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Continued from above.
According to the same author, if God in His foreknowledge sees that a Christian is piling up sin against sin, He tries to correct him by chastisement. Failing in this, He “takes him home,” that is, to heaven. In other words, if a man sins moderately, he will get to heaven someday; but if he sins profligately, he will get there more quickly! If this is not putting a premium on sin, what is it doing? The man who commits the most sin, the man who refuses to stop sinning, will get to heaven ahead of his conscientious, righteous brethren. It makes no difference what these sins are. They may be “murders, drunkenness, reveling”; but the more he abandons himself to such iniquities, the sooner he will be “taken home to be with the Lord.” Contrast this with Paul’s theology: “They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21.
What explanation is made of Paul’s assertion? One radio preacher said, “The kingdom of God here has no reference to the future kingdom of Christ.” In other words, sinners will inherit the future kingdom, but not this one. What is this one? He asserted that the kingdom of Galatians 5:21 is identical with that spoken of in Romans 4:17, which reads, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” That is, the sinner will not enter into this higher plane of spiritual life while practicing immoralities. That a man does not enter into a higher plane of spiritual life while practicing immoralities is self-evidently and Scripturally true; that, failing to reach this plane, he nevertheless qualifies for the future kingdom is hardly worthy of comment.
But what of the cleansing at the judgment seat of Christ, which sinners are asserted to undergo? What is its purpose, and when does it occur? According to the theory, “This will occur at the return of the Lord when he calls the church to himself at the rapture.... Those who appear there are already saved forever, but it will be a judgment of their works and a rewarding of the saints. This reckoning has nothing to do with their salvation, which is forever settled when they believe, but it deals with rewards or loss of rewards and their place and position in the kingdom of Christ.” Thus a man who lives and dies in sin may be affected as far as his position in the kingdom is concerned, but his right to share in the kingdom is not compromised one whit! This is what it means to be saved by “pure grace”!
When the statement that this cleansing occurs at the return of the Lord is coupled with another belief of the proponents of this theory, an interesting situation develops. For they claim that “carnal Christians”-thieves, adulterers, liars, murderers have been going to heaven by the thousands and tens of thousands ever since the days of Christ. If “carnal Christians” have been going to heaven for thousands of years and if their cleansing is not to take place until the future coming of Christ, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that heaven is liberally populated with men and women such as one can find in any penitentiary. With one exception: They are there in “spirit form.”
The foregoing is in no sense a misrepresentation of this teaching. An evangelist schooled in the theory recently held revival meetings in one of the South’s largest cities. Under the influence of his preaching a notorious gambler and drunkard was converted. Not long after this, the man was killed in a fight after having slipped back into his previous mode of living. Told about this a year later when he returned to the city, the evangelist explained, “The Lord killed him and took him to heaven so that he would not keep on disgracing the church.” In other words, he could disgrace the church, but he could not disgrace heaven! When he believed in Jesus, he received eternal life; and this, no amount of sinning could annul. It is believed that at the judgment seat of Christ this man and all others who once believed and later died in their sins will have all their abominable works burned up, but they will be saved. And, carrying this to its logical conclusion, some are now finding room in this cleansing for the devil himself!
The phrase ‘Judgment seat of Christ” is used twice in the New Testament. Though it is frequently quoted by apologists for the once-saved, always-saved theory, the context is skipped over as well it might be, for it in no way supports the conclusions drawn. The context teaches that all have an accountability to God which cannot be escaped. To use the words of Ecclesiastes 3:17, “I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Peter says, “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” 1 Peter 4:17. And Paul says that “the house of God” is “the church.” (1 Timothy 3:15.) In Hebrews 10:30 he adds, “The Lord shall judge his people.” The doctrine of these verses is the same as those in which the phrase ‘Judgment seat of Christ’ is used. Notice Romans 14:10-11: “But why does thou judge thy brother? Or why does thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” As if to illustrate that “all” means “all,” he continues: “For it is written, As I live, said the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” It is a bit difficult to see how “every knee” and “every tongue” can be limited to mean only “the church”-the church including, of course, those who believed and who later died in their sins.
The next mention of the judgment seat of Christ is found in 2 Corinthians 5: 10, 11 and says nothing about judgment taking place after the “rapture,” or dealing only with the church. This reference reads, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he bath done, whether it he good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” This shows again that this judgment will include everyone, and that those who have done evil will face God’s wrath. Impelled by their sense of guilt, the wicked kneel and confess the immutable righteousness and justice of God. Confronted with eternal loss, they are filled with fear and consternation. The righteous-those who have lived righteously through the power of the indwelling Christ-are presented “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” (Jude 24.)
