#4.32 REPENT AFTER BELIEVING IN JESUS 6

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Introduction 4.32
#4.32 Crowns of Righteousness are Given After the Fight of Faith has been Finished
#4.34 Some will need to Die in Order to Become Righteous
#4.36 Robes of Righteousness are Given After Death

Introduction 4.32

This is a bible study showing that crowns of righteousness are given after the fight of faith has been won. Some will need to die to become righteous, and robes of righteousness are given after death. This section is for those people who believe that past sins are automatically forgiven when we become believers in Jesus Christ, or those others who believe that sins are removed from our heart when we are water baptized. If the devil can deceive us into believing either of these errors, then he will be able to prevent us from seeking for the cleansing that is so necessary to enable us to overcome sin in our own lives. He will also be able to keep us from being healed sometimes, deceive us in other areas, and keep us living without the manifestation of the real spiritual power of God in our lives. The fact that forgiveness of all sins is a PROMISE has already been shown (See #2), and all promises can be asked for and received by faith when we believe in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20; Matthew 7:7-11; Mark 11:23-24). This does not mean that they are immediately manifested.

#4.32 Crowns Of Righteousness Are Given After The Fight Of Faith Is Finished

2 TIMOTHY 4:7-8 (Paul)
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith;
8 From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all those also who love his appearing.

Note: Just as righteousness is something to be received in a manifested sense after the fight of our faith is over, so it is with salvation also:

(1 Peter 1:9) "Receiving at the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls."

Salvation is "ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5), so no one can have it manifested yet. Other scriptures confirm this:

(Mark 16:16) "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved;"
(Acts 2:47) "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
(Acts 15:11) "we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as them."
(Romans 13:11) "now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
(Philippians 2:12) "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Paul is indicating in verse 8 that he will get his crown of righteousness when Jesus returns, and so it is with other scriptures:

(2 Timothy 4:1) "I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;"
(Revelation 11:18) "your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great;"
(Revelation 22:12) "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."

This being so, how can anyone be righteous in a manifested sense when we first become a believer in Jesus?

#4.34 Some Will Need To Die In Order To Become Righteous

DANIEL 11:33-35
33 And those who understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by plunder, many days.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall cling to them with flatteries.
35 And some of them understanding shall fall, to test them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

Note: It seems clear from this scripture (v35) that those who have understanding will have to "fall" (or die) in order to purge them, and make them white. Purging is symbolic of the removal of sins (Psalm 65:3; 79:9; Proverbs 16:6; Isaiah 6:7; 27:9; Hebrews 10:2; 2 Peter 1:9), and it is done with blood (Hebrews 9:14; 9:22), even as the robes are washed in blood (See #4.36 Note). Just as chastisement was necessary to become righteous (See #4.14), so purging is also necessary to become righteous (Malachi 3:3). To make someone white also is symbolic of the removal of sins (Isaiah 1:18), and this is done by washing in the blood of Jesus (Revelation 1:5), even as robes of righteousness are made white by washing in his blood (Revelation 7:14). The blood is symbolic of the life (Leviticus 17:10-14), and so the blood of Christ is symbolic of the life he lives through us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:4). This being so, how can anyone be righteous in a manifested sense when they first believe, or after water baptism?

#4.36 Robes Of Righteousness Are Given After Death

REVELATION 6:9-11 (John)
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given to every one of them; and it was said to them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren who should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Note: These were people who had been slain for the word of God (v9), and white robes were given to them (v11) after they were dead. A white linen robe is symbolic of righteousness, as indicated by other scriptures:

(Isaiah 61:10) "he has covered me with a robe of righteousness,"
(Revelation 19:8) "fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints."

This being so, how can we be righteous when we first believe, or when we are baptized in water? Some have to go through great tribulation to obtain these robes:

(Revelation 7:14) "These are those who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb."
(Acts 14:22) "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

Many other scriptures also testify of the tribulation that godly people can expect to go through (John 16:33; Romans 5:3; 12:12; 2 Corinthians 1:4; 7:4; Ephesians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; Revelation 1:9; 2:9-10; 20:4). This therefore confirms that we are not righteous in a manifested sense when we first believe in Jesus, or immediately after water baptism.

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