Friday, July 29, 2011

Anxiety & Worry

ANXIETY & WORRY
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or, 'What shall we drink?' or, 'Wherewithal shall we be clothed?'  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt. 6:25 - 34)  Wherever you are now, you have sufficient funds to have bought a computer, or you have access to a computer, so you are able to read this.  It may seem a small miracle to you, or not even one at all, but He took care of you, His child, enough that you could afford the means to read this.  And He did so much more for you already!  You have been able to eat food so often as you have to the point that you are now as old as you are, and by God's providence you have not died of starvation, nor of thirst.  For so long as you have not been naked, God's supply has been such that you have not been shamed to walk in public unclothed, nor have you froze to death, perchance you live in a cold country, for so long as you have lived to the point of this juncture in time to be able to read what is written here.  While you may have had to work for these things you felt you needed, or your parents perhaps did, or some guardian, nevertheless, you are currently without worry of being in need.  No worries!  Right now... But as Jesus said, each day has its own troubles.

The ones who know not the way to live their lives, these are the ones who will probably suffer the worst anxieties and worries.  The bible tells us all kinds of things about how to live our lives as every situation comes up, even things that seem unreal to us, or unbearable, even these things the bible teaches how to cope with.  We have His promise to focus on when we have severe problems and bothers to relieve us of anxiety and worry; David knew this!  "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psa. 16:11)  Some of us are aware, however, that even though we may know this about the bible, it is another thing to train the mind to use its precepts to fight off worry and anxiety.  For me, being human is a big drawback and it is too hard to totally dial anxiety and worry down to zero; nevertheless, I strive to be obedient and do so!

You know, I used to have anxiety about people "getting away with murder", doing outrageously bad things, and never seeming to get caught before I came to know the Lord.  But since I have been reading Scripture for so long as I have now, it has become a realization of mine that they currently are getting away with whatever wickedness I have witnessed, but God eventually does repay these people, each and every one, in His own time.  Some I have seen eventually get nailed, and others I now assume God will allow to pay for whatever crime I saw later, even if they never get saved and come to judgment.  I don't recall wishing I could get away with anything I ever saw someone else get away with, I guess simply because I knew it was wrong what they were doing in the first place.  "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." (Psa. 37:1- 2, 7)  When I read this, I feel even more assured, because I know God will repay every one according to their works who does not believe in Christ.

Even though saved, I still go through periods of anxiety and bebotherment.  There is nobody who is totally focused on God all their day, and all the bible's wisdom is in their head, that they can remember their hope in God, that it erase their troubles immediately, but it is surely the right way to cut the intensity of whatever ails you!  "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?  And why art thou disquieted in me?  Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." (Psa. 42:5)  Job had his troubles, and you didn't see him happy when he lost all he had, right?  Yet; this is a good thing to train the mind with, that we should picture Him, and have it remind us that He is in charge and will protect us and carry us through whatever it is that is currently perplexing us!

It is written that when people are doers of the laws of God, He gives them peace, even from their enemies; isn't that some stress relief?  "When a man's ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." (Prov. 16:7)  So if your enemies are not at peace with you, it may be an indicator that your ways are not pleasing the Lord?  From the proverb verse, it would seem to indicate that.  If we choose evil ways, would we not certainly pay a consequence for the chosen behavior?  And if we choose to behave as we know Christians ought from all that we've read in the bible, should not the wisdom of God's holy word give us a natural protection from the consequence of folly in walking otherwise?

Whenever we have things that may cause worry or anxiety, say, for a situation, like someone having something against us, or a human condition, say, an illness, we have a Rock to recall is ours, and that He is our Champion!  "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.  Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.  Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.  For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, 'Fear not; I will help thee.'" (Isa. 41:10 - 13)

One of my children in Christ has told me that she is looking for a job, and she has been crestfallen about it.  I have reminded her of the three answers God has to prayer; Yes, no, and wait.  I had prayed for her to be successful the night before, but she was unsuccessful.  She said she would try again on Monday, and I reminded her to be patient, perhaps God is still setting up a very good job for her.  When we are in need of things, we must train our minds not to be anxious or worried about our needs, because our God will supply when and what we need.  "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.  But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6 - 9, 19)  So think on good things, God will take care of the hard stuff!

