Eternal Judgement (1)

Bible Reading: Romans 2:1-16

1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgement against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgement on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgement? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favouritism.12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

We have now come to the last of the six foundation principles. In the Old Testament, the word "judgement" is used in two ways. It refers to the statutes, testimonies, and Law of God, and is usually in the plural. The other way it is used is in dealing with God’s judgements on the affairs of men and nations both in history and at the end of history. The latter is the sense in which the word is used in the New Testament.

What is the meaning of the word?

The word "to judge" means "to separate; to make a distinction between; to exercise judgement upon; to estimate; to assume a censorial power over; to call to account; to bring under question; to judge judiciously; to try as a judge; to bring to trial; to sentence; to be brought to account; to incur arrangement; to administer government over; to govern."

Why must there be judgement?

a. BECAUSE OF SIN AGAINST GOD’S LAW

Rom. 2:12 - "All who sin (miss the mark) apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin (miss the mark) under the law will be judged by the law."

b. BECAUSE OF UNGODLINESS

2 Peter 3:7 — " . . . being kept for the day of judgement and destruction of the ungodly."

Jude 15 — "to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

c. BECAUSE OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

2 Peter 2:9 - "if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgement."

d. BECAUSE OF DISOBEDIENCE

Jude 6 (Wey.) - "And angels . . . those who DID NOT KEEP THE POSITION ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED TO THEM, but deserted their own proper abode - He reserves in everlasting bonds, in darkness, in preparation for the JUDGEMENT of the great day."

e. BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF

John 3:18 (Amp.) - "He who believes on Him - who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him — is not judged (he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgement; for him there is no rejection, condemnation; he incurs no damnation). But he WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE (not cleave to, rely on, trust in Him), is JUDGED ALREADY; (he has already been convicted; has already received his sentence), because HE HAS NOT BELIEVED ON and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name."

f. BECAUSE OF TRESPASS

Rom. 5: 18 - "Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation (judgement) for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. "

g. BECAUSE OF EVIL DEEDS

John 3:19 (Amp.) ~ "The (basis of the) JUDGEMENT (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: that the Light is come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for THEIR WORKS (deeds) WERE EVIL."

Who is the judge?

a. GOD

Acts 17:31 (Amp.) - "He (GOD) has fixed a day when HE will JUDGE THE WORLD righteously (justly) by a Man Whom He has destined and appointed for that task . . . "

Rom. 3:6 - "Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?"

Heb. 12:23 - "_. . . You have come to God, the Judge of all,_ . . ."

1 Pet. 4:5 — "But they will have to give account to him (God) who is ready to judge the living and the dead."

b. THE SON

John 5:22, 27 (Amp.) ~ "Even the Father judges no one; for He has given ALL JUDGEMENT - the last judgement and the whole business of judging - entirely into the HANDS OF THE SON . . . And He has given HIM authority and granted HIM power to execute (exercise, practice) JUDGEMENT, because He is the son of man (very man)."

Acts 10:42 (Amp.) - "And He (now Jesus of Nazareth) charged us to preach to the people, and to bear solemn testimony that He is the God-appointed and God-ordained JUDGE OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD."

c. THE SAINTS

1 Cor. 6:2-3 - "Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!"

What are the principles governing divine judgement?

a. MEASURE OF LIGHT AND PRIVILEGE

Matt. 10:14,15 - "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town."

Matt. 11:20-24 - "Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgement than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgement than for you."

Matt. 12:41,42 - "The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here."

b. DIVINE ALL-KNOWLEDGE

John 8:15,16 (Amp.) - "You (set yourselves up to) judge according to the flesh - by what you see; you condemn by external, human standards. I do not (set Myself up to) judge or condemn or sentence anyone. Yet even if I do judge, MY JUDGEMENT IS TRUE - My decision is right; for I am not alone (in making it), but (there are two of Us), I AND THE FATHER Who sent Me."

Rev. 20:12,15 - "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books." "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

Rom. 2:2 - "Now we know that God’s judgement against those who do such things is based on truth."

JBP - "GOD’S JUDGEMENT, we know, IS UTTERLY IMPARTIAL IN ITS ACTION against such evil-doers."

c. THE WORD

John 12:48,49 - "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken."

d. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Rom. 14:10,12 - " . . . For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat. . . So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God."

Moff. - "Each of us then will HAVE TO ANSWER FOR HIMSELF to God."

e. PERSONAL CONDUCT

2 Cor. 5:10 - "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

JBP - "Every one of us will have to stand without pretence before CHRIST OUR JUDGE, and we shall be rewarded FOR WHAT WE DID when we lived in our bodies, whether it was good or bad."

Rom. 2:5-6 (Amp.) - ". . . when God’s RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT will be revealed. . . He will render to every man ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS - justly, as his deeds deserve."

1 Pet. 1:17 - " Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially . . ."

Rev. 20:12 - " . . . The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books."

f. DIVINE IMPARTIALITY

1 Pet. 1:17 - " Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s workimpartially . . ."

Amp. - "JUDGES EACH ONE IMPARTIALLY"

JBP - "WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST FAVOURITISM"

g. TREATMENT OF CHRIST’S BRETHREN

Matt. 25:31-46 - Vs. 40 - "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

Matt. 12:50 — "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

2 Thess. 1:5, 6 (JBP) - "These qualities show how justly THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD works out in your case. Without doubt He intends to use your suffering to make you worthy of His kingdom; yet His justice will one day REPAY TROUBLE TO THOSE WHO HAVE TROUBLED YOU . . . "

h. THE LAW

Rom. 2:12 - "All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law."

i. RIGHTEOUSNESS

Psa. 9:8 - "He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity."

Psa. 96:13 - "Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness."

Acts 17:31 - "For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed . . . "

Rom.2:5 - "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed."

2 Tim. 4:8 (Amp.) - "Henceforth there is laid up for me the (victor's) crown of righteousness — for being right with God and doing right - which the Lord, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, will award to me and recompense me on that great day . . . "

Rev. 19: 11 (Amp.) — "After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse (appeared)! The One Who was riding it is called Faithful (trust-worthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady) and True, and He PASSES JUDGEMENT and wages war IN RIGHTEOUSNESS - holiness, justice and uprightness."

j. MOTIVES AND THOUGHT LIFE

1 Cor. 4:5 (Amp.) ~ "So do not make any hasty or PREMATURE JUDGEMENTS before the time when the Lord comes again, for He will both bring to light the secret things that are (now hidden) in darkness, and disclose and expose the (SECRET) AIMS (MOTIVES AND PURPOSES) OF HEARTS. Then every man will receive his (due) commendation from God."

Rom. 2: 16 (Amp.) — "On that day when, as my Gospel proclaims, God by Jesus Christ will JUDGE MEN IN REGARD TO THE THINGS WHICH THEY CONCEAL - THEIR HIDDEN THOUGHTS."

k. THE GOSPEL

2 Thess. 1:8 - "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."

Study Questions for Lesson No. 16