The Two Rewards.

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In the morning the study was in the eighteenth Psalm. The subject was our need to pray each day, read our Bible each day, and obey Christ diligently. When we do this we build our house on the Rock. We will be able to save ourselves, our loved ones, and those who will listen to us during the age of moral and physical horrors that has come upon us in America. At night the message was about a misunderstanding that has crippled the Gospel message from the first century.

(11/11/2007) There is a fatal flaw in Christian thinking. Paul mentioned it when he said, "Let us do evil that good may come." Even in his day his message was being perverted. Today the error is stronger than ever, affecting, I believe, the majority of Evangelical churches.

I wish to compare two passages, although there are numerous other pairs that reveal the same apparent contradiction. I do not know why the following explanation has not been given earlier in Church history. Perhaps it is because of the complexities of the way God is putting an end to rebellion.

May I say also that I believe, as scholars on the earth are explaining how these two passages complement rather contradict each other, the elect in Heaven are being given the same understanding. They without us cannot be made perfect. The entire Bride, in Heaven and on the earth, is to be made blameless

Here is a pair of seemingly contradictory verses.

The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. (Psalms 18:24)

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;" (Romans 3:10)

The current explanation being given today, in the majority of churches (please correct me if I am wrong) is that we now are in a new dispensation. In David’s time it was possible to behave righteously (although consider Bathsheba!). Under the new dispensation of grace, we conclude from Paul’s writing that no one in the world is righteous. Therefore God is not looking to us to behave righteously but forgives us freely if we profess belief in Jesus Christ.

Grace now is our righteousness, rather than the clean hands of which King David spoke.

Consider for a moment the awesome consequences of this doctrinal position. The fiery temptations offered by demons in America, such as pornography, are the life of Hell. We understand that Jesus would be pleased if we did not view pornography. But we will avoid Hell by believing in Him, even though we watch pornography on the Internet, as numerous Christian people do.

There is no doubt whatever in my mind that the "new dispensation" teaching has destroyed the moral strength of the Christian in America. It has undermined the teaching of the old hymns ("Each victory will help you some other to win"; "Be of sin the double cure. Save me from its guilt and power").

I notice that the new choruses glorify God and the Lord Jesus. But they do not instruct us in the paths of righteousness, as do the old hymns. I think this fact is tremendously significant and points to our tendency to call Jesus "Lord! Lord!" and not do what He says. Maybe we should return to the old hymns, and jazz them up a bit to make them more palatable to today’s believers.

No one but no one is going to effectively overcome the temptations of the American culture by thinking he ought to do good to show his love for Jesus, but he is saved from Hell by "believing in Christ." If he is going to be determined enough to resist the fiery temptations of our day, he has to be fully persuaded that the believer in Christ who practices sin is living in spiritual death and shall reap corruption in the Day of the Lord.

Please permit me to present a verse that says this. I could bring up many more; but if you don’t receive the one I present you would not be impressed by a hundred additional passages.

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:10)

What does this mean? It means what is says.

Is it spoken to believers?

From the context, obviously yes.

Does it mean if the believer continues to live in the sinful nature he will prevent the making alive of his body in the Day of Resurrection?

Yes, in terms of Romans 8:11—two verses previously.

How can today’s preachers get around this? They can’t. They ignore it and emphasize how we are about to be caught up to Heaven in a "rapture."

Has this verse always been in the Bible. Yes, along with many other passages from Paul’s writings that say much the same thing.

No Christian who continues to obey his sinful nature will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Then much preaching that we hear is destructive! This is a fact. The blind are leading the blind.

How, then, do we reconcile the numerous passages in Psalms that refer to righteous people, and Paul’s statement that there is none righteous. Is there a clear, simple explanation?

Yes, there is. Do fellowship with God and eternal life always follow righteous behaviour on our part? Absolutely. How could it be otherwise! Are people who are practicing sin living in the Kingdom of God, the doing of God’s will in the earth?

The explanation is as follows: In King David’s day, righteous behaviour was that of obeying the Law of Moses. Spiritual life, prosperity, physical health, fellowship with God, and other blessings resulted from obeying the Law of Moses.

Under the new covenant, righteous behaviour is just as necessary if we are to have spiritual life and fellowship with God. But the righteous behaviour comes from God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two stages in the development of righteous behaviour, under the new covenant:

First, we must look to Christ for salvation, be baptized in water, and then set out to obey the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. These can be obeyed if we will keep seeking the Help of the Lord. We must pray and read our Bible each day, and do all else associated with the Christian life. If we do not, do these things we will live in spiritual death, even though we profess belief in Christ. (How can we say we believe in Christ and not do what He has commanded? This is ridiculous!)

When we live as a Christian disciple, confessing our sins as the Holy Spirit points them out to us, Christ delivers us from these bondages. Deliverance from spiritual chains is the first step toward righteous behaviour under the new covenant.

Our reward for our faithfulness in obeying Christ is deliverance from the bondages of sin.

As we are released from the bondages of sin, we begin to practice righteousness. When we are released from the spirit of lust, we cease watching pornography on the Internet. When we are released from the spirit of gossip, we cease gossiping. It is as simple as that.

Our deliverance from the bondages of sin leads to righteous behaviour on our part, as we continue to live as a Christian.

Now another event happens. God rewards us for living righteously. The first reward was deliverance so we can live righteously. Now we are rewarded for living righteously. There is a double reward, we might say.

How does God reward us for living righteously? By giving us love, joy, peace, all the enlargements mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, the fullness of our inheritance in Christ, and every other blessing imaginable.

Our greatest reward will come as we stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ. There we shall receive a crown of anointing that will include all the works of righteousness we have done through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can we see now that we are not in a "new dispensation" in which the Old Testament emphasis on righteous behavior is made null and void? Rather, under the new covenant, righteous behaviour is made possible. Divine grace is infinitely more than forgiveness. It is in fact the desire, willingness, and ability to behave in the will of God at all times.

How infinitely superior the actual new covenant is to that which has been patched together with a few passages removed from their contexts!

A warning is in order at this point. The moral strength of the Christian churches in America and the other Western nations has been eroded because of the concept of a "new dispensation of grace." We ought to know that God will not bless us in our sins no matter how much we "believe in Christ."

We have been utterly deceived because we are selfish, self-seeking, rebellious creatures living in the lap of luxury while much of the world starves. Because we have not received the love of the truth, God Himself has sent a strong delusion on us.

America is moving toward Divine judgment. I seriously doubt there is much we can do about our nation as a whole. Perhaps our emphasis should be on putting ourselves and our household in order before the Lord, turning away from the attractions of our culture and spending time with the Lord. If we will do this, we will save ourselves and those who hear us throughout the age of moral and physical horrors that is approaching our shores.

When we turn to the eighteenth Psalm, we see that God will come and save us if we call on His name. He will be faithful to us if we are faithful to Him.

But let us make no mistake. God is not the kindly grandfather being presented in the churches of our time, anxious to pour out toys on his disobedient children. His wrath is building with every abortion, every sexual perversion, every amassing of money with no intention of helping the needy, every lie in the business arena, every abuse of a child.

The Spirit is warning us in America. We need to awake from our spiritual slumber and put on the whole armour of God that we may stand in the evil day; for the evil day surely is approaching!

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

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