The Bible says in Psalm 125:1-2, They that
trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.[2] As the
mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from
henceforth even for ever. The
word forever is used in each of the two verses. Verse one says that whoever
trusts in the Lord will abide forever. That is eternal security. Once you trust
in Jesus to be your Savior, you are eternally secure. That is what it means to
be born again. Once a person is born again through faith in Christ, the goal is
to walk in fellowship with Him every day. Verse two is a promise that God is
going to take care of His children, and the Lord always keeps His promises.
The Bible says in Psalm 125:3-5, For the rod
of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous
put forth their hands unto iniquity.[4] Do good, O LORD, unto those that
be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.[5] As for such as
turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the
workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel. These verses refer to what can
happen to a Christian who does not continue to walk in fellowship with the
Lord. In other words, what happens when a Christian sins? If a Christian has
eternal security, what can be the consequence of sinning? There are several
really bad consequences for the Christian who does not continue to walk in
fellowship with Christ. One bad consequence is that such a Christian will not
fulfil the purpose for which he or she was placed on this earth. That would be
a terrible loss. Another bad consequence will be a loss of rewards in heaven.
That would be no small loss since rewards will determine our position and
authority in heaven forever. The bad consequence mentioned by King David in
these verses refer to chastisement. The Lord will chastise His children who do
not keep confessing their sins and who do not keep walking in fellowship with Him.
It says in Hebrews 12:6, For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Since we are still in the flesh and
we are still sinners, how can a Christian avoid chastisement? First of all, do
everything you can to avoid sin. Even in the life of a Christian, sin destroys,
sin ruins, sin bring chastisement, sin will take you out of Gods will, sin
will bring sickness and even death, sin will cause you to lose rewards, sin
will take your joy, sin will cause you to miss many wonderful things that God
would have done in your life. Be careful getting out of the straight and narrow
way which is the life of following Jesus and walking in fellowship with Him. As
it says in verse five, be careful that you do not turn aside
unto their crooked ways. But if you sin, make sure that you get back in fellowship with
Christ by confessing that sin to Him. It says to all Christians in First John
1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Apostle
John included himself in the we. Make sure you notice the word all. No
matter what sin you have committed or how many sins you have committed, Jesus
will forgive you if you confess to Him. To confess means to say the same
thing about your sin that Jesus says: it was wrong, you should not have done
it, and you must not do it again. If that is your attitude when you speak to
Jesus about it, then you have confessed. If you do not confess like that, then
you are out of fellowship with Christ, you are no longer walking in the Light,
and you will be chastised by the Holy God who is Judge of the whole earth,
including Christians. If you learn to analyze yourself daily, and confess your
sins every moment that you need to, then you will avoid chastisement and you
will stay in fellowship with Christ. As it says in First Corinthians 11:30-32,
For
this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.[31] For
if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.[32] But when
we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned
with the world.
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Copyright; 2020 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved