Come to Me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from
Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your
souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light (Matt. 11:28-30).
Very few professing Christians would
debate that the above scripture is an invitation to salvation from the lips of
Jesus. It is used frequently in evangelistic sermons. Jesus was offering rest
to the weary. He was obviously not speaking of physical rest for those who are physically weary. Rather,
He was promising rest for souls (v. 29) that are burdened with sin and guilt.
He was offering salvation. But how is this salvation received? Jesus said it is
received by taking His yoke upon us.
Perhaps the favorite antinomian
interpretation of what it means to take Jesus’ yoke is the following:
Supposedly, Jesus is wearing a double yoke that He wants to share with us. The “proof” of this
interpretation is that Jesus refers to the yoke as “My yoke,” indicating that it must be a yoke around
His own neck. “And of course,” the antinomian thinks, “Jesus can’t mean that He
wants to transfer that yoke
from His neck to my neck, so He must be wearing a double yoke, meant for two
oxen! He thus wants me to be “yoked” to Him by faith, inseparably joined
together on our journey to heaven.”
But this far-fetched interpretation
misses the point entirely. Taking Jesus’ yoke is symbolic of submitting to His
authority. He doesn’t have a double-yoke around His neck that He wants us to
share. He, the Master, is holding a yoke in His hands, standing before all the
wild oxen who are presently laboring under a load of guilt, yoked to sin. To
them He cries out, “If you want rest, there’s only one way to get it. Take My yoke upon you. I want to be your Master, but you must submit to Me. Become My
disciple; learn of Me, and the heavy burden on your soul will be lifted. The
yoke I will place on you will be easy, and the burden I’ll give you to pull
will be light, because My Holy Spirit will enable you to obey Me. Once you’ve
believed in Me and submitted to My lordship, you’ll be spiritually reborn; then
My commandments will not be burdensome” (see 1 John 5:3). This is Jesus’
consistent salvation message.
“Bearing the yoke” is symbolic of
coming under the authority of another. Scripture frequently uses the yoke
imagery in this way. Those who truly believe in Jesus submit to His authority. The yoked ox has one
reason for existence: his master’s service. He may not know exactly what his
master wants him to do, but his will is submitted. He’s ready to go to work.
Sanctification
Defined
This chapter is about sanctification,
or the growing holiness experienced by those who’ve been born again. To be
sanctified means “to be set apart for holy use,” so it is a word that
beautifully describes God’s plan for every true believer. The New Testament
uses the word in two tenses: past and present. Believers have been
sanctified and are being
sanctified. The past tense
reveals God’s intention—He has forgiven our sins and given us His Holy Spirit
to set us apart for His own holy use. The present tense reveals the ongoing process of the fulfillment of His
intention—we are continually and increasingly being used for God’s holy
purposes.
Unfortunately, to many professing
Christians, sanctification is nothing more than a theory, because they’ve never
been born again, which is absolutely essential for sanctification. Yet many are
convinced they’ve been made righteous in Christ even though there is no
evidence of sanctification in their lives. Scripture tells us, however, that
with righteousness also comes sanctification:
But by His doing you are in Christ
Jesus, who became to us...righteousness and sanctification,
and redemption....And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified [made righteous] in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and in the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 1:30; 6:11, emphasis added).
John wrote,
If you know that He is righteous, you
know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him....Little children,
let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just
as He is righteous (1 John 2:29; 3:7).
Many professing Christians will gladly
listen to sermons that fall under the category of “sanctification sermons,”
through which they’re admonished to “turn over” various areas of their lives to
Christ’s lordship. However, listening to those sermons becomes an end in
itself, because they really never intend to “turn over” any area of their lives
to Christ’s lordship, especially if doing so requires any self-denial. Yet they
somehow convince themselves that there is some virtue in listening to
convicting sermons, regardless of whether they adjust their lives accordingly.
James warned against this very thing: “But prove yourselves doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas. 1:22).
Hearers who aren’t doers are deluded
because they think they’re saved when they aren’t. Those kinds of professing
Christians are the chief frustration of many godly pastors, who wonder why
people in their congregations never change or demonstrate any growth in
holiness. The reason is because those people have never taken Jesus’ yoke and
have never been born again. They may think they’ve been born again because they once prayed a salvation prayer
and now understand that salvation is by grace, not works. But they’re not,
because they’ve never submitted themselves to Jesus. All attempts to get them
to act more like Christ will be essentially futile until they take that first
step.
The foundation of sanctification is
submission to God; sanctification will never happen in anyone’s life without
submission. Once we’ve submitted, however, the sanctification process continues
in our lives as we learn God’s will and spiritual truth. We first take on
Jesus’ yoke; then we “learn from Him” as He said (Matt. 11:29). We “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet.
3:18, emphasis added).
At first, we don’t fully know God’s
will or all that God has done for us through Christ, nor do we realize all that
needs changed in our lives. But as Paul wrote, we are “trying to learn what is
pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10). This is why Paul’s prayers for Christians
are petitions for their increased spiritual understanding and knowledge. And that is why Paul often admonished his readers using the words, “Do you not
know that..?” He expected
that the believers to whom he was writing would act differently if they knew
some theological truth, such as the fact that their bodies were temples of the
Holy Spirit.
That is why it is so important for
followers of Christ to avail themselves to all that God has provided for them
to learn spiritual truth. They should study the Scriptures themselves, and true
followers of Christ will, because they’ll have a desire to learn about
spiritual things. They should also avail themselves to instruction from those
in the church whom God has specifically called to teach His Word. They should
be a part of a local church that has a vision for making disciples. That is
what Jesus wants. He said, “Go therefore and make disciples...teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). True disciples are
learning.
Going on
to Perfection
Paul wrote in his second letter to the
Corinthians: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). This indicates to us that true believers are not
necessarily perfect, as some extremists would have us believe. Defilements of
flesh and spirit remain in the lives of true believers. We must, however, read
Paul’s words within the context of the rest of the New Testament. Although true
Christians may still be partially defiled, they are characterized predominately
by righteousness. Notice that Paul did not admonish his readers to begin acting holy. Rather, he admonished them to perfect their holiness. You can only perfect what you are
already doing fairly well. Paul’s words indicate that the Corinthian Christians
were already acting holy, and now their holiness needed perfecting. That is
what biblical sanctification is—perfecting holiness.
Paul’s words also help us to
understand that the ongoing process of sanctification in our lives is not
something God does apart from us. We must cleanse ourselves from fleshly and spiritual defilements. The writer of Hebrews says,
“Pursue...the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.
12:14). God does not override our free will, and Scripture couldn’t be more
clear about our responsibility in the sanctification process.
On the other hand, we should not think
that sanctification is something we must do apart from God’s involvement. Paul
also wrote, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good
work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Perhaps
the balance between our part and God’s part is best expressed by Paul in
Philippians 2:12-13:
So then, my beloved, just as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure
(emphasis added).
