CHAPTER
1
Judgment in the Old Testament
The
basic Old Testament idea about judgment may be summed up very simply in the words
of Deuteronomy 1:17, ‘the judgment is God’s’. This is not to deny that there is
much in the Old Testament about the judgment of man as well as about that of
God.
Indeed, it is probable that, if we
could trace the history of the word back to its remotest origins, we should
find that its first use was for the judgment that men exercise. Then, when
their own practice had given them the concept of judgment, men began to apply
it to the mighty acts of God and to think of Him as active in judgment. Even
so, we should have to bear in mind that as far as we know judgment was never a
purely secular process.
From the earliest times it was a
religious activity. Moses could say, ‘the people come unto me to inquire of God
... and I judge between a man and his neighbor
Judgment was an activity of a ‘man of
God’
Whatever be the right order
chronologically there can be no doubt that theologically the divine has the
place of first importance, at any rate in the developed religion of the Old Testament.
Judgment, as the Hebrews came to understand it, is first and foremost an activity
of God. Yahweh is ‘a God of judgment’ (Isaiah. 30:18), or even ‘the God of judgment’
(Malachi. 2:17). Judgment is His own activity, for no-one ‘taught him in the
path of judgment’ . He ‘does’ judgment and may be relied upon to do it (Genesis
18:25) He loves judgment (Isaiah 61:8). Judgment is as natural to Him as the
movements of the birds are to them (Jeremiah 8: 7). ‘All his ways are judgment’
(Dt. 32:4). Judgment (together with righteousness) is ‘the foundation of his
throne’ . In line with this nine times over Yahweh is spoken of as ‘Judge’.
Abraham calls Him ‘the judge of all the earth’ and confidently
Appeals to Him in this character,
‘shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ (Genesis 18: 25). In similar
strain Jephthah can say, ‘the Lord, the judge, be judge this day between the
children of Israel and the children of Ammon’ (Judges. 11:27). The Psalmist
prays boldly, ‘Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render to the proud
their desert’
Such passages as these leave no doubt
but that the Old Testament associates judgment closely with the Lord. It is His
function. He engages in judgment and men know that He does so. They can appeal
to Him in His capacity as judge. His judging activity is not confined to
Israel. He is ‘the judge of all the earth’. But, as we might expect, it is His
activities in connection with His own people that come in for most attention.
Judgment
and rule
Thus, when the people wanted Samuel to
give them a king, they said, ‘make us a king to judge us like all the nations’
(I Samuel 8: 5) Again, at the beginning of his reign Solomon prayed, ‘Give thy
servant ... an understanding heart to judge thy people’ (I King.3: 9) ‘that
thou may judge my people, over whom I have made the king’).
But probably the most important
evidence for this view is found in the Book of Judges. The function of the
people whose title gives the book its name was not primarily legal. While there
is no reason to doubt that these men did on occasion perform functions that we
should recognize as judging, their primary function lay elsewhere. More than
anything else they were deliverers, men raised up by God to meet special needs,
and to deliver their nation in specific times of oppression.
As a result of their military
successes they became the accepted leaders and rulers of the people.
Yet even here the term ‘judge’ is not
exactly synonymous with ‘ruler’ justice.
Nor should we overlook the religious
aspect. The judges did not choose themselves. Nor did the people choose them.
It was the Lord who raised them up (Jdg.2:16, 18). The divine initiative
strengthens our conviction that there is a basic connection with justice,
for His actions are thought of as
right. Thus when Deborah sang of His triumphs Daniel-Rope can define it as ‘he who
protects by means of justice’. That is to say, there is a strong flavor of
‘right’ about the word. It does not denote power naked and unashamed, but power
directed towards right ends. The idea of rule
is there. There is no question about
that. But even when the idea of rule is present and is dominant the idea of
justice is present also as a fundamental undertone. The ‘judge’ is more than
simply a ruler. He is one whose activity is fittingly described in terms of law
and she did not think simply of His power and His might, but of ‘the righteous
acts of the Lord’ (Jdg. 5: 11).
Lord acts in accordance with
fundamental right. Those whom He appoints may be expected to do the same. It is
beyond doubt that the judgment word group was applied to legal as well as governmental
activity. It is an argument against the primacy of the latter that it is not as
easy to see how it could give rise to the idea of judgment as it is to envisage
the reverse process. When the dispensing of legal judgment became the
established practice it would normally be carried out by the leading men of the
community. Under the monarchy the king would be the judge par excellence.
He would constitute the final court of appeal. And only he could be called ‘the
judge of Israel’. Others would judge within a more limited sphere. Moreover,
the king could enforce his judicial decisions, which would make him judge in a
special way. It is thus not so very difficult to see how the thought of ‘rule’
could arise from that of ‘judge’. But it is not so easy to see how a word meaning
‘rule’ would come to mean ‘judge’. A king does many things, and there is no really
good reason why ruling should be equated with one of them, namely, judging.
Also against the idea of rule as prior
is the widespread use of the words from the root in the sense of
discrimination. They are to be found throughout the Old Testament, whereas the thought
of rule is mostly to be found in the book of judges, and in connection with
Solomon.