We need remember that our God is faithful as we have needs and troubles that rear their heads during our lifetime.  While we knew not the Lord in our youth (for some), when we became Christians, we placed ourselves into the hands of Christ, and we know that nobody can take us from His hand.  If we find ourselves in the same presence of wicked men, it is prudent that we be cautious, but we should also be confident that God will protect us, and worry not that God will not keep us.  "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." (John 10:28) "  And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.  But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." (2 Thess. 3:2 - 3)

So when you have things that cause your mind to fret, and you think you have the need to worry or be ate up with anxiety, remember to do this; "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." (1 Pet. 5:7)  God loves you!  Have faith that He will bring you through all your troubles and whatever reason you think you currently have for anxiety!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Where's MY Cut?

Where's MY Cut?

Everything that we have, it was God's first; "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen. 1:1)  Cut and dried, no margin for misinterpretation, this is straightforward.  Everything we have is because He made it.  Even us, we are made by Him, and our parents are the catalyst for our conception, how we were brought into the world, but in our mother's' wombs we were formed by Him.

The first use of the word "tithes" was in reference of Abram's respect to God; "And he blessed him, and said, 'Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all" (Gen. 14:19 - 20)

The first use of the word "tenth" in reference to repaying God for His kindness of all we have is accredited to Jacob; "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee." (Gen. 28:20 - 22)  Tithing was common among Semitic peoples of that time as a sign of respect to the superior.  As God is superior to all His creation, it is right to give tithes unto the Lord.

The Lord gave laws concerning tithing through Moses in Leviticus.  "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.  And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.  And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.  He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed." (Lev. 27:30 - 33)  Here note that tithes were taken of the produce of the land and of beasts, of vegetation and animal maintained by mankind.

So who received this tithe?  Did it just get left somewhere to rot?  Not at all!  In Moses' day, it was given to the Levites; "Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.  And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.  Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD'S heave offering to Aaron the priest." (Num. 18:26 - 28)

Now in those days, God had more than one approved purpose for the disposition of a tithe to the Lord; "And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.  And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.  When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, 'I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy commandments which Thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:" (Deut. 26:10 - 13)  So a tithe could be dispersed among the poor, widows, orphans, and Levites all.

Also in those days, you ate your tithe, but you didn't forget to include the Levite in your tithing, either!  "Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.  Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth." (Deut. 12:17 - 19)

More instruction about tithing is in Deut. 14:22 - 29; "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.  And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which He shall choose to place His name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set His name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, and the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.  At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest."  This is a rare instance, because it is a place where the consumption of strong drink is condoned.  Later in Scripture, it will not be found so.  This is the first place where your tithe is allowed to be turned into money, but only because of distance.  Our understanding God gave His people who lived afar from the central sanctuary a means of carrying their tithe a great distance by way of sale and purchase of tithing materials.  For example, they would sell a large number of bushels of corn at the local market, then go the long distance, and there buy the materials for their tithe to offer where the designated worship area was.

As the Israelites grew in number, the tithing was so great, officers were appointed by king Hezekiah at the time to take care of the disposition of it all!  "Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, and brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next.  And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God." (2 Chron. 31:11 - 13)

By Nehemiah's time, tithe maintenance was only one of the duties of the Levites and priests; "And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited." (Neh. 12:44)

The last important note in the Old Testament concerning tithes I want to call attention to is the lack there of them in the last book of the Old Testament; "'Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say,' 'Wherein have we robbed Thee?'  'In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith,' saith the LORD of hosts, 'If I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field', saith the LORD of hosts." (Mal. 3:8 - 11)  See how you cannot keep this commandment of tithing if you do not go to church.  How could your tithe get there in God's house?  Keep in mind that not one but two tithes were required, one for the Lord's feast in Jerusalem and another annual tithe for Levite upkeep.  The third year the Jerusalem tithe was to be given to the poor.

