Eternal Judgment

Transcript

A number of years ago my wife and I were traveling home from a family visit.  We were traveling through a kind of rural section of central Arkansas and I was attracted to a billboard I saw on the side of the road.  It was very stark looking, a kind of a while billboard with a dark background to it and letters all in black and on this white background plus at the top a word in bright red.  The billboard said, "Warning – Prepare To Meet Your God;" and underneath that was the name of a little local church.

I was impressed by that in a sense, I saw it and I thought it in a way it's kind of sad.  I almost wished that I had somehow the ability to put up another billboard right beside it; that looked exactly the same, same kind of lettering and so on.  That said, "Good News, Prepare to Meet Your God."  

So many times when people think about God's judgment, they see it as something to be frightened about, something they're afraid of, something as if we are supposed to be frightened by God's judgment in some way.  Perhaps you've come across some of those religious tracts.

I remember one that I came across years ago when I was in Ambassador College.  And I found, as I looked it up the other day that it is in fact probably the most popular religious tract that's ever been produced.  It's been translated to other languages, some drawings have changed just a little bit to fit different cultures.  But it's a little tract called, This Was Your Life.  

And it purports to show what it what we as Christians face or what anyone faces when this life is over.  As it begins you see, it's kind of a, if you're not familiar with these, it's kind of like a little small comic book in a sense with drawings and so on.  And as it begins, here is someone who's living his life in a normal way and suddenly he's struck by a heart attack or whatever it is and he drops dead; and the next few frames he's buried.  

And then suddenly here's an angel that raises him up.  And he's saying, "Wait a minute what's going on, I thought this life is all there was."  And the angel says, "No, there's more!"  And then he says, “But I always thought that heaven and hell were right here on earth."  And the angel says, "You'll see."  

And then it shows the angel is about twice as big as he is and they're flying off through space and they arrive at this location.  And it shows a frame, I have a few pictures even in my notes, it shows a frame where he's sitting in this small dark room and the angel is there with him.  

And he's saying, "Now look I've lived a real good life, I was no different than anyone else."  And the angel is saying, "Everything has been recorded."  And then looking out from the door of this room is a bright light and this voice booms in, "NEXT."  

And he's marched out in front of this huge platform, giant platform.  And on the top of it sits what is apparently supposed to be Jesus Christ, judging.  And He's about a hundred times bigger than the man is.  And as he is marched out in front of Him, Jesus sitting on this platform, points with His right hand (He does a lot of pointing in this book) points with His right hand and says, "Review his life."  And the Angel says, "Yes, Lord."

And then it's like a big IMAX screen, opens up and it says, “This was your life."  And it begins to play through the whole history of this individual's life from the time he was a baby.  And then it shows embarrassing pictures of him telling dirty jokes to his friends or lusting or stealing or some of those things.

And finally, as he goes through this, it comes to a point where he's sitting in church, and he's saying, "Ah, see I went to church, I was a good guy."  And the minister, (again he's like Jesus, he points a lot) and he points at him and says, “You need to repent."  And he's looking at his watch, saying, "Man, when's this thing going to be over, I've got other things to do."

So, by the time this IMAX movie is over, he's really feeling like he is in deep trouble.  And then Jesus (is sitting on the throne) and this time He points with His other hand, "Open the Book of Life."  And the angel then is shown in the next frame and he's looking through these columns of names and he says, "His name does not appear, Lord."  

And the next frame says, "Depart from me you cursed into ever lasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels."  And finally the frame shows that he's bowing down and begging, "Oh no, please," and he's about to be thrown into these flames.  

Is that an accurate picture?  Is that really what is ahead for those who die?  Is that what the judgment day is really about?  There are many people who think it is.  And quite honestly sometimes I've even heard comments in the church where it seems that people are a little bit fuzzy on what exactly takes place in this judgment process and when it takes place. 

I've heard people, for example, read through a passage which we'll read a little later that talks about the way that we speak, and in and it's says well, in the day of judgment you're going to give account for your words and people have said, well, you know someday you're going to have to give account for your words.  Is that really what it says?  Some day?  What is this about judgment, judgment day and really the concept of eternal judgment? 