(Dt.1:16). In the same manner Solomon prayed, ‘Give
thy servant... an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern
between good and evil’ (I King 3: 9). Passages like these are widespread, and
they convince authorities like that discrimination is the basic meaning.
CHAPTER
2
The Judgment of the Lord
The
Old Testament writers insist that the Lord is active in judging. Over and over
they use the various judgment words to describe His activity past, present and
future. Few men today would spontaneously use legal phraseology to describe their
dealings with God. There is a dislike of ‘legalism’ and a suspicion of legal
categories as means of explaining God’s relationship to His people. The Hebrews
had no such inhibitions. They exulted in legal imagery and were especially fond
of the illustration of a lawsuit wherein God and God’s people are on opposite
sides (Jeremiah. 12:1. 1) They distinguished the Lord’s judgment from men’s judgment
in that the former is perfectly just. Men’s judgment was all too fallible; But
Lord’s judgment was with perfect justice. ‘He shall judge the world in
righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the peoples in uprightness’ (Psalm.9:
8).This carries a threat to the wicked, for they will certainly be punished. ‘I
will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge
them; and they shall know that I am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 7: 27).
But, though God’s judgment will be
just, and give the wicked no cause for complaint, we should not think of it as
a blind weighing of merits and demerits in a balance, but it makes its home
with qualities like loving-kindness, faithfulness, righteousness, mercy (or
mercies), truth and glory (see Psalm 36:6.; Ezekiel 39:21;)
Not so did the Hebrew understand judgment. For
them law was the bulwark against oppression. The poor and the weak looked to
law to save them from the might of the rich and the powerful. ‘Save me, O God,
by thy name, and judge me in thy might’ said the Psalmist (Psalm51:1), and such
pleas are common. We may put a distinction between kindness and legal
processes, but we should be clear that the Hebrews did not.
Lord’s judgment is to be thought of as
the outworking of His mercy and of His wrath. This to us seems something of a
contradiction. But in the Old Testament it is the working out of a clear and
consistent purpose. God does not change His attitude when
He shows mercy at one time and wrath
at another any more than a modern parent when he rewards his child for good behavior
and punishes him for naughtiness. God’s purposes are consistently righteous.
The Lord ‘doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the
stranger, in giving him food and raiment’ (Dt.10:18). ‘The meek will he guide
in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way’ (Psalm 25:9).
Arising out of this are frequent
appeals to the Lord to judge, when one is being
Oppressed, and the formula, ‘The Lord
judge between me and thee’, is a way of Protesting one’s innocence. By
contrast, a state of complete hopelessness is indicated when no judgment may be
looked for. Thus job exclaims despairingly, ‘Behold, I cry out
of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry
for help, but there is no judgment’ (Job 19:7).
But the judgment of the Lord means
doom for evildoers. Isaiah can think of Jerusalem as being ‘purged’ by ‘the
spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning’ (Isaiah4: 4).
Jeremiah speaks of Lord as uttering
His judgments (Jeremiah 1:16,) ―a word from the Lord is sufficient to bring to
the wicked the punishment they deserve. And He utters
a striking word in Deuteronomy 32: 41,
‘If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render
vengeance to mine adversaries, and will recompense them that hate me.’ The
‘judgments’, occurs sixteen times, and always of punishments inflicted by the
Lord (e.g. Exodus 6:6). Especially remarkable is the use of Ezekiel. The word
occurs ten times in his prophecy, nine times in speeches of the Lord
as He announces punishments He will
inflict. Mostly these refer to Israel (Ezk.5:10),
but also included are Moab (Ezk.25:11),
Zidon (Ezk.28: 22), Egypt (Ezk.30:14), and ‘those that do despite’ to Jacob
(Ezk.28:26). The choice of this word shows that the punishments are not
arbitrary. They are the due penalty for evil deeds.
Thus in Ezekiel 23:24 He says, ‘they
shall come against thee with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with an
assembly of peoples; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and
shield and helmet round about: and I will commit the judgment unto them, and
they shall judge thee according to their judgments.’ This is important for an
understanding of much of the Old Testament teaching on judgment. The
Babylonians and others had no thought of effecting Lord’s purpose. They thought
of themselves as doing their own will, executing their own judgments. But the prophet
saw deeper. He realized that these heathen soldiers were merely Yahweh’s
instruments. They were the tools He used to bring to pass His judgments on men.
Whether through the agency of men or
not, Lord’s judgment is a process which sifts men. It separates the righteous
from the wicked and thus makes the ‘remnant’ to appear.
This points us to a creative element
in judgment. We must not think of it as merely negative and destructive. It
has, it is true, negative and punitive aspects. But what emerges as the result
of judgment is, so to speak, all clear gain. It is the beloved community, and
we cannot imagine how this could possibly appear apart from judgment. But the
emphasis where Lord and judgment are concerned is on the future. Old Testament
the most significant thing about judgment was the eschatological judgment of
the Lord. For the present the wicked may appear to triumph. Injustice and
inequality may abound. Evil men may flourish like the bay tree, but at the end
time He will put forth His mighty arm and judge. Sometimes the thought emphasized
is that He will judge His people. (Ezk.7: 8)
CHAPTER
3
Judgment in the New Testament:
(The Judgment of the Christ)
The Judgment of the Christ: From the very beginning it was clear
that Jesus’ mission included a stern condemnation of evil. John the Baptist
said that He would baptize ‘with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in
his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing―floor; and he will gather
his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable
fire’ (Matthew 3:11). Baptism with fire may well point to the fire of judgment,
the fire that purges out the dross, and it is certain that the rest of the
saying conveys this thought. Christ’s continual demand for repentance and His
unsparing denunciation of evil wherever He found it shows how seriously the
thought must be taken.
