That Other Knocking?
You have heard that Christ stands at the door and knocks.
There is a verse in Revelation 3 that is often misinterpreted as though Christ were
standing at the door of a person's heart, knocking, asking, pleading to be
allowed to come in and dwell there. Even in art it is sometimes represented as
a door without an outside knob, only able to be opened from the inside, for
even Christ cannot or will not challenge the sinner's sovereignty, or so they
thought.
It is all wrong, of course. The passage in Revelation applies to the door of
the church of the Laodiceans, who thought they were rich and wise and needed
nothing. Christ was not in the church but did call to people within that
apostate church to receive Him and He would dwell with them. This means that
even though a church may be worthless, yet Christ may still transform the lives
of individuals; the message of Christ might be separate from the church,
although the church is the pillar and ground of the truth when it is faithful
to Christ.
But there is another passage of Christ standing at the door. It was not nearly
as popular with Arminian evangelists as the other one that they twisted to suit
their theology.
This other incident is found at James 4:9 "Grudge not one against another,
brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the
door."
Those who refuse to be reconciled to their brothers lie under the wrath of God,
Who will not forget. Mark 11:26 "But if ye do not forgive, neither will
your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
A grudging, hard, unforgiving heart is a graceless heart. The new birth gives
us a new spirit: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one
another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
--1Peter 1:22,23.
The judge is at the door. You won't like it when He enters.
