The Daily Word of Righteousness

Judgment and Rewards, #5

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

It appears in many instances, "saved" people possess little of the eternal Life that Christ is. The portion of resurrection life they do have is constantly in danger of being choked out by the cares of the world.

The eternal life they possess cannot come under condemnation, because it is the substance and life force of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The remainder of their untransformed personality still is subject to Divine judgment. It is "covered" because of the work of redemption that has begun in them. However, it is only the part of them that has "heard" Christ that has passed from death to life and therefore is no longer subject to judgment. It is the new creation that enters the Kingdom of God and is the Kingdom of God.

To believe on Christ means infinitely more than to profess faith in His atonement and resurrection, and then to wait to die and go to Heaven. To believe on Christ, in the redeeming sense, is to count oneself as dead and to live in and by Christ.

The individual who is crucified with Christ and in whom Christ is living is being judged now. He will suffer in the world so he may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God. If he runs the race according to the rules he finally will attain the first resurrection from among the dead.

The believer who arrives at the "mark" has been made perfect in love. He shall have boldness in the Day of Judgment. He has been baptized in the Divine Fire. He has been judged and purified. He has passed from death to life before his sleeping body is awakened in the Day of the Lord.

This is what Jesus meant when He spoke of those who believe on Him. He was not and is not referring to the average "Christian" of today who is walking in the corruption and death of the flesh and is waiting to be removed from the dealings of the Lord by means of a "rapture." Christ is referring to the spiritual man or woman who is walking in the Spirit of God.

Sometimes the true saints are few in number—just a remnant of Israel.

Christ gave the laws of the Kingdom of God to us. All of the Apostles repeated them in their epistles. These laws are to be kept. Christ by His virtue enables us to keep the laws of the Kingdom, and forgives us when we confess our sins and repent of them. We keep on walking in the light of God's Presence. We are strictly obedient to Christ.

The concept of walking in Christ is totally different from the current understanding that Divine grace is the overlooking of our sins in the world—a viewpoint that has succeeded in destroying the testimony of the Christian Church in our time.

If Christ is dwelling in us we are abiding in eternal life. If eternal life is abiding in us the results can be witnessed by the unsaved and by the saved.

To be continued.