 It does not take one with a master’s degree in Biblical Studies to know that the world is totally depraved and that its outward manifestations of sinful debauchery are only increasing by the day. Slowly but surely America has taken its eyes off of the Holy and Sovereign God of the Universe and fixed its gaze upon mankind to solve all of life’s dilemmas. As a result of taking our eyes off of God America has willfully permitted and embraced what God declares as sinful acts. These sinful acts include such things as the murder of innocent children (though under the less-offensive title of abortion) and multiple acts of sexual immorality (a.k.a. LGBTQism) that God’s Word clearly label’s as detestable and an abomination. In fact in America, June is now openly celebrated as LGBT PRIDE month.
Even though many believe we who stand on God's Word hate those in the LGBTQ movement, that is not true. We love them as God does, but we do not accept the sin they choose to commit as “okay” for God clearly declares it is not. We who follow God's Word reject as “okay” many sins that are committed from greed, to premarital sex, to adultery, to gossip, to destructive anger, to the love of money, and the list goes on. (See Colossians 3:8-9 with the verses later in this blog.) To love those who reject God's truth is a command we must and do follow, otherwise we would be choosing to sin by rejecting the teachings of our Lord. How unfortunate it is when Christians act wrongly toward those who do not know Christ and harm the cause of Christ. After all Jesus rejected the sin of the woman at the well, Matthew the hated tax collector, and scores of others. Yet, He loved them and spent time with them until they saw Him as their personal Lord and Savior. We who love Jesus as imperfect as we are, still love those who choose not to follow Christ. The conflict increases because no longer does our nation consider Christian living to be the standard for all its citizens nor the Bible the standard for governing our land. Oh how far our nation has fallen since its inception. Our founding fathers once boldly declared statements like these by John Adams: -“The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.” - “Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell.” -“The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity, and humanity.” -“Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. . . . What a Eutopia – what a Paradise would this region be!” -“I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.” Nowadays it is viewed as a normal and acceptable thing to have men dressed as women reading storybooks to children in public libraries, young children being taught that gender is fluid, parades of men and women flaunting their wicked and rebellious lust in same-sex attraction, and that is hardly even describing the wretched acts of the LGBTQ movement (a.k.a. the sexual perversion movement). The world has so praised and accepted the LGBTQ movement that even some so-called “Christian churches” have hopped on the sin-affirming bandwagon and fully embraced what God describes as gross immorality. All-the-while, true Christ-honoring churches are being attacked for holding fast to what the Word of God clearly teaches concerning homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and any other sexually debased lifestyle such as these. So what does the Word of God say concerning these issues? Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” Romans 1:18-27 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” Jude 7-8 “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” There simply is nothing vague or unclear about what God’s Word has to say about the unnatural act of homosexuality. He fully condemns it. Why does God condemn homosexuality? Because it is contrary to God's fundamental design for intimate human relationships—that which is between one man and one woman. Genesis 2:18-25 “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Matthew 19:4-6 “He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Ephesians 5:22-33 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Any sexual act that takes place outside the marriage of one biological male and one biological female is sin and should be repented of and repudiated. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed to purify and redeem sinners. Those who are presently enslaved to such sins can find freedom and restoration from such lifestyles by pleading with God to restore them by grace and through faith in Christ Jesus. Romans 10:9-10 “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Above I referenced a passage from 1 Corinthians 6 which states: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” But the passage does not end there, the apostle Paul goes on to state: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” In other words, these Christian believers to whom Paul is speaking once lived lives like those listed above. Many were effeminate, which would include those who today identify as transgender, and many were homosexuals, and yet they were saved from those lifestyles and washed clean through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. It is not possible to be both a Christian and a homosexual, for one cannot both be in Christ and be living in habitual sin. 1 John 3:8 states: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” It is the task the of the Church, not to acquiesce to the world’s demands, but to herald the gospel so that those enslaved to their sins might believe by faith in Christ Jesus and repent of their sinful behavior. Jesus states in Luke 24:46-48: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. “ Rather than celebrate Pride (which is a sin in and of itself) and the LGBTQ movement, we should proclaim the gospel to those enslaved to such sins in hopes that they might believe in Christ Jesus and be set free. And while it is true that the world will hate us for taking such a stance, that is to be expected. For Jesus Himself stated, Matthew 10:22 “…and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” And John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” It ought to be the Church’s sincere desire to love and glorify God as well as demonstrate genuine love for people. All who die in their sins will spend an eternity in hell for they will be righteously judged for the wicked acts they have committed. Only those who have been redeemed by faith in Christ will be saved. Therefore, the Church has no choice but to proclaim the gospel to all who will hear it in hopes that some might receive Christ by faith. May God be glorified in all that we do and say!
