And,
the Question: Will we be judged for sin at Christ's Throne?
LETTER
FROM A READER
Many
Christians do not know how to forgive themselves. Why? Answer: They do not really
believe God is forgiving them. So they go to work and work, work, work to appease
the terror of God's judgment.
If
you are a Fundamental Bible believing pastor, you need to think long and hard
about the following letter. A lot of preaching went past this brother, but NO
ONE made it clear to him that God can forget sin.
I
believe most Fundamental Baptist preachers, and many others, deny the saints the
feeling and hope of being totally cleansed of sin. They hang it out for them to
remember, and in this case, they send it forward into heaven to wait for them.
This makes the preacher and his altar call essential to peace with God, and the
Blood of Jesus is made of none effect.
From:
W_____________ To: Steve Van Nattan Subject: Judgment Seat Question
First
off I want to thank you for your web site! I'm a Christian first and foremost
and an Independent, Fundamental, KJV bible believing Baptist by conviction.
It's
hard to find anyone who'll take a stand any more and not give in to those itching
ears and the ecumenical movement! God bless you for your efforts!
I
have a question about the Judgment Seat of Christ, if you have time to answer.
It's always been my understanding, we as Christians, will answer for our sins
we've not confessed and repented of at the Judgment Seat. Is this inaccurate?
I know we're going to be judged for what we have or have not done for Christ at
this time, but I also thought we'd be judged for these un-confessed sins.
Thanks
Wayne
-----------------------
From:
Steve Van Nattan To: W______________ Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 Subject:
Re: Judgment Seat Question
I
never got that impression from my Bible study. Jesus Blood was shed of ALL our
sins. If we do not confess sin later, after we are saved, we may well be chastened,
but our standing "complete in Christ" cannot be altered by our walk. So, why would
God bring up sin that Jesus died for? There seems to be a touch of the Catholic
in your thought, in that, Jesus died for us, but our complete forgiveness is dependent
on our penance. That is pure Baltimore Catechism stuff.
The
Judgment of our works before Christ will be to reward us for what we did that
glorified him as far as I know.
Another
way to look at it is this-- If our sins still were on the books when we arrive
before the judgment seat of our works, did the Blood of Jesus really work at all?
Onward
in Christ Jesus
Steve
Van Nattan
----------------
From:
W_____________ To: Steve Van Nattan Subject: Re: Judgment Seat Question
Thank
you sir for taking time out of your day to answer my question, I greatly appreciate
it! I just can't believe being raised in a Baptist church as I described in my
previous e-mail, having my grandfather as a Baptist minister and faithfully attending
church 3 times a week, I've held this belief for sooooo long! I'm sure nobody
has ever taught me this, I just plain and simple thought we would not only be
judged for what we've done for the Lord since being saved at the Judgment Seat
of Christ, but also suffer loss and be ashamed for the un-confessed sins we committed
after we were saved.
I
know the Lord Chastens us as stated in Hebrews 12:5-11 and Calvary covered it
all. Who said a 40 year old Deacon of his church can't learn something new?!?
God bless and again, thank you very much for your time, your stance and your web
site.
Wayne
-------------------------
From:
Steve Van Nattan To: W_____________ Subject: Re: Judgment Seat Question
You
know, I don't want to sound like a shrink, but here is a thought. If I face each
new (or repeated) temptation to sin with a backward view of accumulated sin which
I will account for, then at some point I could just cave in and decide I am hopeless.
But, if God forgives my sin and removes it "as far as the east is from the west,"
then each time I fall, that is the first time God became aware of it. He virtually
does not know I did that before because somehow God can wipe his mind clean of
something. I know something God does not know-- my past sins.
Thus,
knowing that my resisting of temptation is a fresh untainted victory in the eyes
of God, I now meet each temptation as the great challenge. It is like I have been
given the opportunity, over and over, to arrive in heaven without sin, and that
gives me great liberty to do whatever it takes NOW TODAY to not repeat the past.
Just
a thought.