Paul was writing to true believers,
those who obeyed even in his absence. Obviously, God was at work within them by
His indwelling Spirit. Thus, they had a solemn obligation to cooperate with
what He was doing in their lives. Sanctification occurs as we cooperate with
God.
The
Chronology of Sanctification
In this chapter and the next, we’ll
consider the process of sanctification, and how it involves God and us. Let’s
begin at the beginning.
God’s work, of course, began long
before anyone was sanctified. He preordained the plan of salvation through His
Son, who fulfilled that plan, dying for our sins and rising from the dead.
Through the means of a God-ordained messenger who shares the gospel, and by the
convicting power of the Holy Spirit, the sinner is awakened and convicted of
his sin and need for salvation.
At the point of conviction, human
responsibility enters the picture. We have a choice to make, and the only
proper response on our part is to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus. God
commands us to repent and believe in Jesus, so repenting and believing must be something that is our responsibility, not
God’s.
However, the moment we repent and
believe the gospel, God goes to work again. He immediately indwells us by His
Holy Spirit, regenerating our spirits, and breaks sin’s power over our lives,
releasing us from its clutches. Our spirits are reborn, re-created in Christ’s
likeness, and we become new creations in Him (see 1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 4:24; 2 Cor.
5:17). God becomes our spiritual Father.
The result is an immediate degree of
holiness manifested in the life of the new believer. From scriptures such as 1
Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21, Eph. 5:5-6, 1 John 3:15 and Rev. 21:8, we can be
certain that the new birth brings an end to the practice of certain grievous
sins such as fornication, adultery, immorality, impurity, sensuality,
effeminacy, homosexuality, coveting, thievery, swindling, drunkenness,
carousing, reviling, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes,
dissensions, factions, envying, idolatry, sorcery, murder and lying.
This is not to say that a true
believer couldn’t commit any
of those sins. Any believer could, if he decided, commit any of those sins,
because God has not taken away his free will. However, he will find that he
possesses an inward resistance and abhorrence of sin that he did not possess
previously. His ability to resist temptation is greatly increased. If he does
yield to temptation, he will feel greatly convicted and sorrowful until he
confesses his sin to God. Again, the practice of such sins is a guarantee that one will not inherit
God’s kingdom, as Scripture repeatedly warns.
Is All Sin
the Same in God’s Eyes?
Some would argue that “all sin is the
same,” and thus say that the habitual, unrepentant practice of the above-listed
sins can’t be considered any different than the habitual, unrepentant practice
of any other sin. This logic, however, doesn’t change the scriptures I’ve
listed, nor does it strengthen any counter-argument against what I’ve said. If
all sin is the same in God’s sight, then we must greatly extend Paul’s exclusionary
lists to include every sin,
and thus conclude that no one is truly saved! Yet, thankfully, ingratitude,
worry, and sleeping during sermons are not included in any of Paul’s
exclusionary lists!
Clearly, all sin is not the same in
God’s sight. Jesus spoke of lesser and (thus by implication) greater
commandments (see Matt. 5:19). He spoke of a “greater sin,” and (thus by
implication) a lesser sin (see John 19:11). He considered one particular
commandment to be “great and foremost” (Matt. 22:38), and another to be second
only to it. He mentioned one sin that is uniquely unforgivable (see Matt.
12:31-32). He rebuked the Pharisees, who neglected “the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and
faithfulness,” and emphasized the lighter requirements of the law, such as
tithing (Matt. 23:23, emphasis added).
The fact that some sins are more
grievous in God’s eyes than others is reflected in the Law of Moses, where some
transgressions summoned more severe punishment. We also note that God initially
gave Israel ten commandments,
rather than eleven or forty. This indicates that He considers some commandments
to be more important than others.
In Ezekiel 8, we read how the Lord
showed Ezekiel four successive scenes of certain sins being practiced in Israel.
Each sinful practice God called an even “greater abomination” than the previous
one.
The apostle John stated that there is
a sin “not leading to death,” and a sin “leading to death” (1 John 5:16-17).
Clearly, all sin is not the same in
God’s eyes. All sin separates us from God, and all sin grieves God, but all sin
is not equally grievous to Him. Everyone knows that both murder and giving
someone a black eye are wrong. However, everyone also knows the former is more
serious than the latter.
The Initial and Ongoing Transformation
If you’re born again, God has taken
care of what is most grievous to Him. You’ve experienced an initial
transformation. But God isn’t satisfied with just that. His goal for you is
perfection, and so you can expect an ongoing transformation. The chart below
illustrates this:
On the left two-thirds of the chart,
all of humanity is divided into two groups, the unsaved and the saved. There
are, of course, no other categories. You are either in one or the other.
As you travel from left to right, you
progress from wickedness to holiness. The UNSAVED category includes people who
are the most wicked (on the extreme left), and the least wicked (on the extreme
right of the UNSAVED column). Not all non-Christians are equally evil.
However, as you continue to the right,
you cross a thick line, which represents conversion and the new birth. Once you
cross that line, you are among the saved. However, the saved on the extreme
left are less holy than those who have progressed further to the right. Not all
Christians are equally holy.
Nevertheless, the difference that is
made as one crosses the line of conversion is dramatic, which is why the line
of conversion is so thick. There is no “thin line” between the saved and
unsaved. The apostle John wrote that it is obvious who is saved and unsaved
(see 1 John 3:10).
As a saved person is sanctified by
cooperating with the Holy Spirit, he moves progressively toward the right,
closer to the right-hand third of the chart, which is labeled PERFECTION. At
present, of course, only God is perfect.
Notice that under the UNSAVED column,
I’ve listed sins that, if practiced, are proof that a person is not born again,
and some scriptures that say so.
Under the SAVED column, I’ve listed
the fruit of the Spirit and some relevant scriptures. Fruit can ripen and
mature, and so can all of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We can all grow
in love, peace, patience and so on.
Hopefully, you’ve not found yourself
described in the unsaved column. If you have, you need to repent and believe in
Jesus, crossing the line of conversion. If you do, you will immediately be born
again and experience God’s initial transformation.
Once we are born again, God
accomplishes His ongoing work of transforming us through a number of means that
we will consider. We must first understand, however, that God’s success is very
dependent upon our cooperation. He does not override our free will. On the
other hand, He provides lots of motivation for us to cooperate.
What is it that motivates us to strive
against sin and become progressively more like Jesus? There are at least three
motivations with which God supplies us: love, hope and fear. All of those
motivations are legitimate and scriptural. More specifically, they are (1) love
for God, (2) hope of reward, and (3) fear of discipline.
