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The Daily Word of Righteousness
A Destructive Concept of Divine Grace, continued
That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:47,48—NIV)
The context of the above passage indicates the people being addressed are the Lord's servants, that is, Christians. The Christian who knows what God wants and does not do it will be beaten with many blows. When and where he will be beaten I do not know. This does not sound like total loss of salvation to me. It probably is more in line with being saved as by fire.
This passage alone reveals the utter folly of the "rapture" position. Will we be raised from the dead, glorified, caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and then beaten with many blows?
If we say such blows are given in this life so we will repent and thus be ready for the first resurrection from the dead, I can go along with this. This reinforces my thesis that the Divine salvation insists on godly living as a requirement for protection from the wrath of God.
If we would be saved we must turn from our sin. We are not saved "by faith alone." This is a destructive doctrine. All true Christians suffer a great deal of chastisement at the hand of God that we may be found worthy of the Kingdom. We are saved by these Divine fires. They make us partakers of God's holy, peaceful Nature, knocking the foolishness out of us. We enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation.
We who are not doing God's will shall be beaten with many blows in this life to drive us to repentance, or such lashes will be administered in the next life. If administered in the next life, we can see it is ridiculous to imagine we will be raised, glorified, caught up to be with the Lord forever, and then beaten with many blows. Think about this!
Practicing sin.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions And envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21—NIV)
Would anyone like to venture that the Apostle Paul is not speaking to the Christians in Galatia?
Notice the statement, "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Numerous Christians exhibit these characteristics.
Some believers will admit that Paul is addressing the churches in Galatia. But, they say, "the people who do these things never were real Christians."
Thus they utterly confound themselves. If the members of the churches of Galatia practiced the works of the flesh, as so many American Christians do, and then we say they never were true Christians, then how, pray tell, do we identify a true Christian? By his or her righteous behavior?
To be continued.