When you examine the book of Hebrews, you find at the end of chapter five, the author of Hebrews talks very bluntly and openly to the recipients of the letter.  And he's telling them, you've been around the church a long time. You have been here long enough that you should've have grown to become teachers.  And yet, quite honestly you really haven't grown in a way that you should have.  You're not ready to do that.  And as he leads into chapter six, he is obviously saying, well, we really need to go on, we need to understand some things that are a little deeper.  We need to understand more of the meat of the word.  

And he begins that chapter with a listing of what we have called, sometimes, the fundamental doctrines that are listed in Hebrews.  Sometimes we refer to six, sometimes we refer to seven; there are six that are very obvious, there's a seventh one that may be not quite so obvious but I think it's very important as well.  

So, let's begin here.  Hebrew's 6 in verse 1.  Heb 6:1 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection," now that really is number seven.  Going on to perfection.  

But let's look at the one he lists otherwise. "not laying again the foundation of"  number one: "repentance from dead works," number 2: (and of ) "faith toward God,"  Number 3: (verse 2: of) "the doctrine of baptisms,"  number 4: (of) "laying on of hands",  Number 5: (of) "resurrection of the dead," and number 6: (and of) "eternal judgment."  Verse 3: "And this we will do if God permits"

The author of Hebrews is telling us that these basics beliefs are foundational to be able to live the Christian life.  They're things that we must understand in order to be able to live Christianity in the way that we've been called to.  So, this understanding about eternal judgment is a part of that.  Whatever eternal judgment means, this is telling us that it is foundational to our ability to understand and live the Christian life.  In some way, understanding of the doctrine of eternal judgment effects the way we life as Christians.  

So what is eternal judgment?  And, why is it so important for us?  Is eternal judgment something that should frighten us?  When we talk about judgment, many people are confused frankly about what it means.  That's understandable, because quite honestly in any language, words often have more than one meaning.  In the epistles of Paul class often when I'm talking with the students, I will refer to, for example, the word: B-O-W.  

Now probably all of you are familiar with that word in some form or another.  If I were to say, what is the meaning of b-0-w?  You see the word, b-o-w?  What does it mean?  Well, you would probably think of a variety of things.  

You might think of a ribbon, or a string that's tied in a certain way to make what we call a bow.  You might think of a bow that's used for shooting arrows.  You might think of a bow that's used for playing a stringed musical instrument.  You might think of bowing from the waist.  You might think of the front- end of a boat, that's called the bow as well.  And my favorite is, it's the first half of what a dog says; bow-wow.  Well, maybe that's not a good one but nonetheless, you think of b-o-w has a variety of meanings.  

So, if you came across the word b-o-w, could you say, "Well, b-o-w means the front-end of a boat?  Well, that's certainly one of the legitimate definitions but is it the right one?  Well, let's insert it into a sentence.  The little girl had a pink front-end of a boat in her hair.  Ahhh, no, that's probably not the best definition of b-o-w in that sentence.  Now, my point from that is, not only does the word b-o-w has a lot of different meanings and they may we may need to understand that as we look through it; we also would recognize that it's possible to know the correct meaning by looking at the context. 

That same is going to be true for the words that we read as judge or judgment as we look through the scripture.  If we spend a moment looking briefly at the Greek words, they do show us a little, though by itself, it's not going to be definitive; we have to go beyond that.  

The primary root word in Greek is krino, and it means to separate, to select, to choose, to determine. And it describes a process that takes place while something is being examined.  Now there are two other Greek words that are very common that are built upon this same Greek word.  There is anakrino which means to examine or investigate or question. And diakrino which means to thoroughly separate, to discriminate, to discern, it's like a thorough examination.  So, all of those give us the process of judging that comes from that root word krino.

Now, there are nouns that come from this as well.   And in other words instead of it being a verb of what's going on, it is a noun that describes a something.  In this case, we would usually translate it as judgment.  And the words there that are commonly used are still based upon that same root word.  