Love for
God
Obedience that springs from love would
seem to be the highest and most pleasing kind of obedience to God. Ideally, we
should obey Him only because we love Him, and every true believer will do this
to some extent. Jesus spoke of the obedience of love, saying:
If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments....He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves
Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and
will disclose Myself to him (John 14:15, 21).
Likewise, the apostle John wrote,
For this is the love of God, that we
keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).
How can we not love Him when we
understand what He has done for us? How can we not feel a sense of gratitude
for His amazing self-denial on our behalf? How can we not seek to please Him
who loves us so much?
Let’s imagine for a moment that you
are crossing the street on a busy corner and carelessly step in front of an
oncoming bus. A fellow pedestrian lunges at you, just barely pushing you out of
harm’s way, but he himself is hit by the bus. He is rushed to the hospital,
where he learns that he will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his
life.
Would you not feel a debt of gratitude
to him who saved you at such great personal cost? Would you not feel an
obligation to repay what you could never repay? Your love for the one who
showed you so much love would motivate you to do what you could to please him.
If he desired something, you would do what you could to provide it. So it is
with those who believe in Jesus. They can’t help but love Him, and because they
do, they strive to please Him by their obedience.
Hope of
Reward
A second motivation God provides to
those who obey Him is the hope of reward. Clearly, salvation is given to us by
God’s grace. This is not to say, however, that other blessings aren’t given in
response to our works. Both present and future blessings are repeatedly
promised in Scripture as rewards to the obedient. Paul wrote that, “godliness
is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and
also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). Indeed, God is “a rewarder of those
who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).
Hope of reward could be considered a
selfish motivation, hardly virtuous compared to being motivated by pure love
for God. Would not the Lord prefer that we serve Him because we love Him,
rather than for personal benefit (as is so clearly exemplified by the testing
of Job, for example)?
I would tend to think so.
Nevertheless, God is the one who initiated the program of rewards for
obedience. Like any good parent, He might prefer that His children obey Him
motivated by pure love, but He knows, like most parents, that filial love is often
insufficient. Parents frequently promise their children rewards for good
behavior, and it works. Besides, the earthly rewards we receive glorify the
goodness of our God who loves to bless His children.
We must also keep in mind that
selfishness is serving ourselves at the expense of others. Thus, not all that
benefits self is necessarily selfish. Without a hint of disapproval, Scripture
describes true Christians as those who “by perseverance in doing good seek
for glory and honor and immortality” (Rom. 2:7, emphasis added). Most of us, I suppose, believed in Christ (at least
initially) out of concern for ourselves—we want to go to heaven and miss hell.
Yet our act of believing in Christ can hardly be considered selfish. Our
receiving eternal life did not cause someone else’s exclusion from the same
blessing. If anything, our receiving eternal life increased the possibility that others would be saved.
Consequently, receiving salvation because of concern for self cannot be
classified as selfish. So it is also true of the rewards God promises to the
godly. They don’t come at the expense of others. Neither God’s grace nor His
rewards are limited. We’re not competing against others for a piece of the pie.
This being so, desire for reward
should not be considered sinful, wrong, or selfish, especially since God is the
initiator and promiser of the rewards. If it were wrong for us to desire a
reward God promises, then He is guilty of enticing us to do wrong, making Him a
sinner. That, of course, is impossible.
Repayment
According to Deeds
Throughout Scripture, the godly are
promised special rewards for their obedience. For example, we know that in the
future kingdom at Christ’s return, God is going to repay every one us according
to our deeds:
For the Son of Man is going to come in
the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man
according to his deeds (Matt.
16:27, emphasis added).
Behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done (Rev. 22:12, emphasis added).
The recompense and rewards of which
Jesus spoke not only include general repayments that all the saved or unsaved
shall mutually share, such as heaven or hell. The promised repayments also
include specific and individual rewards based upon each person’s individual
deeds. Paul, writing of his and Apollos’ ministries, stated,
Now he who plants and he who waters
are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor (1 Cor. 3:8, emphasis added; see also vv. 9-15).
Our future rewards will be based on
our own works, taking into consideration our particular gifts, talents, and
opportunities. Jesus’ Parable of the Talents makes this ever so clear (see
Matt. 25:14-30). God expects more from those He’s given more. Jesus said, “From
everyone who has been given much shall much be required” (Luke 12:48).
The Time
of Reward
Scripture doesn’t always make it clear
exactly when the godly will be
rewarded. Some promises are clearly for this life, while others are for the
next. Some are ambiguous. First, let’s consider a few that apparently promise
rewards in this life:
Honor your father and mother (which is
the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and
that you may live long on the earth (Eph. 6:2-3, emphasis added).
And do not judge and you will not be
judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will
be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over, they [the KJV says ‘men’] will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to
you in return (Luke 6:37-38, emphasis added).
For, “Let him who means to love
life and see good days refrain
his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile” (1 Pet. 3:10, emphasis
added).
But one who looks intently at the
perfect law, the law of liberty [the law of love], and abides by it, not having
become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed
in what he does (James 1:25,
emphasis added).
Here are a few examples of promises
that clearly have application to our future lives:
But when you give a reception, invite
the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since
they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:13-14, emphasis added).
Rejoice, and be glad, for your
reward in heaven is great, for so
they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:12, emphasis added).
Sell your possessions and give to
charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure
in heaven, where no thief comes
near, nor moth destroys (Luke 12:33, emphasis added).
What heavenly rewards might be in
store for us, only God knows. As vague as heaven is to us, so are the special
rewards that await us there. Earthly rewards, however, should be understood to
be anything we would consider a blessing. Don’t limit God’s blessings to only
happy inward feelings or shivers down your spine!
Finally, here are a few promises whose
time of fulfilled reward is ambiguous:
But love your enemies, and do good,
and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He
Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men (Luke 6:35, emphasis added).
But when you give alms, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in
secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you....But you, when you pray, go into your inner
room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees in secret will repay you....But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and
wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father
who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you (Matt. 6:3-4, 6, 17-18, emphasis added).
With good will render service, as to
the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this
he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free (Eph. 6:7-8, emphasis added).
God is keeping track of even the
smallest good deeds, with plans to reward them:
For whoever gives you a cup of water
to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he
shall not lose his reward (Mark 9:41).
Do you desire to enjoy more blessings
from your heavenly Father, both now and in heaven? Of course you do! Then obey
Him more, and you will be rewarded. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe
it” (Luke 11:28, emphasis added).
Fear of
Discipline
Apart from love of God and hope for
reward, there is at least one other way God motivates His children to be
obedient: through fear of discipline. I would suspect that this third
motivation is the one God prefers to use the least of the three. Nevertheless,
it is certainly valid and scriptural. Most parents use all three means to
motivate their children to be obedient, and none should be considered
blameworthy.
Against this, some contend that fearing
God is incompatible with loving Him. Does not Scripture say, “perfect love
casts out fear”? (1 John 4:18).
