The Daily Word of Righteousness

Working Out Our Salvation, #2

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. (Acts 24:25)

Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come." "Judgment to come"! Governor Felix trembled at the thought. How different from today's preaching of the Gospel!

When Paul brought the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to Felix, Paul did not advise the Governor to "accept Christ" so when he died he would go to Heaven to live forever in a mansion.

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)

The teaching of the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, presents salvation in terms of the "great and dreadful day of the Lord."

When the Day of the Lord comes, which will happen at the end of the present age, the living and the dead will be judged. It does not matter where the living are or where the dead are at that time, they shall be judged.

If we would not be driven from the Presence of God and the glory of His Kingdom in the Day of the Lord, we must be saved. We are saved in terms of the Day of Wrath, not primarily in terms of where we go after we die.

There is a Hell. There is a Lake of Fire. There is a place referred to as "outer darkness." These may take effect after we die. But the Scriptures appear to emphasize the salvation that will take place in the Day of the Lord.

To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (I Corinthians 5:5)

Today we would say that the Corinthian sinner must suffer so he might go to Heaven when he dies. But the Apostle Paul was seeking to save the man's spirit in the Day of the Lord.

There are three major errors in the Christian preaching of our day.

We are saved by believing and confessing the theological facts concerning the Lord Jesus, His atoning death and bodily resurrection, whether or not we obey the numerous commandments found in the New Testament.

To be saved is to go to Paradise after we die and live there forever. Heaven is our "eternal home."

At any moment there will be a "rapture" in which all who have made a confession of faith in the Lord Jesus will be caught up (whether bodily or not we cannot tell) to meet the Lord in the air and return with Him to Heaven, to their mansion in Paradise.

These three doctrines are contrary to the Scriptures.

The three doctrines do away with the fear of God in the churches. They produce believers who are careless and overconfident concerning their eternal destiny. These doctrines have been successful in keeping the believers immature in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God.

To be continued.