In
Christ Jesus
Steve
Van Nattan
------------------
W_______________
Great
thought, thanks a million! I can't wait to meet you some day, if not here, I'll
definitely see you in Heaven! I truly appreciate you taking the time to help me
understand this more clearly. You have definitely helped me look at the Judgment
Seat in a different light. Oh, that explanation wasn't sounding like a shrink,
just good ole Van Nattanology, maybe, none the less it was a great thought that
made sense!
Thanks
again and may God bless
Wayne
Editor:
This man was looking forward to Baptist Purgatory.
Are
YOU teaching this blasphemy?
Preacher,
if you teach that our sin is waiting for us at the judgment of works by Christ,
then you are damned to hell. You should go sign up with Pope Benny XVI and sell
indulgences. You are NOT born again. You do not understand the doctrine of salvation.
The Blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin.
WHERE
IS OUR SIN, FORGOTTEN OR WAITING FOR US?
Psalms
38:18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
Certainly,
this is the way of a true saint, a child of God.
Zechariah
13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
Even
in the Kingdom of Messiah people will be confessing sin.
Proverbs
28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh
them shall have mercy.
Why
does Solomon, the Old Testament preacher, not threaten the unconfessed sinner
with hell and damnation? Simply because he is writing to the people of God. Even
in the old dispensation God's mercy was greater that their sin.
If
I am free from sin now, and if God has forgotten my sin, and again, if my sin
is there waiting for me at the throne of Jesus Christ, I will sue God and win.
He is NOT the God I believed in. He purgered himself.
1
John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.
All
sin-- and the present continuous tense is used for "cleanesth." That
means sin is ALL put away. Unconfessed sin does not go forward into eternity and
heaven-- it results in chastening. Hebrews 12:8
1
John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him
is no sin.
John
1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Is
this conditional? Can we send sin into the future which the Blood of Jesus could
not cleanse away by not confessing it? Nowhere, NOWHERE in the Bible is such rubbish
taught. Indeed, it is blasphemy against the truth.
1
John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.
All
sin means all sin. What do you not understand about "all"?
Romans
6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
If
I am free from sin now, and if God has forgotten my sin, and again, if my sin
is there waiting for me at the throng of Jesus Christ, I will sue God and win.
He is NOT the God I believed in. He purgered himself. There can be NO sin on any
record in God's heaven if the Bible is true.
Romans
6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
How
can I be dead unto sin NOW, and become alive unto sin LATER at the judgment of
Christ of our works?
Can
you imagine inventing a filter which can be attached to a bath tub for the purpose
of collecting all the filth, dirt, and disease that goes down the drain so that
those who bathe can keep that filth to remind them that they were once dirty?
No! Not even Wal-Mart could sell that one for you. Thus, you sins, once cleansed
away, are not up yonder at our Lord's throne waiting to be reviews by all men.
Romans
6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the
end of those things is death.
a.
If my sin is still before God, then he must send me to hell.
b.
I am ashamed of my sin, but God is not, and here is why.
Psalms
103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from us.
Acts
3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Micah
7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities;
and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Romans
4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Ezekiel
18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they
shall not be mentioned unto him: in his
righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Hebrews
10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember .
GOD
CANNOT REMEMBER MY SIN.
This
is something I cannot fathom. I do remember my sins. I know I am forgiven, and
I know I can have victory over them in the future, but I cannot now do what God
does with my sin-- forget. As I said in the letter to the reader above, God looks
on my life, if I am consistently confessing my sin as taught in I John 1:9, without
knowing I ever sinned. So you will say that this blessing is conditional on confession.
That is Catholic and not biblical. The Bible DOES teach that those who are not
bastards receive chastening to drive them back to their sin and confess it. Psalm
51 shows how God did this with David. He confessed in the end.
As
I start each day, God looks forward to my victory, and he does not have a clue
what went down in the past, that is, he does not wonder if I will repeat some
sin. This is why we should pray for help in the hour of need. We are the ones
who know our weakness. Romans 12:1-2 put the responsibility squarely on us to
take action and yield our mind and body to God's authority.