The fear of which John wrote that is
cast out by love is not the fear of holy reverence for God. It is the fear of
eternal punishment that begins on “the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17). Having
understood and received the love of God, and now abiding in His love (see John
15:10), we need not fear the hell that we formerly deserved.
Loving and fearing God are not
incompatible according to the New Testament. Believers are commanded to fear God (see 1 Pet. 2:17). They are told to
be subject to one another “in the fear of Christ” (Eph. 5:21), to “work out
[their] salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), and to perfect their
holiness “in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). Peter admonished the recipients of
his first letter to conduct themselves with fear during their earthly sojourn, knowing that God
would impartially judge each one of them according to their works (see 1 Pet.
1:17).
Discipline
at Corinth
Unfortunately, God’s discipline is a
foreign concept to many professing Christians, but it is certainly not foreign
to the Bible. From Adam and Eve to Ananias and Sapphira, from the Israelites
who died in the wilderness to the Christians who were sick in Corinth, God’s
discipline is revealed in Scripture. Sometimes His discipline can be severe
when there is good cause for it. Consider Paul’s important words to the
Corinthian believers:
Therefore whoever eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a
man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For
he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body
rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number
sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we
are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be
condemned along with the world (1
Cor. 11:27-32, emphasis added).
First, note that as a result of God’s
discipline, which Paul also refers to as God’s judgment, some of the
Corinthians were weak and sick. Some had even died.
The reason for God’s judgment? They
were partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” (11:27). What did
Paul mean? From the context, we can safely conclude that he was referring to
partaking of the Lord’s Supper while in disobedience to the Lord. For example,
Paul wrote that we should first examine ourselves before Communion, and warned that we are in danger of
judgment if we don’t “judge the body rightly” (11:29). It would seem reasonable
to conclude that “judging the body rightly” would be equivalent to other
related phrases within the context, namely, those that say we should examine
and judge ourselves. We know that it is the “deeds of the body” that get us
into trouble (see Rom. 8:12-14; 1 Cor. 9:27). “Judging the body rightly” must
mean recognizing and subduing the sinful nature within that wars against the
Spirit. We can avoid God’s judgment if we would judge ourselves, that is, not
yield to the sinful nature, continually examine ourselves, and confess our sins
if need be.
Can
Christians Go to Hell?
God disciplines
us, as Paul wrote, “in order that we may not be condemned along with the world”
(11:32). The world, of course, is going to be condemned to eternal damnation.
Thus, God disciplines sinning believers so they don’t go to hell (indicating,
again, that heaven is only for the holy).
This raises several important
questions. The first is this: Is there really a danger that a true believer
could end up in hell?
The answer is yes. If a true believer returns to committing the
“exclusionary sins,” those which, if practiced, Scripture guarantees will result
in one’s exclusion from God’s kingdom (see 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21,
Eph. 5:5-6), he forfeits eternal life. God has not taken away our free will nor
our capacity to sin. Contrary to what many modern teachers say, the Bible
teaches that any believer who consistently follows after the old sinful nature,
what Scripture calls the flesh,
is in danger of spiritual death. Writing to Christians, Paul said:
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to
live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you
must die; but if by the Spirit
you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Rom. 8:12-14, emphasis added).
For at least two reasons we must
conclude that Paul was addressing spiritually alive Christian believers.
First, notice that he addressed them
as brethren.
Second, they had the capacity to put
to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, which is something only believers,
indwelt by the Spirit, could do.
Note that Paul warned the Roman
Christians that if they lived according to the flesh, they must die. Was he referring to physical or spiritual
death? It seems logical to conclude that he was referring to spiritual death,
since everyone, even those who “are putting to death the deeds of the body,” is
going to die physically sooner or later. Is it not also true that those who
“live according to the flesh” often continue to enjoy physical life for a long,
long time?
The only proper conclusion that can be
drawn from these facts is that true Christian believers can die spiritually by
“living according to the flesh.” Thus Paul’s “exclusionary lists” of 1 Cor.
6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21 and Eph. 5:5-6 should not be considered only applicable to
those who do not profess faith in Christ. They are just as applicable to those
who do profess faith in Christ. (In fact, within their context, the
“exclusionary lists” are written as warnings to believers.) It is those who are
led by the Spirit, as opposed to the flesh, who are the true children of God,
as Paul so clearly stated (see Rom. 8:14).
More Proof
that Christians Can Die Spiritually
Paul wrote similar words to the
Galatian Christians. After warning them that those who practice the “deeds of
the flesh” will not inherit God’s kingdom, he stated:
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his
own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit
shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall
reap if we do not grow weary
(Gal. 6:7-9, emphasis added).
Notice the two people who are
contrasted. One sows to his flesh and the other to the Spirit. The first reaps
corruption (the NIV translates it “destruction”) and the other reaps eternal
life. If corruption (destruction) is the opposite of eternal life, then it must
refer to spiritual death. Please note that reaping eternal life is only promised
to those who sow to the Spirit and who continue sowing to the Spirit. Those who
sow to the flesh will not reap
eternal life, but destruction. As Paul warned, “Do not be deceived” about this
(Gal. 6:7). Yet so many today are.
Sowing to the flesh was a personal
concern of the apostle Paul, who, like every other true Christian, still
possessed a sinful nature. He wrote to the Corinthians:
And everyone who competes in the games
exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable
wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without
aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and
make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself
should be disqualified (1 Cor.
9:25-27, emphasis added).
Like Olympic athletes, we must also
exercise self-control if we hope to receive our imperishable prize. Paul stated
that he buffeted his body and made it his slave, because if he didn’t, he was
in danger of being “disqualified.” When one is disqualified, there is no hope that he might win. The immediate
context of Paul’s words makes it clear that he was not expressing concern over
the possibility of losing further opportunities for service or heavenly
rewards, but of losing his ultimate salvation. In fact, in the verses that
follow (1 Cor. 10:1-14), Paul warned the Corinthian Christians not to follow
the tragic example of the Israelites who, although they were so initially
blessed and privileged, ultimately perished in the wilderness because they did
not continue in obedient faith. Unlike the Israelites who perished, the
believers in Corinth should flee from greed, idolatry, immorality (sins Paul
previously listed in his “exclusionary list of 6:9-10), testing God, and grumbling,
admonishing them, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor.
10:12).
James Adds
His “Amen”
Consider also what James wrote to
Christian believers about persevering under trial. Those who successfully
persevere are the ones who will receive “the crown of life,” that is,
salvation. Those who
return to a life of sin will die:
Blessed is a man who perseveres under
trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which
the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted,
“I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself
does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and
enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren (Jas. 1:12-16, emphasis added).