They describe, in this case, a little bit more than the process; they describe the result of the process.  You've carried out the process and now the result is complete.  The Greek word, krisis, for example means a decision.  Primarily it in s used in a forensic sense.  In other words, like a decision made in a court.  Depending upon the outcome of the judging, it could refer to a sentence or an award.   

The other main word that's used is krima and it simply means again the end result of the process of the judging.  Now there is one other Greek word which is not related to that root, it's not used very often but it is used a couple of times and translated judgment and that word is: gnome.  It comes from the word, gnosis, which has to do with knowledge and it refers to an understanding the mind.

In a few moments we're going to read Romans 1 and verse 32 where the word refers to the righteous judgment of God.  And it indicates that the actions that are being described in that section of scripture are understood in a certain way in God's mind and logically therefore, they should be understood the same way in our minds.  We should see them the same way.  

So, that gives you a basic idea of what the root words mean.  Essentially what it tells us is that the word judgment in scripture has two basic facets to it.  It can be used to describe the process of examining for the purpose of evaluating something. This is similar to what you and I do as we prepare for the Passover.  

We all know that prior to taking the Passover, we're commanded to examine ourselves.  Does God tell us to examine ourselves so that we will conclude we're hopeless and condemn ourselves?  Is that His desire?  That we examine ourselves so that when we're done, we feel absolutely worthless.  

Well, I think sometimes people approach it that way. But that's not really what the examination God is talking about is supposed to lead to.  Does God have a higher purpose in mind when He tells us to examine ourselves?  After all, what impact does examining yourself have on you?  As you prepare for the Passover and you examine yourself, what impact does that have in your life?  What does it do for you?  

If it leaves you discouraged and depressed, then frankly, you're not doing it properly.  We need to be examining ourselves in a different way.  And I think for most of us, we recognize that while we are sobered in that examination, because we realize we come up short, at the same time, we also resolve what we need to do to move forward. 
We also recognize that there are tings that we need to change and with God's help can change.  So, the examination makes us focus on those things a little better.  

The second way judgment is used in scripture is it refers to the final decision rendered after examining the facts of the case.  A judge weighs all the evidence and he renders a decision, which has consequences, either positive or negative upon those who have been judged.  

So, what are we talking about in scripture when we read judgment?  Well, actually we're talking about both of those.  And it is the context that will tell us whether we're talking about the process or the end result of that process.  So, let's start looking at a few scriptures that talk about judgment and see what they tell us.  

We're going to examine a series of questions.  Questions that I think are very important to understand in grasping this doctrine of eternal judgment.  First of all, when does judgment take place?  It's an important concept.  Some people seem to think as our little religious tract points out that there will come some future time after death, when we're going to be summoned to appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ in a heavenly courtroom of some sort.  Let's think about that for a minute.  

If that were true, when would that take place?  When would it happen?  If a Christian dies before Jesus Christ returns, when would this kind of a courtroom judgment take place?  We're told clearly in scripture that when Jesus Christ returns, at the last trump, at that moment in the twinkling of an eye, the dead are raised and changed to spirit.  Until that time, they're unconscious, that's what scripture tells us.  There is no consciousness in the grave.  (1Cor 15:52 and Ecc 9:5)

How could they be judged in the period after their death and yet prior to Christ's return?  How could that take place?  It would be like being judged in absentia. How could you give account, as we're told we must do, if you're not even conscious? But does it make any sense that they would be judged after Christ's return?  

If Christians are changed to spirit beings, they rise up to meet Christ in the air, as He comes down to the Mount of Olives, and they are with Him, as it says from there on. Umm, when is this judgment going to take place?  Is there going to be some point in the future where after we become spirit beings, that then we're judged, that we come before this judgment seat of Christ?  

And, of course, you would assume if there's going to be judgment, then there's going to have to be a judgment for some that's positive and some that's not or there wouldn't be any reason for the judgment.  Is God going to change us to spirit being and then somewhere in the future He's going to look and say, "Oh, well, I think I made a mistake on that, you can't be a spirit being anymore."  It's ridiculous.  No such thing could happen.

