When Jesus returns to this earth, He will reward those who have been obedient and destroy the disobedient.
And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according to his work shall be. Revelation 22:12
This implies that at this time who is a true follower of Christ will be judged, and the decision as to who is saved or not saved precedes the coming of Christ. The reward of the righteous is eternal life, and the righteous dead are resurrected at the second coming.
Sin caused a separation between God and man and it happened because of the deception or lie from the Evil one.
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:2
And only in Christ and His righteousness are we reconciled to God:
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10
This truth of the message of reconciliation has been entrusted to the church to give to the believers.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
In Christ, we are reconciled with God, but as long as sin exists, we have to rely on Christ righteousness as sin will seperate us from God.
The greatest gift to fallen man is the gift of God’s own Son to save us from sin:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
So the Evil one seeks to keep christians in sin by deception and discarding what shows them sin. He sends false spirits to teach false doctrines that we do not have to turn away from or confess our sin and rely on Christ's righteousness. Then again give the old lie from the Garden of Eden that we will become like God and cannot sin, a great lie to deceive just as he did Eve.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 NKJV
So how do we know what is truth from God and what is from the false spirits and false teachers and doctrines of the Evil one.
To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying ‘ Let us go after other gods’ - which you have not known - and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. Deuteronomy 13:1-4 NKJV
That which is from God must be in harmony with the word of God and the Law of God which shows us what sin is. The devil does not want his purpose and corruption to be shown, so he will try to deceive us on what is sin and negate anything that gives us understanding of sin.
Many will say to Jesus in the last judgment:
‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’ Matthew 7:22
The Lord will, however, not recognize them as His, as they practiced iniquity (Greek: anomia - against the law of God). They seem to be believers in Christ and say they do things for Christ, but still hold on to sin and fail in regard to the Law.
So how can we know if Christians are true believers of Christ and given themselves completely to Christ. The true believers will live a life in harmony with the will of God and what they show and teach others is so that they too can live godly lives?
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:20
Now, no one is without sin and all fall short of the glory of God, but if they turn their lives to Christ they begin to be transformed by the Holy Spirit as it does the work to cleanse their hearts and minds from sin.
God's purpose is the destruction of sin which must forever be eradicated from the universe. He is destroying sin now in the believer, but the time will come when the Lord will do "his strange work" (Isaiah 28:21) and eradicate both the perpetrators of sin and sin itself from His kingdom. As sin is the transgression of the law, the standard of judgement must be the law of God.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4
...for where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery', also said 'Do not kill'. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:10-12
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13,14
The law given in the Commandments is the standard of judgment. God has appointed a day for judgment and Jesus Himself will judge.
...because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:31 NKJV
I said in my heart, 'God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.' Ecclesiastes 3:17
Judgment will also begin with the believers, as some will say or pretend that they have given themselves completely to Christ but the divine will judge that. If they truly follow Christ their lives will be transformed by the Holy Spirit and this mean they will leave sin behind and be in harmony with God's truth and will follow what God has given them in His word including his Law.
For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
If God will not condone sin, even in professed believers, how much more so in the willfully disobedient. Since Christ will reward the faithful at His return, this judgment must take place in heaven prior to His return.
This “day of judgment” takes place in heaven before the 2nd coming and Christ will declare:
He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Revelation 22:11,12 NKJV
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. Revelation 20:12
Then they that who feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it and a Book of Remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name. Malachi 3:16
Nothing about our lives is unrecorded in heaven and our sin will be revealed and the divine will judge who have truly given themselves over to Christ and His righteousness.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:14
But I say to you that for every idle word men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36,37
And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of My book.' Exodus 32:33 NKJV
The judgment is a divine issue and as judgment begins with God's people, it is essential that we take cognizance of our lives. Christ wants to give us His righteousness but also transform our characters, that is why the Holy Spirit works on our hearts and minds and lets us be in harmony with Jesus as given in His testimony and His Law. Christians are urged to study the Scriptures and the truth contained in it so they will not be deceived or follow a lie into darkness of sin so that day of the Lord will not catch them unawares.
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labour paints upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ... 1 Thessalonians 5:2-9 NKJV
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus....Revelation 14:12
Christ’s redeemed are raised from the dead, the living righteous are translated, they are gathered by the angels and meet the Lord in the sky. We will confess Jesus Christ is Lord, and only in the LORD do we have righteousness.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:17
For it is written: 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:11,12 NKJV
...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and of things in earth, and of things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10,11
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. Isaiah 45:22-24
And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according to his work shall be. Revelation 22:12
This implies that at this time who is a true follower of Christ will be judged, and the decision as to who is saved or not saved precedes the coming of Christ. The reward of the righteous is eternal life, and the righteous dead are resurrected at the second coming.