Okay, enter Jesus on the scene; the hypocritical Pharisees tithe, but do not attend to the other commandments they should know better about; "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Matt. 23:23)  This is one of the 8 woes Jesus uttered against the Pharisees. Luke 11:42 is worded similarly of this event.

The last reference to tithing is made by Paul concerning Melchisedec and Abraham; "And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.  And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him." (Heb. 7:5 - 10)

And so we who believe in God, in Christ Jesus; we pay tithes, believing in the blessing from out of the window of heaven, paying to our superior God in heaven His due respect, our almighty God from whom all blessings flow!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?
With some people, you would expect them to say 'no', but those who profess to be Christians know that's not the right answer.  Let's review that passage of Scripture, shall we?  "And the LORD said unto Cain, 'Where is Abel thy brother?'  And he said, 'I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?   And He said, 'What hast thou done?  The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground.'" (Gen. 4:9 - 10)  Now Cain's response seems as though he doesn't know the omniscience of the Lord, does he?  There is no Scripture prior to this saying that Cain was taught the 6th commandment of Exod. 20:13, but his answer certainly suggests he doesn't have fear of the Lord, doesn't it?  To flaunt a lie in the face of the Lord!

Did you realize, since I bring up the Ten Commandments, that the last five are geared toward being your brother's keeper?  "Thou shalt not kill.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  Thou shalt not steal.  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." (Exod. 20:13 - 17)  As a matter of fact, the last 6 commandments deal with our relationship with the rest of mankind, including our parents!  Let's examine these briefly; thou shalt not kill thy brother; no, you're not keeping him very well doing that.  Thou shalt not commit adultery against him, and nowadays with homosexuality totally out of the closet, that brings on a whole new level of meaning.  But seriously, I don't think being your brother's keeper means taking advantage of his spouse's personality flaw, or as I alluded to, taking advantage of HIS flaw, because then you're not being your sister's keeper.  You do have to be your sister's keeper, too!  Thou shalt not steal means you're taking your brother's possessions without his okay; he obviously wouldn't want you to be his keeper of things that belong to him, that he wants to see again in good condition!  Thou shalt not bear false witness; no, I wouldn't want to be lied about by anyone.  I'd want my reputation to be kept intact, unless the truth would be hard to bear, in which case I would need to take steps to fix my reputation that I made ugly in the first place of my own accord!  Lastly, there's thou shalt not covet, or lust after.  Seems like a repeat about the stealing, only this is the thinking about it before it becomes stealing.  Keeping up with the Jones' on steroids.  Wanting your brother's things to keep for yourself is not being his keeper!  Deut. 5:6 - 21, by the way, is a repeat of the Ten Commandments.

Do you know the story of Joseph?  How he dreamed dreams, and his brothers hated him for it, even wanted to kill him?  What a poor job they did of being their brother's keeper!  "And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.  And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.  And Judah said unto his brethren, 'What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh.'  And his brethren were content.  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt." (Gen. 37:23 - 28)  For those who know the rest of the story, it panned out well in the end, but their treatment of their brother was shameful!  Joseph did not let them starve, nor did he do any evil in return for what his brothers did to him, but rather, he did righteously as his brother's' keeper!

Sometimes we are our brother's keeper when we cannot help physically, but we can give wise advice.  Such it was between Moses and Jethro, his father-in-law.  Exod. 18:13 - 26 tells the story how his father-in-law lovingly advised him, that he should be able to bear his duties in judgment of the people, by sharing the small matters with godly people, so that he only had to bear the weighty matters of the people.  When we give advice to protect someone, we are being our brother's/sister's keeper.

Some of Leviticus' laws were given by God to teach more closely how to be one's brother's keeper.  Trespass offerings were required when this occurred, along with restitutions!  "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 'If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.  And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:'" (Lev. 6:1 - 6)  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to take a loss after doing any of these things, so we all would see the wisdom of the Lord in the manner in which He prescribed penalty for maltreatment of a brother!

