Friday, May 12, 2017

Understanding the time of testing and sanctification

Why did God create a temporary universe? 

Why does God allow evil? 

The Lord Christ Jesus talks about a planter planting seed and waiting until it grows properly, before going in with the sickle. Jesus also talked about allowing the weeds to grow up alongside the good seed, because ripping the weeds up would rip up also the good seed.

One other way to describe this is as a "sting operation": God wants to see who will be faithful. The Universe is a "sting operation" where God can observe who is faithful to Him, and who is not faithful, drawn away by evil.*

This is consistent with the antetype example of God's drawing a people to Himself: the Exodus history. God promised a holy land. But a process of testing was required first: the years in the harsh and testing wilderness.

For a Christian, then, everything that happens to him or her ought to be understood as test, chastizement, or reward. The whole purpose of this time is to test and to sanctify. 

This is the clear message of the New Testament (when one reads the entire text of 27 books). 

Unfortunately, false preaching deceives people into thinking that God only blesses people who have confessed Christ as Lord. When these deceived people experience tests and chastizements, they do not understand the importance of passing the tests, and the importance of understanding why they are being chastized. These deceived people are prevented from working together with God on the project that is the entire purpose of this period of time. 

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* Christians are to be, like Christ, holy rescuers. No one should misunderstand the time of testing as an excuse to abandon other people to being kept in sin slavery or being led back into sin slavery.

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