The demand for repentance brings us to
another feature of judgment in the New Testament. It is primarily a judgment of
individuals. In the Old Testament whole nations are frequently addressed, and
judgment falls on them. In the New Testament, while social and communal
responsibility is not overlooked, the emphasis in judgment is on what the
individual does or does not.
John has some interesting things to
say about Christ’s present activities as Judge of men. This does not differ
essentially from the judgment of the Father, for the two are one. Jesus says,
‘I can do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek
not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me’ (John 5: 30). And again,
‘if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that
sent me’ ( John 8:16). The unity between the Father and the Son which is so
strongly stressed in the Fourth Gospel means that the judgment passed by one is
the judgment passed by the other. But this Gospel is clear that the purpose of
Jesus’ coming was not judgment. ‘For God sent not the Son into the world to
judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him’ (John3:17). ‘I
came not to judge the world, but to save the world’ (John 12: 47). John
consistently pictures Jesus as the Savior. He was sent by the Father for the
express purpose of saving men, and He pursues His path undeviatingly.
It is true that He will come again for
judgment. It is not John’s purpose to describe this in detail―his theme is
salvation. He notices it, and points out that the Father has given the Son authority
to execute judgment. He reminds his readers that ‘all that are in the tombs
shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done ill, unto the resurrection of judgment’
(John 5:28). He does not dwell on this truth, but he knows it is there. He
concentrates on salvation. Yet paradoxically he can report Jesus as saying,
‘For judgment came I into this world’ (John9:39). John has a very important
passage in which he tells us how this judgment operates. ‘This is the judgment’,
he says, ‘that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness
rather than the light; for their works were evil’ (John3:19) .
‘The light’, Christ (John8:12), has
come into the world because of this men are forced into a decision, and they
are judged by their attitude to Him. The tragedy of it is that when they come
face to face with Him sinful men have nothing to do with Him. The incredible
truth is that men prefer their darkness to His light. Their deeds are evil, and
they turn from Him.
The importance of this cannot be
overstressed. Men today often reject the whole idea of Judgment. They feel that
it is not in keeping with the concept of God as a loving Father that He should
judge men, and sentence them to hell. This objection overlooks entirely the way
that judgment works. It is not that a tyrannical God looks down grimly on men
and picks out certain with whom He will have nothing to do. God is love. Men
Sentence themselves. They choose
darkness and refuse light.
In one sense Judas did not really sell
Christ. The Lord had come to earth expressly in order that He might go to the
cross. If we can imagine such a thing, had Judas been faithful and true that would
not have prevented the crucifixion. Jesus Christ came to die, but if he did not
sell Jesus how irrevocably Judas sold himself. And the price he set on himself
was thirty pieces of silver!
And the process goes on. Here is a man
who is determined to build up his business and make money. It involves giving
time to the business which he ought to be giving to other things. It includes
the use of practices which in his better moments he can only describe as shady.
It means that bowing down to mammon which is incompatible with Christ. He
builds his business up. He makes his money. Never let it be, man’s success has
shut him out of heaven. He has shut himself out, and he proceeded to sell
himself for that. ‘This is the judgment, that... men loved the darkness rather
than the light.’
The principle that greater privilege
means greater responsibility and sorer judgment runs through the New Testament.
In John 9:41 the sin of the Pharisees depends on their claim to see (where they
blind, they would have no sin). In John 15:22-24 those who saw Christ’s work
and heard His words have no excuse: they have seen and hated both the Son and
the Father. Paul obtained mercy because his sin of blasphemy and persecution
was done ‘ignorantly in unbelief’ (I Timothy 1:13). In 2 Peter 2:2 off it is
seen as better never to have known the way of righteousness than to have known
it and turned back from it. Through all such passages there runs this theme of
judgment. If men choose the lower way
when they could have the higher, then they sentence themselves. There is no
point in shutting our eyes to this grim reality.
CHAPTER
4
The Judgment is Axiomatic
If
in one sense it is true that men judge themselves here and now by their
reaction to Christ, the Light of the world, in another it is true that no
judgment is final except that; God will dispense at the last day. The New
Testament has a very great deal to say on these.
The final judgment is not something that
must be argued for. It is something that may be argued from. Paul assumes that
there will be no dispute about this. It is common ground for all Christians.’
The writer to the Hebrews takes up much the same position when he speaks of
‘eternal judgment’ as one of ‘the first principles of Christ’ (Hebrew 6:1).
Again Paul can make this final judgment the basis of an exhortation to his
converts not to be harsh in their estimates of other people.