1 Comment
 For far too long the Christian Church has sat on the sidelines watching the world sink deeper and deeper into depravity and progressively becoming more accepting of heinous acts of debauchery. Many Christians say or do nothing because quite frankly…is not that what the Bible declares will happen over time?
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power." - 2 Timothy 3:1-5 As demonstrated by Paul’s statements to Timothy above, yes this will happen. Individuals will only become more and more rebellious, and sin will become more and more prevalent and accepted. However, we are still called to be the salt and life of the earth. Jesus states: “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:13-16 In other words, if the church sits idly by and does nothing we render ourselves useless and guilty of ignoring the commands of God. We are told to shine the light of Christ boldly in the midst of the wickedly dark and sinful world. Today certain acts of debauchery (namely abortion and LGBTQism) are not only being conducted openly in the public square, but they are celebrated as though they are good and commendable acts. Furthermore, to speak out against such acts is readily seen as hate speech and will likely one day be considered a crime. But as Christians seeking to be light in the darkness, we must never forget who is King and whose Law we are to abide by. The prophet Isaiah declares: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!" - Isaiah 5:20-21 The wicked will surely be judged, so we, in the love of Christ, ought to be exposing the works of the Kingdom of Darkness with the light of the gospel. We do this in hopes that many who are presently dead in their trespasses and slaves to their sin might receive life in Christ and repent of their wicked acts of rebellion. Jesus Christ came to restore that which had been lost and having done the work to restore it He commissioned us to herald the message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. So with all of that being said, I would like to call all who by faith claim the name of Jesus Christ to action. Today, the law of the land (here in America) says it is legal and acceptable to murder innocent unborn children, but God's Law states otherwise! God’s Law declares that murder is sin! Exodus 20:13 states: “You shall not murder." And in regards to whether or not a fetus (which is Latin for “small child”) in a mother’s womb is a baby, Luke 1:44 declares that which is in the womb is a living human being and capable of displaying emotion. Furthermore, David declares: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." - Psalm 139:13-16 When we say and do nothing to prevent the murderous act of abortion, which is daily taking place in America, we are guilty of choosing death. Deuteronomy 30:19 states: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live” We are called to fearlessly stand on the authority of the Word of God. Far too many professing believers in Christ (myself included) have not boldly stood up and taken the necessary steps to defend those who cannot stand up for themselves. Far too many are afraid of man and, at the same time, show no signs of fearing God. God is the only Judge we ought to fear. Jesus declares in Matthew 10:28: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” We, like Watchmen, are to call sinners out so that they might know and heed the warning of God to repent of their sins. We ought not to forget the words of God given to the prophet Ezekiel which state: “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.” While we are not responsible for the sins of mankind, we are, as Christ’s ambassadors, responsible for declaring the gospel. The apostle Paul states: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” - Romans 10:14 Make no mistake about it, we as Christians have a responsibility before God to declare the good news of Christ to those who are dead in their sins. Along with declaring the gospel to all people, there are other necessary steps that can and ought to be taken in order to protect the unborn. First, we can, and should be praying to the Sovereign and Triune God to end the heinous and deplorable act of abortion. Second, we ought to be doing our part to educate Americans of the facts. Babies in their mother’s wombs, at the moment of conception, are living human children and are no less deserving of life than we who have been birthed. Third, we ought to be developing, promoting, and voting on legislation which endeavors to protect unborn human life. Regarding this last step, there have been several incremental attempts at reducing abortion, but we ought to fight for something that is far more substantial than small incremental changes. We ought to strive for nothing less than the full abolishment of abortion. However, at the same time, many lives are being taken even as you are reading these words, and thus we must take some course of action now. The best piece of legislation that I am aware of presently is what is known as the Heartbeat Bill. I have personally heard from Janet Porter, who spearheaded the drafting of this bill, and her love for Christ and children shows in her relentless pursuit to end abortion. The Heartbeat Bill has been introduced in 17 states and passed in Arkansas, North Dakota, Iowa, and Ohio. We as believers in Christ would do well to champion this bill in our respective states as well. I have heard critiques of the Heartbeat Bill from some who wish to see abortion abolished, stating that it doesn’t go far enough. I would like to speak to those critics for a moment. First, you are correct, this bill does not prevent all abortions from occurring, however, it certainly is a giant step in the right direction. This bill prevents any abortion from taking place (even in the instances of rape and incest) once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which may happen as soon as five and a half weeks gestation. It is incredibly rare for most women to know that they are pregnant prior to five weeks. So while this bill does not abolish abortion, it will greatly reduce them. Many pro-choice advocates are staunchly opposed to this piece of legislation as they believe it will ultimately eradicate abortion. While I too would love to see abortion become illegal at any stage, the Heartbeat Bill is surely a Christ-honoring advancement in a world which is shrouded in darkness and enslaved to sin. For more information on the Heartbeat Bill please visit: http://www.f2a.org/  As we quickly approach Easter (Resurrection Sunday) Christians all over the globe are likely pondering more thoughtfully the implications of the resurrection of Christ. With that being said I felt it would be necessary for this month’s blog post to focus on that glorious event.
