March 20, 2017 – Broken Believers

“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Luke 7:47

I have been a disciple of Jesus for almost 35 years. But it seems that I really haven’t been a desperate lover of Jesus until recently.

I have seen a lot of stuff, so I made a quick list–

the charismatic movement
the Imperials
New Wine Magazine
“I Found It”
Larry Lea‘s Prayer Program
the PTL Club
the Shack
Jesus’ festivals, Festival of the Son
Promise Keepers
Anita Bryant
the Living Bible, youth edition
YWAM teams, the Candle– SF
Four Spiritual Laws
’88 Reasons Why
“Honk if You Love Jesus”
street preaching in Haight Ashbury, SF
Don Francisco
carrying the cross, Arthur Blessit
the Hiding Place
Watchman Nee
Outdoor baptisms in city parks

I’ve been exposed to a lot of winds blowing through, and moving on. You learn to separate the chaff from the grain. Much of my life has been spent winnowing out to get to the good stuff. God, through his word describes a coming “trial by fire” over each person’s works. Romans 14:12 says, “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.”

One time I walked as a backslidden Christian. I remember once waking up from a drunken stupor with my t-shirt soaked in blood. That blood was someone elses. I sobered up really quick. There was this shadowy awareness of beating someone to the point of death. I still catch myself wondering what exactly happened. There is so much stuff that will be revealed, and I have done many despicable things.

The judgment seat of Christ, therefore, involves believers giving an account of their lives to Christ. The judgment seat of Christ does not determine salvation; that was determined by Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf and our faith in Him. All of our sins are forgiven, and we will never be condemned for them. We should not look at the judgment seat of Christ as God judging our sins, but rather as God rewarding us for our lives. Yes, as the Bible says, we will have to give an account of ourselves. Part of this is surely answering for the sins we committed.

The word used is “bema seat”, it was where the judge sat during athletic contests. Think of the high chair on which a court official sits during a tennis match. His word is not to be debated or ignored. Jesus fully intends to judge us.

The issue will not be our salvation, but our faithfulness.

Loving Jesus must become your critical objective for the rest of your days, 1 Peter 4:8, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” We also read of the sinful woman who washed Jesus feet, “therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

My dear one, practice loving him– starting today. Many are the doers, few be the lovers. The demanding weight of evangelism and world missions has quadrupled in the last 10 years. Now is our time! We love much! Time is becoming short.