Another passage commanding the keeping of brothers and sisters is in this manner; "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.  And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD." (Lev. 19:9 - 10)  What wise teaching, to have us learn from the Almighty how to keep our destitute brothers and sisters!  "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.  Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.  Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.  Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.  Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." (Lev. 19:13 - 18)  See how in all these we rightly keep our brothers and sisters, and look on the world today, how so few of us keep these statutes!

In the New Testament, Jesus often referred to how you treat your brother as how you treat your neighbor; you are your neighbor's keeper just as you are your brother's keeper.  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt. 22:37 - 40Mark 12:30 - 31, and Luke 10:27 is worded similarly.  So how profound is this tenet?  "And the scribe said unto Him, 'Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.'  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, 'Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.'" (Mark 12:32 - 34)  Mark well here that discreetly in verse 34 means that the scribe answered understandingly, not with any malice in his heart, as the other scribes and Pharisees often answered Jesus.

Luke 10:29 - 37 has a scribe wishing to justify himself concerning his neighbor, and Jesus tells the famous story of the good Samaritan.  Think not that they did not have discrimination in those ancient days, because they did!  Jews considered Samaritans low lifes, churly knaves, dirty dogs...well, you get the picture.  Jesus purposely used a Samaritan as the one obedient to the law concerning his neighbor because it taught that even one looked upon as someone to shun, even they are our neighbors and our brothers/sisters.

So what is the basic drive for being our brother's and sister's keeper?  "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Rom. 13:10)  That's right!  We are to love our neighbor, no matter what about them we find repulsive, enangering...even they who want to kill us, we are to love our enemies, such as by praying for them.  I pray for mine that God would send the Spirit to open their eyes and metamorphose them from children of perdition into children of God!

And there is another reason to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We do this by being strong for the weak ones to their edification, and therein imitate Christ!  "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.  For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, 'The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell on Me.'" (Rom. 15:1 - 3)

Much of how we love (or not!) our neighbor is with our tongue!  Our tongue can be a weapon worse than battery acid, or it can be used as God meant for it, to glorify God, and love our neighbors with what words we speak.  "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Eph. 4:25 - 29)  I talked to one woman whose husband couldn't even love her with his tongue, all kinds of corrupt communication came out of his mouth toward his wife to the point she wanted a divorce to get away from the evil that was spewing out at her from his heart off his tongue onto her ears!

Now let us treat everyone we meet as our brothers, sisters; our neighbors!  Let us treat them the way we want to be treated.  Hard to do for the unlovely, but God commands it!  We indeed are our brother's keeper!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Case For A Bodily Resurrection

THE CASE FOR A BODILY RESURRECTION

There are many who do not believe in a bodily resurrections, and they are no different than the Corinthians of Paul's day; "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?" Cor. 15:12)  Let them be convinced whosoever does not believe in this now, that they shall read and understand that God's will is a bodily resurrection, and be not conformed to a worldly view that currently causes them to think otherwise.  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom. 12:1 - 2)

Jesus Himself declared it truth that when He comes again, He will call the dead out of their graves, each and every one!  "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.  For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:21 - 29)  Here Jesus asserts He has been given the honor and authority of judging all from the Father, believers being free of the judgment, bodily resurrected to eternal life, and unbelievers will be resurrected to the lake of fire at the white throne judgment, where they will find eternal damnation.

Paul actually described the bodily resurrection to the Thessalonians, even giving the order of precedence among the dead!  "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:13 - 18)  So here we know from Paul's teaching how the rising of the dead bodily shall occur.

Now the believer understands that to be saved, there had to be a sacrifice; Job knew this.  "And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.  And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.'  Thus did Job continually." (Job 1:4 - 5)  Job did this for what purpose?  He also believed in a bodily resurrection!  "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." (Job 19:25 - 27)

Just as Job made sacrifices for his children, so God our loving Father sent Christ to do the same for us, and Jesus became our spotless intercessor who died and rose bodily.  "Who is he that condemneth?  It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:34 - 39)  Since God is in full control of all creation, nothing, not the devil, no, not even ourselves, are able to separate us from His eternal love.