Some
alleged scholars, and 99% of Fundamental Baptists, will wretch over that last
statement. They just cannot imagine a world, and church life, without the memory
of sin. That is what gets the suckers to come down the aisle. If you preach that
every saint can confess his sins on Tuesday right after he repents of them, then
you will have nothing to use to pry him out of his seat and down the aisle for
the altar call.
In
the South of the USA Baptist preachers boldly teach that the place of victory
over sin is the front of the church house. They will even get sarcastic and vicious
and mock at the saints for not "coming forward." Because of this, many
Bible believers wait all week long, walking in sin and guilt, so that they can
rush to the altar and weep for forgiveness. These preachers are hirelings and
will go to hell. They do NOT believe that Jesus Christ is the only one "between
God and man." They define themselves in between the saint and Jesus. Catholic
blasphemy!
When
will we have pastors who stand up to teach the Word and trust the Holy Ghost to
judge the saints of sin and righteousness and judgment? If a preacher teaches
men to keep short accounts, he MUST believe that it is possible to stand up in
the pulpit Sunday morning to teach and look out at forgiven people. God does.
Let
me put it this way-- I am delighted to know that my God does not expect from me
the things my pastor clearly expects from me. His altar calls blaspheme my hope
and my confidence in God's mercy and Christ's work on the cross for me. Damn your
doctrine, preacher. To hell with you cynical slobbery long faced expectation and
imaginations of Christ's sheep. Your filthy mind is perveted, or you would believe
ME.
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
God
MUST forget my sins because no death, not even the smell or thought of it, will
be in heaven. If my sins are forgiven only in the legal sense, but a permanent
"criminal record" is kept by God for later discussion in the Glory,
then God must like the smell of death. I think not.
1
John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The
fact that forgiveness, in this text, is conditional, does NOT give anyone the
liberty to teach that unconfessed sin goes no before us. Christ died for ALL sin,
and only Catholic doctrine limits that "all".
Psalms
34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The
fact that all sin is blotted out does not give us leave to sin with impunity.
We must depart from sin.
YOUR
WORKS, MY WORKS, AND CHRIST
1
Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and
stewards of the mysteries of God.
"Us"
includes Apollos with Paul. The saints at Corinth had been taking account of Paul
and Apollos, and they had been taking account of each other and had become "puffed
up." (verse 6)
2
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
It
is NOT required that a steward of Christ be successful. When the Sword of the
Lord lifts up and exalts Lee Roberson because of his successes in building
huge churches, they are wicked. Equally, when a preacher stands in the pulpit
and accuses the saints of failure and unfaithfulness because they do not, "come
out for visitation night," that preacher is wicked. He has NO way to know
whether those he judges for being missing were doing a greater work for God, in
God's will, or if they were indeed abandoning the work. You will see why that
preacher should shut up and stop comparing saints in a minute.
3
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's
judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
Here
is your answer. You are a small sleazy scum bag if you judge the works of another
saint. Who knows if YOU are really doing what God calls a good work. Sure, you
are busy, but will all these works you do blow up in flames, or will they come
out as gold. Paul says even YOU don't know that. So, stop measuring the sheep's
performance by your little half bushel. If you are a saint doing what you believe
God wants you to do as his steward, stop letting other saints intimidate you with
their notions of faithfulness. If you feel God wants you to buy a used car for
a widow with your giving cash this month, DO IT, and let the preacher scream and
rage that his offering plate is sacred ground. Do the work, and move on.
A
word of caution. If a man teaches error and heresy, we are to mark him and warn
the saints. Romans 16:17
4
For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth
me is the Lord.
Paul
does not know about himself, and he cannot even justify himself. God will do that.
5
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring
to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of
the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
We
do this verse backwards. Every man under consideration will receive praise of
God. That tells us that we are ONLY talking about born again saints in this verse.
Next step back, we see that there are two things that are the basis for God praising
us. We know that God will never praise us for sinning. So, we know the two reasons
for God's praise are good things:
a.
...hidden things of darkness
b.
...the counsels of the heart
This
verse is poorly taught by many Bible teachers. The word "darkness" in
the Greek is used in more than just the evil context. The word means the state
of being obscure or in the shadows. Evil things happen in the dark and shadows,
but the word also is used for good things that happen out of sight. Colosians
2:10 speaks of a shadow of things to come, and shadow is the same Greek root noun.