James stated that
it is not God who is tempting us, but “each one is tempted when he is carried
away and enticed by his own lust [desires]” (1:14). The result is that “when
lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (1:15). Finally, when sin is
“accomplished,” or as the NIV and NKJV say, when it is “full-grown,” it brings
forth death. How long it takes for sin to become “full-grown” and result in
death is a matter of conjecture. Certainly, a single sin by a believer does not
result in instant spiritual death. Persisting in sin, however, or habitually
walking after the flesh, does eventually result in spiritual death. James warns
us not to be deceived about this.
Again, how could James be warning
about physical death as opposed to spiritual death, as some claim? Everyone is
going to die physically, sinner and saint.
Additionally, how can some claim that
James is addressing unbelievers in this passage? It isn’t possible for sin to
“bring forth death” in them, because they are already “dead in [their]
trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). James was clearly addressing Christians, “beloved
brethren” (Jas. 1:16, emphasis
added).
James also wrote at the end of his
epistle:
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the
error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins (Jas. 5:19-20).
Notice that James was addressing brethren. He stated that “if any among you strays from the truth,” so he must have meant
fellow believers who were previously in the truth but who strayed from it. That
they had not strayed in doctrine only is clear from James’ words, “he who turns
a sinner from the error of his way” (5:20). These people had
strayed from holiness.
However, if we turn back one who has
strayed as James described, we “will save his soul from death.” Note that James
didn’t say we would save his body from death, but rather, his soul.
Again, the only honest conclusion we can draw is that James believed that a
spiritually alive person could ultimately die spiritually by returning to the
practice of sin.
Peter
Joins the Chorus
Not only did Paul and James agree on
this issue, but so did Peter. Warning about the seduction of believers by false
teachers, he wrote,
For speaking out arrogant words of
vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely
escape from the ones who live in error,
promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by
what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if after they have
escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state
has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment
delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A
dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing
in the mire” (2 Pet. 2:18-22, emphasis added).
First, note that Peter wrote that the
false teachers entice “those who barely escape from the ones who live in error”
(2:18). Peter was clearly writing of true Christians, because they did escape, although “barely” from the ones who live
in error, the nonbelievers. Peter also said that they had “escaped the
defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”
(2:20). That can only mean that they were born again and were no longer
practicing sin. (Notice what Peter considered to be the mark of the true
believer.) They were spiritually alive.
But, Peter wrote, they were “again
entangled” in what previously defiled them and were “overcome” (2:20). The
result was that the “last state has become worse for them than the first”
(2:20). If that was the case, could they still have been spiritually alive and
heaven-bound? Obviously not. Peter compared them to dogs returning to their
vomit and pigs going back to the mud. Are we to think that such people are
spiritually alive, children of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and on the sure
road to heaven?
John’s
Testimony
The apostle John obviously believed
that a spiritually alive person could become spiritually dead:
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to
those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death;
I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin
not leading to death. We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who
was born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him (1 John 5:16-18).
First, note that John was speaking of
fellow Christians sinning.
Second, note that John did not believe
that any and every sin a Christian might commit would immediately result in his
death, as some extremists say. However, John did believe that there was a “sin
leading to death” and that there was no point in praying for a brother who
committed that sin. We could debate about what exactly that sin is, but may it
suffice for now to say that such a sin exists.
Did John mean that there is a sin unto
physical death? Many think so, primarily because their theology leaves no
possibility for a spiritually alive person to die spiritually. However, when we
consider the context before and after John’s statement, eternal life is clearly what he had in mind when he was
writing (see 1 John 5:13, 20). The sin unto death is the sin that ends eternal
life.
Jesus
Warned His Followers of Hell
Jesus, too, believed that present
salvation was no absolute guarantee of future salvation. He warned His own
disciples to “fear Him who is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Consider also His
words recorded in Luke 12:35-46, also addressed to His own disciples:
“Be dressed in
readiness, and keep your lamps alight. And be like men who are waiting for
their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may
immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those
slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to
you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table,
and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or
even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. And be sure of
this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was
coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be
ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
And Peter said, “Lord,
are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and
sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give
them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master
finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, that he will put him in
charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master
will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and
women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come
on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will
cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers” (emphasis added).
Matthew recorded this same admonition
by Jesus, including His further elaboration on the final destination of the
unfaithful servant: “Weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth” (Matt.
24:51). Thus, according to Jesus, one who formerly served the Lord, his Master,
can still be damned if he returns to a lifestyle of sin.
Notice that the apostate slave in this
parable was characterized by hating his fellow slaves and drunkenness, two sins
that mark a person as unsaved (see 1 John 3:13-15; 1 Cor. 6:10).
Notice also that Jesus was clearly
addressing this parable to His own disciples, as revealed by Luke 12:22 and 41.
Present salvation is not guarantee of future salvation. We must continue in a
living faith. The two parables that follow in Matthew’s Gospel, that of the Ten
Virgins and the Talents, also serve to illustrate this fact (see Matt.
25:1-30).
Jesus’ point is so unmistakably clear
in this parable that some who subscribe to the false doctrine of unconditional
eternal security are forced to conclude that “outer darkness,” where there is
“weeping and gnashing of teeth,” describes a place in heaven where less
faithful Christians will temporarily mourn their loss of heavenly rewards!
Jesus also once warned the church in
Sardis of the danger of born-again members dying spiritually. Apparently, the
majority of the Christians in Sardis had returned to the practice of sin; thus
they were in grave danger that they would not be clothed in white garments,
that Jesus would not confess them before His Father, and that their names would
be erased from the book of life. Yet there was still time for them to repent.
Read slowly and honestly:
I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but
you are dead. Wake up, and
strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not
found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Remember therefore what
you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not
wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will
come upon you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their
garments; and they will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall thus be
clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of
life, and I will confess his name
before My Father, and before His angels (Rev. 3:1-5, emphasis added).
In light of all Jesus, Peter, James,
John and Paul taught, how is it that so many modern teachers maintain that if a
person is truly saved, he can never forfeit his salvation, no matter how he
lives? This is the devil’s original lie, when he said to a spiritually alive
person who was considering sin, “You surely shall not die!” (Gen. 3:4). Why
don’t more Christians recognize Satan’s original lie being perpetrated through
modern false doctrine?
When a
Believer Stops Believing
The practice of unrighteousness is not
the only danger for believers. If a true believer stops believing, he will
forfeit his salvation, since salvation is only promised to those who believe
and continue to believe. In reference to salvation, the New Testament Greek
often uses the word believe in
a continuous tense. Salvation is for those who believe and continue believing,
not to those who believed at some moment in the past. For this reason and
others, the New Testament is full of admonitions that exhort believers to
continue along the paths of righteousness. Jesus warned His own disciples that
“it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved” (Matt. 10:22).
Notice the conditional if in Paul’s words to the Colossian Christians:
And although you were formerly
alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled
you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy
and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly
established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all
creation under heaven (Col. 1:21-23, emphasis added).
Some Calvinists claim Paul meant that
all true Christians will continue to persevere in faith until death, and if at
some point they stop believing, that proves they never truly believed in the
first place and were never actually saved. Because of the many fruit-bearing
believers who apparently do fall away, some also maintain that a phony
Christian, who, of course, is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can appear to be
a true believer. He may even demonstrate more fruit than some authentic
Christians, yet he will ultimately go to hell because he never really possessed
saving faith! Thus, the Calvinist who is consistent in his theology must always
live with the possibility that his faith may yet prove to be bogus if he ever
stops believing. If the only genuine faith is faith that perseveres until
death, then a Calvinist can never be certain of his salvation, because he won’t
know if his faith is genuine until his final breath. Only then will he know if
his faith persevered until death, thus proving itself to be true.
This theory is obviously not what Paul
had in mind in Colossians 1:23. He wanted the Colossian Christians to know that
they were presently reconciled to God, and that they would maintain their
blameless standing before Him if they continued to believe.
Notice Paul’s conditional if regarding the Corinthian’s salvation:
Now I make known to you, brethren, the
gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you
stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I
preached to you... (1 Cor.
15:1-2, emphasis added).
Paul assured them of their salvation,
predicated on their faith. They would remain saved if they held fast to the
gospel. He did not say that time would tell if they really were saved if they
persevered in faith until death.
Guard Your
Heart Against Unbelief
The writer of the book of Hebrews
warned of the real dangers of allowing unbelief or sin to creep into our lives.
Note that he addressed his words to Christian brethren:
Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil,
unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one
another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any one of
you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of
Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end (Heb. 3:12-14, emphasis added).
We are “partakers of Christ” as long
as we “hold fast” in faith. Sin has the ability to deceive and harden us, so we
should beware of both unbelief and sin creeping into our lives.
Later in his epistle, the author of
the book of Hebrews quoted one of the most well-known verses in the Old
Testament, Habakkuk 2:4, and then added his inspired commentary:
“But My righteous one shall live by
faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back to
destruction, but of those who
have faith to the preserving of the soul (Heb. 10:38-39, emphasis added).
How much clearer could it be?
Grafted in
and Broken Off
Among many other scriptures, Romans 11:13-24
also stands out as proof that true believers can forfeit their salvation if
they abandon their faith. This, any honest reader will have to admit:
But I am speaking to you who are
Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.
For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their
acceptance be but life from the dead? And if the first piece of dough be holy,
the lump is also; and if the root be holy, the branches are too. But if some of
the [Jewish] branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive [a Gentile],
were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of
the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are
arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root
supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be
grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did
not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to
those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His
kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be
grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off
from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature
into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural
branches be grafted into their own olive tree? (Rom. 11:13-24, emphasis added).
Clearly, there exists the possibility
of losing one’s position in God’s tree of salvation. We stand by our faith and
are guaranteed our place only if we “continue in His kindness” (11:22).
Back to
God’s Discipline
With all this in mind, let’s go back
now to Paul’s words about God’s discipline in 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 and ask
another question: Does God’s discipline guarantee that a sinning Christian will
repent and not be condemned along with the world?
Obviously the answer is no for several reasons. First, because of the many
scriptures we’ve just considered, all of which indicate that a true believer
can forfeit his salvation by abandoning his faith or returning to the practice
of unrighteousness. Any believer who strays is, without a doubt, the object of
God’s love, and Scripture teaches that He disciplines those He loves (see Heb. 12:6).
However, since it’s clearly possible for believers to return to unrighteousness
or unbelief and die spiritually, we can only conclude that God’s discipline
doesn’t always bring back those who stray.
Second, God never overrides our free
will so far as our own salvation is concerned. If we don’t want to serve Him,
we don’t have to, and the Bible contains scores of examples of those whom God
disciplined who did not repent. King Asa, for example, was a man who initially
was a very godly king. Later in his life, however, he sinned, and refused to
repent even while suffering God’s discipline, dispensed by means of a disease
in his feet. He ultimately died from his disease (see 2 Chron. 14-16).
It is quite possible, according to the
author of the book of Hebrews, for God’s children to respond wrongly to His
discipline:
You have forgotten the exhortation
which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the
discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him”....Furthermore,
we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not
much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? (Heb. 12:5, 9).
When we are disciplined by our Father,
we can “regard [it] lightly,” that is, ignore it, or “faint,” that is, be
overcome by it and quit. God, however, desires that we subject ourselves to His
discipline and “live.” Clearly, the implication is that if we don’t subject
ourselves, we will not live, but die. The author must have been writing about
spiritual life (and, by implication, spiritual death), simply because even
obedient Christians all eventually die physically, not to mention the fact that
many who are not subject to “the Father of spirits” continue to live physically
for a long time.
This leads us to the next question:
What about premature physical death? If that is a form of God’s discipline, the
purpose of which is that we “may not be condemned along with the world,”
wouldn’t the Lord bring every sinning Christian home to heaven before he died
spiritually?
If that was always the case, then it
would be impossible for a person to forfeit his salvation. If a person was
saved, he would never need to be concerned about abandoning his faith or
returning to the practice of sin, because he could rest in the assurance that
the Lord would cut his life short before he died spiritually and lost his
salvation. This idea, however, stands opposed to the many scriptures that
clearly indicate that a truly saved person can forfeit his salvation. So what
is the answer?
Perhaps an example from human
experience might help us: A citizen might break the law and suffer the
discipline of the government. If he, however, flees the country, he has taken
himself out of the jurisdiction of the government. Consequently, he neither
suffers its wrath nor enjoys the benefits shared by all its citizens.
Or another example: A son might
disobey his father and suffer his loving discipline. But if the son runs away
from home to constantly indulge in what his father would disapprove of, he need
not fear his father’s discipline. He’s removed himself from the family. So,
too, those who abandon their faith or return wholeheartedly to follow the
flesh, the comfort of promised discipline and, if need be, premature death,
does not apply. They have forfeited all that was theirs. They, of course, may
well die prematurely, but their final destination is not heaven.
Those among God’s children, however,
who stumble into sin but whose hearts are still inclined to serve God, place
themselves in a position to be disciplined by their Father if they do not judge
themselves by confession and repentance. These children are generally obedient:
not running away or abandoning their family, but are disobedient to some
degree. If they persist in their disobedience, not confessing and repenting of
their sin, they may be judged by means of premature physical death, but are
still saved when they die.
For example, God may call one of His
children to be a pastor. If that child of God resists the call, he may suffer
God’s discipline in some form. If he persists in disobedience, he may suffer
premature death, yet he will still go to heaven. He was not “living according
to the flesh,” but was “by the Spirit putting to death the deeds of the body.”
He had fruit in his life, but was falling short of what God expected. So he is
not like the Christian who has abandoned his faith or returned to the practice
of sin.
We might ask, “What is so terrible
about dying prematurely and going to heaven? Wouldn’t that be more of a reward
than a chastisement?”
Such a question reveals our lack of
understanding of how greatly God will reward the godly in the next life. If
giving even a cup of cold water will be rewarded; if by patiently enduring
“momentary, light affliction” we can expect in return “an eternal weight of
glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17); if by sharing with those in
need we can lay up “treasure in heaven” (Luke 12:33), then every extra second
we can serve God on earth should be considered an unparalleled opportunity. How
sad it is when we waste time that we can never regain. In the future, we will
look back with much regret. How much more will this be true of those who died
prematurely and had no further opportunities to serve the Lord on earth?
Is All
Sickness an Indication of God’s Discipline?
Clearly, from what Paul wrote to the
Corinthians, weakness, sickness and premature death can all be manifestations
of God’s discipline. Although it would be unsafe to conclude that all weakness,
sickness or premature death is a sure indication of God’s discipline, there are
many other scriptures besides 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 that attest to the
possibility. Thus any
Christian who finds himself suffering physically would be wise to spend some
time in self-examination. If we are suffering God’s discipline, it would seem unlikely that we would find lasting
physical relief apart from repentance and God’s forgiveness.
God’s discipline can certainly come in
forms other than physical illness. God can arrange circumstances in an infinite
number of ways to accomplish His purposes. Jacob, who once impersonated his
brother in order to deceive his father, woke up one morning married to a woman
who had impersonated his fiancée! Many disobedient Christians have awakened to
similar circumstances, as the Lord gently taught them about sowing and reaping.
Above all, we should not forget that
God’s discipline is an indication of His love for us. The disciplined Christian
should not entertain any thoughts that would say otherwise. Jesus said, “Those
whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev. 3:19, emphasis added). The writer of
the book of Hebrews tells us that God deals with us as any good father would
his son:
For consider Him who has endured such
hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose
heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your
striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed
to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard
lightly the
discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by
Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He
disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He
receives.”
It is for discipline that you endure;
God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not
discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become
partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had
earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much
rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us
for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good,
that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be
joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:3-11).
Taking into consideration what we’ve
just read, it would seem that we should be more concerned about not being disciplined than being disciplined! The author of Hebrews wrote that
“all have become partakers” of God’s discipline, and those who haven’t are
“illegitimate children and not sons” (12:8).
God desires that
we share His holiness. This has been His intention from the beginning. Being
disciplined is no fun, but after we’ve endured it, it yields righteousness in
our lives. The Psalmist wrote, “Before I was afflicted I went astray / But now
I keep Thy word....It is good for me that I was afflicted / That I may learn
Thy statutes” (Ps. 119:67, 71).
When the
Church Administers God’s Discipline
There is one other aspect of God’s
discipline that we need to consider. It, too, is something God uses to motivate
us to be holy. It is discipline administered by the church.
Unfortunately, Jesus’ words on the subject
are rarely obeyed, primarily because the focus of so many churches and
professing Christians is not personal or corporate holiness. Nevertheless, true
Christians who are striving together to please the Lord won’t ignore what Jesus
said:
And if your brother sins, go and
reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if
he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth
of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the
church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer (Matt. 18:15-17).
One can’t help but wonder what would
happen if these commands were obeyed in every church. No doubt that in many,
attendance would significantly drop. Clearly, as fellow members of Christ’s
body, we have a responsibility, not only for our own holiness, but we also
share some responsibility for the holiness of other believers and the purity of
Christ’s church.
It seems reasonable to think that
Jesus’ words regarding church discipline have application to those times when a
brother sins against us personally,
and not when a brother sins in general. This interpretation is buttressed
somewhat by Jesus’ words recorded in Luke 17:3-4: “Be on your guard! If your
brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against
you seven times a day, and
returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (emphasis added).
Notice Jesus said, “If he sins against
you.” Also, Jesus told us to
forgive any repentant brother whom we rebuke. We can only forgive the personal
offenses of others, not their general sins. Moreover, we note that following
Jesus’ words about church discipline in Matthew 18 is the parable of the
unforgiving servant, prompted by Peter’s question regarding how often he should
forgive his brother. Implied in Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer in the
parable is the idea of personal offenses.
The Proper
Sequence
“Church discipline,” of course, should
rarely involve the whole church. It begins with one person who is devoted to
being holy. He must be holy for at least two reasons. First, if he is not
personally holy to some degree, he will play the part of the man with a log in his
eye who is trying to remove the speck in the eye of another (see Matt. 7:3-5).
What right do I have to correct a sinning brother if I am a greater sinner?
Second, if the offense committed is
personal, then the offended one must be holy enough to desire reconciliation.
Too many of us, when offended, talk about the offense with everyone but the
offender, preferring to gossip rather than work for reconciliation. Scripture
warns us that, when we do this, we are in danger of judgment (see Matt. 7:1-2;
Jas. 4:11; 5:9).
So, let’s imagine that a fellow
believer sins, and let’s
say his offense is against you. You should then lovingly, gently, and humbly
confront him. Most times you will discover that the offender didn’t realize
what he’d done, and he will immediately ask your forgiveness. You, of course,
will then be obligated to forgive him, and you may want to question at that
point if you are a little bit too sensitive. Many “offenses” that people
“suffer” ought to be overlooked with the assumption that the offender intended
no harm. For example, just because it seemed as if your pastor was avoiding you at church
doesn’t mean he was avoiding
you. He may have just been busy looking after others.
Another possibility when you confront
the offender is that he may enlighten you as to your contribution in the
breach. He may tell you that he did what he did because you offended him. Of
course, if that is the case, he should have already come to you! Nevertheless,
you may now understand that you were the real cause of the problem and need to
ask forgiveness. Your brother, then, will be obligated to forgive you, and
reconciliation will occur.
Steps Two
and Three
But let’s say that neither of these
things happens, and the offender refuses to acknowledge his guilt or ask your
forgiveness. Then you should “take one or two more with you, so that by the
mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed” (Matt. 18:16).
Of course, before you’ll be able to
convince one or two others to confront the offender, you’ll have to convince
them of your case. They may want to quiz the offender before they’ll take your
side. They may even become convinced that the supposed offender is guiltless
and correct you! If that is the case, you should then seek the “offender’s”
forgiveness.
If you are able to convince the one or
two others of your case, then together, you should all confront the offender
once again. Hopefully, their siding with you should be enough to convince him
to admit his wrong and seek your forgiveness, resulting in reconciliation.
Rarely does it happen, but if he still
refuses to admit his wrong, then the matter should be taken before the whole
church. This will, of course, require that those in church leadership be
involved; they will doubtlessly want to investigate everything fully before
deciding to join your cause. Again, the possibility exists that they may
discover that both sides have valid complaints, and that both parties need to
seek each other’s forgiveness. However, if they join your side, you can be reasonably
sure that you have a justified complaint against your brother.
