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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Greatest Lie Ever Told, #21
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:40-43)
"Gather out of his Kingdom." "His Kingdom"!
Two are in the field. One is taken and the other left. Two are working at the mill. One is taken and the other left.
The division is not between the Christians and the non-Christians but between the righteous and the wicked.
The Christian churches are hoping to be caught away to Paradise in order to escape the coming judgment.
In actuality it is the Lord's will to prepare us now so we can stand in the hour to come, and not only to stand but to reveal to the world the righteousness and holiness of the God of Heaven. We can do this only as we are transformed by His Divine Virtue.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
Having your conversation [behavior] honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. (I Peter 2:12)
In what manner do both the Catholic and Christian approaches to righteousness come short of the Glory of God?
As we understand it, the Catholic approach to righteousness is to acquire merit by religious duties and to submit to specific priestly ordinances. The amount of merit gained determines the state of joy encountered after death. The concept is that if we will attempt to please God by obeying the Catholic Church we can attain an improved position in the spirit realm after we die. The goal is eternal bliss in the spirit Paradise of God.
The Protestant approach to righteousness often is to virtually ignore our behavior, or to assign it a minor role, and to concentrate on a correct mental and verbal response to the theological facts of the Divine redemption. A belief in the facts of redemption is the Protestant definition of, "the just shall live by faith." The goal is eternal bliss in the spirit Paradise of God.
It is apparent that many fine saints have come from the ranks of the Catholic and Protestant churches. How much richer would have been the harvest if the doctrine had been scriptural?
The Catholic model is to attain Paradise by human efforts to obey the ordinances of the Church.
The Protestant model is to attain Paradise by unswerving belief in the facts of the atonement and the resurrection.
Both models are incorrect.
To be continued.