Heb. 8:5 and 10:1 are the same and speak of "good things."
In
the darkness implies that no one knows who did it or where it came from. Some
of the most gorgeous flowers in the rain forest grow in the dark. There are hidden
works abounding around the world as quiet saints faithfully use their office of
stewardship out of sight.
Also,
the counsels of the heart are secret. Good works, worthy of praise, originate
in the heart. God knows this, and no one else. He then will bring these counsels
to the light. A brother does not show up for street preaching and is accused of
lack of zeal. But, God knows that he is visiting a cafe where he has made a friend
of the unsaved owner and is pressing into a place where he can give the man the
Gospel as a personal friend. Indeed, his reward may be greater than the street
preachers if their motive of the street preachers is to make a show of themselves
and take on airs of gung ho masculinity while they have a go-to-hell attitude
toward the passer by. I have heard these street preachers mock at the sinners
and their responses. We shall see what we see at the bonfire one day.
Finally,
in verse 5, the two things revealed result in God's praise of the saints. Would
God praise sin done in darkness? No, so this simply teaches that God will bring
forth all good works for praise.
6
And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos
for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which
is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
If
you don't like my use of "darkness" above, then why would Paul make
it a figure, or illustration, of his life and that of Apollos? Paul nowhere in
this chapter shows one bit of worry that he has some secret failing as a worker.
This is NOT Romans 7. Paul knew and confessed there that he did the things he
did not want to do. That would take him to I John 1:9, and confessing sin would
then leave him free of accountability to God for the sin. This "figure"
is all about his and Apollos' works, NOTHING ELSE. Paul's lack on interest in
judging himself, and his zeal to do his own works, are to be an example to the
saints to stop examining one another.
So,
works are judged, sin is forgiven.
7
For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst
not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst
not received it?
I
have read Lee Roberson's statement that anyone could do what he has done. He is
a damned liar. I can do only what God gives me the ability to do. If, and that
is a mighty big if, Lee Roberson was doing a good work in building monster churches
for the birds to make nests in, then it is God who gave him the ability to do
it. That he should be lifted up is blasphemy. In fact, he is not a good example
of good works to you because you may be called of God to do something altogether
different than Roberson was. That fact that Lee Roberson has to brag on his accomplishments
tells me that he is not sure he ever did serve God faithfully, for if he had,
according to Paul, Roberson would be the last one to talk about it.
8
Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would
to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
9
For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed
to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10
We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye
are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
11
Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are
buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
12
And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted,
we suffer it:
13
Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the
offscouring of all things unto this day.
14
I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
Paul
uses dripping sarcasm here. It is quite evident in this book that this local church
was a mess of sin and sloppy agape. This very passage is one of harsh rebuke.
Paul is not shaming them, but he IS arresting them in the Holy Ghost so that they
will stop bragging and judging each other and get on with their work as stewards.
15
For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers:
for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16
Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
Many
jack boot preachers use this verse to demand that the sheep follow them rather
than Jesus Christ. Sam Gipp teachers that your pastor is between you and Christian
victory, as do many Baptist preachers. What Paul is saying here is, "You
people need to have the same outlook on your work for Jesus Christ as I do."
If they adopted Paul's temperament, they would not even look at themselves, rather;
they would just get to work and let Jesus Christ figure it all out at the judgment
of our works in the Glory.
Will
you?
Now,
please back up to Chapter 3:
We
did all this in Chapter 4 to show you what is going on in Chapter 3. Please pardon
me for backing into Chapter 3 through the back door, but I did not want you to
know where I was headed. Some of you would have clicked out of here. :-)
1
Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ.
Any
intrusion between Christ and the saint will wreck that saints works. Preachers
and leaders need to stay out of the personal stewardship of the saints. Teach,
feed sheep, and mind your own business. Jesus Christ happens to have provided
for the total victory of every saint he saves.
12
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
hay, stubble; 13
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what
sort it is.
