TAKING A KNEE

 

  Many Christians believe that they are “off the hook” whenever they repent and confess their sins to the Lord when they are “born again” (John 3:7). Indeed, it is written, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God (Rom 3:25) when Paul wrote of justification. “Justification” is not just as if you never sinned, but that you have sinned, and those sins are not held against you, nor be held accountable on Judgment Day. God will “remember them no more” (Heb 8:12). Not that God forgets, but those who trust Him will not be held accountable.

  Trusting God for grace and deliverance cancels out “sins that are past” as Paul wrote. Sins that are “remised,” or surrendered unto God, are forgotten. Present and future sins have not been remised and Christians are accountable for them. What that means is that Christians cease and desist from sinning, but if they continue sinning, to repent for the remission of those present sins. Since sinning remains a daily activity, the wise Christian will live righteously and confess sins as they occur. God will only require accountability for unconfessed sins.

  Everyone will be at the Great White Throne Judgment:

⁹ A great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; ¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” (Rev 7:9-10).

  Everyone from everywhere will cry out for salvation. I know, you say that you are “saved” already, but that is not scriptural, “You shall be saved” as, “He that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Mat 10:22). What is it that the Christian must endure to the end? Trust in the Name, Jesus, for salvation from sin. Those who remain in sin are not saved unless every sin is accounted for by repentance.

KEY VERSES: ¹⁰ We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written, “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” ¹² So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Rom 14:10-12)

  As sin is repented of and remised, they are no longer of any account. Repentance, not one time, but all the time, is righteousness. Of course, right living is forgoing sin, but if sin exists, then repentance is required for remission of them.

  Consider those who are Christians. They still sin. The “Christian” becomes one when he or she turns to God to clean out their sins and make them a new creation.

  The deluge was an example of remission. God forgave the world and washed away its sins. He redeemed the world and started afresh. As soon as redemption was complete, the world’s past sins were forgotten, but sin still existed. Immediately Ham sinned because Noah sinned. Noah surely was sorry, but Ham was punished because he was not ashamed that he dishonored his Father. “Sin” is always dishonoring the Father. Thereafter, mankind always needed to continue repentance and God with the remission. It will be that way until the end of the world.

  That is a picture of Christians. Noah was not “saved” as such. He was protected from the elements of the world. He was safe on the Ark with God. When was Noah saved? His flesh was saved when he was on God’s Holy Mountain. His soul was saved when he died. How is that known? “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). What is saved at death? The souls of those safe in Christ. When Jesus comes for the bodies of men at the rapture is when the flesh is regenerated and salvation complete. (1 Thes 4:16).

  When Jesus made the propitiation, sinners who trust Jesus for salvation, are saved from past sins because God has remised them. They remain accountable for unconfessed sins. The more contrite the Christians that sin, the more secure they are. “Security” in Christ is putting sins under the blood and washed away, not by water, but by further redemption.

  All sins must be propitiated for, and propitiation is only for those past. They must be extant before they are washed away, hence cleansing is an ongoing process. Christians must allow God to do the washing each day, and for that, they must admit that there is dirt and be sorry for soiling the “temple” of God.

  Unlike the Old Testament wherein the patriarchs “baptized” themselves each day for past sins, contrition and repentance is the New Testament “baptism.” The water is symbolic and a testimony to a circumcision of the heart. Just what is that? “The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Deut 30:6).

  “Circumcision of the heart” is the true “baptism of the Holy Ghost.” “It is the gift of ability to love for God does that bloody deed (Exod 4:26) as Zipporah called it.  Baptism is a testimony that an unwilling person went under the “knife” and a willing person came up alive. It is a confession that the heart has changed from the old sinning person to the new one that is willing not to sin.

  Both Christians and non-Christians will be judged. Perhaps after centuries hanging as prisoners in the second heaven, according to the Book of Enoch, the unsaved will be damned in Hell on Judgment Day.

  The key verses begins with, “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” All is like “whosoever” in John 3:16. “Whosoever” should be saved, but most shall not be. Those who should but would not, shall perish. They shall present their case to God on Judgment Day.

  On that day, even those without faith will realize that they have been lied to. They will understand that God is both Savior and Judge: “Every tongue shall confess to God.” Why is that known? “Every knee shall bow to Me?” The centurions took a knee to God in mockery that anyone would believe that Jesus is King, but when they are in front of the throne, they will bow, not in mockery, but in reverence and shame. To shameful people the verdict is already known: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:23).

  What gives the damned away? Their works. The works of Christians must be righteous. The works of sinners is unrighteousness. How do you know your judgment in advance? How you work and for Whom you work. What is “works?” Abiding in the prison of the Ten Commandments rather than willingly doing those works.

  The heart of the circumcised person changes them from a worker that needs be cursed to willing workers for God’s Will.

  We all question whether we are cursed workers or willing workers. Satan’s role is to test which you are and convince you that if you obey the Law at all, you are cursed

  The next proceeding in the Court is that “every tongue shall confess to God.” By the way, He knows which sins remain unconfessed but has removed from the “account” those that have already been confessed and He has forgotten. The confession for Christians is easy: I have sinned and come short of the glory of being with You.  (Rom 3:23). God will respond, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Mat 15:21).

  The “hope” of Christians is to hear those Words! If anyone thinks that they deserve reprieve, then there should be no hope. Everyone is unworthy of salvation but by grace those who love God, but still fail, shall be saved. The Commandments are easy if they are done out of love, hence the Greatest Commandment – to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30). How is Love demonstrated? By the relishing the metrics of God’s Ten Tenets — the Ten Terms of the Abrahamic Covenant and his “seed.”

  Why the Judgment? “So that every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” God already knows… even the number of the hairs on your head. Why the account? So that you are without excuse (Rom 1:20). Note that God is not really the “Judge!”

  So, you think that you are God? In this case, God lets you be the “god” that you always wanted to be. Go ahead as He is silent for a while. Tell Him why you deserve to die. He gave Adam and Eve the same opportunity, but they each blamed someone else (Gen 3). All God wants to hear is, “I defied you.” Even before the Judgment Seat, those who are not In the coat of safety of the Lamb will still blame Satan or someone else for the things they did.

  Everyone knows their guiltiness throughout life. There is a spiritual calling to repentance (Act 2:39). He knocks; our obligation is to answer. “Conviction” is a summons from the Spirit of God to confess or remain guilty. Remaining in guilt is of the Devil but confessing guiltiness is of the Lord. The emotion of guilt is knowing what should be confessed but refraining from confessing. All hearts will be cleared in front of the Judgement Seat. Christians shall admit that they still missed the mark and deserve death. The unrepentant will never confess to missing the mark, but insist that regardless, they deserve reprieve!

  Even Christians have a tough time dealing with, I deserve. As I write this, I must fight the idea that because I know the Word, that I deserve reprieve. Yet, I realize that I fall so short that I deserve death.

 Why would I get an inheritance when I disappoint my Father so much? Because God has grace on His prodigal sons who desire their inheritance so much that they have contrition for what they have done with God’s bountiful inheritance. I am the prodigal son. I have returned to my Father’s House and to His Estate.

  How about you? Just who do you honor? So many people honor themselves and disappoint their Father. Every knee shall bow. Just when will yours?

(picture credit: Demetrius Freeman for The New York Times)