Bringing His Recompense with Him

Evildoers and the Righteous

Revelation 22:10-11 ESV

 

“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’”

 

The time of our Lord’s return is fast approaching. While we wait for his return, evil will continue to exist. Those who do evil will continue to do evil. And the closer it gets to Jesus’ return, the worse the evil will become.

 

Men and women will continue to hate and to devour one another, to lie to one another, to cheat, and to commit adultery against their spouses. Those who do evil will continue to commit immoral acts with one another to their shame. And they will have no conscience about their behaviors, either.

 

Those in authority over us, who have sworn to protect us from harm, will continue to do us harm, to lie to us, and to deceive the masses into following pied pipers to their deaths. Wolves in sheep’s clothing will continue to spew forth their false teachings to the detriment of their followers, too.

 

But we who are followers of Jesus Christ are to continue in our Lord in righteous living, living holy lives pleasing to God. We are not to join in with the world in their dissipation, but we are to be separate (unlike, different) from the world, because we are being made into the likeness of Christ.

 

He is Coming Soon!

Revelation 22:12-13 ESV

 

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

 

One day Jesus is going to return to the earth. His recompense is wages, such as we read in Romans 6:23 where it says that the wages of sin is death. But it can be a reward, in a positive sense, or it can be a reward (wages) in a negative sense, i.e., it can be punishment. For Jesus is coming back to judge and to pay each one for what he has done in this life.

 

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality” (Rom 2:6-11).

 

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:7-8).

 

[Also: 2 Co 5:10; 1 Co 6:9-10; Rev. 2-3; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 6:16; Rom 8:1-17; Jn 15:1-11; 1 Jn 2:3-6]

 

And please note here that he is not talking to just the “unsaved.” He is talking to all of us. We are all going to be judged by our works (our deeds), by what we did with Jesus, by what we did with his great salvation and his love and grace to us, and by what we did with his teachings and his instructions to us.

 

So, please note what these verses (the ones quoted, and the ones referenced) are saying to us. If we are self-seeking and we do not obey the truth, but we obey unrighteousness, it doesn’t matter what we profess with our lips or think we believe in our hearts, there will be wrath and fury.

 

If we sow to please our flesh, from that flesh we will reap destruction (corruption). If we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life. If we walk according to the flesh, and we make sin our practice, we will die in our sins because we would not die to our sins. We will not inherit eternal life. But if we walk according to the Spirit, we have life.

 

Who Wash Their Robes

Revelation 22:14-15 ESV

 

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

 

When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith, we die with Christ to sin and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are delivered from our slavery (addiction) to and the control of sin over our lives so that we will no longer live under sin’s control or in slavery to sin, but that we might now live to God and to his righteousness as slaves of God and of his righteousness.

 

We who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who are, by the Spirit, putting to death the misdeeds of the body, who are walking in obedience to our Lord, in submission to him as Lord, and in his righteousness and holiness, and no longer according to the flesh, we have the right to the tree of life.

 

But no one who is sexually immoral, or an idolater, or a murderer, or one who practices sorcery or deception (lies), or who is a false teacher who leads people astray, has any inheritance in the kingdom of God. Heaven is not the eternal destiny for anyone who makes wickedness and sin his practice. It doesn’t matter what he professes with his lips.

 

The Spirit and the Bride

Revelation 22:17-20 ESV

 

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

 

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

 

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

 

There are many, many liars and deceivers, mere charlatans, who masquerade as servants of righteousness, but who are truly servants of the evil one. They are deceiving the naïve, and the ones with lustful and fleshly appetites, into believing that they can believe in Jesus and have heaven secured them while they continue living in deliberate sin against God.

 

They are guilty of both adding to and taking away from the Scriptures in order to deceive people into accepting a cheapened form of God’s grace. And people are following them by the droves. And this is because they are smooth talkers who cleverly twist the Scriptures to their advantage. For they stealthily blend evil in with good so that evil appears as good.

 

These are not all the obvious ones, either. They are mainstream people with good reputations who are being followed by a large majority of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, at least here in America. People trust them, and so they trust that they are telling them to truth. And because not many people are testing what they hear against the Scriptures, many are being led astray and they are following pied pipers to their deaths.

 

So, when the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!,” this is not a mere invitation to invite Jesus into your heart or to accept him as your Savior or to accept his forgiveness of your sins. This is an invitation to die with Christ to sin and to live to Christ and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit. It is an invitation to leave your sins behind you to follow Jesus in obedience.

 

But along with this is a warning. If you refuse to die to sin and to walk in obedience to the Lord, but you continue in deliberate sin against the Lord, please know that the Scriptures teach that you will not inherit eternal life with God but that you will face the wrath of God. And, again, it doesn’t matter what you profess with your lips. So, please take this to heart!

 

For Our Nation  

 

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

 

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

 

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

 

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

 

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352