Now if there be any skeptics who might say there were no witnesses to the resurrection of Christ Jesus, the answer is that there was indeed!  "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." (1 Cor. 15:3 - 8)  So the bible bears record that over 500 people witnessed Him in the flesh prior to His asencion into heaven.  As believers we understand that we should ready ourselves for what resurrection we should expect, knowing Christ Jesus has risen from the dead; "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Heb. 13:20 - 21)

Just as God provided a sacrifice in the stead of Isaac, so God also provided a sacrifice for us.  "And Abraham said unto his young men, 'Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.'  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, 'My father:' and he said, 'Here am I, my son.'  And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'  And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering': so they went both of them together.  And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, 'Abraham, Abraham': and he said, 'Here am I.'  And he said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.'  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." (Gen. 22:5 - 14)

While Abraham acted on great faith, his logic was that God would resurrect his son after he was sacrificed in order to fulfill His promise; "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'That in Isaac shall thy seed be called': Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." (Heb. 11:17 - 19)

Now who else of the faith, believers in the true God, believed also in a bodily resurrection?  Surely Peter was one!  "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption.  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. " (Acts 2:29 - 32)  Now this speech of Peter gives testimony that as he believed, so did David of the Old Testament!

So let's now look where David testifies of a bodily resurrection; "Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust.  O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to Thee; but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.  Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.  The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot.  The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.  I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.  I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.  For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psa. 16:1 - 11)  "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me.  Selah." (Psa. 49:14 - 15)  Now not just David from the Old Testament, but three prophets also gave witness of bodily resurrection.

Isaiah was the first to account for a bodily resurrection; "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.  Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." (Isa. 26:19) "...The earth shall cast out the dead"; seem clear enough?

And now, Ezekiel, too, wrote of a bodily resurrection; "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.  And He said unto me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'  And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.'  Again He said unto me, 'Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.  Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD."'   So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.  And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.  Then said He unto me, 'Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."'  So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.  Then He said unto me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts."  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it', saith the LORD." (Ezek. 37:1 - 14)  Just as Paul described the bodily resurrection in the New Testament, here also Ezekiel described it in the Old Testament.

One more prophet affirmed a bodily resurrection; Daniel. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Dan. 12:2)  Now here you have a number of Scriptural references that make a strong case for a bodily resurrection.  For we who believe, to everlasting life.  O, convert unbelievers, harvest as much as the Lord allows, that none might rise to eternal condemnation, my brothers and sisters, who believe in Christ Jesus!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

R U Thinking About Getting Married?

R U THINKING ABOUT GETTING MARRIED?
I know a beautiful young woman, and she believes she is in love.  She wrote to me about her relationship, and how she was thinking of marrying this fortunate young man, but she told me she was concerned about him, because he had not accepted Christ as his Savior, and at times he behaved sinfully, and she had made mistakes in letting him cause her to do things that she realized later were not right.  So looking to me for wisdom, one who has been successfully married for over 30 years, she told me her story, looking for counsel.  I told her of a situation similar to hers, where the wisdom I was going to give her was not given to the person I was thinking of, and here were the results of marrying someone who had not accepted Christ as their Savior, when their spouse had done so only.  They had two children who got mixed signals from the parents, because one would give them a limitation for how long they could stay up, and the other would negate that ruling and give them a more lenient time to go to bed, and so the one parent would be at odds with the other, because the children would go with the more lenient of the two, the one who gave them the answer they wanted to hear.  The two would have arguments over the one undermining the other, and have a troubled marriage in this, and further, the children became spoiled because the unbeliever of the two was a bad example of a parent and the children felt they did not have to believe in God, because the unbelieving parent didn't!  The unbeliever even went so far as to cuss out his Savior and blame Him for all his problems as they became frustrating!  The believer was very miserable, and sometimes felt the need to exit the marriage!  So she went back to her boyfriend, and confronted him again that he needed to accept Christ, and he told her that he would accept Him.  I followed up with this young lady on her man's sudden acceptance of Christ with further counsel, that she give him an observation period before committing to marrying this young man she felt in love with.  I told her to observe him as often as she could, to see if he behaved as a believer would be expected.  If he did not seek to go to church, bible study with the pastor or with the church teachers, if he didn't stop sinful behaving as he did in the past, then understand that he did not accept Christ after all.  Be especially aware that if he pushes for fornication, he truly has not accepted Christ, because he will be proving he wants you to feel forced into marriage because of pregnancy, and then he will not have to accept your wishes that he be saved before marriage.  Now while all this I told her from knowing better, I never failed to back it up with Scripture.  Let's look at what a prospective bride or groom should be looking for in a spouse.