‘He that judgeth me is the Lord.
Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come’ (I Corinthians 4:3-5).
That is to say, judging one another or even judging oneself is completely
futile.
There is one judgment that matters,
and that is not here yet. Let us wait until the Lord come with His perfect
judgment.
The certainty of judgment is deducible
from the fact that Jesus Christ unquestionably thought of Himself as the
Messiah. He did not understand Messiahship in the same way as did the Jews of
His day, but He knew that He was the Anointed One. It appears to have been
universally held by those who looked for the Messiah that His coming would
usher in a period of judgment and tribulation which they called ‘the woes of
the Messiah’. That Jesus did not repudiate this view is abundantly clear from
His teaching on the Second Advent and the judgment He would then accomplish
(Matthew 25:31; John 5:22, 27). Messiahship does not exclude but rather implies
judgment.
Baptism is regarded as dying with
Christ and rising with Him. It is thus ‘a willing acceptance of the verdict on
sin, in union with Christ, whose perfect obedience to the sentence has been
vindicated and crowned by the resurrection’. Baptism ‘is essentially pleading
guilty, accepting the verdict’.
It is unrepeatable, and has about it
the once-for-all quality of the final judgment. Holy
Communion should be preceded by
self-judgment, otherwise it will be followed by the
Divine judgment (I Cor. 11:28) ‘God is
confronting (men) in His kingdom, power and glory. This world has become the
scene of a divine drama. It is the hour of decision. It is realized eschatology.
‘Yet the Kingdom of God does come with judgment. The
religious leaders, who
censured Jesus for His work and teaching, were at that very moment pronouncing
judgment upon themselves by the attitude they displayed, by their self-centered
caution, their exclusiveness, their neglect of responsibilities, and their
blindness to the purpose of God.’
CHAPTER
5
Judgment day will be majestic
Christ
the Judge
The Father judges all men, but He does
not do this in person. ‘He hath given all judgment unto the Son’ (John 5:22).
This is particularly the case in respect of the final judgment. In the judgment
scene in Matthew 25:31-46 the Son of man is the judge. Peter tells us that
‘this is he who is ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead’ (Acts
10:42). Paul speaks of ‘the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give to me at that day’ (2 Tim.4:8). This truth is so
basic that it has been caught up into the creeds of the Church: ‘he shall come
again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead’, ‘from thence he shall
come to judge the quick and the dead’.
Throughout the New Testament Jesus
appears as our Savior. He came to earth expressly to put away our sins, which
meant dying on the cross. This is our assurance that the final judgment will be
a judgment of love. But it does not mean that judgment ceases to be a grim
reality. The self-sacrificing love we see on Calvary is in itself the most
damning judgment imaginable on the self-seeking life. Jesus Himself,
immediately after saying ‘I came not to judge the world, but to save the
world’, went on ‘He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one
that judgeth him: the word that I speak, the same shall judge him in the last
day’ (John 12:47). Though Jesus came with words of comfort and salvation, yet
the man who turns away from Him will find the words of condemnation at the last
day. This is the reflex side of salvation. James tells us that we are to be
judged ‘by a law of liberty. The very freedom that we have will condemn us if
we fail to use it rightly.
Judgment-Day Will Be
Majestic (Christ the Judge)
When the Lord was on earth it was possible for
men to pass Him by. Now that He is gone back to heaven it is possible for men
to ignore Him, even deny His very existence. But when He comes again to judge
it will be in such majesty that there will be no possibility of mistaking the
grandeur of His person. He will come ‘with ten thousands of his holy ones, to
execute judgment upon all...’ (Jude
1:14). He will come ‘with the angels of his power in flaming fire (i.e. flaming
fire is the robe of the majestic judge), rendering vengeance to them that know
not God, and to them that
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus’
(2 Thes.1:7). At that day ‘the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works
that are therein shall be burned up’ (2 Peter 3:10). Revelation describes a
‘great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and
the heaven fled away’. The dead, ‘the great and the small’, stood before the
throne and were judged out of the books, according to Paul knows of a day when
all men will appear before Christ’s judgment-seat (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10).
Our Lord Himself spoke of coming ‘in his glory, and all the angels with him’,
of sitting ‘on the throne of his glory’, of having ‘all the nations’ gathered
before Him. Then ‘he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separate
the sheep from the goats’. He will send one group ‘into eternal punishment’ and
the other ‘into eternal life’ (Matthew 25:3I-46). Just how much of all this is
the language of symbol we are not able to say. But what is clear is that the
judge is understood as a regal personage, as One whose appearance is awe-ful
beyond description, as dispensing final justice with a royal hand. This great
day is everywhere assumed throughout
the New Testament. There are preliminary judgments of God throughout history.