According to the same author, if God in His foreknowledge sees that a Christian is piling up sin against sin, He tries to correct him by chastisement. Failing in this, He “takes him home,” that is, to heaven. In other words, if a man sins moderately, he will get to heaven someday; but if he sins profligately, he will get there more quickly! If this is not putting a premium on sin, what is it doing? The man who commits the most sin, the man who refuses to stop sinning, will get to heaven ahead of his conscientious, righteous brethren. It makes no difference what these sins are. They may be “murders, drunkenness, reveling”; but the more he abandons himself to such iniquities, the sooner he will be “taken home to be with the Lord.” Contrast this with Paul’s theology: “They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21.
What explanation is made of Paul’s assertion? One radio preacher said, “The kingdom of God here has no reference to the future kingdom of Christ.” In other words, sinners will inherit the future kingdom, but not this one. What is this one? He asserted that the kingdom of Galatians 5:21 is identical with that spoken of in Romans 4:17, which reads, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” That is, the sinner will not enter into this higher plane of spiritual life while practicing immoralities. That a man does not enter into a higher plane of spiritual life while practicing immoralities is self-evidently and Scripturally true; that, failing to reach this plane, he nevertheless qualifies for the future kingdom is hardly worthy of comment.
But what of the cleansing at the judgment seat of Christ, which sinners are asserted to undergo? What is its purpose, and when does it occur? According to the theory, “This will occur at the return of the Lord when he calls the church to himself at the rapture.... Those who appear there are already saved forever, but it will be a judgment of their works and a rewarding of the saints. This reckoning has nothing to do with their salvation, which is forever settled when they believe, but it deals with rewards or loss of rewards and their place and position in the kingdom of Christ.” Thus a man who lives and dies in sin may be affected as far as his position in the kingdom is concerned, but his right to share in the kingdom is not compromised one whit! This is what it means to be saved by “pure grace”!
When the statement that this cleansing occurs at the return of the Lord is coupled with another belief of the proponents of this theory, an interesting situation develops. For they claim that “carnal Christians”-thieves, adulterers, liars, murderers have been going to heaven by the thousands and tens of thousands ever since the days of Christ. If “carnal Christians” have been going to heaven for thousands of years and if their cleansing is not to take place until the future coming of Christ, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that heaven is liberally populated with men and women such as one can find in any penitentiary. With one exception: They are there in “spirit form.”
The foregoing is in no sense a misrepresentation of this teaching. An evangelist schooled in the theory recently held revival meetings in one of the South’s largest cities. Under the influence of his preaching a notorious gambler and drunkard was converted. Not long after this, the man was killed in a fight after having slipped back into his previous mode of living. Told about this a year later when he returned to the city, the evangelist explained, “The Lord killed him and took him to heaven so that he would not keep on disgracing the church.” In other words, he could disgrace the church, but he could not disgrace heaven! When he believed in Jesus, he received eternal life; and this, no amount of sinning could annul. It is believed that at the judgment seat of Christ this man and all others who once believed and later died in their sins will have all their abominable works burned up, but they will be saved. And, carrying this to its logical conclusion, some are now finding room in this cleansing for the devil himself!
The phrase ‘Judgment seat of Christ” is used twice in the New Testament. Though it is frequently quoted by apologists for the once-saved, always-saved theory, the context is skipped over as well it might be, for it in no way supports the conclusions drawn. The context teaches that all have an accountability to God which cannot be escaped. To use the words of Ecclesiastes 3:17, “I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Peter says, “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” 1 Peter 4:17. And Paul says that “the house of God” is “the church.” (1 Timothy 3:15.) In Hebrews 10:30 he adds, “The Lord shall judge his people.” The doctrine of these verses is the same as those in which the phrase ‘Judgment seat of Christ’ is used. Notice Romans 14:10-11: “But why does thou judge thy brother? Or why does thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” As if to illustrate that “all” means “all,” he continues: “For it is written, As I live, said the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” It is a bit difficult to see how “every knee” and “every tongue” can be limited to mean only “the church”-the church including, of course, those who believed and who later died in their sins.
The next mention of the judgment seat of Christ is found in 2 Corinthians 5: 10, 11 and says nothing about judgment taking place after the “rapture,” or dealing only with the church. This reference reads, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he bath done, whether it he good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” This shows again that this judgment will include everyone, and that those who have done evil will face God’s wrath. Impelled by their sense of guilt, the wicked kneel and confess the immutable righteousness and justice of God. Confronted with eternal loss, they are filled with fear and consternation. The righteous-those who have lived righteously through the power of the indwelling Christ-are presented “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” (Jude 24.)
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