What can we say then concerning I Thessalonians 4:13-18—that which will take place when the Lord appears in the clouds of heaven?

Of one fact we can be certain: no Christian who walks in unrighteousness will be arrayed in fine linen, in the robe of incorruptible life, because that robe is the righteous acts of saints.

Doesn't this passage from I Thessalonians give the impression all believers in Christ will be raised from the dead, ascend to be with the Lord, and after that always be with the Lord where He is?

Yes, it does give us that impression. This is because our current practice is to see the writings of Paul in terms of our own standards of Christian behavior. We interpret "the dead in Christ" and "we which are alive and remain" to mean all who make a profession of faith in Christ.

When we read the epistles of Paul and notice his standard concerning the Christian saint, the normal believer, we find that contemporary Christian behavior is far below Paul's expectations. For example, how many believers are presenting their body a living sacrifice to God as their reasonable service of worship?

A careful study of the whole New Testament shows that those who are to be raised when the Lord comes, who then are to ascend to meet Him and be revealed in glory, are the victorious saints. They have overcome the world, sin, and their self-love. They are not the typical believer of today.

What of the multitude of nominal Christians? We do not know. We do know, however, that each individual will receive the things done in his body. Those who have sown to eternal life will reap eternal life. Those who have sown to their flesh and self-love will reap their flesh and their self-love: that is, they will reap what is perishing, that which cannot enter the life, substance, and nature of the Kingdom of God.

It is not possible, in the Kingdom of God, to sow what is worthless and reap what is priceless, to sow disobedience and sin and reap glory and fellowship with God. It is taught today that the new covenant is a means of evading this basic Kingdom law. Such is not the case.

What about those who have died before they have had an opportunity to practice righteousness? This question frequently arises when one speaks of the life of victory, of the consequences of how we live the Christian life.

Sometimes the question merely is an attempt to evade the issue: "They didn't have an opportunity to overcome and so I don't have to."

The Lord would say to this individual, "What is that to you? Follow me."

The question may be an expression of genuine concern for those who, because of conversion late in life or because they never had been taught beyond the first principles of redemption, lived what appears to us to be a nominal Christian life.

In the first place, only Jesus knows what goes on in the heart of any person.

In the second place, our whole concept of redemption is far too simplistic. Our neat little doctrinal formula has God all figured out. This will happen then. The other will take place later. There is no pain, correction, or growth after we die. The few who hear the Gospel and approve of it go to live in luxurious mansions forever, doing nothing of importance.

To be continued.