We Believers Are Saved by Grace, so Why Do We Still Need to Be Judged and Purified in the Last Days?
Question 2: The Lord Jesus was crucified as a sin offering to redeem mankind. We have accepted the Lord, and obtained salvation through His grace. Why do we still have to accept Almighty God’s work of judgment and purification in the last days?
Answer: In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption. It was not God’s work of judgment in the last days to thoroughly save mankind. What the work of redemption achieved was that the Lord Jesus served as the sin offering for us all, and that He redeemed us from the clutches of Satan, made us repent our sins, and accept God’s salvation. He qualified us to go before God and enjoy God’s grace and blessing. That was the real significance of the work of redemption. But many people don’t understand. They always think the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption granted complete salvation to all mankind, and allowed us entry into the kingdom of heaven. That notion comes entirely from man’s imagination. We were given redemption by the Lord Jesus, that much is true, but did that change our sinful natures? Does the fact that God forgave our sins mean we’ve truly been holy? Then why do we still sin so frequently? Can those who sin so frequently ever really be approved by the Lord? Not many people have considered this problem, and we’ve never seen anyone truly understand this problem. The Lord Jesus redeemed us from a state of sin. Our sins were forgiven, we were granted salvation by grace, this is a fact. But, as we believe in the Lord and follow the Lord, we also often betray the Lord’s teachings, and give in to our fleshly desires to sin. We do things like lie, commit fraud, deceive, engage in intrigue, seek fame and fortune, we give in to vanity, lust for wealth, and follow evil worldly trends… In times of bitterness and trial, we often misunderstand and blame God, or even leave and betray God. When God’s work doesn’t accord with the notions of man, we carelessly judge and condemn God. At the same time we follow God, we worship and follow men. We live in a cycle of sinning and repenting, that’s hard to escape. We can’t free ourselves from the binds and control of our satanic nature, this is a fact. And although the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption is done, and our sins are forgiven, and we are no longer cursed for violating God’s laws, and can come before God to pray to Him and enjoy the entirety of God’s grace, that does not mean God’s work of saving mankind is over, because the sinful nature inside us still remains. We are still compelled by our satanic nature to oppose and betray God. And without knowing God, we will never fear God and distance ourselves from evil, even less can we reach a state of complete obedience to God, the compatibility with God and sanctity. We haven’t been truly gained by God. We all know, God is holy, and righteous. If people are unsanctified, they can’t see the Lord. God won’t allow the impure or corrupt into His kingdom. This is decided by God’s righteous disposition. So, in the last days, God has, according to His management plan to save mankind, carried out His work of judgment and chastisement, to remove the shackles and restraints of sin from the corrupt mankind and the root causes of sinning and help mankind completely escape the influence of Satan, be saved by God, and enter God’s kingdom. Let’s look at two more passages from Almighty God.
Almighty God says, “A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as sinners because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus — you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: you have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance” (“Concerning Appellations and Identity”).
“By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within his own self, and he will be able to change completely and become clean. Only in this way can man become worthy to return before the throne of God. All the work done this day is so that man can be made clean and be changed; through judgment and chastisement by the word, as well as through refinement, man can purge away his corruption and be made pure” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)”).
In the last days, God will completely save man from Satan’s influence, allow man to truly turn to God and become compatible with Christ, and become holy people who revere and obey God. The only way to achieve that is through Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days. Only through the judgment and revelations in Almighty God’s words can people finally come to know the truth of how they’ve been corrupted by Satan, and the essence of their nature, and know God’s righteous and majestic disposition that is intolerant of offense. Only in this way can people produce true remorse and repentance, wills to hate the flesh and rebel against Satan, and hearts that fear God, truly escape the dark influence of Satan, turn to God, and be gained by God. Only in this way can mankind finally be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven.
from the movie script of From the Throne Flows the Water of Life
Source: Walk in the Light
» Extended Reading:
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