The very first advice I gave her from Scripture was what Paul said to the Corinthians; "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial?  Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate', saith the Lord, 'And touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters', saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:14 - 18)  In this passage, Belial means Satan.  An unequal yoking can be not only of marriage, but also in business and of false teachers troubling a church, or even of a believer in a church of false teachings!  The believer may realize they are in a church that has wrong doctrine, and that they need to leave the church!

In Moses' time did God order the Israelites not to be yoked with unbelievers, and they later disobeyed.  "Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods." (Exod. 34:12 - 16)

In the days of the Old Testament, it was so that a woman typically found herself getting the boot out of her home if she was unclean or hated by her husband; if they were unequally yoked; "When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." (Deut. 24:1)  Who here thinks divorce is somewhat fun and a trivial matter, like in television soap operas?  If a 'yes' came out of anyone, oh, does that one need educating!  Divorce is expensive, and normally bankrupts both couples, and that is fitting, because their marriage was spiritually bankrupted before their bank accounts!

Consider Solomon; God had blessed him so much, particularly in that He made him the wisest man ever to tread the earth, and yet, his downfall was being unequally yoked.  "But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.  And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.  And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded." (1 Kings 11:1 - 10)  Remember too that just as Solomon was caused to sin much because of his unbelieving wives, so too an unbeliever in a marriage will cause the believer they are married to also to sin!  There will be corrupt communications of all sorts, there will be spiritual corruptions, and much unhappiness, and the believer will fall out of favor with God so long as the unbeliever continues to cause the believer to sin.  Adultery may also result from this unequal yoking!

Now understand also that there are consequences for the sin that follows the corruption of a believer in an unequal yoking; let's look at what God did with Solomon's case; "Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, 'Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.  Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.  Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David My servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen." (1 Kings 11:11 - 13)  Just as children suffer from an unequally yoked marriage, so was the case for Solomon's son.  He did indeed rend all but one tribe from the son of Solomon; the child paid for the sins of his parents!  So too will any children of an unequally yoked marriage suffer.  Children will pay consequences.  Here in America, there are such things as visitation rights, and parents who abduct their children form the custody of the other parent, and these fall further into consequence, and the children suffer afflictions on their emotions concerning the two parents.

I don't want to miss the last counsel I gave my daughter in Christ concerning her boyfriend's sudden willingness to convert.  We prayed that he would accept Christ the next time she asked, and he did, but there is one more caveat concerning an unequal yoking, and that is this.  If your initial choice is an unbeliever, and they accept Christ while you are considering them for marriage, you have a responsibility to yourself and your future children to test their commitment to Christ.  To allow time for observation of their fruits, that they have indeed accepted Christ as their Savior.  "Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt. 7:16 - 20)  One who has thrown off the old man and become a new creature will behave as such.  He will not be interested in willfully sinning anymore, he will come to enjoy going to church, and will want to read the bible continuously, and look forward to any bible studies his church or pastor offers.  He will want to control his tongue, and no longer swear, talk lewdly, nor let any corrupt communication come out of his mouth.  He will start to do good things willingly, and shun going to places where unChristian behavior takes place or is condoned, even expected.  When you are equally yoked, you will enjoy a long happy marriage, with the word of God as your daily guide!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Seven Judgments

THE SEVEN JUDGMENTS

There are seven judgments that can be found in the bible, one has already passed, but six more are yet to come...or perhaps I should say that one is in progress!  The first was of Jesus Himself, the second is you of yourself, the third, of believer's works by Christ Jesus, the fourth, of the Gentile survivors of the Tribulation, the fifth, of the Jewish survivors of the Tribulation, the sixth, of the fallen angels, and the last is of the unsaved.  Shall we examine these?

