Pastor/Teacher Roger Redmond
February 5, 2017
2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
2Co 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
The journey of mankind does not end at death but rather at the judgment. You should know that there are two judgments, the Great White Throne (GWT) and the Judgment Seat of Christ (JSOC). One is for the people who died without Eternal Life, GWT Judgment, Rev. 20:11-15 and The Judgment Seat of Christ for the saved, 1 Cor. 5 10. The GWT Judgment takes place approximately one thousand (1,000) years after the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The Bible teaches that man is trichotomous, three (3) parts, spirit, soul and body, 1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Also, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb. 4:12
One Salvation with three saving parts: Spirit, Soul (Life), Body
The Salvation of God affects all three (3) parts of man = spirit, soul and body. There are three (3) tenses of this salvation Past, Present and Future.
1. Past Tense, The Salvation of the Spirit, John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. I have been saved! 1 Cor. 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: Salvation of the spirit, being born again is at a past point in time when you believed on Christ alone for Salvation. It is eternal, forever. This Faith alone in Christ Alone gives you a place in heaven. It cannot be forfeited, lost or taken away. You have been born into the Family of God. Romans 8:10, Romans 8:16. This determines where you spend eternity.
2. Present Tense, The Saving of the Soul, (Life) I am being Saved. This is where discipleship comes in. This impacts your eternal rewards. This is about the life we are living now, Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. This is about sanctification, becoming more like Christ in the experience of life. In the realm of the mind, emotions, and the will. Our spirit is already sanctified positionally in Christ; therefore, we can be over comers in this our life.
3. Future Tense, The Saving of the Body, I will be saved, The redemption of the body. Ephesians 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. At the coming of Christ for the Church, His Body, we will get a new body, "We shall all be changed" . The "all" being the saved.
The Scripture is clear that Salvation is by Grace and not by Works
Most Bible teaching never distinguishes between the Salvation of the spirit and the Saving of your life. Salvation of the spirit is being born again / believing on Christ for Eternal Life. It is that which gives you a Home in Heaven, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph. 2:8-9
The Saving of your life involves works. Our works are on review at the Judgment seat of Christ. Works is what will impact our rewards. If the two salvations are not separated, it leads to confusion and misunderstanding in the Church. Remember the judgments are separated by more than one thousand years. And they are for two different groups of people: the Saved and Unsaved. The saved, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 2 Cor. 5:10. The unsaved, Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Our life of Accountability, the Saving of our Life (Soul)
The Salvation of our soul is a present work, Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Very strong proof here that soul is you life, for man is not saved by works! If you are saved by abstaining from fleshly lust, then to have Eternal life would be by works. See Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ( A breathing creation).In Matthew 16:25&26, the word "life" and the word "soul" are the same words in the greek "psuche". Soul refers to your own self, Isa. 53:10. Seat of will and purpose, Ephesians 6:6 (translated heart ) Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; Why does the KJV interchange the words? That you might understand the truth. You can see the context of scripture that works for Christ or lack of works for Christ is the subject. Therefore, works are not for salvation! Works are for review at the Judgment Seat of Christ and they impact rewards. So the word "soul" and "life" are referring to self and can be interchanged. And in the context of these verses for the believer in Christ, it is for loss or gains at the JSOC. Soul and spirit are closely aligned and only the Word of God can separate them.
"The language of Heb 4:12 suggests the extreme difficulty of distinguishing between the soul and the spirit, alike in their nature and in their activities. Generally speaking the spirit is the higher, the soul the lower element. The spirit may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting life constituted in the individual, the body being the material organism animated by soul and spirit...."
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Spirit is God conscience and Soul is man conscience !
We are unable to see the difference between the spirit, soul and body but God can. To us salvation is seen as a whole, we are in Christ, 1 Cor. 1:30, But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: But the Word of God divides the Spirit, Soul and Body and we need to know what God has instructed us to do, Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Salvation of the Soul, The Saving of the life is not Automatic
Jesus challenges His disciples about their life, Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Matthew 16:24-27
One loses soul at the Judgment Seat of Christ by saving it now! By refusing to deny self and taking up his cross and following Christ. Instead, he caters to self, avoids hardships, pays lip service to following Christ not counting the cost of being a discipleship.
Losing one's souls has nothing to do with eternal condemnation. We established through the Word of God that we are saved, have a home in heaven, by grace and not by works.
Denying Self
To follow Christ self must be renounced. We often have a high and lofty opinion of our self. the love of self manifests itself in contentious verbal exchanges, clamor, slander etc.
What is the source of contentions, Pro 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. Jas 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Jas 3:14 -16 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
What a tragedy to forfeit rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (JSOC) because you could not conquer self when it is possible to have victory. We have been sanctified positionally in our spirit by the Holy Spirit, 1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. He lives within us providing everything necessary for us to partake of. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:3-4
The loss of our life at the JSOC is an eternal loss. In this life which is like a vapor, we live for things that matter least, neglecting things that matter most; living for the temporal neglecting the eternal. At the JSOC we have nothing to give in exchange for our soul: we lost it living for self in this life.
Will the gain now be worth the loss then: Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, 17:33.
We can experience our positional sanctification in our everyday life by depending on the Holy Spirit to live Christ-like.
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