Sin caused a separation between God and man and it happened because of the deception or lie from the Evil one.
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:2
And only in Christ and His righteousness are we reconciled to God:
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10
This truth of the message of reconciliation has been entrusted to the church to give to the believers.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
In Christ, we are reconciled with God, but as long as sin exists, we have to rely on Christ righteousness as sin will seperate us from God.
The greatest gift to fallen man is the gift of God’s own Son to save us from sin:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
So the Evil one seeks to keep christians in sin by deception and discarding what shows them sin. He sends false spirits to teach false doctrines that we do not have to turn away from or confess our sin and rely on Christ's righteousness. Then again give the old lie from the Garden of Eden that we will become like God and cannot sin, a great lie to deceive just as he did Eve.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 NKJV
So how do we know what is truth from God and what is from the false spirits and false teachers and doctrines of the Evil one.
To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying ‘ Let us go after other gods’ - which you have not known - and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. Deuteronomy 13:1-4 NKJV
That which is from God must be in harmony with the word of God and the Law of God which shows us what sin is. The devil does not want his purpose and corruption to be shown, so he will try to deceive us on what is sin and negate anything that gives us understanding of sin.
Many will say to Jesus in the last judgment:
‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’ Matthew 7:22
The Lord will, however, not recognize them as His, as they practiced iniquity (Greek: anomia - against the law of God). They seem to be believers in Christ and say they do things for Christ, but still hold on to sin and fail in regard to the Law.
So how can we know if Christians are true believers of Christ and given themselves completely to Christ. The true believers will live a life in harmony with the will of God and what they show and teach others is so that they too can live godly lives?
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:20
Now, no one is without sin and all fall short of the glory of God, but if they turn their lives to Christ they begin to be transformed by the Holy Spirit as it does the work to cleanse their hearts and minds from sin.
God's purpose is the destruction of sin which must forever be eradicated from the universe. He is destroying sin now in the believer, but the time will come when the Lord will do "his strange work" (Isaiah 28:21) and eradicate both the perpetrators of sin and sin itself from His kingdom. As sin is the transgression of the law, the standard of judgement must be the law of God.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4
...for where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery', also said 'Do not kill'. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:10-12
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13,14
The law given in the Commandments is the standard of judgment. God has appointed a day for judgment and Jesus Himself will judge.
...because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:31 NKJV
I said in my heart, 'God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.' Ecclesiastes 3:17
Judgment will also begin with the believers, as some will say or pretend that they have given themselves completely to Christ but the divine will judge that. If they truly follow Christ their lives will be transformed by the Holy Spirit and this mean they will leave sin behind and be in harmony with God's truth and will follow what God has given them in His word including his Law.
For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
If God will not condone sin, even in professed believers, how much more so in the willfully disobedient. Since Christ will reward the faithful at His return, this judgment must take place in heaven prior to His return.
This “day of judgment” takes place in heaven before the 2nd coming and Christ will declare:
He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Revelation 22:11,12 NKJV
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. Revelation 20:12
Then they that who feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it and a Book of Remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name. Malachi 3:16
Nothing about our lives is unrecorded in heaven and our sin will be revealed and the divine will judge who have truly given themselves over to Christ and His righteousness.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:14
But I say to you that for every idle word men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36,37
And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of My book.' Exodus 32:33 NKJV
The judgment is a divine issue and as judgment begins with God's people, it is essential that we take cognizance of our lives. Christ wants to give us His righteousness but also transform our characters, that is why the Holy Spirit works on our hearts and minds and lets us be in harmony with Jesus as given in His testimony and His Law. Christians are urged to study the Scriptures and the truth contained in it so they will not be deceived or follow a lie into darkness of sin so that day of the Lord will not catch them unawares.
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labour paints upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ... 1 Thessalonians 5:2-9 NKJV
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus....Revelation 14:12
Christ’s redeemed are raised from the dead, the living righteous are translated, they are gathered by the angels and meet the Lord in the sky. We will confess Jesus Christ is Lord, and only in the LORD do we have righteousness.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:17
For it is written: 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:11,12 NKJV
...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and of things in earth, and of things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10,11
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. Isaiah 45:22-24
For at least the last 12 years in the SDA church I had assurance of salvation. I didn't have the degree of assurance I have now, but I was no where near thinking I needed to be saved again after every sin. I actually had a Bible teacher in academy that led us on a proof text study about assurance. I praise God for him!!