First and foremost to be a Christian or to call yourself a Christian is to claim to identify with Christ. That means the realization that we were once in opposition to God as selfish, self-centered, wicked and rebellious sinners, but by the grace of God we have been transformed by the redeeming sacrifice of Christ crucified. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 1:8-10 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Many more passages of Scripture could be used here to solidify this fact that we are rebellious sinners. However, these are suitable to demonstrate that Christians are sinners saved by grace through faith in the atoning work of Christ crucified. So it is clear that Christ died for us, but Christ did far more than die in our place. He conquered sin and death which held the human race in captivity and bondage to the kingdom of darkness. Christ set us free from our own depravity and He gave us new hearts which are capable of serving Him our Lord and King. John 8:35-36 “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” Galatians 5:13-14 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Christ’s resurrection solidified the work He had come to do in restoring us to Himself. The power of the resurrection and the implications of the empty tomb dictate that we are no longer slaves to the kingdom of darkness for we are now free to walk in accordance with the Holy Spirit whom resides in the true believer in Christ. However, today many attacks have been perpetrated against the resurrection of Christ, and even professing believers are unsure about the validity of Christ rising from the tomb. But as the apostle Paul states to the Corinthian church: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. In other words we have God’s guarantee of a future resurrection of which we have already begun to see the effects, because Christ Himself was literally raised from the dead. Even prior to Jesus’ resurrection He declared that this would take place: John 2:18-22 “So the Jews said to him, ‘What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” Matthew 12:39-40 “But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Matthew 17:22–23 “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’” While many claim to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, several struggle to believe that Christians, those redeemed by the blood of Christ, will be raised as well. John 5:25-29 “’Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.’” John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live’” 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” As followers of Christ we are not simply adherents to one of the world’s many religions, no! To the contrary we have been pulled out of the pit from which the world’s religions have derived (the kingdom of sin and death)! We have been set upon the firm foundation of the rock of Jesus Christ. We have, by faith in the risen Savior, received an inheritance with Christ our Lord. While the world continues to try and pull us from the hope we have been given in Christ we must realize we are eternally secure in that hope. John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” While it is wonderful to remind ourselves each Easter of the implications of the empty tomb, we should remind ourselves of His resurrection every single day. As we battle against our own flesh, against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places we ought to constantly remind ourselves it is the resurrected Christ who will fight these battles through us. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” May we never cease to proclaim: CHRIST IS RISEN!  Biblical truths that seem to rally Christians together are ones like: “I am saved by grace through faith” and “I am eternally secure in Christ.” While these are both accurate and wonderful realities for the genuine Christ-follower, these same biblically derived statements also have been misused in a way that seems to justify one’s lack of spiritual growth. In other words, many have inappropriately made it seem as if our responsibility to obey Christ is not nearly as important as our ability to rest in the fact that God has done all the work of regenerating and justifying us. Too many Christians have been stunted in their growth as a result of a lackadaisical approach to Christian living. God demands that we live Holy lives and while it is true that our sins are completely washed away it is important for believers to know that we will still be judged for how we lived under the grace that God has extended to us. This is exactly why I have chosen to write this month’s blog post on, “The Judgement Seat of Christ: What No One Seems to be Discussing.”
