The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Beema of Christ, #5

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7,8—NIV)

In the Day of the Lord we shall reap what we have sown. We will not face all the sinful acts we have performed if we confess them today, renounce them, denounce them, and through the Holy Spirit put them to death. If we have not been diligent in putting away the sins the Spirit has shown us, we surely shall answer to Christ for our carelessness. You can count on this.

Whoever, Christian or not, continues to act according to his or her sinful nature will reap corruption in the day of resurrection, especially the Christians. This is what the Bible says.

We can turn away from our sins today, and if we do they will not be held against us in the day of judgment. But if we do not follow Jesus Christ diligently but instead trust in the current teaching of grace, we will face an angry Christ in that day.

"That each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

"For the things done while in the body."

The reason we sin is that we are bound by sin. We have had a sinful nature from the time we were conceived, according to the Scriptures. We did not ask to be born bound by sin. Many of us do not want to be bound by sin. We hate being bound by sin.

God understands better than we that we did not choose to be born with a sinful nature. God did His part by giving His only Son as a sin-offering so we could be forgiven. God also has provided many Divine virtues, including the forming of Christ in us, so we can cease our sinning and begin to live righteously.

Therefore the Judgment Seat of Christ is not God's way of adding to our problems by punishing us for our sinning when He knows we have a sinful nature we can't control. This would not be righteousness on God's part.

Rather, what we shall be judged for are the actions over which we do have control.

Think about the punishment of the foolish virgins or the man who buried his talent. The virgins could have been diligent if they wanted to. The man who buried his talent could have put it in the bank instead. Their judgment was harsh because they did not do what they could.

The Book of Hebrews tells us that we shall not escape if we neglect our salvation. If we do not seek Christ each day and receive the wisdom and power that will bring forth a new, righteous creation in our personality, we shall be punished for not being diligent and also for the wicked things we have done because we did not apply ourselves to God's salvation.

To be continued.