In the judgment of the sins of the world embodied by Christ Jesus, the cross became the judgment on those who reject it, the cross being the total victory over Satan for Jew and Gentile believers alike in Christ.  "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." (John 12:31 - 32)  Christ's purpose for this judgment in obedience to the Father's will, was this; "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21)  As a result of this judgment, the believer's justification and security was made sure.

The second judgment you do to yourself.  Kind of feels funny, but we need to judge ourselves for permitting our sinfulness.  "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.  If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But My mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee." (2 Sam. 7:14 - 15)  "And David said unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.'  And Nathan said unto David, 'The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.'" (2 Sam. 12:13 - 14)  So we need to confess our sins, and agree with the Father what sin is, that He should forgive us.  There are several verses concerning this; "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." (Heb. 12:7 - 8)  "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." (1 Cor. 11:31 - 32)  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)   So the judgment here ends up with chastening, but not condemnation.

The third judgment we as believers are concerned with is that of our works.  "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body," (2 Cor. 5:10)  Thankfully, not for believers' sins!  "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 8:12)  "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 10:17)  But ah, your works!  "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (1 Cor. 3:11 - 15)  This will happen when the Lord comes again.  "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.  For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord.  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God." (1 Cor. 4:1 - 5)  Now the consequences of this judgment is this; "And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Rev. 22:12)

The next judgment is of the Gentile survivors of the Tribulation, and how we stood the test of treating our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the Jewish people.  Jesus specified this; "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: Naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.'  Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee?  Or thirsty, and gave Thee drink?  Saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in?  Or naked, and clothed Thee?  Saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?'  And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'  Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not.'  Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?'  Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.'  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matt. 25:31 - 46)  Jesus also told His disciples, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matt. 10:16) I think we can apply this when dealing with people on the street corners asking for help.  Ask God through the Holy Spirit to help you meet the needs of these people, because so many are pretenders and deceivers.  If you watch them long enough, they go home to a warm house, to a spouse who brings home a paycheck...and others cannot be given money, as they will use it to buy alcohol or drugs or cigarettes.  So one must have much cunning to discern the truly in need from the charlatans.

Jewish survivors of the Tribulation will also be judged whether they be worthy for residence in the Millennial kingdom.  "'As I live,' saith the Lord GOD, 'Surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.  And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.  Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you,' saith the Lord GOD.  'And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.  As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto Me: but pollute ye My holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.  For in Mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,' saith the Lord GOD,  'There shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.  I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to your fathers.  And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for My name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel,' saith the Lord GOD." (Ezek. 20:33 - 44Mal. 3:2 - 5, 4:1 - 2 also covers this judgment.

"Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3)  This is the sixth judgment, but not the last.  Imagine that we should be counted worthy to judge angels, just as Paul tells us!  "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude 1:6)  "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" (2 Pet. 2:4)  Be not surprised which angels are to be judged, either..."And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Rev. 20:10)  "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:..."(Rev. 12:3 - 4)  The devil and his evil angels, these will be the ones judged, and thrown into the lake of fire.  Now the lake of fire will also be used as the disposal for those of the last judgment.

The unsaved are they which will face the last judgment, and woe unto every single one of them!  "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the 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.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:11 - 15)  And so this judgment falls on the wicked dead, those who stiffneckedly refused to accept Christ as their Savior, those who rebelled against God to the last breath.  Now while it says the second death, note also that death is cast into this lake of fire.  If death is cast into this lake, then understand the second death does not mean that they die again, or are annihilated, but rather that their eternal souls are forever burning in this lake of fire!

So these judgments apply to whom they will.  Jesus already underwent the first, saints are part of three of them, angels undergo one of them, and sinners undergo two of them.  Of the saints and sinners, it is up to them to, of their free will, choose their judgments!