Although they would not say it like this, the truth is they believe that if you die in sin, then you were never saved to begin with. They say that all of God's true elect will persevere to the end and be found faithful. The point of this blog is to prove from a scriptural standpoint that there are many "believers" mentioned in the Bible that are with God to this day in heaven but as they were here on this earth they refused to persevere until the end; as a result, God judged them by way of death.
Why do we so often get the impression that God can never be against us? I feel like a lot of the time we (myself included) are coming to Scripture with a wrong definition for two words: love and death. What if love meant that sometimes you would have to kill your own son? What if instead of calling it death, we referred to it as life?
Look back up at the question in bold. Has God ever done this? Yes! He did it for the Son that He loved above all other sons! So why would we ever think that He would be unwilling to do the same for us at times?
Objector: "Because He loves us!"
Response: "Love is why He killed His Son!"
Objector: "Yes! And that's why He won't ever do it again!"
Response: "How do you know that? What if it was more loving to bring the child home? What if 'death' in our understanding, actually means 'life' in God's?
Isn't it true that the death for a believer here on this earth is actually the first time they experience the fullness of life in glory? For the Christian, death is not a bad thing...but it is the best thing because then we shall see our Lord as He is!
Is it not the God of the universe (our Father) who is infinitely worthy of all glory, honor and praise and who also opposes the proud? Can believers be proud? Have you ever been lifted up in pride? If you say yes, then God opposes you when you are. If you say no, then you are in violation of re-writing the Scriptures. "God opposes the proud..." - James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.
I believe that one thing I lack in this subject quite often is the fear of the Lord. In Joshua chapter 22 the Israelites, after already having entered in the land beyond the Jordan, each went to their allotted portion that Moses had commanded. When the tribes had dispersed, the eastern ones built an altar. When this action had reached the ears of the western tribes they were greatly distressed and after calling it an abomination they marched down in preparation for war.
Thankfully the Israelite armies sent out 11 men to confront them on this awful thing before any such attack was to be declared. The eastern tribes, however, were quick to explain that this was not a sacrificial altar, but one as a witness between the nation for the generations to come. This then brought great joy to the Israelites and they rejoiced in the fact that they misunderstood.
In the story above I want you to notice that these men may not have been so quick to hear as James 1:19 commands, but the one thing we should greatly admire of these men was that they were very quick to fear! Fear who? They were quick to fear God. In Joshua 22:18 the Israelites were greatly afraid that if these tribes were rebelling, then God would be against them all!
Check out what God did to His own for the sin of Achan in Joshua 7. Achan took for himself what rightly belonged to the Lord and for that he was stoned. Achan is a believer. Who else died with him, but also his whole family as well (believers)! Not only that, but before any Israelite had known what he had done, God took the lives' of 36 military men (believers) by the hand of the gentiles because of Achan's sin.
So let's pretend that I am Achan. I sinned greatly against the Lord. Because of this He killed 36 of my friends who lived next to me and were all believers. Then God orders my death and the death of all those I am related to. I pose the question: If God will kill someone for the sin of another, then why is it so hard to believe that God will take the life of the one who committed the crime? The others didn't do anything wrong, yet God was vengeful. Therefore, God will take the life of His child if He sees fit to do so.
This would give full explanation for the believers who have died in judgment from taking the Lord's supper in a disrespectful manner in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30. Paul says that a number of them have died and many are sick and weak. This is a result of God against His children in the faith as a consequence for their sins.
Acts 5 gives the ABSOLUTE clearest example of this with Ananias and Sapphira!
My last example from the Word deals with Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus. 1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 2:17. Paul hands Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan. Paul has done this before and used this exact wording in 1 Cor. 5:5 to a believer who was in gross sin. These two are believers as well and we know that because in 1 Tim. 1:19 they have "suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith." The only way you can do this is if you have faith and we know that all who are justified will be glorified (Rom. 8).
So let me ask you...can a believer die in sin? A believer will never die in sin in the sense of loss of salvation, but some have and will die as a result of their willful disobedience. God has every right to take us home whenever He pleases and if their comes a time when we are doing harm to furthering His kingdom, then it is possible that He will end your life here. God has all of eternity to show us who we are in Christ, but He only has this one life to teach us who we are apart from Him and if it takes a lifetime even to the point of death, then I know that my God will certainly do what is necessary.
However, a lot of this may sound rough. It may be hard to hear. It may come across throughout this article that this is what God is all about and I am deeply sorry if I have conveyed that message. When we sin, yes God's heart is broken, but He is actively seeking for our restoration. He is always pursuing us and He never lets go. But, the Biblical truth is that there may come a point in a believers life when God says "Enough!" and He will judge that believer by way of death penalty.
What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! This is a good thing on both sides because God is faithful. Is this an abomination? Absolutely not! The believer then is in glory looking upon the face of God for the first time and falling down in worship. That beiever can no longer sin and I guarantee that he/she, as we are arguing about this justice, is thanking God for removing them from this sin cursed world and bringing them into His presence.
God is good, and He is always working out the very best for His children. Sometimes that means bringing them home early. In order to truly live...we must die.
In light of all that you just read I want to leave you with an encouragement. God is faithful and He will never fail you nor will He ever give up on you. He may choose, by His infinite wisdom, to take you home early as a result of sin, but He loves you and is actively every day seekng for your success. The truth is...I don't know where the line is, but He does and I can guarantee that it's not right around the corner. It takes quite a bit for Him to do this, but if He does, always know that it is for your good and for the advancement of His Kingdom!
The 5th point of TULIP = Perseverance of all the Saints = FAIL!!
Thank You God for Your Preservation of the Saints!
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