"...the
day"-- When is that? The passage does not say. It may be the day of judgment
of our works, or some other day of reckoning. I refuse to name the day because
the Holy Ghost didn't.
14
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
a.
This hints at the judgment of works before Christ's throne. But, it could just
as well be a day or great persecution. I have seen some saints with what looked
like great works go down in flames when they were attacked by persecution.
b.
"...thereupon" limits your reward to only that which was built on Jesus
Christ. If you let some other saint, even your pastor, define your good works
you run the distinct risk of blowing you whole life building on them instead of
Christ. Beware.
c.
"If any man's work," not his sins. Our sins were paid off in full on
a hillside outside Jerusalem one Wednesday afternoon almost 2000 years ago. Once
you declare you faith that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God,"
your sins will never come up for examination again. God cannot even remember them.
He is "faithful and just" to forgive you of your sins. What is critical
to understand here is that your works WILL come up for review. So, be VERY sure
you build on Jesus Christ.
Something
very much missing here is detailed definitions of what works are. I believe that
if we are in the act of building on Jesus Christ, he gives us a lot of room to
do works we like to do for him. Jack boot preachers will hate me for this, but
consider please-- In the parable of the steward, talents were given to each one,
but they were not told how to use them. When the master returned, he asked them
what they did with the talents. What they chose to do was praised if an increase
came about. If there was no increase, they were reproved. So, go to work.
What
do you like to do for Jesus? If you know, why are you waiting for some sign to
get to work. There is no factory whistle in the sky which will blow when you are
supposed to go to work. The time is NOW-- the fields are white unto harvest--
the Christian widow is hungry NOW-- the Christian kid in school is being persecuted
NOW-- hit the floor and cry out to God for him. If you are doing it on the foundation
of Jesus Christ, to his glory, you will hear, "Well done..." by and
by.
16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for
the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
The
temple is not the church house, brick and mortar. It is YOU. You do not need to
be on time, to be there every time the doors are open, and sitting in your pew,
to do the work of Christ. That is just churchianity and has to do with worship
and edification. The work is done by YOU and your Christian friends six days between
Sundays. So, keep the temple pure and clean so the work can be empowered by the
Holy Ghost.
18
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world,
let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world
is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
Are
you trying to be like someone? Do you preach some other man's sermons. These stupid
preacher boys who preach like Jack Hyles or Peter Ruckman, what folly. "...all
things are yours" means that God has all his power at your disposal, and
he wants you to stop using the wisdom of other men to do his work.
I
have become very unsettled about tracts. They are other men speaking, and most
of them are 80% man talking, as are Jack Chick tracts. We have computers now that
do amazing things. If you don't have one, find a friend who does, and write your
own tract. Print it on expensive paper, and make it 90% Bible. But, best of all,
YOU are God's messenger just the way he made you. This is not Mr. Rogers stuff--
read the next two verses.
22
Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things
present, or things to come; all are yours; 23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ
is God's.
All
are yours. You have a full load, and more is available on invoice-- just ask.
Now, get to work.
Finally,
the conclusion to our Bible study is:
a.
Your sins are under the Blood-- never to be heard of again. There is not a bucket
of your sins in heaven which God will dump out in front of everyone to shame you
one last time. There are people in this world whom I don't care if I ever see
this side of heaven. If I heard a knock at the door, opened it, and there they
stood, I would possibly ask them to leave. Some are saved, and some are not. The
reason I don't care to see them is not that they did something evil to me. Rather;
the reason is that they know some wicked sin I committed, and their presence would
revive that sin to me. Now, if Jesus knocked at my door, and I opened it and saw
him standing there, I would only rejoince. He does not remember one sin I ever
committed, and I have no reason to be ashamed being with him. He likes it that
way, and so do I. Indeed, "What a friend we have in Jesus."
b.
Ah, but your works, there is the rub. They are not sin-- they are works, and don't
let some four flusher preacher of teacher tell you your works can be sin. If,
during your work, you sinned, as soon as you confessed it, the sin factor was
put under the Blood and removed as far as the east is from the west. What is left
is the raw works issue. It will be exposed to fire, not hell fire, but the fire
of the Glory of God.
