Paul
is still talking about "all speaking the same thing." What is
this "thing" that we are to be speaking so there are no divisions
among us? How can we be "speaking the same thing" without
following men but Christ? Using the principle in Isaiah 28:10
once again, "precept upon precept," we can find the answer in
another one of Paul's epistles - the book of Ephesians.
Before we look at Ephesians, let's restate Paul's
instructions to the Corinthians: "Now I plead with you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same
thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same
judgment" (New King James Version).
Ephesians 4:14-16 complements 1 Corinthians 1:10
beautifully. It states, "So then, we may no longs be children,
tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching
and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of)
the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers
engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors
to mislead. Rather, let our lives lovingly express the truth [in
all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly].
Enfolded in love, let us grow up to every way and in all things
unto Him who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the
Anointed One). For because of Him the whole body (the church, in
all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together
by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each
part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all
its functions], grows to full maturity building itself up in
love."
The Greek for "express truth in verse 15 is "aletheuo"
which, according to Vine "signifies to deal faithfully or truly
with anyone." If we are admonished to speak the truth by Paul how
can we be told by a church organization to conceal it for the
good of all?
How does Ephesians 4:14-16 complement and deepen the meaning
of 1 Corinthians 1:10? There are three areas it which this
occurs:
.....................
To be continued
Speaking the Truth or Keeping Silent - Which?Let's UNDERSTAND this teaching of Scripture!The third part of this study finishes the question "Speaking the
Truth or keeping Silent - Which?"
How does Ephesians 4:14-16 complement and deepen the meaning
of 1 Corinthians 1:10? there are three areas in which this
occurs:
The first area of application is "no longer being children."
Wasn't that the root cause of their problem with factions? Paul
confirms this in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3: "However, brethren, I could
not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual
[men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates), as to
mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!]. I
fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough
[to be ready far it]: but even yet you are not strong enough [to
be ready for it], for you are still [unspiritual, having the
nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses].
For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and
factions among you, are you not un-spiritual and of the flesh,
behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere
(unchanged) men?"
Paul wants those who follow Christ to be fed the meat that
results in spiritual maturity and not remain on the milk that
results in spiritual immaturity. Studying and discussing the
Scriptures is part of our spiritual growth. How can we go beyond
spiritual immaturity if the church organization does not allow
open discussion of Scriptures?
The second area of application is "speaking the truth in
love," or "lovingly express truth,"
Paul wanted them to speak the same and be unified regarding
Christ, not glorifying themselves or their leaders. They were
thinking and speaking about who was the best leader and by doing
so minimizing the Head of the body (Christ). Ephesians 4:15 gives
the solution to speaking the same thing and putting the right One
(Christ) fist: "Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in
all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly].
Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things
into Him who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the
Anointed One)." We are to grow up into Christ. How can we grow if
a church organization restricts open communication about the
truth?
The third application is "being knit together." In
1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul said he didn't want any divisions, but
he wanted them to "be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment" (New King James Version), or as the
Amplified Bible reads, "but that you be perfectly united in your
common understanding and in your opinion and judgments."
Ephesians 4:16 shows how this can be done: "For because of
Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts),
closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and
ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power
adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its rations),
grows to full maturity, building itself up in love." Being knit
together is a process of each part growing in maturity through
love. If a church organization shuts down open communication
about the Scriptures, it interferes with the spiritual maturing
process of the body of Christ. By hindering this process the body
cannot be "firmly knit together," and it is the organization that
actually causes the division between members, not the open
discussions.
As stated above, speaking the truth in love is a process of
growth for each Christian. If we are to grow into Christ and "no
longer be children," then we have to stop being afraid to be
adults. As Paul admonishes us in Hebrews 5:12-14: "For even
though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually
need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of
God's Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. For
everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced
and un-skilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to
the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a
mere enfant [not able to talk yet]! But solid food is for
full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are
trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what
is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to
divine or human law."
Paul also shows clearly is 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 that there
is no need to be afraid of someone openly speaking something
different than official organization teachings. The spiritual man
will be able to know what is or is not truth because he "tries
all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions,
and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and
judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no
one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].
For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and
purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give
Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and
do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart."
The organization should have no fear of division if it
is teaching members to study and examine the Scriptures. They
will be "speaking the same thing," because it will be what
Scripture says: it will be the truth.
WHAT ABOUT A CHURCH GROUP'S APPROACH?
We have seen that the organization's interpretation of
1 Corinthians 1:10 is not based on the truth as revealed in
Scripture. Now we must examine whether the organization's
sincerity and integrity of character is based on the truth. Is
its belief that remaining silent about what a person believes, if
it differs from official doctrines, based on the truth of the
Bible? Is it Scriptural to direct that a person should remain
silent about what he/she believes, if it differs from what the
organization teaches? On the surface, this teaching may seem
acceptable. After all, no one who is worshipping God in spirit
and truth wants to cause division among the members. But can we
only look on the surface when sincerity and integrity of
character is subjective? Surface reasoning says, "If I don't say
anything, then no one will know what I think, everyone will live
in peace, and it will appear that everyone is speaking the same
thing." This is also the way a child thinks when he/she conceals
the truth about doing some thing wrong - "if no one knows what I
did, then I can't get in trouble!"