As a means of adhering to a more universal understanding of the eschatological judgements mentioned in Scripture, most churches (based on website doctrinal statements) seem to affirm the general judgement theory. In other words, rather than see the Judgement Seat of Christ (the Bema seat) and the Great White Throne Judgments as separate events (one for believers and one for nonbelievers), most collapse them together into one final judgment for both the righteous and the wicked. The goal of this short blog is not to give a thorough study of the Judgment seat of Christ, but to demonstrate quickly that there is such a judgement solely for Christ-followers and that it ought to motivate us to live out our salvation with fear and trembling. The purpose is to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. So the question before us is not simply will Christians be judged? The unequivocal answer to that is yes. However, it is not a pass or fail judgement by which we simply move along into glory due to the unmerited favor of God. As Christians our sins have already been punished and dealt with in Christ. With this biblical reality stated the question truly becomes: what is the purpose of a Christian judgement? The answer is: to assess how we lived under the justifying grace of God. Under the new popular (not new historically) approach to the general judgement theory the final judgement would simply be the last assessment as to whether or not one is redeemed and will enter into the eternal state with God or be cast into the lake of fire. However, the judgement seat of Christ is a specific judgement for New Testament Saints that have been washed clean by the precious blood of Christ and have been placed on mission to advance the gospel and live according to God’s law which is written on our hearts. Again, just to be clear, the judgement seat of Christ is not to assess whether or not we are saved, but how we will be rewarded for our commitment to gospel-centered living. For example: Romans 14:10–12 states: “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. . . . So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 states: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” It is clear that each of the passages above are referring to Christians, not unbelievers. The “us” in Romans, contextually is referring to the Church, likewise, Paul states to the Church of Corinth that we all must appear before the judgement (Bema) seat of Christ to be judged according to what we did “while in the body.” The Judgment Seat of Christ involves believers giving an account of their regenerated lives to Christ. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, believers will be rewarded based on how faithfully we served Christ. Did we commit ourselves to proclaiming the gospel as fervently as we ought? Were we dedicated to overcoming sin in our lives? Did we diligently study and hold fast to the truths revealed in Scripture? These are the types of things that Christians will be held accountable for at Christ’s “Bema” seat. Sadly, many professing Christians today seem to ignore or are ignorant to the fact that we will one day be judged for how we utilized the grace of God. Paul stated the importance of working diligently under the grace of God in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15: “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” In other words, while we (who are in Christ) are saved by grace alone through faith alone, we still may suffer loss at the Judgement Seat of Christ if our work for the Kingdom proves to be lacking. Such a judgement is meant to motivate Christians to keep pressing on toward the prize of an eternity with our Lord. Seeing as how the rewards given for faithfulness to Christ will ultimately be a means by which we are able to offer up praise to Him (Revelation 4:10) we ought to desire to live as Christ with every fiber of our being. This does not mean however, that if we make mistakes that we will have nothing to offer God, we all sin and make mistakes. The overarching question that Christ will evaluate in us is how faithful and sincere were we in our devotion to Him and the Kingdom of God. As children of God it should be our deepest desire to please our Lord. It is as John states in 1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” May the imminent coming of our Lord and the soon-to-follow “Bema” seat judgement motivate us to be good stewards of God’s grace. May we live by the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Soli Deo Gloria! ***For a fuller teaching on the Judgement Seat of Christ and a refutation of the General Judgement Theory, I highly recommend the book The Judgement Seat of Christ: A Biblical and Theological Study by Samuel L. Hoyt.  With every second that passes by God’s divine plan to redeem and restore His fallen creation is being played out in history. As a result of Adam and Eve’s failure to obey God’s command in the garden of Eden mankind was plunged into a wicked rebellion. The consequence of this rebellion is that every one of us is bound and shackled in the chains of sinful depravity for God’s righteousness could not allow for anything less.
