.
..Why won't the unsaved be judged according to their sins? Simply
because, Christ died for ALL the sins of mankind, even ACWs
hated homosexuals! Revelation 20:12 states; "And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.
So, you can see by this verse of Scripture that, no one will be
judged according to their sins (Christ paid the price for ALL sin)
however, they'll be judged by their works, and cast into the "Lake
of Fire!"
I'm sorry, but as a Christian who has studied their Bible for some 40 years,
I can't see at all your unusual claim.
From what you have written,
I must conclude that you distinguish 'sins' from 'works',
as if they were mutually exclusive categories.
I do believe there is a distinction in this sense:
That works can be either good or bad, and hence sinful or not,
i.e., some works are indeed sins, and other works are not sins.
This would not preclude the likelihood that even "good works"
are tainted by sin, such as self-interest, rationalization, false belief,
and wrong motivations.
The Bible does indeed declare that even the best efforts at good works
are still tainted and stained by our sinful natures and inadequacies.
That having been said,
the Bible, rather than distinguishing works from sins
as if they were mutually exclusive categories,
actually emphasizes that all works good and bad involve sin,
or are colored by sin, or our unrighteous nature.
Therefore when I read a verse in context, such as Revelation above,
I don't see at all your argument or thesis that men won't be judged
for their sins. They certainly will be.
Let us examine this even more deeply,
and let us do this with the appropriate text, namely
Hebrews,
which is an advanced discussion for adult Christians who seek
deeper understanding regarding sin, sacrifice, and the work of Christ.
In this book, the author of
Hebrews points out that
a new sin has been created, namely the rejection or scorn of
the Holy and special personal Sacrifice which Jesus the Christ made for us.
Here we are solemly warned about the seriousness of the specific sin
of rejecting Christ's New Covenant of Amnesty bought with His own suffering and death. (Hebrews 2:1-4)
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:1-4)
4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6)
25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
(Hebrews 9:25-28)
|
Note especially that in
Hebrews 9:28, the Holy Scripture specifically says the sins of
MANY,
not the sins of
"ALL", or "ALL SINS" as the poster above has claimed.
As
Hebrews examines the revelation of this new and unique event
of the Crucifixion of the Christ, and its awesome weight and significance,
it is plain that this sin dwarfs all other sins, and the suggestion of the text,
is that the punishment for rejection, scorn and mockery of this great gift
will also be far more severe than even the most severe punishment
found in the Law of Moses for previously known and defined sins.
That is, for instance, for a relatively simple and ordinary sin such as murder,
one can invoke
the death penalty. This is not an eternal punishment,
although without a resurrection it might be called a permanent punishment.
But the author of
Hebrews contrasts the ordinary but severe sins such as
murder, adultery, homosexual acts, rape etc, which all can earn the
most severe punishment listed under the Law of Moses, namely
the Death Penalty,
with the potential penalty and judgement one could incur on oneself
by rejecting and making a mockery of the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.
In this letter, the author of
Hebrews clearly implies that rejection or
renunciation of this
New Covenant of Amnesty and Sacrifice for previous sins,
will incur a much more severe and frightening penalty than death.
Thus we conclude, that the doctrine that the poster above claims, namely
'that sins and works are separate things, and that men will not be judged for their sins but their works', is a frivolous and fanciful doctrine not
based on a true and deep understanding of the teachings of Holy Scripture.
For
instead we find a different doctrine, namely that men will indeed be judged,
on
Judgement Day, and
ALL the books recording works and sins will be opened,
and that
men will be fully and thoroughly and fairly and mercifully judged
according to ALL that they have done.
It will not matter whether we call one action a
'sin' or another a
'work'.
We will certainly be judged according to
all our actions and motives just the same.
It will not matter that we have or haven't committed many sins and crimes,
as many certainly will have done.
We have been guaranteed that we will finally be judged fairly and fully,
completely and righteously, by God and His Christ.
God Himself will punish evil-doers appropriately for their sins and crimes,
and God Himself will correct, compensate, heal, and fully UNDO
all the consequences of sins, including the injustices, the suffering, the errors,
the unfairnesses, the temporary 'escapes' from justice, and the temporary
defaults of debts, and failures to pay for crimes, debts, trespasses, etc.
The Just and Holy Living God will certainly right ALL wrongs,
and punish all those responsible to the degree that they are responsible,
and God Himself knows exactly the conditions of the hearts of all those
being judged.
And what Holy Scripture says, rather than supposing that men will escape
judgement for sin and crime on Judgement Day, is actually something
quite different:
That those especially guilty of this new crime, the knowing and conscious
and wilful REJECTION of the New Covenant, the Offer of Amnesty, and
who have scorned and have mocked the sacrifice of God's very Christ
and Messiah, and His personal suffering on behalf of sinful men in need
of rescue, redemption, forgiveness, and salvation,
THESE wilful evil-doers, will be found guilty of a crime so heinous
considered such an ABOMINATION to God and Christ,
that they will have earned for themselves a very special and unique
punishment SURPASSING ALL ordinary punishments for SIN and CRIME
as described under the Law of Moses and the Torah,
the maximum penalty found there of which is simply death.
There is no doctrine of 'escape' from punishment of sins by distinguishing them from works, as if they could be ignored.
Do not be decieved:
God is not mocked;
What a man sows he reaps.
IF a man sows sin, he reaps a penalty appropriate as laid out in the Law of God.
If a man commits a sin so heinous that it amounts to
blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit of God, and that it amounts to
rejection and mockery of
the New Covenant of Amnesty bought with the blood, suffering, and death
of Jesus the Christ and Messiah of God, that person will pay the penalty
appropriate for that special heinous sin:
The Lake of Fire.