[HBJ]

The older I get the moreI find I can do ZERO without the Lord. My human nature hates that! I was driving on the freeway and someone cut me off. So, I thought the Lord says to have mercy....maybe they just didn't have coffee that AM and were grumpy. I thought I had fulfilled what we are told to do. The Lord spoke to me and said we are to LOVE mercy! I thought WHAT! LOVE being merciful? That throws me out of the equation.

That is why I cannot fathom negative judgment for a believer except for less/no reward. We think we can meet God's standard but the word says if we hate our brother, = murder, or look at a woman with lust, = adultery.

Now there ARE a few verses that I am concerned about. 1) If we don't forgive others' sins, we won't have ours forgiven. What if a Christian who truly accepted the Lord doesn't forgive? Do they lose salvation? We could enter into another thread on that one---Once saved always saved or can you lose it? Or--was the person truly saved to begin with?

We all are responsible for ourselves. If we can say Lord help me forgive, like Corrie Ten Boom forgave a concentration camp guard she knew, we can use His strength. In the end we just have to seek the Lord in spite of things. Don't be concerned if issues from the past come up again and again. Emotions take a long time to heal. Give it to the Lord. I personally figuratively signed over to the Lord a document giving him authority to judge anyone who ever has done wrong against me. That way when emotions come up, they are easier to drop.

2) The word also says that those who teach will be judged more harshly....which should be very sobering to those in leadership position!

Based upon 1 and 2, maybe there are negative consequences when we go before the Lord. But based upon the word as a whole and the nature of man and of God, I cannot believe in anything but the loss of an portion of our eternal reward.