Monday, April 29, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Walk, Stand and Sit Or Sit, Walk and Stand?
Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Walk, stand and sit are the three actions that a man has when he is not lying down or asleep. They occupy the major parts of our daily life. The question is how and where do we have these three actions.
There are two ways that we can walk: the way(path) of the Just or the way of the wicked. The way of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble (Prov 4:18-19).
The way of the just is in the same direction as the sun – from East to West where the light shines more and more. The way of the wicked is the way of the world which is opposite to the way of the sun.
When we walk the way of the world, we are walking in darkness, and this way is opposite to the way of the sun – West to East.
When we walk in the way of the ungodly, we begin to carry the heavy burden of the world and the next thing that happens is that we have to stand – stand in the way of the sinner. Finally we become so weary that we have to sit down and we will sit at the seat of the scornful. In other words, the end result will be that we become cynical, critical, and judgmental when we sit back and look and other brothers and sisters.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul also mentioned about these three actions. However, the order is not walk, stand and sit; but sit, walk and stand.
Before we can walk, we need to learn how to sit still. It means that we need to know our position in Christ and learn to rest in Him and wait upon Him. Because of the resurrected life of Christ in us, we can sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2.6) -not the seat of the scornful but the seat of the merciful! By sitting at the right seat we will be able to renew our strength (Isa 40.31).
After being fully charged from waiting upon the Lord, we will have the grace and power to walk. Paul mentioned a number of ways we have to walk:
§ Walk worthy of our call ing, with lowliness and meekness (Eph 4.1)
§ Walk in love (Eph 5.2)
§ Walk as children of light (Eph 5.8)
§ Walk circumspectly (Eph 5.15)
When we are walking uprightly, which means we are walking worthy of our calling, walking in love and waling as children of light, we should not be overconfident in thinking that we will never fall. So let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he falls (1Cor 10.12). Therefore we need to walk circumspectly.
After walking in God’s way, Paul said, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Eph 6.10-13).
There are two “stand” mentioned by Paul in the above scripture. First to stand against the wiles of the devil, then to withstand in the evil day, and finally having done all, to stand. The final test to see whether we qualify to be overcomers is whether we stand at the end of the day. A soldier may be able to fight and prevail against his enemy but after killing his enemy, he may be too drained out of his strength that he cannot stand anymore. The foolish virgins are not ready when the bridegroom comes not because they don’t have oil. In fact they have oil and their lamps are burning too. The only problem is that they don’t have enough oil to sustain them until they can enter into the inner chamber of the Lord when He returns. So do we have enough oil to carry us through the evil days and allow us to still stand after a hard fight? That will determine who is wise and who is foolish.
Though there is a sequence in these three actions: sit, walk and stand, it doesn’t mean that after we walk we do not need to sit,, or after we stand we can stop walking. The ‘sit, walk, stand” will have to be occupied till the Lord comes (Lk19.13).
We learn to sit and hear His small voice and keep our faith (for faith comes by hearing). We also walk from strength to strength to run this race. At the same time we stand and continue to fight against the evil ones. If we obediently do them over and over again, there will come a time when we can say what Paul said at the end of his earthly life, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (the same as saying, “I have stood, walked and sat”): Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Hallelujah!
Walk, stand and sit are the three actions that a man has when he is not lying down or asleep. They occupy the major parts of our daily life. The question is how and where do we have these three actions.
There are two ways that we can walk: the way(path) of the Just or the way of the wicked. The way of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble (Prov 4:18-19).
The way of the just is in the same direction as the sun – from East to West where the light shines more and more. The way of the wicked is the way of the world which is opposite to the way of the sun.
When we walk the way of the world, we are walking in darkness, and this way is opposite to the way of the sun – West to East.