But at the end there will be the climax, that which proceeds out of the preliminary
and partial judgments and which perfectly fulfils all that they foreshadow. A
variety of ways of referring to the Day is found. It is called ‘the day of God’
(2 Peter 3:12), ‘the day of the Lord’ (2 Peter 3:10), ‘the day of the Lord
Jesus’ (I Cor. 5:5), ‘the day of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (I Cor. 1:8), ‘the day
of Christ’ (Phil. 2:16), ‘that day’ (2 Thes. 1:10), ‘the last day’ (John 6:39),
‘the great day’ (Jude 6), ‘the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God’ (Rom. 2:5), ‘the day of redemption’ (Eph. 4:30), ‘the day of
visitation’ (I Peter 2:12),‘the great day of their wrath’ (Revelation 6:17),
‘the great day of God, the Almighty’ (Revelation 16:14), ‘the day of judgment’
(I John 4:17). This multiplicity of ways of referring to the day indicates
something of the fascination it had for the men of the New Testament and also something
of its many-sided grandeur.
All
Men Will Be Judged (Christ the Judge)
The
judgment will be such that none may escape it. The living and the dead are
involved (2Timothy 4:1; I Peter 4: 5). Even angels are included (2 Peter 2:4;
Jude 6). God is ‘the judge of all’ (Hebrew 12:23). It is the temptation of
religious man to think that he will escape in such a time. He can understand
such a saying as ‘fornicators and adulterers God will judge’ (Hebrew 13:4). He
can appreciate the force of Paul’s dictum that all will be judged ‘who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness’ (2 Thes. 2:12). But he
likes to think of himself as immune. ‘But the New Testament will not leave
religious man to rest in his complacent smugness. It prods him wide awake with
its insistence that he, too, stands under judgment. Take the saying quoted in
Hebrews 10:30 (Deut. 32:36), ‘The Lord shall judge his people’. This brings the
matter unpleasantly close to home. And it is even worse with I Peter 4:17, ‘the
time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God’. Jesus assures us that
people like the scribes, with religious pretensions, ‘shall receive greater
condemnation’ (Mark. 12:40), and James reminds us that Christian teachers
‘shall receive heavier judgment’ (James 3:1 ) Jesus tells us that in the judgment
some will say, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name
cast out devils, and by thy name do many mighty works?’ only to receive His
sentence, ‘I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity’ (Matthew
7:22). Those with special privileges will be judged the more severely. As J. V.
Langmead Casserley expresses it, ‘They that take the gospel to themselves must
either live by the glory of the gospel or perish beneath the judgment of the gospel’.
All
Things Will Be Judged (Christ the Judge)
The judgment of which Scripture speaks
is one in which nothing can be kept hid. ‘God shall judge the secrets of men’ (Romans.
2:16). The Lord ‘will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and
make manifest the counsels of the hearts’ (I Cor. 4:5; Mark 4:22; Luke 12:2).
Most of us could face the judgment calmly if we could be assured that certain
things would remain hidden. But all our deeds stand under judgment, and there’s
the rub. ‘All’ includes all the little evil deeds, as well as the big ones.
‘Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the
day of judgment’ (Matthew 12:36). It is the far-reaching and all-inclusive
nature of the judgment that makes it so frightening. At the same time, the
thought that all we do matters in God’s sight helps make life worth living. It
gives a dignity to even the most insignificant action, the most unimportant
word.
CHAPTER
6
The Judgment is Inescapable
(According to Works and
Just)
It
is appointed unto men once to die, and after this―judgment’ (Hebrew 9:27;
Judgment is as inescapable as death. Indeed, it is more so, for the New
Testament envisages that some will still be alive at the second coming, and thus
will not see death, but it does not envisage any as escaping judgment. For some
there is ‘a certain fearful expectation of judgment’ (Hebrew 10:27), but
fearful or not men may not escape it.
Paul asks a rhetorical question, ‘reckons
thou this, O man... that thou shall escape the judgment of God’ (Romans 2:3;
Matthew 23:33). And the answer is never in doubt. Basically the idea goes back
to Jesus Himself ‘The message of Jesus is not only the proclamation of
salvation, but also the announcement of judgment, a cry of warning, and a call
to repentance in view of the terrible urgency of the crisis. The number of
parables in this category is nothing less than awe inspiring’. The call for
repentance and the note of urgency runs right through the Gospels.
This aspect of Jesus’ teaching is
unpalatable to modern man. So he simply rejects it. He has largely dismissed
the thought of final judgment from his mind. He does not think of himself as accountable.
The New Testament does not share his unreasoning optimism. It insists that over
and above the judgment which inevitably falls on man here and now there is a
final judgment when all men will stand before the tribunal of God.
Judgment
is according to Works
It is the consistent teaching of the
New Testament that judgment will be according to works (Matthew 16:27; Romans
2:6; I Corinthians 3: 8; Revelation 22:12). The principle is worked out in
Matthew 25:31-46. The Son of man says to those who are to inherit the kingdom,
‘I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.’ All this is explained in the
words, ‘Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least,
ye did it unto me.’ A similar
explanation is given of the fate of those who go away ‘into eternal punishment’.
In similar fashion, though without the concrete examples, Paul shows how
judgment will work in Romans 2:5-16. In this respect it is worth pointing out
that from I Corinthians 3: 8 we
learn that every man ‘shall receive his own reward according to his own
labour’. It is his ‘labour’, not his results that are the criterion. Judgment
according to works means more to God than it can ever do with us, but that does
not mean that God is to put all men on a flat level in the hereafter. Here and
now the man who gives himself wholeheartedly to the service of Christ knows
more of the joy of the Lord than the half-hearted.