But is this reasoning correct? Not at all, The parents must
explain to the child that telling the truth is always the right
way. Somehow the wrong will be found out and the truth will
become known. The parents must tell the child that concealment of
the truth is only a form of deceit, and any form of deceit comes
from the devil (John 8:44). They help the child to realize that
God loves for us to tell the truth.
Does God want appearances of truth or the "real thing"? Does
He want us to appear honest for the sake of unity or does He want
us to be honest for the sake of Christ who is in us? Does He want
US to express sincerity and integrity of character only when it
doesn't conflict with the organization's beliefs, or does He want
us to be honest, free from hypocrisy and morally sound all the
time?
It is dishonest to allow others to think you agree with them
when you do not It is also dishonest to allow the organization to
think we believe as they do just for the sake of unity. The
organization wants us to live in peace with each other by living
in fear of punishment for telling the truth. It forces us to
reason as a child ("If no one knows I disagree, then I won't get
in trouble").
Isn't it time we stop thinking like children? Paul says in
1 Corinthians 13:11, "when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish
things" (New King James Version).
We who are worshipping God in spirit and truth do not want
to cause contention or division among the members by what we
think or speak. All we want is to believe the truth, be taught
the truth, live the truth, and speak the truth. That is what
Christ did; that is what He personified. If we are to be like
Christ, are we only to appear truthful? ... Christ was the
perfect expression of the truth; this is virtually equivalent to
the statement in John 14:6: Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, the
Truth and the Life...' To be like Christ, we must have His mind
("the perfect expression of the truth") in us (Philippines 2:5).
Was Christ's mind concerned more about appearance of truth or
unity, or about the deep spiritual truths of God? Isn't it the
Spirit that enables us to know the "deep things of God" (1
Corinthians 2:10)?
If we are to live the example of Christ to our lives, having
His mind (Spirit) within us, isn't it evident that we must be
more concerned with the deep truths of God rather than
superficial appearances of the truth? We must be living examples
of sincerity and integrity of character.
There should be no need for concealment, which is immature
behavior and a trademark of Satan. It is the devil who is afraid
of the truth. It is Satan who is afraid of us speaking the truth
in love, not the spirit that dwells within us. As Scripture
testifies, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of
cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has
given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and
well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control" (2 Timothy
1:7). It is that love that "rejoices in the truth" (1 Corinthians
13:6, New King James Version).
The simplicity in Christ has always been there for us to
see. Why then has 1 Corinthians 1:10 been explained out of
context to support beliefs that affect every member within the
organization? It is unfortunate for all concerned that the
organization does not see the deeper and far-reaching
consequences of its belief.
Some consequences of this practice include:
(1) It squelches the Spirit within each member from expressing
itself and creates an atmosphere of fear rather than love.
(2) People are taught to be dishonest instead of open and
truthful with other members.
(3) Because there is no openness on biblical topics, people
become involved in social chit-chat instead or the things of God.
(4) It allows for an environment in which people look to the
minister for biblical understanding instead of edifying
themselves and others with their studies. It should be pointed
out that looking to ministers for biblical understanding also
allows for minister favoritism, the very problem 1 Corinthians
1:10 is really addressing.
(5) The most unfortunate and damaging consequence of all is that
it instills loyalty to the church organization before loyalty to
God. The primary focus of the organization's belief to "all speak
the same thing" is not, "What does the Bible teach?", but rather,
"What does the organization teach about the Bible - whether it is
right or wrong?"
THE CHOICE IS YOURS
What must we do when an organization's belief conflicts with
worshipping God in spirit and truth (aletheia -- absolute truth)?
It's simple: Speak the truth (aletheia -- deal truthfully)? It's
simple : Speak the truth (aletheuo -- deal truthfully) in love.
As Paul states in Ephesians 425: "Therefore rejecting all
falsity and being done now with it, let everyone express the
truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body and
members one of another."
Each individual must make a choice: Follow God and deal
truthfully with everyone, or remain silent to appease the church
organization.
If the organization continues to restrict open communica-
tion, there can be no "true" fellowship within it any longer.
Since we cannot stop speaking the truth in love, the next choice
to make is whether we wait for the organization to ask us to
leave, or we leave on our own to live in peace.
God has made it clear. The truth (in both its objective and
subjective usage) cannot be compromised in our lives. Christ
cannot be compromised in our lives. Let's all seek diligently to
have open, honest communication with everyone so we can always
"speak the truth" with the greatest gift of all -- love.
.................
What a fine study. Thank you Alene. When I was pastoring two
congregations (one near Toronto, Ontario, and Rochester, New
York) in the 80s, I made it very clear to all that everyone was
to read and study for themselves, whatever and from wherever. I
was not afraid of the truth. I said and still do, that truth can
stand the test of any argument to the contrary. Growing in grace
and knowledge brings you some of the studies on this Website that
are not what many have believed, not what I've believed at times.
I've had to admit errors in theology and I continue to LOVE THE
TRUTH. I SEARCH for it. I DESIRE it. So I hope do YOU! The true
attitude will also be that you do not study for truth to
deliberately divide. The people I served back in the 1980s did
not have that attitude at all. They just wanted the truth - Keith
Hunt
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