When we walk in the way of the ungodly, we begin to carry the heavy burden of the world and the next thing that happens is that we have to stand – stand in the way of the sinner. Finally we become so weary that we have to sit down and we will sit at the seat of the scornful. In other words, the end result will be that we become cynical, critical, and judgmental when we sit back and look and other brothers and sisters.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul also mentioned about these three actions. However, the order is not walk, stand and sit; but sit, walk and stand.
Before we can walk, we need to learn how to sit still. It means that we need to know our position in Christ and learn to rest in Him and wait upon Him. Because of the resurrected life of Christ in us, we can sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2.6) -not the seat of the scornful but the seat of the merciful! By sitting at the right seat we will be able to renew our strength (Isa 40.31).
After being fully charged from waiting upon the Lord, we will have the grace and power to walk. Paul mentioned a number of ways we have to walk:
§ Walk worthy of our call ing, with lowliness and meekness (Eph 4.1)
§ Walk in love (Eph 5.2)
§ Walk as children of light (Eph 5.8)
§ Walk circumspectly (Eph 5.15)
When we are walking uprightly, which means we are walking worthy of our calling, walking in love and waling as children of light, we should not be overconfident in thinking that we will never fall. So let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he falls (1Cor 10.12). Therefore we need to walk circumspectly.
After walking in God’s way, Paul said, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Eph 6.10-13).
There are two “stand” mentioned by Paul in the above scripture. First to stand against the wiles of the devil, then to withstand in the evil day, and finally having done all, to stand. The final test to see whether we qualify to be overcomers is whether we stand at the end of the day. A soldier may be able to fight and prevail against his enemy but after killing his enemy, he may be too drained out of his strength that he cannot stand anymore. The foolish virgins are not ready when the bridegroom comes not because they don’t have oil. In fact they have oil and their lamps are burning too. The only problem is that they don’t have enough oil to sustain them until they can enter into the inner chamber of the Lord when He returns. So do we have enough oil to carry us through the evil days and allow us to still stand after a hard fight? That will determine who is wise and who is foolish.
Though there is a sequence in these three actions: sit, walk and stand, it doesn’t mean that after we walk we do not need to sit,, or after we stand we can stop walking. The ‘sit, walk, stand” will have to be occupied till the Lord comes (Lk19.13).
We learn to sit and hear His small voice and keep our faith (for faith comes by hearing). We also walk from strength to strength to run this race. At the same time we stand and continue to fight against the evil ones. If we obediently do them over and over again, there will come a time when we can say what Paul said at the end of his earthly life, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (the same as saying, “I have stood, walked and sat”): Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Hallelujah!
Once Saved Always Saved???
Two of the greatest lies that the devil used to deceive many Christians throughout the ages are “once saved forever saved” and “Jesus was fully man and fully God when He was on earth”. Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven which represents the error in the Truth. Today many Christians choose to buy the lies of the devil rather than buying the Truth from God. Jesus said, “You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.”(John 8.32) It is therefore of utmost importance that we really know the Truth especially in this late hour when the devil is working very hard and in great wrath for he knows that his time is running out! (Rev12.12)
It takes the love of the Truth to bring us to the Truth. 2Thes 2.10 - 12 tells us that it is God who sends strong delusion to those who do not love the Truth. “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Verse 12 clearly states that all who do not believe the Truth might be damned.
These two lies have the same intention. That is to take away the fear of God in us and to let us believe that we can continue to live in sins after we accepted the Lord as our savior. The first lie (once saved forever saved) was used as early as in the Garden of Eden. In the garden the serpent told the woman, “Ye shall not surely die, …” (Gen 3.4). Today, devil deceives the church into believing that she will not surely die, even if she disobeys God since she has accepted the Lord and is born again. But did God say that? His word says, “the soul that sins, it shall die.”(Eze 18.20).
By accepting the second lie, Christians believe that it is impossible for them not to sin. They say that Jesus could live a sinless life when He was here on earth simply because He is fully God and we are not God. This gives them a license to continue to live in sin. They have either totally disregarded what Jesus said in Matthew 5.48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”; or they will say this scripture means differently.