I Corinthians 3:10-15 seems to give
the reconciliation. ‘Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.’ That is to say, salvation comes only from what Christ
has done. But men must live out their Christian lives and this is likened to a
process of building: ‘But if any man build on the foundation gold, silver,
costly stones, wood, hay, stubble...’ That is to say, some men build carelessly.
Their service of Christ is shoddy and half-hearted. Others build with care,
putting their very best into all of life, regarded now as the living out of the
faith. And, says Paul, ‘the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in
fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort
it is. If any man’s work shall abide
which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be
burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through
fire’.
The
Judgment is Just
If all men are to be judged, and if
judgment is to be on the basis of works then we need
to know that the judgment will be perfectly
just. We might be left to infer this from the nature of God, but Scripture goes
further. It specifically assures us that ‘the judgment of God is according to
truth’ (Romans 2:2). Judgment is only without mercy (James 2:13). He that is
called ‘Faithful and true’’ in righteousness doth judge’ (Revelation 19:11). He
acts in accordance with His consistent purpose. And this purpose is one of
merciful justice. ‘Judgment and the love of God’ are closely linked. When James
says that ‘mercy glorieth against judgment’ (James 2:13) he is not setting
God’s mercy and God’s judgment in opposition. Rather he is affirming the importance
of men’s showing mercy in their dealings with one another. Only so will they escape
condemnation.
The Judgment
Is Serious
The New Testament leaves us in no
doubt that the judgment that awaits us is one fraught with the most
far-reaching consequences. Paul speaks of certain evil things in Romans 1 and
then says that it is ‘the ordinance of God, that they which practice such
things are worthy of death’ (Romans 1:32;. ‘the wages of sin is death’, 6:23).
Jesus spoke of some who would come forth out of the graves ‘unto the
resurrection of judgment’ (which is set in contrast to ‘the resurrection of
life’, John5: 29). While we may be sure that the mercy of God reaches as far as
mercy can reach we should not be blind to the fact that in the final judgment
serious issues are involved.’ Sin must then be reckoned as sin and receive its
just recompense. To our generation this is practically incredible. It seems
axiomatic to us that God in love will deliver all men.
This is often expressed in the New
Testament in terms of the wrath of God. This wrath is sometimes depicted as at
work here and now (e.g. Romans. 13:4.), but basically it is an eschatological
concept. It is ‘the wrath to come’ Matthew 3:7; I
CHAPTER 7
Who Am I (Snatcher)
There are diverse interpretations of Christianity
which sometimes conflicts. However, whatever else you are a Christian, a person
who adheres to Christianity and monotheistic religion based on the life
and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. “Christian” derives from the koine Greek
word Christotos a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term. Christian are at
least united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term
Christian is also used adjectively to describe things associated with
Christianity or in a proverbial sense, all that is noble, and good, and Christ-
like, it is also used as a lebel to identify people who associate with the
cultural aspects of Christianity irrespective of personal religions, beliefs or
practices.
Early usage: The church of saints
(st.) near Antakya, Turkey, Antioch, the disciples were called Christians. (The
first recorded use of the term) is in the new testament, in Acts 11:26, after
Barnabas brought (Paul) to Antioch, where they taught the disciples for about a
year, the text says “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”,
the second mention of the term follows in Acts 26:28, where Herod Agrippa II
replied to Paul the Apostle, the third and final new testament reference to the
term is in 1Pet. 4;16, which exhorts believers, yet if any man suffer as a
Christian let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behave; the
follower of Christ. The fact that you find yourself as a Christian; a religious
person who believes Jesus is the Christ and Who is a member of a Christian denomination relating
to or characteristic of Christianity and also following the teachings or
manifesting the qualities of Jesus Christ.
The first disciples (Matt. 4:18-20),
for they fished for a living, Jesus called out to them, “come follow me and I
will show you how to fish for people”. Something
spectaculars happened; Jesus Christ snatches them in a spectacular
manner to become fishers of men.
Snatch: to grasp hastily or eagerly:
Jesus Christ snatched them in a grasp (hold firmly), hastily (hasty manner) and
also eagerly to become fishers of men, remember the disciples were the first to
be called Christians, also, you as a Christian, a Christ like, a believer of
Christ, that means you are a snatcher indeed; you should be able to rescue, to
save, and to snatch others who are not in the way of Jesus Christ, snatch them
from the flame of judgment. The Bible says those that have been revived stand
for the salvation of others; that is to be brought back to life, to restore the
consciousness or life or vigor; given fresh life or vigor or spirit. So, snatch
lives, and save lives in a hasty and spectacular manner as Jesus Christ has
snatched you, to be a genuine Christian. Snatch others with what God has
deposited in you, snatch and save them to repent from sins and turn to God, for
the kingdom of Heaven is near. If you are Pastor, Elder, Deacon, etc. no matter
your position in the Lord’s vineyard, don’t relent, you are not left out, you
are a snatcher, snatch lives, save souls from flame of judgment.
Quality of a snatcher
1)
Those
who are connected to the source (creator) i.e. God the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, Who created everything. Genesis 1:1-18, john 1:1-4.
