These spirits ought to be judged, and not us, I theorize!
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)
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)
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)
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,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— (Romans 6:6)
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)
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 has no 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.
Ezekiel's river is an illustration of the three sources of sin.
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep . He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep . He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist . He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. (Ezekiel 47:3-5)
In the first level, the Spirit of God is present to a minimal degree. The judgment (the measurement) is upon our participating in the antichrist world spirit.
In the second level, there is more evidence of the Spirit of God. The judgment is against the unclean spirits that reside in our flesh.
In the third level, the judgment is against people who have followed their self-will, not being careful to put to death the deeds of their sinful flesh. We have yielded to the alien spirits until the sins they promote have become part of our personality. They no longer are alien spirits. They are what we are!
Also, there are sins of personality we have inherited from our parents, such as lust, or hatred, or covetousness, or pride.
If we are to attain to the water to swim in, the Fullness of God, the realm of the life-giving spirits, we must abandon our self-will and obey Christ until we can state: "I am crucified with Christ. It is Christ who lives in me."
The life-giving spirits will be planted along the banks of the River of Life, as in the Book of Revelation:
He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.(Ezekiel 47:6,7)
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1,2)
The "very many trees" are, of course, outgrowths of the one Tree of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then from these life-giving spirits, who constitute the Royal Priesthood, with Christ at the head, the Spirit of God will make alive those people of the nations who will accept the ministry of Christ—Head and Body.
Notice the description of the true worldwide evangelism:
He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live." (Ezekiel 47:8,9)
Can you see from the Book of Acts that the work of the ministry during the Christian Era is to call out from the world those whom God has ordained to be members of the Royal Priesthood, the trees of eternal life?
It is not that people are ordained to be saved. Whosoever will may come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved! Rather, it is the members of the Christian Church, the Royal Priesthood, is ordained of God.
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)
I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. (John 17:9)
Do the two passages above sound like God is calling out specially ordained people, or does it say that we are to ignore the guidance of the Spirit and try to get everyone into the church buildings as soon as possible?
If it is true that the calling of God in the present hour is to people whom He has chosen for the purpose of bringing eternal life to the world at a later time, then you can imagine the waste of time, money, and energy that occurs as we charge in one direction or another to build the Kingdom of God according to our own ideas.
If our concept is true, then we should continue preaching the Gospel to every person, as Christ has commanded, and the Spirit of God will select those who are members of the Royal Priesthood. But much, much more attention than is true at the present time should be given to bring the believers to maturity in Christ.
The River refers to the Holy Spirit of God. Every person, action, and thing of the plan of redemption and the building of the Kingdom of God depends on the Presence of the Spirit of God—to a far greater extent than is emphasized in our day.
There is a great deal of Christian activity, but there is little dependence on the Spirit of God for wisdom, guidance, and power. It is as though it is up to the talents and efforts of people to do the work of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
The result, or so it seems, is that the world is more sinful and more bereft of Christ than ever before.
Perhaps the main reason for the prevailing ineptness is that the Christian institutions do not seem to understand that the Christian Era is for the purpose of calling out from the world a people ordained of God to become royal priests. God plans on establishing His Kingdom on the earth, and His Kingdom will be installed and maintained by the Royal Priesthood.
There is no point in setting up the Kingdom before the royal priests have been selected and trained. That is the purpose of the Christian Era.
Today there is a movement of believers who believe they can set up the Kingdom before the Lord Jesus returns. If God does not deliver them from their error, they will evolve into the False Prophet of Revelation, Chapter Thirteen.
The worldwide revival we are hoping for, that is, the making alive in Christ of the majority of those of the nations who will accept eternal life, cannot take place until the members of the Royal Priesthood, the life-giving spirits, have been prepared for their ministry.
The Lord Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, of the nations. The sheep are those who were kind to the members of the Royal Priesthood, to the brothers of the Lord Jesus. The Royal Priests have been prepared for them and shall inherit them.
The goats are those who were not supportive of the Royal Priesthood. The Lake of Fire is their eternal home.
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." (Matthew 25:34)
Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41)
Next Part The first source of sin, then, is love of the world.