sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we a re judged, we are chastened of the Lord, th a t we should not be con demned with the world” (I Cor. 11:28-32). Paul is speaking of believers, not unbelievers. The Lord’s Supper is not fo r the unbeliever a t all so th a t everything in this passage applies to the born-again member of the Body of Christ. This is still fu rth e r evident from the 32nd verse where we read, “But when we a re judged, we are chastened of the Lord, th a t we should not be condemned with the world.” This judgment is not for condemnation, but for chastening. If God’s chastening is despised, the Lord may take His erring child home to face the judgment seat of Christ a t a la te r time. Accord ing to this verse many believers are taken out of this life before the ir time because they continue in willful sin, the sin unto death. Paul speaks of another case of this kind in I Corinthians 5 :4-5. This was the case of a believer who continued in the open, willful sin of immorali ty, refusing to judge himself. Paul says th a t he was to be delivered to Satan fo r the destruction of the flesh. The man’s soul was not lost, fo r Paul adds, “That his sp irit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” When we preach the grace of God, some accuse us of preaching a dangerous doc trine, as though grace were an excuse fo r careless living; as though, ju s t because we are eternally saved by grace, we can live as we please and do what we want to and it will make no difference. If this is your thinking, you do not yet know the tru th of the Judgment Seat of Christ or the tru th of the sin unto death. Because we are saved, we ought to walk the more carefully, fo r God will judge His people. There is a sin unto death, and God does chasten His people. I am convinced th a t this tru th concerning God’s judgment upon His children who sin against knowledge is a most neg lected tru th . Failure to recognize it is a t the bot tom of much of the carnal, fleshly, worldly conduct of those who profess to be saved by grace. Not in vain did Pete r write, “For the time is come th a t judgment must begin a t the house of God: and if it first begin a t us, what shall the end be of them th a t obey not the Gospel of God ? And if the righ t eous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (I Peter 4:17-18). I t will not do to rebel against this tru th . Our failure to recognize the fact th a t judgment must begin a t the house of God is a t the root of a smug complacency among Christians which has done more to bring the world into its present mess than anything else. Let us, as believers, examine our selves, cleanse our lives and live up to the light we have, lest, “having preached to others, we our selves should be castaways.”
sin, gets into a fight and loses an eye; the Lord does forgive his sin, when he confesses it, but his eye will never return. He will carry the scar of his sin unto the very day of his death. In the Bible a distinction is made between “erro rs” and “deliberate sins.” In Hebrews 9:7, we read concerning the work of the high priest these words, “But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the ERRORS for the people.” He made atonement once a year fo r the errors of the people. The word translated “erro rs” is given in the Bible as meaning “sins of ignorance,” not deliberate and willful. Fo r these, the priest presented the blood, and the people were forgiven. Today, of course, we do not have these sacrifices, but we have a High P riest in Heaven, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who there also presents the all-prevailing blood a t the mercy seat of the throne of God. There are sins of ignorance, sins of defilement, and sins of omission. Some sins which the Israelite could commit had to be punished by death because they were sins fo r which there was no excuse. In Exodus 2 1 :12 we read, “He th a t smiteth a man, so th a t he die, shall be surely put to death.” In case of an accident whereby a man was slain, God appointed a place of refuge. When a man pre sumptuously slew his neighbor, however, there was no provision made. God says, “Thou shalt take him from mine altar, th a t he may die.” The a lta r made provisions for sins of ignorance and defilement, but not fo r a premeditated act. The penalty was death fo r it was a sin unto death. Many other passages might be quoted. Read carefully Leviticus 20:10-16 and you will find a list of sins fo r which there was no sacrifice. The Lord does forgive the sins of His people when they confess, but if willfully committed, they may have to carry the scars through life. I f the sin is unconfessed, the Lord may even visit His child with physical death. The believer cannot live as he pleases ju s t because he is saved. God has a way of dealing with those who sin presumptuously. The more light you have, the greater is your re sponsibility. The more you know of God’s will, the more God expects of you. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians in the eleventh chapter of his first Epistle, teaches this tru th so clearly th a t we wonder why more believ ers do not see it. Concerning the fellowship a t the Lord’s table, Paul says, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of th a t bread, and drink of th a t cup, fo r he th a t eateth and drinketh un worthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to him self, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many
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FEBRUARY, 1966
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