Does God judge His people under the New
Covenant? /Where are the apostles today? /Vision of God/Whether we follow the
gospel of grace or the religious Law?
Does God judge His people under the New Covenant?
Many of us tend to think that God does not judge those who are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. True, they are not condemned to hell. Many quote Romans 8:1 and say that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. But they do not quote the remaining part of this verse which says, "Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"
God judges His people if they harden their hearts without repentance. The best and first example under the New Covenant is the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. Both of them were disciples of the Lord, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and filled with His Spirit. They also decided to sacrifice their land because of their love toward the Church. They committed two abominable acts which invited the wrath of God.
First, they withheld a part of the price of the property sold by them, because they were privy to it. Second, they lied unto God (Vs.4). They allowed the Satan to fill their hearts to commit both these abominations. Apostle Peter did not give them an opportunity to repent and restore the money to the Church. When Peter questioned him, hearing his harsh words, Ananias fell down and gave up the ghost. Sapphira even confessed to Peter revealing the exact amount of the price of the land. She thus did not choose to lie to Peter in this regard. Peter told her that she also agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. She also fell down and died.
A beloved couple who loved the Lord was judged because they did not love the Church, His Body, with all their heart. They agreed to sell their land. But they kept a price of it for their future. Both of them agreed to deceive the Church by withholding a part of the price. Their agreement to deceive the apostles, the Church, was tantamount to lying to the Holy Spirit.
No doubt, both Ananias and Sapphira died when God judged them. But they were not condemned to hell. Though their flesh was judged, their souls were saved. God does judge and punish us in our flesh if we are not faithful to the Church, the Body of Christ.
Let us note that Ananias who lied to the Holy Spirit fell down and gave up the ghost on hearing the words of judgment from Peter. This shows his righteousness. He was convicted of his sin and repented. But he died due to the judgment of the righteous God. His wife also followed the footsteps of her husband in the death.
We are not faithful to the Church, the Body of Christ because we allow the Satan to fill our hearts to tempt the Lord.
Where are the apostles today?
Paul wrote many epistles to churches and some epistles to individuals Timothy,
Titus and Philemon. Of all the epistles to individuals, his two epistles to
Timothy are outstanding. In his epistles to individuals, we can see the
apostolic love for the individual members of the Body of Christ.
Paul called the young Timothy "my own son in the faith" and "my
dearly beloved son". Where are the apostles today, who treat the
individual believers as their own sons in the faith?
While writing his second epistle, Paul was conscious of his home-call. He knew
that he was nearing his martyrdom. But he did not care for his own life but
cared for the young Timothy. Paul took time to write a long epistle to his
beloved son in the faith, warning him against "the last days' perilous
times" (II Tim.3:1). With a heavy heart, Paul warned Timothy against the
tide of apostasy that had set in. Paul wrote, "This thou knowest, that all
they which are in
The apostle who was forsaken by those very people to whom he had preached the
gospel did not lose his heart but wrote two long epistles to a single
individual who was a youth. These days, many ministers do not want to minister
to individuals because they are busy in God's work by way of holding big
crusades. Even if you want to meet one of them, you cannot have easy access to
him or her. You have to meet his/her personal staff just to get an appointment.
If you are an influential person in the society, you may succeed in getting the
appointment with the minister concerned. Can you expect the minister concerned
to write to you a long letter or to send you a personal email? No. Where are
the apostles today who take care of the individuals and who take time to warn
the individuals personally against the false doctrines or against the days of
apostasy?
A true apostle is the one who not only takes care of the individuals but
also has upon himself "the care of all the churches" (II Tim.11:28).
His vision is for all the churches of God in the universal Body of Christ and
not for any particular denomination churches or for the churches geographically
confined to his nation.
A true apostle is the one who through his prophetic eyes sees the decline of
the Christian standards in his time. The one who hankers after church pulpits
but does not expose the doctrines of apostasy in the churches concerned for
fear of losing the pulpit is not an apostle at all.
Today, we see that many churches have turned away from the doctrine of grace
but have turned towards certain sets of rules and legalism. We are indeed in
the days of apostasy. We cannot expect revivals in those churches that are in
the grip of apostasy. Where are the apostles who warn the churches against this
tide of apostasy that is raging the churches of God today? At times, we find
the so-called apostolic gatherings in our midst. But we do not get any siren of
warning nor hear the blowing of trumpets from such apostolic gatherings about
the tide of apostasy.
Vision of
God
"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where
a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who
sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by
all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked,
"Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," The Lord answered, "you are worried and upset
about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is
better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)
We see in our midst two kinds of people of God. Those who are likened to Martha
are engaged in diverse ministries for God. But hardly have they spent time at
the feet of Jesus to hear what Jesus tells them. Vision of God means hearing
and seeing God in our spirit as we meditate on His Word.
Though many of us do see wonderful visions and dreams, yet we do not know what
the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us through such visions and dreams because
we do not sit at His feet with the Bible in our hands. All our visions and
dreams should be in accordance with His Word.