2)
People
that are born again through the Holy Spirit and they allow the Holy spirit to
direct them.
3)
Those
who tap God’s power to develop their given gifts. Because God made us with
bundles of gift. So if God has given you the ability to prophecy, speak out
with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve
them well, if your gift is teaching, teach well, if your gift is to encourage,
encourage wisely, if your gift is given, give generously, if your gift is
leadership ability, take responsibility seriously, if you have a gift for
showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
4)
Those
who love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each
other; they don’t pretend to love others. They are those who hate what is
wrong, and they hold tightly to what is good.
5)
Good snatcher (Christians) should know how to speak the message of wisdom: it
is a pity in this world that many Christian leaders lack message of wisdom.
Paul said when I came to you dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty
words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. So many preaching,
teaching, messages are out of wisdom. There
are some churches, Christians forum, Christians seminars/workshop, Christians
organization, Christian youth programme outside there, that every of their
messages, preaching, advice are out wisdom. So people of God (Christians /
snatchers) must know how to speak message of wisdom. Paul proceeds: and my
message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and
persuasive speeches. 1Cortinthins 2 vs 1-6 yet when I am among mature
believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that
belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world who are soon forgotten.
The message and preaching of a snatcher must come out with a wisdom that is,
the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God. (Colossians 3:16)
6.
People that engage in constant reading of the word of God, people that pray
without season or ceasing and also living a righteous life. Also committed and
dedicated to the work of God. 1Thessalonians 5 vs 7 (Never stop praying)
Colossians 4:2, Ephesians 6:18
7.
A good snatcher must handle life prayerfully, accept the life the way it is
through the help of the Holy Spirit, snatcher must not by any means use
shortcut, they must face the reality of God.
8.
Snatchers must possess the fruit of the spirit: in their lives such as: love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self
control.
9.
Living as children of light: snatchers must live a life of light and must
determine to please the Lord because for once you were full of darkness, but
now you have light from the hard. So live as people of light, for this light
within you produces only what is good, right and true. Ephesians 5 vs 8, 1John
1:5-7
10.
A Christian and snatcher must always intercede for others. 1Timothy 2:1 I urge
you, first of all, to pray for all people, ask God to help them; intercede on
their behalf and give thanks for them.
11.
Snatchers must always be ready to preach the word of God that is why Christians
are called snatchers according to the writer. Preach the word of God. Be
prepared, whether the time is favorable or not, patiently correct, rebuke, and
encourage your people with good teaching. 2Timothy 4:2
12
A Christian and snatcher must have patient and endurance. Hebrews 10:36 Patient
endurance is what you need no, so that you will continue to do God’s will, then
you will receive all that He has promised 12:1, And let us run with endurance
the race God has set before us.
13.
People that are living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life,
for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Snatchers must be able to
look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.
Hebrew 12:14
14.
Christians and snatchers are those that control their tongue. Dear brothers and
sisters, Christians outside their including pastors and leaders in the church
that did not know how to control their tongue, they have forgotten that in the
same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. James 3:6 and
the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness corrupting
your entire body. It can set whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell
itself.
15.
A call to Holy living: snatchers must live as God’s obedient children and
should not slip back into the old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.
Christians must be Holy in everything they do, just as God who chose you as a
Christian or snatcher is Holy, for the scriptures say “You must be Holy because
I am Holy” 1Peter 1:16
16.
Christians and snatchers are those that care for the flock that God has
entrusted to them, they must watch over them willingly not grudgingly-not for
what you will get out of it, but because you eager to serve God, also lead them
by your own good example and when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive
a crown of never-ending glory and honor. 1Peter 5:2-4
17.
Snatchers should not be ashamed of being a Christian: so be happy when you are
insulted for being a Christian for then the glorious spirit of God rests upon
you, but it is no shame for being a Christian. 1Peter 4:15-16
18.
Good Christians and snatchers do not love the world or the things it offers.
1John 2:15-17 for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the
Father in you, for the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a
craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.
These are not from the Father, but are from this world, this world will fade
away, along with everything that people crave, but anyone who does what please
God will live forever.
19.
Finally, all Christians and snatchers should be of one mind. They always
sympathize with each other, love each other as brothers and sisters, Snatchers
should be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Snatchers don’t repay evil
for evil, or retaliate with insults when people insult them instead, a snatcher
pay them back with a blessing. Snatchers rescue others (unbeliever) through
these by snatching them from the flames of judgment and show mercy to still
other, and they it with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their
lives.
CHAPTER 8
Who
are to snatch? (Unbeliever)
1.
Those
who cheat one another or steal.
2. Those who bring shame on the name of
God by using it to swear falsely
3. Those who defraud or rob their
neighbor
4. Those who make their hired workers to wait
until the next day to receive their pay
5. Those who twist justice in legal
matters by favouring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always
judge people fairly.
