Outer Darkness?

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Drake

Thanks StG,

The judgement seat of Christ is not to display and assess sins.... they are under the blood and as the first of four blessings of the new covenant God does not remember them anymore (Hebrews 8:12) .

Rather, the BEMA is to receive reward or punishment for works, deeds, and behavior after becoming a christian. For instance, lack of forgiveness, exacting payment from others and throwing others into prison though your payment was forgiven by the Lord, burying your talent and being an unprofitable servant.. etc. etc. All those are matters of determining an entrance into the manifestation of the kingdom... not salvation. That is what most christian theology misses... the kingdom and its manifestation and the requirements to enter... it is not a matter of fear.. it is a matter of attainment of the standards He has set to rule with Him. We have a clue to this when the thief on the cross repented and asked the Lord to remember him when He came into His kingdom. The Lord accurately and wisely said that on that very same day the repentant thief would be with him in Paradise (the pleasant part of Hades where Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham)... but He did not confirm the thief would join Him in His kingdom. The calls to the overcomers in Revelation 2 & 3 are also instructive in this matter. Not all will overcome but to those that do He will reward... including to shepherd the nations (Revelation 2:26-27) a clear reference to the time the Lord Jesus rules on the earth for 1000 years.

So, no, Brother Lee did not teach the BEMA was to rehash sins that the Lord has long forgotten and issue a reward or punishment based on those. If God were to do that He would be unrighteous.... and we know that He can never be unrighteous else the universe as we know it would collapse and we wouldn't be here chatting about it.

Drake

I'm bringing this forward because I believe this should be front and center in every Christian's understanding and to guide and remind each of us of this most solemn event that awaits our future.

I need this reminder and so do we all.

I mentioned elsewhere that our (the believers) words and deeds will be judged by the Lord in the air at His return. At that time, believers will either receive a reward (to enter into the 1000 year reign with the Lord) or will suffer a dispensational punishment in outer darkness (outside of His cloud of glory). As StG has correctly captured in his research paper on the subject (found in this thread) this is not a judgment concerning eternal life, that matter has already been settled and if you find yourself at the Judgment Seat of Christ in the air you have eternal life else you would not be there! That judgment is for the believers alone. The nations, still alive at the end of the great tribulation, are judged on the earth after the judgment in the air of the believers (born again regenerated Christians)

So the good news is if you are at the Judgment Seat of Christ in the air you have eternal life and that will not be taken away ever. The really good news is that if your works, your deeds, your words, your behavior, are found worthy then Christ will make you a co-king in His millennial reign. The bad news is that if they are not found worthy then that believer/servant will suffer outer darkness for some or all of the 1000 years millennial reign. We should not deceive ourselves into thinking all will be well at His judgment in the air just because we have eternal life when we believed in the Lord. No. Judgment begins at the house of God and the examples of the unworthy servants in Matthew and the non-overcomers in Revelation 2 & 3 serve as fair warning to us about the type of works, deeds, and words that will be judged.

That brings us, or should bring us, to a very clear understanding that even the words spoken in this forum will be included at that judgment. Sometimes I fear brothers, that as we sit behind our computers typing away we do not sense the reality of that day in our hearts. For if we did, would we say the things that are often said in this forum against other believers? I think not. Do not misinterpret my meaning to suggest that you cannot challenge or disagree with any man's teaching. No, I am not saying that. What I am saying is that there is a line that is crossed all too frequently and ends up in mocking, derision, slander, exaggeration, willful misunderstanding and an argumentative spirit, against His servants and His children. This, I believe, will not only be judged at His coming, but can affect our spiritual progress in this life.

Jessie Penn Lewis spoke of this latter point of hindrance to spiritual progress when she wrote: " When you are in the spiritual plane and know the Holy Spirit in your spirit, you recognize there are grave consequences attached to all you do.You cannot go back from the spirit life without stepping into a pathway of failure. The moment you drop from the plane that you have reached you begin to lose spirit strength, and if you do not recover your place quickly you will ultimately sink into a deeper failure. The loss not only affects yourself but everyone with whom you have to deal. You may wrongly interpret or reject the words of a servant of the God and that would cause you to go back without knowing it. This hindrance to your spirit life will maintained while that wrong thought or attitude is held." Walking in the Will of God. JPL

So, look, to the brothers and sisters in this forum I caution and advise each of you to consider this matter carefully knowing that there are grave consequences in this life in our christian walk and spiritual progress.... and at His judgment seat when He returns. If you read this, you, and I, are without excuse. This is not a threat, not a scare tactic, but a call to each of you to examine your heart and your words and the content of your posts in truthfulness and attitude before the Lord. If He judges your works, deeds, and words as worthy, you will receive a reward and if not you will spend time in outer darkness. The Lord's reward or punishment applies just as much to me as it does to you.

Drake