A CHRISTIAN'S
SINS
By
H. B.
SANDINE, D.D.
That
the Word of God, over and over again warns professing Christians of the
truth
that sin will and does separate them from God is of little value or
interest to
those fundamental preachers who have built their ministerial popularity
and
success around entertaining, frivolous and shallow "preaching". They have
forgotten, or at least
lost sight of the fact, that apostolic warning given to Timothy (2 Timothy 4) urges (nay
charges) them with the
responsibility of reproving, rebuking and exhorting "with all longsuffering and doctrine"
of their
audience.
Where
is the reproving of Christians in our present-day pulpits? Where do we
find any
rebuking of Christians along Biblical lines? Where can we find any
doctrinal
and Scriptural exhortation along the lines of which Paul speaks here in
2 Timothy 4 -
exhortation, warning against [wilful] sin,
selfishness, shallowness and worldliness - a condition which
characterises
the everyday living of a great mass of professing Christians, even in
our
fundamental and conservative Churches?
Indeed,
when we read verse 3
of this chapter,
we are given the reason for this type of
entertaining and shallow
ministry. The apostle Paul says:-
"And the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after
their own lusts shall
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears , and they shall turn
away
their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables."
Let
me give this to you in literal form from the Greek
: "For
there will be a time when they will not endure the
healthful teaching, but having itching ears (itching as to
hearing) they will for
themselves heap up teachers according to their
own desires (fastidious tastes): and will turn
away their ears (the hearing of their ears) from
the truth, and will turn aside to the fables (stories,
myths)."
This statement does not have reference to those who prefer liberalism
or
modernism or other false teaching alone. It includes also all
Christians who
are determined to have their own way, living shamefully in sin,
shallowness,
worldliness and for self alone. It includes all Christians - preachers
and
church members alike - who are determined to disobey any part or
portion of the
whole truth of God's Word. It makes no difference
how fundamental, how
orthodox, how evangelical they may think they are - if they cannot
endure
healthful teaching from God's Word - then this Pauline statement
applies to
them.
The
Scriptural teaching in this Pauline statement is so strong that it
shows us all
too plainly what too many of our "fundamental"
preachers fail to see - that men do not "fall
away" into liberalism and modernism in one single step.
There is a
long process to this "falling
away"
which begins when Christians fall into sin that is not only permitted
and
tolerated, but remains un-confessed and un-forsaken. Then
follows a conscious or unconscious denial of the reality of punishment,
and a
hearty acceptance of the age-old lie of the ever ready deceiver, the
Devil's
words, "Ye shall not surely die."
And, together as pastor and flock, many of our evangelical and
fundamental
churches are echoing to the sinning Christians, "Yes,
ye shall surely not die. You will lose your reward, but you will still
be
caught up to meet Christ in the air." What distortion of
the
Scriptures! The Word of God plainly teaches that the "soul that sinneth
shall surely die!"
There are no "if's or and's"
about it. God
never excuses sin - never in the unregenerate sinner, and never in the
regenerate Christian sinner. Of course, there is the
provision of 1 John 1: 9,
- "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins,
and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But that forgiveness
of sin
requires confession of sin as a prerequisite. And confession
of sin implies and involves repentance - godly sorrow
because of their commission. And there can be no true
confession and
repentance of sin without a willing forsaking of sin. This is
very clear
and plain, for it is understandable that there can be no
cleansing from sin
by God until there has been first a willing forsaking of sin by the
Christian
sinner. Oh, how patiently God has warned His people about
this great and solemn
truth over and over again! How clear and plain are the statements in
His Word!
But
in times of apostasy, men with "itching
ears"
heap unto themselves teachers who tickle their "itching
ears" with the assurance that God does not punish as
severely today
as Christians in former generations believed that the Bible taught, and
so we
have our fundamental, conservative and "Bible-believing"
churches (so-called) filled today with multitudes with "Itching ears" who turn
away from sound
doctrine (healthful teaching) - to entertaining, shallow "preaching" in the pulpit
which helps them to
forget that God will surely punish them for their sins, their
selfishness,
their worldliness, and their disobedience to His Word.
More
than this, is the fact, that the preachers who would and do "preach the Word," and are "urgent in season, out of season";
and who do
reprove, rebuke and exhort with all long suffering and doctrine - are
not
only unpopular but being crowded out of our so-called fundamental,
conservative
and evangelical churches. Moreover, Bible teachers
and evangelists who
expound the word of God and thunder out the warnings of God against sin
are
given little or no place in these churches today.
