The Sword of the LORD

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?   And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”   (I Peter 4:17,18)   In the above verses, St. Peter writes of a time of judgment that was to start with the house of God, and, ultimately, extend to the ungodly and sinners.   This begs the question: is judgment on the house of God still going on today, and, if so, of what does it consist?     Judgment seems like a harsh word to use in terms of those who know and love the Lord, but Paul sheds some light on the concept in I Corinthians 11:31, 32.   He tells us, “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.   But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”   So, this “judgment” that the apostles are describing is also referred to as “chastening.”   T

I remember well as a young man growing up in church, I wanted to do well and make right choices; but I found that, despite my best intentions, I still did things that I was not proud of.   Afterwards, I would resolve to do better, only to fall to the same weaknesses a short time later.   Unfortunately, the church that I grew up in could not offer me the answers to the conflict I was feeling.   The Pastor himself admitted openly that he didn’t believe much of the Bible, and so substituted a social gospel that was devoid of any true power to change lives.   For this reason, I thought I had seen religion and found that it had nothing to offer me, so I turned my back on Christianity.   I wandered for a number of years in confusion, and gave myself over to a lot of hurtful pursuits until finally God called me to Himself. I was amazed one day when I discovered a passage in scripture that exactly described the dilemma that I faced as a teenager.   I read in Romans 7, “ For I know that

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?"   (Jeremiah 32:27) There are many of you who are sincere Christians, but you struggle with some besetting sin or another, and don't know how to get free once and for all.   You feel hypocritical every time you fall down, and you are battered by your guilt, and hindered in your ministry.   This message is for you.   There is an answer to yuor dilemma, and it is much simpler than you might imagine. I recently read a tract by the great Charles G. Finney which was first published in 1839 in the Oberlin Evangelist .   The tract was entitled, How to Overcome Sin , and the portions that I quote were edited by the late Keith Green.   In it he writes:   There are multitudes of anxious Christians who are inquiring what they shall do to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil...They ask, "Why am I overcome by sin?   Why can't I get above its power?   Why am I the slave of