When he discovers that the entire
church has taken your side and is planning to confront him publicly, he will
then either repent or leave the church. It is quite unlikely that he will have
to be excommunicated. Jesus said that he should be treated as a “Gentile and a
tax-gatherer” (18:17). That is, he should be treated as an unregenerate person,
because that is what he obviously is. One who is truly born again would not
have resisted the collective conviction of the entire church. Thus, he should
be treated like an unbeliever—in need of being evangelized and born again.
Keep in mind that Jesus never
envisioned the large congregations that often comprise churches today. The
early churches were small groups that met in homes. So the third step Jesus
envisioned would have involved probably no more than twenty people, all of whom
knew and loved both the offender and offended persons. This being so, it would
be better to follow this third step in the context of a small group.
If the Offender Repents...
If, at any point before, during, or
after the process of church discipline, the offender asks your forgiveness, you
must forgive him, or you will experience God’s discipline. Within seconds of giving
instructions regarding church discipline, Jesus told a story about a slave who
was forgiven an enormous debt by his king. Yet that slave then refused to
forgive a fellow slave who owed him a much smaller debt, and he had that fellow
slave thrown into prison. When the king heard of his slave’s unforgiveness, he
was “moved with anger” and “handed him over to the torturers until he should
repay all that was owed him” (Matt. 18:34). Jesus then promised us, “So shall
My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother
from your heart” (Matt. 18:35).
Clearly, the unforgiving servant again
became responsible for his past debt which he could never repay, and found
himself in the same state as he had been previously: unforgiven. Does this not
indicate that he “lost his salvation?” Jesus promised that unless we forgive
the sins of others, we would not be forgiven (see Matt. 6:14-15).
False
Forgiveness
Do we have an obligation to forgive
those who wrong us, but who never admit their offenses? Must we treat
unrepentant offenders as if nothing has happened? These are important questions
that plague the minds of many Christians.
First, we must realize that there can
be no true reconciliation apart from communication, repentance and forgiveness.
This is easily understood in the context of marriage. When one spouse offends
another, there is tension between them. Perhaps they stop talking to one
another. One sleeps on the couch.
What is it that can restore their
relationship? Only communication, repentance and forgiveness. They may simply
try to ignore what has happened. They may force themselves to smile at one
another and chat about other subjects. But there is still something between
them. Their relationship has been damaged, and it will remain that way until
there is communication, repentance and forgiveness.
If one person is the sole offender,
the offended one may attempt to “forgive,” trying to forget what has happened
and go on with life as if nothing happened. But every time he or she sees the
offender, the offense comes to mind. “Why can’t I forgive?” is the anguished
thought.
The reason is because he or she
attempts the impossible, doing what God Himself doesn’t practice. God only
forgives those who repent. He doesn’t expect an offended believer to pretend
that there has been no offense committed against him, while trying to convince
himself that the offender is really a wonderful person with no flaws. That is
precisely why Jesus instructed us to confront the offender, and, if he doesn’t
repent, to take him through the steps of church discipline. At any point in the
process, if he repents, then we must forgive him. If Jesus expected an offended believer just to
“forgive” and go on, He would never have said what He did about church discipline.
Again, Jesus said,
Be on your guard! If your brother
sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and
returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent” forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4, emphasis added).
It is possible, and expected, that
believers will love everyone, even unrepentant offenders, just as God does. But
loving them doesn’t necessarily require unconditional forgiveness. God loves
everyone, but not everyone is forgiven by Him.
Impossible
Cases
But what if it is impossible, because
of circumstances beyond your control, to follow the three-step process Jesus
outlined? For example, you’ve been seriously offended by an influential
believer, such as a pastor, and he won’t let you make an appointment with him.
Or, you confront an offender who refuses to repent, and you can’t find anyone
willing to go back with you for the second step.
In such cases, Paul’s words apply: “If
possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Rom. 12:18).
Do what you can do; that is all God expects.
Regardless of the situation, the Lord
always wants us to “turn the other cheek” and “go the extra mile.” As I’ve
previously said, this doesn’t mean that we should allow ourselves to be abused,
but that we should go beyond what people would normally expect. This is
especially true when we deal with unbelievers. They’ve made no claim to be
Christ’s followers, so to try to take them through the process that God has
given to the church would be foolish.
As I’ve already said, although God
does not forgive anyone unless he repents, He still loves unrepentant people
and longingly waits with open arms to receive them at any time. That should be
our attitude toward any unrepentant offender. We can’t forgive him until he repents, but we can love
him, pray for him, and wait with open arms of love. The prodigal son’s father
didn’t journey to a distant land to offer his son a low-interest loan, but
neither did he turn his back when he saw his son coming home in shame. He ran
and embraced him. Joseph didn’t reveal himself to his brothers when they first
visited him in Egypt, but once they demonstrated their repentance some time
later, he received them with tears.
The Other
Side of the Coin
What if you are the object of church discipline? A brother
comes to you with word that you’ve offended him. What should you do? You should
swallow any pride that might try to surface, listen carefully, and consider
what he’s saying. If you think his gripe is justified, you should apologize and
ask forgiveness. If you think otherwise, you should gently discuss your
feelings and work for understanding and reconciliation. Hopefully you’ll
succeed.
If he returns with one or two others,
and they side with the offended one even after listening to your version of the
story, you should very seriously consider what they tell you and admit your
wrong, asking forgiveness.
If you are convinced that all three
are wrong and they take the matter to the church, you should willingly meet
with any of the leadership who requests a meeting, carefully explaining your
version of the story. If the entire church sides with the offended brother, you
should realize that you are wrong, admit it, and ask forgiveness.
Reverse
Church Discipline
Church discipline is a form of God’s
discipline since it is done at His command. It is another way He motivates us
to be holy and a means whereby He keeps His true church pure.
In churches full of phony Christians,
however, it is an entirely different story. I know a godly pastor who refused
to sing a duet with a man who attended his church and who was living in a
fornicating relationship. The fornicator was the member of a family of
long-standing “pillars” in the church, and when they learned of this pastor’s
“offense,” they worked to get him removed from his pastorate. He was too
judgmental and intolerant, they said, and most of the congregation sided with
them. Consequently, they were able to remove him. That is church discipline in
reverse, and is another way that God keeps His church pure!
We should consider all
three of the motivations—love of God, hope of reward, and fear of discipline—as
further evidence of God’s amazing grace toward us. Each is a gift He didn’t
have to give, but He has, by His grace. All glory be to Him for our holiness!
Footnotes
See, for example, Eph. 1:15-19; 3:14-19; Phil.
1:9-11; Col. 1:9-12; Philem. 1:6.