Hebrews
12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Our
God is not hell. The fire that is used to burn away the wood, hay, and stubble
is not a fire of damnation or punishment. In fact, I WANT to see that fire consume
my works that don't please God. What kind of God do I have who would pretend,
"that is a pretty picture, Stevie" when he thinks is looks like rubbish?
I want to know that whatever is left after the Glory hits my works is worth the
praise he gives me. And, I want that praise from only him. I am terrified of the
flattery of men. Paul made it clear above that men do not know what pleases God.
So,
I can go to work, enjoy the work, and walk through death's door with anticipation.
One of these days the gold will flow, and little or much, Jesus and I will have
a shouting time by and by.
Don't
let some cheap substitute for a preacher or church leader cast disparagement on
your life if you are keeping your eyes on Jesus Christ. If you are in sin, that
is, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, then you are in
line for a rebuke by any responsible pastor. But NO MAN has any business questioning
you about your works for Jesus Christ. Just get on with the work.
DON'T
FORGET:
Our
works and our sins are two entirely different things. Works, as dealt with in
the Bible, are not even understood well by us. Paul refused, as we saw, to even
judge his own works. Yet he said elsewhere, "Let a man examine himself"
to look for sin. Works, on the other hand, are to be done, committed to Christ
for future examination, and then get on with more works.
If
you have a good employee, you watch him work, and you can pretty well figure out
his work which you like and that which falls short in his efforts. You are not
looking for an excuse to fire him. Rather, you will praise him for his work that
pleases you. You may even gently show him the unproductive side of some of his
work. But, you are not offended. You are looking for any excuse to praise him
because you want him to feel secure and work more effectively.
If
we humans can see this, and thousands of books have been written about how to
help good employees be better employees, then how much more our heavenly Father
desires to rejoice in our good works.
Matthew
6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for
they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine
head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto
thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly.
Now,
let's get on with our works for our Lord. Let's stop comparing ourselves and judging
one another's works. Let's just do the work, and move on to the next thing, and
we shall see what we see at the throne of our Lord Jesus Christ. How he looks
forward to rewarding his servants!
Matthew
25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
You
bring Jesus Christ joy!
1
Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come,
who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest
the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
No
one will be left out.
God
is just that big and optimistic about those he has redeemed. You may think there
is not much you are doing that God will like, but you are in for a surprise--
you will have praise from God.
And
I will shout with you.
Get
going, get to work.
2
Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept
the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me
only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
THE
PARABLE OF THE APPLE TREE
There
were once two farmers, farmer John and farmer Henry. Both farmers had a prize
apple tree in their front yards. Everyone in the community knew about those trees.
When they bloomed, people used to drive by to see the huge display of pink flowers
and take pictures of the trees.
Farmer
John cared for his tree daily, he fed it with manure, and he pruned it and kept
critters from eating on it. When the wind blew, the tree would cast some of its
small apples, and if the wind never blew one year, farmer John would shake the
branches to try to get the tree to cast its runted and worthless fruit.
But,
in spite of all farmer John did, every year the tree would manage to produce a
few runted and wormy apples, and some apples would drop prematurely. When farmer
John picked his apples in the fall, he would separate the bad apples and the immature
ones, and he fed them to the hogs. His good apples went into a big box in the
front yard, and on the box he put a sign:
"These
are the best apples my tree has ever produced. Rejoice with me, and help yourself"
Farmer
Henry had another way of caring for his tree. He did not feed it manure, and he
did not prune it. Farmer Henry felt that the tree should just be left on its own,
and the apples that ripened would be produced on their own. In the fall, when
he picked his apples, farmer Henry had a lot of runted, deformed, and wormy apples.
He was not bothered much by that because it was the apple tree's fault afterall.
Farmer
Henry had two boxes in front of his house full of apples. A small box had a few
apples that looked really good, and the large box was full of wormy and deformed
apples. On the boxes he had put a sign: "This apple tree did not do very
well this year and has been a big disappointment. This big box is full of worthless
apples which you can take home and keep to remind you of what a terrible year
I just had. The good apples are for sale-- $ 50 each. I need a new pew in my back
yard where I can sit and yell at this lousy apple tree and tell it to do better."
