. . . we make it our aim to pleas him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body (II Corinthians 5:9c-10).
This is one of the more sobering scriptures in the Bible because it was written to Christian people. From my theological perspective it does mean that Christians will stand before Christ in judgement, but because we have trusted in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, repentance and baptism being our witness, then Jesus counts us as his and does not see our sins. My sins are as great as any man's so the only claim I have on salvation is on the basis of what Jesus has done for me.
One of the great enemies of the gospel is secularism because secularism suggests that when a person dies there is nothing of the person that lives on except for the children he/she has brought into the world and the family teachings and dynamics they live out. They, and those who commit suicide assume that death is the end of it all. Phenomenally, it might seem that they are right because after death the physical body is only so much dead meat, but God says otherwise. Imagine the surprise of those who die without Christ. First they go to sleep. Then, they go through the experience of a dying brain, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, seeing relatives and other loved ones embedded in the memories of their brains. Finally, being escorted by angels to their abode to await final judgment, though this temporary abode is a judgment in its self, being a foretaste of eternity.
The 5th chapter of II Corinthians is one of the great chapters of the Bible, I just finished reading it as a daily Bible reading. It begins with these words of hope with which it is good to close this Bullet: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee (II Corinthians 5:1-5).
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
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1 comment:
Were you trying to make a point, Dr. Steele when you bolded anxiety? Let me guess--while in the flesh Christians will experience anxiety?
Another question:Are those who commit suicide rational enough to think through the consequences of their action?
Big 10 Husker Red.
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