There are many scriptures that show that it is not once saved forever saved, in the sense that majority of the Christians perceive what salvation is. When we are born again by accepting Jesus as our Savior, our spirit is quickened and we are reconciled back to God. In Romans 5.9-10, it reads, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Being justified by His blood and reconciled to God by the death of His Son is our born again experience, which is also our initial salvation. Paul said much more we shall be (future tense) saved from wrath and shall be (also future tense) saved by His life. Full salvation can only be experienced when His life is formed in us (Gal 4.19). Full salvation consists of these three stages: Justification by faith (where our spirit was quickened after born again experience), sanctification (where our soul will be redeemed), and glorification (where our body will be changed into incorruptible body). Only after these stages are accomplished in Christ, we are fully saved, and we will not fall anymore and then and only then can we say, “we are saved and forever saved”.
Salvation is a process and eternal life is at the end of the journey, not the beginning. Jesus talked about “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt 7.14). When we say that this is the way that leads to London, London is obviously at the end of that way instead of at the beginning of it.
Rom 13.11 states, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” It means that when we believed, our salvation is still far away, but now it is getting nearer. When we say we are getting nearer to London, it means that we have not arrived at London yet. So Paul encouraged the Romans Christians to awake out of sleep because they were nearer to their destiny – salvation, compared to the time when they first believed.Matthew 10.22 and 24.13 talk about “he that endures to the end shall be saved”. So salvation is at the end of our endurance, not the beginning.
Let us take a look at Luke 13.23-30: “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 13:26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 13:27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 13:29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 13:30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” If ‘once saved forever saved’ is true, why should we strive to enter in at the strait gate? Jesus was referring to Christians, for these people called Jesus, Lord, Lord and they have eaten and drunk in His presence.
Peter was in total agreement with Paul. In 1Pet 1.9, he wrote, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” So according to this scripture, salvation of our souls is at the end of our faith (or the end product of our faith). Paul also asked the Philippians to “work out their own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2.12). We began our journey by faith (justified by faith), and as the just, we need to continue to live by faith (Gal 3.11). Then only at the end of our faith is the salvation of our souls.
Rom 6.21-22 also mention about two kinds of end result: “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Whether a Christian ends up in death or everlasting life depends on what kinds of fruit he has – fruit of uncleanness and iniquity, or fruit of righteousness and holiness.
Apostle John said, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1John 5.11-12). Ya, it is true that God has given us eternal life. However, this life is in Jesus. In order to secure this eternal life, we have to abide in Him. When we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit (John 15.5) and this fruit is the manifestation of His life through us. If one does not abide in Him, Jesus said that he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned”(John 15.6). So Christians who do not bear fruit of holiness and righteousness are going to be cast away into the fire. That’s the reason why Paul was so determined to bring his body under subjection, lest that by any means, when he has preached to others, he himself should be a castaway (1Cor 9.27).
A lot more scriptures state that Christians can lose their initial salvation. Two of them are found in Heb 6.4-6 and 1Pet 2.20-22 below:
Heb 6.4-6 : “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
2Pet 2.20-22 : “or if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
Many churches preach about “assurance of salvation”, so much so that they make Christians believe that “I am o.k., you are o.k.” No wonder a lot of modern days Christians are still weaklings and are still living under the captivity of sin, the world and the devil. The scripture does assure our faith but there are also many warnings in order that Christians will take heed and be sober. To conclude, let us “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1Tim 6.12). Amen.
It takes the love of the Truth to bring us to the Truth. 2Thes 2.10 - 12 tells us that it is God who sends strong delusion to those who do not love the Truth. “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Verse 12 clearly states that all who do not believe the Truth might be damned.
These two lies have the same intention. That is to take away the fear of God in us and to let us believe that we can continue to live in sins after we accepted the Lord as our savior. The first lie (once saved forever saved) was used as early as in the Garden of Eden. In the garden the serpent told the woman, “Ye shall not surely die, …” (Gen 3.4). Today, devil deceives the church into believing that she will not surely die, even if she disobeys God since she has accepted the Lord and is born again. But did God say that? His word says, “the soul that sins, it shall die.”(Eze 18.20).
