Suffering
A number of ministries are currently talking about suffering, what with the tough economic times and so forth.
1. We live in a fallen world, and bad stuff happens. This is not God trying to teach us a lesson, although God can and does turn evil for good.
2. Satan is a liar and a deceiver. His tools are sickness, poverty and death. If you see these things in your life, it is not God correcting you. Sin has consequences, and God will not necessarily give you a free "get out of jail card." He WILL forgive your sin when you confess it and ask for forgiveness.
3. God does not correct us by trying to kill us or our family members. Hopefully, your earthly father did not do it that way either.
4. When God corrects us, He does it with the Word. Or more specifically with what the Word says. We have a covenant of peace with God, and He is not judging anyone at this time. There is a time reserved for judgement.
5. The non-believer will stand the Great White Throne Judgement.
6. The believer has already been judged and found innocent by the blood of Jesus. The Judgement Seat of Christ is a judgement for rewards. This is like a sports competition where the judges do not decide who to punish, but who wins the trophy. If you have a shortage of righteous deeds, you will not have much rewards. The judgement is trial by fire - the same fire that Moses saw in the burning bush. It does not destroy righteouness or innocence. It destroys unrighteousness (self-righeousness). The righteous deeds are gold, silver and precious jewels. They do not burn. Unrighteous deeds are wood, hay and stubble. They burn up and you get no rewards for them. It is not a good objective to have the biggest ash pile. Note that there is a difference between good deeds and righteous deeds. Only deeds done for the glory of God are righteous. A good deed may be unrighteous if it was done for the wrong reason (self-righteousness).
1. We live in a fallen world, and bad stuff happens. This is not God trying to teach us a lesson, although God can and does turn evil for good.
2. Satan is a liar and a deceiver. His tools are sickness, poverty and death. If you see these things in your life, it is not God correcting you. Sin has consequences, and God will not necessarily give you a free "get out of jail card." He WILL forgive your sin when you confess it and ask for forgiveness.
3. God does not correct us by trying to kill us or our family members. Hopefully, your earthly father did not do it that way either.
4. When God corrects us, He does it with the Word. Or more specifically with what the Word says. We have a covenant of peace with God, and He is not judging anyone at this time. There is a time reserved for judgement.
5. The non-believer will stand the Great White Throne Judgement.
6. The believer has already been judged and found innocent by the blood of Jesus. The Judgement Seat of Christ is a judgement for rewards. This is like a sports competition where the judges do not decide who to punish, but who wins the trophy. If you have a shortage of righteous deeds, you will not have much rewards. The judgement is trial by fire - the same fire that Moses saw in the burning bush. It does not destroy righteouness or innocence. It destroys unrighteousness (self-righeousness). The righteous deeds are gold, silver and precious jewels. They do not burn. Unrighteous deeds are wood, hay and stubble. They burn up and you get no rewards for them. It is not a good objective to have the biggest ash pile. Note that there is a difference between good deeds and righteous deeds. Only deeds done for the glory of God are righteous. A good deed may be unrighteous if it was done for the wrong reason (self-righteousness).
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