Besides THE LORD *GOD*, and then, because of HIM, nothing on this Earth, in this time, in this body, holds more importance than the soul, regardless of what we have been taught, or the ways we have come to know...
The soul IS that which belongs to THE LORD *GOD*, and which WILL stand before HIM! The soul IS THE TRUTH of our existence, and was CREATED FOR THE LORD, FOR HIS WILL, and FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS! Then came the enemy, the errs of humanity, and the deliberate attempt to remove from the mind, and heart of hearts, THE TRUTH, though NOTHING can alter the FACT that the soul IS what we OUGHT to guard with all our beings, that all is well with it, now, and eternally...
EZEKIEL 18: 4...
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. As to eternity, every man was, is, and will be dealt with, as his conduct shows him to have been under the old covenant of works, or the new covenant of grace. Whatever outward sufferings come upon men through the sins of others, they deserve for their own sins all they suffer; and the Lord overrules every event for the eternal good of believers.
All souls are in the hand of the great Creator: he will deal with them in justice or mercy; nor will any perish for the sins of another, who is not in some sense worthy of death for his own. We all have sinned, and our souls must be lost, if God deal with us according to his holy law; but we are invited to come to Christ. The question here is not about the meritorious ground of justification, but about the Lord's dealings with the righteous and the wicked.
YES, CHRIST JESUS DIED horribly, for our sins, though this is not an invitation to continue in sin, instead, it is a threshold to righteousness BY FOLLOWING HIM in HIS example, and to LEARNING of HIS WILL, that the soul is protected from what is of the world, and the heart is refreshed by LOVE, in which, the being adheres to THE WAY, for HIS GLORY, and the sake of the future of their soul...
HE HAS said:
MATTHEW 25: 31-33...
31+++"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
32+++"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33+++and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.…
This is a description of the last judgment. It is as an explanation of the former parables. There is a judgment to come, in which every man shall be sentenced to a state of everlasting happiness, or misery.
Christ shall come, not only in the glory of his Father, but in his own glory, as Mediator. The wicked and godly here dwell together, in the same cities, churches, families, and are not always to be known the one from the other; such are the weaknesses of saints, such the hypocrisies of sinners; and death takes both: but in that day they will be parted for ever.
Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd; he will shortly distinguish between those that are his, and those that are not. All other distinctions will be done away; but the great one between saints and sinners, holy and unholy, will remain for ever. The happiness the saints shall possess is very great. It is a kingdom; the most valuable possession on earth; yet this is but a faint resemblance of the blessed state of the saints in heaven. It is a kingdom prepared. The Father provided it for them in the greatness of his wisdom and power; the Son purchased it for them; and the blessed Spirit, in preparing them for the kingdom, is preparing it for them. It is prepared for them: it is in all points adapted to the new nature of a sanctified soul. It is prepared from the foundation of the world. This happiness was for the saints, and they for it, from all eternity. They shall come and inherit it.
What we inherit is not got by ourselves. It is God that makes heirs of heaven. We are not to suppose that acts of bounty will entitle to eternal happiness. Good works done for God's sake, through Jesus Christ, are here noticed as marking the character of believers made holy by the Spirit of Christ, and as the effects of grace bestowed on those who do them. The wicked in this world were often called to come to Christ for life and rest, but they turned from his calls; and justly are those bid to depart from Christ, that would not come to him. Condemned sinners will in vain offer excuses. The punishment of the wicked will be an everlasting punishment; their state cannot be altered. Thus life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse, are set before us, that we may choose our way, and as our way so shall our end be.
2+++May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3+++Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4+++Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5+++For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6+++knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7+++for he who has died is freed from sin.
The apostle is very full in pressing the necessity of holiness. He does not explain away the free grace of the gospel, but he shows that connection between justification and holiness are inseparable. Let the thought be abhorred, of continuing in sin that grace may abound. True believers are dead to sin, therefore they ought not to follow it. No man can at the same time be both dead and alive. He is a fool who, desiring to be dead unto sin, thinks he may live in it.
Baptism teaches the necessity of dying to sin, and being as it were buried from all ungodly and unholy pursuits, and of rising to walk with God in newness of life. Unholy professors may have had the outward sign of a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness, but they never passed from the family of Satan to that of God. The corrupt nature, called the old man, because derived from our first father Adam, is crucified with Christ, in every true believer, by the grace derived from the cross. It is weakened and in a dying state, though it yet struggles for life, and even for victory. But the whole body of sin, whatever is not according to the holy law of God, must be done away, so that the believer may no more be the slave of sin, but live to God, and find happiness in his service.
GALATIANS 6: 7-10...
7+++Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
8+++Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
9+++Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
10+++Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Many excuse themselves from the work of religion, though they may make a show, and profess it. They may impose upon others, yet they deceive themselves if they think to impose upon God, who knows their hearts as well as actions; and as he cannot be deceived, so he will not be mocked.
Our present time is seed time; in the other world we shall reap as we sow now. As there are two sorts of sowing, one to the flesh, and the other to the Spirit, so will the reckoning be hereafter.
Those who live a carnal, sensual life, must expect no other fruit from such a course than misery and ruin. But those who, under the guidance and influences of the Holy Spirit, live a life of faith in Christ, and abound in Christian graces, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. We are all very apt to tire in duty, particularly in doing good. This we should carefully watch and guard against. Only to perseverance in well-doing is the reward promised. Here is an exhortation to all to do good in their places. We should take care to do good in our life-time, and make this the business of our lives. Especially when fresh occasions offer, and as far as our power reaches.
ROMANS 6: 22-23...
22+++But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
23+++For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The pleasure and profit of sin do not deserve to be called fruit. Sinners are but ploughing iniquity, sowing vanity, and reaping the same.
Shame came into the world with sin, and is still the certain effect of it. The end of sin is death. Though the way may seem pleasant and inviting, yet it will be bitterness in the latter end.
From this condemnation the believer is set at liberty, when made free from sin. If the fruit is unto holiness, if there is an active principle of true and growing grace, the end will be everlasting life; a very happy end! Though the way is up-hill, though it is narrow, thorny, and beset, yet everlasting life at the end of it is sure. The gift of God is eternal life. And this gift is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ purchased it, prepared it, prepares us for it, preserves us to it; he is the All in all in our salvation.
The body, which we cater to so often, IS as a TEMPLE, the in-dwelling of THE LORD, at least those who are of HIM! We are NOT taught this, at least it is not seriously enough to make it take, to make it effective! We instead, live for the body, to please the body, to have fun in the body, because we can, and because that is how we are brought up in this world! The soul too, we disregard as we pursue all pleasures of the flesh, and joys of the world! The enemy has been effective in shrouding THE TRUTH, especially those MOST imperative, HOWEVER, it is NEVER too late to grasp onto, and to step into!!!
There IS sufficient instruction concerning the safe-guarding of the soul, and the TRUE allegiance to THE LORD, but I think the above is enough to increase the desire to KNOW THE TRUTH, to SEEK HIS WILL, and to FOLLOW HIM! Let us REGARD the soul NOW, for it WILL matter on HIS DAY OF DAYS, when all which is, and acts against HIM shall be separated eternally: let us, body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit, be OF THE SPIRIT!!!
REV. LWINSOR © 2015
BIBLICAL, and/or other references marked BOLDLY IN COLOURS
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