The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Heavenly Jerusalem, #49

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:7,8)

The kind of resurrection we will experience depends on how we behave ourselves in this world. If we are a true lover of Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to mold us in the image of Christ, we will reap the fullness of Christ in the Day of the Lord.

If we are an evil person (and many professing Christians are evil in their behavior) we will reap an evil resurrection. In that Day, we shall receive back the evil we have practiced. As we have done, so shall it be done to us.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is a description of the law of equity that will operate in the Day of the Lord. It will operate independently of our belief in Christ.

The law of the Kingdom of God is that we receive back the things done in our body. We will reap what we sow. This principle cannot be changed. The blood of the Lord Jesus makes it possible for us to be spared in the Day of Wrath, provided we walk in the Spirit of God. Nevertheless, in the Day of Christ we shall reap what we have sown (Galatians 6:7; Revelation 22:12).

We will not, however, receive the evil we have done if we confess the evil and turn away from it sincerely and permanently, as the Lord helps us.

If we would "enter in through the gates into the city," we are required to do what Christ has told us. It is in the doing of the Lord's commandments each day of our life that the Kingdom of God is formed in us, that we build our house on the rock.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

It is the doing of Christ's commandments, such as taking up our cross and following Him, that gives us access to the tree of life, and allows us to go through the gates into the city.

We have seen, in Revelation 21:8, the categories of people who will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. We have been introduced to the concept that Christ will purge us of our remaining weaknesses in the Day of Redemption provided we have kept His commandments in the world, having been faithful to overcome the sins He has pointed out to us.

Our confession of faith in Christ is not a password by which the angel will permit us to pass through the gates. God never intended a profession of faith in Christ would serve as an alternative to keeping the laws of righteousness. It is what we have become, the transformed personality, the new creation, that gains entrance through the gates into the city.

To be continued.