6. Those who spread slanderous gossip
among their people
7. Those who stand idly by when their
neighbor’s life is threatened
8. Those who nurse hatred in their heart
9. Those who seek revenge or bear a
grudge against a fellow member
10. Those who cut their bodies for secret
things and those who marked their skin with tattoos
11. Those who consult the spirits of the
dead
12. Those who put their trust in idols or
make metal images of gods
13. Those who practice homosexuality,
having sex with another man as with a woman
14. Those who misuse the name of the Lord.
The Lord will not let you go unpunished
15. Those that didn’t honor their father
of their mother
16. Those that commit adultery
17. Those that didn’t fear the Lord
18. Those that are seduced into worshiping
the sky, sun, moon and stars. Deut. 4:19
There are so many of them “all
sought of sins” we must diligently obey
the commands of the Lord and all the laws and decrees He has given us: we
should do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with
us, then will also enter and occupy
heaven.
CHAPTER 9
What next
after snatching?
Preparation of believers for the
Second coming of Christ
a)
Acceptance
of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Acts 3:19; 16:31; 4:12.
b)
Be
regenerated, filled with the power of Holy Spirit and live a Holy Spirit
controlled life. John 3:3-5, Acts 1:8, Rom. 8:1,29.
c)
Holy
living. 1Pet. 1:15-17, 2Pet 3:11, John 3:3.
d)
Be
occupied in Christ’s service. Luke 19:13
e)
Unbreakable
intimacy with Christ. Rom. 8;35, Acts 11:23.
f)
Evangelizing
Christ to the whole world. Matt. 24:14.
g)
Overcoming
the already manifesting dangers of end time. 2Tim 3:1-5, 2Tess 20:3.
Col.3:14-15.
v
For
all creation is waiting eagerly for the future day when God will reveal who His
children really are. Rom. 8:18.
Be heavenly
minded
The
apostle Paul said “To live as Christ and to die is gain” Philippians 1:21 look
at the church of the first century and the way they changed their world. The
world became a different place as a result of their faith. That is the kind of Christianity
we need today. The summary of our lives should be that “to live is Christ, and
to die is gain”? We need to get back to the model of Christianity of the
first-century believers. Isaiah 25:8-12, Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 7:13-15, Luke
13: 29-33, John 14: 2-4, Colossians 3: 1-7, Revelation 7: 13-17, Revelation 21:
4-8, Revelation 22: 5-9.
Have
you ever been to a really beautiful place that you kept remembering long after
you returned home? That is how Paul felt about heaven. He longed for it. That is
why he could say “for I am hard-pressed…., having a desire to depart and be
with Christ, which is far better” Philippians 1:23
When Paul said that he had “a desire
to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” the word he used for depart
means “to strike the tent” on more than one occasion, the bible compares the
human body to a tent. And one thing are known about tents is that are not meant
to last forever. So why did Paul say this was far better? It is because he was
moving from a tent to a mansion.
When Christian die, they go straight
to heaven, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
The moment they take their last breath on earth, they take their first breath
in heaven.
The
manner of His second coming
a)
He
will come in the clouds with sound and voice of the archangel. Matt. 24:30,
1Tess. 4:16.
b) He will come in God’s and His own
glory and in power. Matt. 16:27;24:30.
c) He will come in flaming fire. 2Tess
1:18.
d) He will come as he ascended in bodily
form. Acts 1:9-11.
e) He will come with His saints. 1Tess
3:13, Jude 14.
f) His coming will be sudden. Mark 13:36.
CHAPTER 10
Boldness on the Day of Judgment
Believers May Have Confidence in the Judgment
Though
believers, like all the rest of mankind, face judgment they do not face it in
the same way. The New Testament attitude is not one of coward shrinking from
it, but of anticipation in mingled joy and solemnity. The judgment ‘always
means the dawn of the kingdom more than the doom of the world’. ‘Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God’s elect?’ asks Paul. ‘It is God that justifies; who
is he that shall condemn?’ (Romans 8:33). ‘God is not unrighteous to forget
your work’, says the writer to the Hebrews, ‘and the love which ye spewed
toward his name’ (Hebrew 6:10). Jude’s magnificent doxology looks to ‘him that
is able to guard you from stumbling and to set you before the presence of his
glory without blemish in exceeding joy’ (Jude 24.). And John speaks of love
being ‘made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment’
(I John 4:17). It signifies the attitude when the words flow freely, when we feel
quite at home, Christians will feel at
home on that great day, so we must have confidence to face that judgment,
for it marks the triumph of their Savior in the kingdom of their Father. Why
should they not feel at home as they see His will perfectly done?
The doctrine of final judgment
enshrines many important truths. It stresses man’s accountability and the
certainty that justice will finally triumph over all the wrongs which are part
and parcel of life here and now. The former gives a dignity to the humblest action;
the latter brings calmness and assurance to those in the thick of the battle.
This doctrine gives meaning to life.
The Christian view of judgment refers
to ‘God’s completing act in a fellowship of redeemed souls in a universe which
is at once a new world and the perfection of the old’. Judgment protects the idea
of the triumph of God and of good.
Judgment means that evil will be
disposed of authoritatively, decisively, finally. Judgment means that in the
end God’s decree will be perfectly done.
©2015
Prepared for the web in July 2016,
By: Ataba Opeyemi
wonderfully write - up
ReplyDeleteindeed great
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