___________________________
Preacher,
which farmer are YOU working for?
John
15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John
15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my
disciples.
THE
PARABLE OF THE BASKETBALL TEAM
Once
there was a basketball team. It was not a very good team, but they played hard,
and they had some magic fans who helped them do their best.
You
see, this basketball team had played ten games during the season so far, and they
had won two games and lost eight. On this particular day, as they went onto the
court, the fans were screaming and cheering with wild delight. The ball players
knew they were not winning as often as they were losing, but the fans were sure
a great encouragement.
Now,
here is why the fans were so excited. These were magic fans. They had the ability
to do what no other fans in the world could do. They could forget every game that
their team lost. Once they forgot it, it was as if that poor performance had never
happened. So, when their team took the court, they screamed,
Two
for two, Here we go, Make it three In a row
And,
do you know what that did for the team? It made them winners, unconditional winners.
___________________________
Saint,
is your God expecting you to win of lose?
If
your god thinks you are a loser, you need to find a new God.
Romans
8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any
thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
THE
PARABLE OF THE FARMER AND THE DOGS
There
was an old farmer down a dusty country road who had a bunch of hound dogs. The
farmer loved his dogs dearly. Some dogs helped him herd sheep, others helped him
hunt ducks, while others guarded his farm from thieves and wild animals.
The
farmer got old, and the dogs got old, and one day one of his coon hunting dogs
died. The farmer was broken hearted as he buried the old dog, so he buried the
dog with its tail sticking up out of the ground. Later, another dog died, and
so on until all but one dog had died. Each time a dog died the farmer buried it
with its tail sticking up out of the ground.
The
farmer's neighbor came by one day, and he looked out in the field behind the farmer's
house. There he saw all those tails sticking up of the ground. The neighbor was
talking to the farmer, and he asked him, "Fred, what are those things sticking
up all over that field?"
The
farmer said, "Those are my dogs that died."
The
neighbor asked, "Fred, are those their tails? Why on earth did you leave
the tails sticking up?"
The
farmer said, "You know, neighbor, those dogs were very special to me. They
were my friends. So when I buried themI
left the tails sticking out of the ground so I could pull them up and visit with
them from time to time."
And
the old farmer smelled like dead dog until the day he too died.
___________________________
Saint,
are you leaving your sins under the Blood of Jesus, or are you sending them up
ahead in your imagination to haunt you until you die?
Preacher,
do you pull up dead dogs when you preach and in your altar calls?
Philippians
3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus.
CRITICAL
ISSUE:
Now,
in joy, have you concluded that you can go right on sinning and fear nothing?
FEAR
THIS ! A Christian who claims to have "believed" and "rededicated
my life to Christ" but never WANTS to stop sinning, and never WEEPS over
their sin, is in DEEP TROUBLE. They may have a mere Billy Graham Crusade experience,
a salvation which is a memory long ago, while today they live like a worldly pig.
This
old fellow blesses me. He sings the very song which Billy Graham must have sung
the night he was born again, or so he claims:
Now,
did Billy Graham stay on the path he started out on?
READ
OUR ARTICLE ON GRAHAM, and then examine yourself. If sin in your
life is not bothering you, and never has, you are in deep trouble.
Hebrews
12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye
bastards, and not sons.
The
proof that you belong to God is that your conscience condemns you of sin immediately,
and God chastens you if you ignore him and your conscience.
This
issue is directly related to Much Assurance. Fundamentalists, especially Baptists,
state a sound position on the security of the believer, but by their practical
teaching they bring the saints into doubt and terror that God will throw them
into hell after all. Thousands of Baptists live in perpetual uncertainty whether
they are, or ever were, born again. And, 98% of all Baptist preachers like to
keep it that way. They tithe better, kiss the posterior of the preacher better,
and generally grovel before Mother Baptist Church better.
These
Baptist preachers now days are more dangerous that any Pope who ever lived. The
Pope never had it to begin with. These Baptist Bastards
have a sound doctrine in writing, but they damn the saints every Sunday with doubt.
