Let's think for a moment about the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Let's think for a moment about the Judgment Seat of Christ.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.(II Corinthians 5:10—NIV)
(I do not pretend to be a great expert on the subject of sin and am not dogmatic. I just wish to stir up our minds on the subject!)
The Apostle Paul made a major point about the sinful cravings that dwelled in his body.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature [flesh]. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Romans 7:15-18—NIV)
Can you see that there are two wills working here? There is "I." And then there is "sin."
There is a "will" to sin dwelling within Paul. Where is this will located? Paul says it is dwelling in his flesh.
If it is a "will," then it is not an element or a chemical compound. After a long consideration of this subject, I have concluded that it is an intelligent spirit.
Paul was troubled with covetousness. There must have been an intelligent spirit of covetousness dwelling in Paul's flesh.
It was not coming from Paul's own spirit but from an alien spirit that somehow had found its way into Paul's flesh; unless by "flesh," Paul merely meant his body.
Where did this alien spirit come from? From Satan? Possibly. I have theorized that such sinful spirits may have come from deceased people who have been condemned by the Lord to wander in the earth, seeking always to satisfy their cravings.
Since I have no support in Scripture for my theory, I must default to Satan. I have a hard time with this default, however, because I am not certain Satan can share his personality with human beings; although he assuredly can inhabit people. And I do not believe these alien wills are angels.
When Jesus spoke to the possessed man of the Gerasenes, Jesus did not address Satan as such.
For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you impure spirit!" Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." (Mark 5:8,9)
That answer doesn't sound as though it is coming from Satan. It seems to me reasonable that if the spirits in the man were parts of Satan, then the name "Satan" would have been included in the conversation.
In any case, we all have these enemies dwelling in our flesh, and our body is spiritually dead because of them. (Romans 8:10)
Now, we did not request these visitors. So at the Judgment Seat of Christ, I do not see how Christ can condemn us for being inhabited and acting out from spirits that live in us and drive us against our will.
These spirits ought to be judged, and not us, I theorize!
And we can judge them. We have a conscience, and our conscience and our Bible tell us what is wrong and what is right. Also, as we grow spiritually to where we can know the will of Christ for us, Christ Himself will show us what is pleasing to Him and what is not.
Christ Himself is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and He will tell us when a practice either is righteous or unrighteous.
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14—NIV)
We cannot trust the moral codes of other religions because they were not given by Him who is the Truth and the only Truth.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13—NIV)
When we are made aware that we have been acting sinfully we are to confess the sinful spirit as worthy only of the Lake of Fire. We condemn it utterly. We pronounce an eternal judgment upon it.
When we do this, Christ takes the fire and life out of the spirit, and with His help we always can overcome that which previously had been part of our behavior.
What then is judged as good or evil at the Judgment Seat of Christ?
I have come to the conclusion it is our reaction to what we know to be sinful. If, as Paul, we abhor the evil in our flesh, resist it, pray against it, do everything we can to keep from yielding to it until Christ helps us overcome it completely, then we are not held guilty. We did as well as we could in a difficult situation.
Also, in this case I believe, the sinning that we do because of indwelling spirits, but are unconscious of, will be forgiven.
But when we know something we are doing is evil, and we yield to it without seeking help from Christ, then that is classified as willful sin. In this case our behavior is judged as evil.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26,27—NIV)
I understand that numerous ministers in America tell us that once we "accept Christ" we cannot be condemned. But the truth is not in them. They are teaching rebellion against the Word of God.
An interesting point has been raised in our discussion. What about this "I" that Paul says abhors any infraction of God's Word. The "I" is our soul, the source of our judgments and motivations.
There is some good in most everyone's soul, I believe. There is the mother who will give her life for her child; the father who will do everything in his power to provide for his family.
But these virtues are remnants of the fallen Eve and Adam. They are not of eternal strength of righteousness and holiness. They will fail us if the pressure on us is great enough.
So God condemns our soul to death. He brings us into numerous afflictions, until like Paul, we know that the sentence of death has been passed on us.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— (Romans 6:6—NIV)
Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (II Corinthians 1:9—NIV)
It is an interesting thought that our original soul was crucified with Christ in order that our sinful body might be destroyed, freeing us from the bondages of sin.
What is the connection? Why is it necessary that our soul be crucified if our body is to be freed from the bondages of sin?
Our body receives its directions from our soul. As long as our soul is alive, our sinful body can flourish. But when we count our soul as crucified, then we can conceive of ourselves as free from any obligation to obey the sinful impulses in our body. We are free to condemn the sinful deeds of our body as soon as they are revealed.
Our dead soul no longer has the ability to interfere with the program of putting to death the sinful deeds of our flesh. We simply are not obligated to sin.
Our old soul, our old self, finds death in God's commandments.
If we considered that our soul were alive, and our first personality were to remain intact, we might view stealing, for example, to be a profitable venture, and our soul would encourage us claiming that we were entitled to this gain. But God is against stealing. (Hosea 4:2)
If we hold that our soul is still alive, and our original personality has a right to seeks its own comfort and security, we will get nowhere in the program of holiness. Our soul will keep defending its right to prosper in the world.
In fact, there is a significant number of Christians in America who believe that the purpose of the Gospel is that we might prosper in the present world, monetary success being a sign of God's blessing.
To associate worldly riches or the miraculous sprinkling of gold dust in the hair of the worshipers with the blessing of God, is a deception. God loves the poor and gives the Kingdom to them. That is a fundamental aspect of the Gospel of the Kingdom. (James 2:5)
When we are brought down to "death" by afflictions, God raises us by the resurrection Life of the Lord Jesus. We die with Him and we live with Him. Death, and life. Death, and life. Little by little our soul is whittled away and in its place rises the life-giving spirit.
Thus the treachery and rebellion in our soul, which are not alien spirits that have invaded our flesh but are our own spirit, we might say, are overcome by death and resurrection; and the faithfulness and other virtues that are in our natural soul are transformed by the Substance of Christ, by His body and blood, until they are of eternal quality.
We can see that there is a rudimentary righteousness in our former self, because the Apostle Paul detested that which was contrary to the Law of Moses. The forming of righteousness and holiness in our soul are the new covenant---the writing of the eternal moral law of God in our mind and heart.
We understand that there appear to be three primary sources of sinful behavior.
Next Part Ezekiel's river is an illustration of the three sources of sin.