Vision does not mean merely seeing some supernatural things while praying or
sleeping. It is hearing God in our spirits as we meditate on His Word. It is
seeing God in our spirits as we meditate on His Word.
Martha was worried and upset about many things because she did not sit at the
feet of Jesus but only served Him. We may be serving the Lord in His vineyard
through signs and wonders but may not be hearing and seeing Him in our spirits.
The other category of the people of God is likened to Mary who chose to sit at
the feet of Jesus and listened to what the Lord spoke. Jesus was not impressed
with the hard labor put in by Martha in serving Him. Jesus appreciated Mary
because she had chosen what was better, and it would not be taken away from
her.
Under the New Covenant, we do not have Jesus in His flesh with us. But the Holy
Spirit indwells us. The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority. He
speaks to us through His Word. Secondly, we should also listen to what the
servants of God who visit our houses or our churches speak to us. Many servants
of God who conduct big crusades and revival meetings do not feel it necessary
to hear what the Holy Spirit wants to speak to them through the other members
of the Body of Christ, especially the apostles and the prophets.
With all the humility, we should listen to what
the Spirit reveals to us through the five types of New Testament ministers. At
the same time, we should also sit at the feet of Jesus with the Bible in our
hands in order to hear and see Him in our spirits. We thus have fellowship with
God both through the Body of Christ and through our personal meditation on His
Word.
Whether we follow the gospel
of grace or the religious law?
We find many
churches in our midst who preach more on Law than on the gospel of grace. We
are asked to follow certain dos’ and don’ts culled out from the Bible including
the New Testament books. From the pulpits, messages of condemnation against the
people of God are given. The people of God have been put into the bondage of
the religious Law.
Preachers
pronounce divine judgment on the people of God who are not regular tithe-givers
quoting from the book of Malachi. They
quote the Old Testament law and pronounce divine curses on the people redeemed
by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.
Likewise,
preachers ask their women believers not to wear gold ornaments and not to adorn
their hairs by quoting the Pauline letters in I Cor.11:15 and I Tim.2:9. Paul advised the Corinthian women to cover
their heads while praying. Today, a hue and cry is raised if a girl has cut her
hair just to look modern or for the sake of her convenience. In Tim.2:9, Paul advised the young Timothy to
exhort the women to” adorn themselves in modest apparel and to wear such
dresses “which becometh women professing godliness”. The customs and the cultures of the Jews
during the New Testament period were different from the customs and cultures of
the present day Christians living all over the world. Young Christian girls these days wear jeans
or other dresses that suit the climatic conditions in their nations. We cannot bring out a uniform dress code for
all the Christian women living in different nations. Of course, I agree that
every woman should adorn in modest apparel.
The term “modest apparel” is a relative term and should not be bound to
a particular mode of dressing for the Christian women.
According to
the Indian customs, a married woman wears a gold necklace which is insignia of
her marriage. In some Pentecostal churches, this is viewed as an act of
disobedience of the God’s commandment.
If preachers
quoting the above Pauline epistles impose a uniform dress code on their women
believers, this is tantamount to turning them to the Law.
Regarding
prayers, we are supposed to follow the example of Jesus Christ or other
apostles of the Lord or any other servant of God who is a model in prayer.
However, we cannot insist on a child of God who works in a factory or an establishment
either round the clock or for more than 8 hours a day to spend some fixed
hours of prayer.
Regarding
fasting, we are supposed to fast and pray as the Lord leads us. However, we cannot
insist on the people of God to fast for 40 days or for a particular period. I
noticed some servants of God tell the whole world that they fasted for 40 days.
Your fasting should be in secret and no outsider should know that you have
fasted.
Some churches
advise their congregations not to attend the evangelical meetings of other
evangelists or the prayer meetings held by the other denominational churches on
the pretext that their sheep should not be led astray. It is also a message of don’t.
Paul in his
epistle to Galatians dealt with the issue of legalism arising out of the Law
and refuted the false doctrine of Galatians that obedience to the law was
mingled with faith as the ground of the sinner’s justification and that the
justified believer was made perfect by keeping the law.
Paul cried
out, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey
the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth,
crucified among you?.....Received ye the Spirit by he works of the law, or by
the hearing of faith?” (Gal.3:2-3).
Paul further
wrote to Galatians:
“When ye know not God, ye
did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have
known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and
beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to the in bondage?
Ye observe days, and months,
and times, and years.” (Gal.4:8-10).
“Ye did run well; who did
hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
This persuasion cometh not of
Him that calleth you”.
A little leaven leaventh the
whole lump” (Gal.5:7-9)
Such messages
also turn the people again “to the weak and beggarly elements” in which they
were in bondage before coming to know Christ.
A little leaven
leavens the whole lump. Any little false doctrine in this regard ultimately
leavens the whole lump. Today, we do see before our own eyes many churches of
God have been leavened by such false doctrines. A little leaven preached from
the pulpit will leaven the whole church.
By preaching messages on dos’ and don’ts, no preacher can fool us that
his message has been inspired by the Holy Ghost because “this persuasion cometh
not of Him that calleth you”.
(Job Anbalagan)