Again,
there are pastors in some of these churches, who would reprove and
rebuke
members in these churches for sin, and who would exercise Scriptural
discipline
in cases of unrepentant and un-confessed sin; but who dare
not because it
would mean the loss of their job. They dare not - because leaders in
the local
church would not tolerate or support them in the exercise of that
Scriptural
discipline; and they dare not, because of the unsympathetic attitude
which
ecclesiastical leaders in the denominational machinery hold toward all
pastors
who would dare to "clean house"
- and
which unsympathetic attitude would close all doors in that denomination
to
these pastors for further service. And so, we
[now]
have ever-increasing apostasy - apostasy that you cannot blame entirely
upon
the modernists and liberals.
And
with the increasing apostasy there is an ever increasing deadness,
spiritual
deadness, in our churches. Many earnest Christians have been praying
for a
revival. But we are being told today that "the
days of revivals are past." But this is only a "smoke-screen" - to
cover up the fact that
many preachers and churches are unwilling to pay the cost of a
heaven-sent
revival. The days of revival are not past, so far as God is
concerned! He
is an unchanging God! God is not willing that any should perish. "For I am the Lord, I change not;
therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed" (Mal.
3: 6).
And again and again, He calls in love and mercy,
- "Come now, let us reason
together ... if ye be willing and
obedient" (Isa. 1: 10-20). "Behold,
the Lord's hand is not shortened that He cannot save, neither His ear
heavy,
that He cannot hear: But your sins have
separated you from your God, and your sins have hid His face from you,
that He
will not hear" (Isa. 59:1,2). "Return unto Me,
and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts"
(MaL 3: 7).
No,
God's day of revivals is not past! But a heaven-sent revival costs, and
costs
very dearly! If you want a revival, you will have to pay the price:
there is no
other way. What is God's way for a revival? What is the price He has
placed
upon a heaven-sent revival? You will find the blueprint of it in 2
Chronicles 7:
14.
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PART TWO
PREPARATION
FOR THE KINGDOM
By
W. F. BATT
WE
Christians "shall all stand
before the judgment
seat of Christ"
[Rom. 14: 10, 12] and
give account of ourselves to God. That is the day in which He will
reward every
man according to his works. It is
the time when our Lord takes account of how we have used the gifts and
talents
He has given us. One will say, "Lord,
Thy pound
hath gained ten pounds," and his Lord will say, "Well, thou good servant: because
thou hast been
faithful in a very little, have thou
authority over ten cities." [Luke
19: 16-27]. Likewise
the servant who had gained
five talents. This is the time when the Lord shall cause
His good and
faithful servants to sit down to meat and will gird Himself and will
come forth
and serve them. [Luke 12: 37].
Today we
rejoice in Christian fellowship; we gather in faith round the Lord's
Table: but
what a glorious prospect we have to look forward to when we
shall sit down
with all those who throughout the ages have been
faithful,* and when
the Lord Himself shall minister to us, when we shall see Him as He is.
[* There is no
division here, between
Old Testament saints and New Testament saints of God! Here we have the
teaching
of the unity of the
redeemed.
It will not just be Old Testament saints, in the earthly sphere of the
coming
millennial kingdom, and New Testament saints in its heavenly sphere:
saints “throughout the ages”
will be capable of ruling in both
spheres of the kingdom. “They that are accounted worthy to attain to that age,
and the resurrection out
from the dead” … “For they are equal
unto the angels” (Luke 20: 35):
That is, able to rule in both spheres of the kingdom under
Christ/Messiah
Jesus.]
But
this is not for all Christians. There was a servant with one talent who
kept
his talent in a napkin: the standard was too high - "I feared Thee, because Thou art an
austere Man" [Matt. 25: 26, 28, 30];
he had preserved his talent instead of trading with it. "Thou wicked and slothful servant,"
the Lord will
say, "Take therefore the talent
from him ...
and cast ye the unprofitable
servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." [Luke 19: 24]
Now is the
time the Lord chooses the team with which He will rule the
world. Our position on that Day will depend on the faithfulness of our
Christian life in this Day. The Christian who has willingly given his
life to
hard-working and faithful Christian work will be chosen for a place of
honour
on that Day. Likewise the escapist Christian, the lazy Christian, the
backward
and useless Christian in this life will be useless to Him in that Day.
Our
position in the [millennial] Kingdom depends entirely
on the quality of our
Christian life today. Today God is training us for that Day. If He has
put us
into a task where we need courage, resource, endurance, sound judgment,
where
we must take responsibility, it is because He is training us for that
great Day.
On our performance in this age will depend our place and duties in the
Kingdom [in ‘the inhabited earth to
come’ (Heb. 2:
5, R.V.)].
It
shall be said in that day, "Lo,
this is our God;
we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have
waited
for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." [Isa. 25: 9] What
joy and vindication of God's
glory! What glory! What a prospect we have if we are faithful, if only,
we are
holy.
"Watch ye
therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." [Luke 21: 36]
- Practical
Christianity.
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