God’s Word declares His Holiness: “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil … cannot look at wrong” - Habakkuk 1:13 It is because God’s very nature of holiness demands that sin be punished that He placed a curse on his disobedient creation: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” - Romans 8:20-21 Therefore we must conclude that the wickedness we presently experience in the world is a result of mankind’s selfishly diseased heart. God, however, was not content to destroy His fallen creation for He had determined before He ever formed it, to restore it: “but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” - 1 Peter 1:19-21 God willingly sent His Son to redeem and restore sinners to Himself: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” - John 3:16-18 This loving reality of redemption was thoroughly presented in the Old Testament though at the same time it was concealed and perceived to be a mystery: “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.” - Romans 16:25-26 In the present age the Church (sinners purchased by the blood of Christ) by faith in the risen Messiah are to seek to live holy lives with biblical values, declare the gospel and make further disciples of Christ: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” - Matthew 28:18-20 However, the questions that many ask is how long does this age last and how will it end? Well, there are many professing Christians that come to different conclusions when seeking to answer these important questions. These questions are considered eschatological questions. Simply put, eschatology is the study of last things and seeing how these questions pertain to how the present age will end they are eschatological in nature. Sadly, there are numerous conflicting approaches to understanding biblical eschatology and for the most part, the Church has agreed to disagree on these matters. For the sake of unity the Church has diluted the importance of biblical eschatology resulting in tremendous confusion and biblical illiteracy. For example, there is a growing trend in Western Christianity today to focus on forms of social and political activism, in an attempt to “redeem the culture.” As a result, more time and energy is wasted on endless debates and frivolous protests than on proclaiming the gospel. So why has the Church largely shifted its focus from the Great Commission to matters of Social Justice? While there are several reasons for this, one in particular is a misunderstanding of biblical eschatology. Some believe that the Church is to transform the world into a Christian utopia in preparation for Christ’s “postmillennial” return. In other words, the Church’s goal in the present age is to transform the world and its institutions, while at the same time righting all the social wrongs. But is this what the Bible teaches concerning the culmination of the present age? It is for this very reason that I have chosen to write this blog post and entitle it “Eschatology Matters: Why one’s Understanding of the End Makes a Difference.” The Bible absolutely has something to say concerning how the present age will end and how God’s plan for the world will play out. Thus, as students of God’s Word it is important for us to know what the Bible says concerning such things. Quite frankly, it is not as confusing as many would like to make it out to be. To the contrary God’s Word is pretty clear regarding these matters. The disciples themselves where concerned with these same questions and Jesus prior to going to the cross sought to relieve their worries. He stated: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” - John 14:1-3 Jesus here instructs His church to believe in God (the Father) and also in who He is, namely the Christ. Furthermore, he assures His church that when He has completed His work for the present age He will return for His bride (the Church) and take us to heaven where He has prepared a place for us. The apostle Paul affirms this teaching by stating: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 Again, the present Church age will end with Christ returning for His bride. We will most certainly face trying and difficult times, however we are to encourage one another with these words regarding the imminent return of Christ. In the meantime we are to be living holy lives, advancing the gospel, making disciples and awaiting Christ’s return. Paul again states: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” – Titus 2:11-14 While the gospel goes forth and God continues to draw sinners to Himself through the atoning work of Christ crucified it is noteworthy that the world itself will continue to grow darker and darker. The Word of God reveals this in such passages that follow: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” -2 Timothy 3:1-5 “Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” -2 Peter 3:3 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” –Matthew 24:12 Sadly, there are some who reject what the Bible has to say concerning the culmination of the present age and as a result many are distracted with futile efforts to restore the fallen state of the world. While it is important to stand for what is true and for what is right, believing that the culture of fallen man can be redeemed results in the displacement of ones efforts to evangelize the lost. Rather than seeking to redeem sin-stained institutions, Christians must be focused on the gospel which will bring about the transformation necessary to redeem the souls of unbelievers. Of the present world God’s Word declares: “…the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” - 2 Peter 3:7-10 While it would be a gross misunderstanding on the part of the Church to simply do nothing but wait for Christ to return, the mandate given to the Church is to proclaim the gospel to every nation and to make disciples of those whom believe by faith that Christ Jesus is both savior and Lord. At the coming of Christ to implement the promised millennial kingdom the fallen institutions of man will no longer be an issue for all will submit to the authority of Christ. The greatest danger the false views of eschatology (such as postmillennialism) pose to the Church is not a misplaced hope in redeeming the culture, but that an effort to do so will enviably shift its gaze from 1. the mission of redeeming sinners and 2. from the blessed hope of Christ’s imminent return. Jesus and His disciples did not endeavor to transform the fallen world and its systems, but to call sinners to be set apart from the world with the hope that Christ would one day return to take us to be with Him. The question we all must answer is this far reaching one, “In this matter are we willing to do as Christ taught?”  As we enter into 2019 and look back on 2018, there has been much that should cause the Church to far more fervently seek God and His will. To say that 2018 has been a tumultuous and turbulent year would be an understatement. 2018, by and large, has promoted and propagated new levels of flagrant displays of debauchery as seen in the following examples:
While the wicked acts of the world are concerning, they come as no surprise. The Word of God clearly declares that such things would transpire prior to Christ’s return. “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” -2 Timothy 3:1-5 “Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” -2 Peter 3:3 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” –Matthew 24:12 The reality that is most troublesome is not in witnessing the world’s adherence to such lawless debauchery, but of those who profess to be believers in Christ. Satan is actively at work in the worldly church, deceiving the minds of countless individuals under the guise of biblical Christianity. More and more so-called churches around the globe are openly partaking in worldly and sinful activities, as well as affirming sinful behavior. In an effort to gain acceptance of the world and under the guise of reaching the world, the apostate church has pandered to pagans and abandoned the preaching of the gospel. The apostle Paul boldly declares in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” When a professing church sees the gospel as foolishness or even too offensive to preach, we have ample evidence to know that it does not belong to God, but to Satan. This is yet another symptom of the times in which we live, for the Word of God declares in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” There are many today who claim to be followers of Christ but are sadly more concerned with acceptance and self-exaltation than committing themselves to humbly serving the Lord. There are more churches today that are afraid of offending sinners than they are of offending the Holy and sovereign God of the universe; this is evidenced by the way in which church worship takes place. Most churches today no longer have a pulpit from which the Word of God is preached, but instead they have large stages from which they put on theatrical productions and rock concerts to entertain rather than instruct the saints in the Word of truth causing the church to continue down this path of corruption. The church has catered to the flesh’s desire for comfort with cafés replacing foyers, theater seating replacing pews, and iPads (or nothing at all) replacing Bibles. Not to mention the illustrations/stunts continue to be more and more grandiose. Preaching in most churches have little to do with repentance and dying to self, but much to do with “being a better, more empowered, you.” Again, this falling away from biblical Christianity to worldliness is also to be expected: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” -1 Timothy 4:1 “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.” –Matthew 24:10-11 If the church isn’t being enticed by worldly allures, it is distracted by futile efforts. While the prosperity gospel continues to be a prominent and powerful tool of the devil, Satan also has deceived devote believers into assuming that Christ’s return is anything but imminent. There is a growing trend in Christian circles to “redeem the culture” and relegate the passages previously mentioned, concerning times such as these, to the first century and the closing of the Old Covenant age. Each of these warnings are linked to the coming of Christ which the church was to be living in expectation of. The authors of the N.T. constantly wrote in regards to Christ’s “appearing” and always conveyed the sense that this event could happen at any moment: “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” -1 John 2:28; “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” -1 John 3:2 “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”-Colossians 3:4 “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” -2 Timothy 4:8 “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” -1 Peter 5:4 It certainly seems odd to assume that these watchful warnings of Christ’s return were in regards to what took place in AD 70 at the hands of the Romans. Rather, each of these passages refer to Christ’s physical return and coming on the clouds of heaven. “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” –Acts 1:9-11 The church in 2018 has become more divided with many seeking to participate in worldly efforts rather than in heavenly ones. As the author of Hebrews indicates, it is better to fix our eyes on heaven rather than the present world in which we are strangers. “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” –Hebrews 11:13-16 To live as citizens of heaven rather than citizens of earth is the goal of the church. To live holy lives before our Holy God and to call out others to do the same. We are to go into all the world and make disciples as Christ declared before He departed to sit at the right hand of the Father: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” –Matthew 28:18-20 In other words, we as the church have been given the task to proclaim the gospel (Christ shedding His blood to redeem sinners) to all people, to make disciples of those who believe from all nations, and to teach them to observe the commands of Christ until then end of this present church age when He returns for His bride (the Church). While 2018 has proved a trying time for the Church of Christ, we can expect the pressure from the world only to increase. 2019 surly will be a year of tests and trials for Christ’s bride, but we have great reason to rejoice as Christ’s soon return is closer than ever before! With all of this being said, I encourage the Church to remain faithful to Christ and to live holy in 2019 and beyond. |
AuthorPastor Justin Myers is an avid student of God's Holy Word and received his M.Div. in biblical studies from Liberty University School of Divinity. Pastor Justin considers himself a family man who loves his wife and children dearly. He has been married for over seven years and has three children. Archives
June 2019
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