By accepting the second lie, Christians believe that it is impossible for them not to sin. They say that Jesus could live a sinless life when He was here on earth simply because He is fully God and we are not God. This gives them a license to continue to live in sin. They have either totally disregarded what Jesus said in Matthew 5.48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”; or they will say this scripture means differently.
There are many scriptures that show that it is not once saved forever saved, in the sense that majority of the Christians perceive what salvation is. When we are born again by accepting Jesus as our Savior, our spirit is quickened and we are reconciled back to God. In Romans 5.9-10, it reads, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Being justified by His blood and reconciled to God by the death of His Son is our born again experience, which is also our initial salvation. Paul said much more we shall be (future tense) saved from wrath and shall be (also future tense) saved by His life. Full salvation can only be experienced when His life is formed in us (Gal 4.19). Full salvation consists of these three stages: Justification by faith (where our spirit was quickened after born again experience), sanctification (where our soul will be redeemed), and glorification (where our body will be changed into incorruptible body). Only after these stages are accomplished in Christ, we are fully saved, and we will not fall anymore and then and only then can we say, “we are saved and forever saved”.
Salvation is a process and eternal life is at the end of the journey, not the beginning. Jesus talked about “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt 7.14). When we say that this is the way that leads to London, London is obviously at the end of that way instead of at the beginning of it.
Rom 13.11 states, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” It means that when we believed, our salvation is still far away, but now it is getting nearer. When we say we are getting nearer to London, it means that we have not arrived at London yet. So Paul encouraged the Romans Christians to awake out of sleep because they were nearer to their destiny – salvation, compared to the time when they first believed.Matthew 10.22 and 24.13 talk about “he that endures to the end shall be saved”. So salvation is at the end of our endurance, not the beginning.
Let us take a look at Luke 13.23-30: “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 13:26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 13:27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 13:29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 13:30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” If ‘once saved forever saved’ is true, why should we strive to enter in at the strait gate? Jesus was referring to Christians, for these people called Jesus, Lord, Lord and they have eaten and drunk in His presence.
Peter was in total agreement with Paul. In 1Pet 1.9, he wrote, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” So according to this scripture, salvation of our souls is at the end of our faith (or the end product of our faith). Paul also asked the Philippians to “work out their own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2.12). We began our journey by faith (justified by faith), and as the just, we need to continue to live by faith (Gal 3.11). Then only at the end of our faith is the salvation of our souls.
Rom 6.21-22 also mention about two kinds of end result: “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Whether a Christian ends up in death or everlasting life depends on what kinds of fruit he has – fruit of uncleanness and iniquity, or fruit of righteousness and holiness.
Apostle John said, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1John 5.11-12). Ya, it is true that God has given us eternal life. However, this life is in Jesus. In order to secure this eternal life, we have to abide in Him. When we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit (John 15.5) and this fruit is the manifestation of His life through us. If one does not abide in Him, Jesus said that he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned”(John 15.6). So Christians who do not bear fruit of holiness and righteousness are going to be cast away into the fire. That’s the reason why Paul was so determined to bring his body under subjection, lest that by any means, when he has preached to others, he himself should be a castaway (1Cor 9.27).
A lot more scriptures state that Christians can lose their initial salvation. Two of them are found in Heb 6.4-6 and 1Pet 2.20-22 below:
Heb 6.4-6 : “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
2Pet 2.20-22 : “or if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
Many churches preach about “assurance of salvation”, so much so that they make Christians believe that “I am o.k., you are o.k.” No wonder a lot of modern days Christians are still weaklings and are still living under the captivity of sin, the world and the devil. The scripture does assure our faith but there are also many warnings in order that Christians will take heed and be sober. To conclude, let us “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1Tim 6.12). Amen.
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