So, this idea that somehow there is this future courtroom appearance before Jesus Christ doesn't square with what we understand of God's plan.  So, what does the scripture say about the time of judgment?  Well, there're several passages we need to examine.  

Let's begin by going back to Romans, chapter 14.  Romans, chapter 14 and we'll pick it up in verse 10, Romans 14, verse 10.   Rom14: 10 "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Now we read this many times, I think, as if it's written only to Christians, but quite honestly, the statement is much broader than that.  Every human being is going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  That is absolutely true.  

But I want you to notice something about this.  Does this tell you when?  What it tells us there's a difference in the words that are used here.  It says, "we shall" that is not predictive.  In other words, that's not something that tells us of the future. That's an imperative.  

That's says, "This surely will happen."  This is something that will take place.  
(Rom 14:11) "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." For it is written: 'as I live' says the Lord, 'Every knee shall bow to Me, (And) every tongue shall confess to God.'"   

The word confess is an interesting word there, it basically means, it it's called homologeo, it means to speak the same thing as another one speaks.  It means that we come into agreement with God.  

Every tongue eventually is going to come in to agreement with God about what's right and what's wrong.  They may not do what's right as opposed to what's wrong, but there will be no question in anyone's mind what right and wrong really are.  

So, he goes on to say,  (Rom 14:12) "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."  Absolutely true, every person will.  "Therefore", he says, " let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.  So, it is intended to teach us that we are not to create problems for others but that we do have a responsibility to judge ourselves, not one another.  

So, it makes it very clear.  Yes, there is coming a time or there is, let's put it differently, there is a time when every person will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give account of himself to God.

Let's go on to 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5 and notice we'll begin here in verse 9.   2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 9.  Paul says, 2 Cor 5:9 
"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. Verse 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," True statement, there is no one exempted, there is no one, no matter who they are, or what their background may be. How long they've been in the church, they grew up in the church, they knew nothing about the church, there is no one who will be exempted; we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ "that each one may receive the things done in the body." 

We are to be judged before the judgment seat of Christ and as he says here: "according to the things done in the body."  When do you have a body?  After Christ's return?  Well, you become spirit then.  It is today in this life that we have a body and the judgment that we are being judged according to those things.  (2 Cor 5:10 "that each)  Every one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad."  

It tells us here that in this judgment as we stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, there is a judging that takes place and it does involve things that are both good and things that are not good.  Okay.  The scripture is clear.  Everyone will face this, but neither of these scriptures tells us when we face this.  Isn't there some place we can turn that will tell us when we stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ?  

Let's go back to 1st Peter, chapter 4.  1st Peter, chapter 4, Peter makes it abundantly clear here for all of us.  1st Peter, chapter 4 and let's begin in verse 17, 1st Peter 4, verse 17.  1Pet 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, (then) what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now "If the righteous one is scarcely saved, (What will) Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?"  We're told here very clearly by Peter under, obviously God is inspiring him, "the time has come, and it’s now, for judgment to begin at the house of God." 

Now as we're going to go further, we're going to see, that it's a matter of fact, judgment for others is going to take place in another time.  But for those who are called today, those who are of the household of God, judgment is already begun on us.  We are today standing before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.  We are today instructed to give account for ourselves before God on a continuing daily basis.  

Now, let's think about this for a moment.  Because, again, I think sometimes we misunderstand it and it's unnecessary that we feel kind of frightened by this.  If we're not doing the right thing, it should be frightening but is it always frightening? Is being, is standing before the judgment seat of Christ a terrible thing or is it in fact a good thing?  

In what way is Jesus Christ judging us now?  What is His purpose in judging us today?  Is this judgment of me today His final judgment of me?  And, we said it can refer to a process or it can refer to the end result of that process.  Okay. What about His judgment of me today?  Is it His final judgment?  Because if that's what it is, then why did He judge me yesterday or why is He going to judge me tomorrow?  That wouldn't make sense.  Why is He judging me today?  

Now, one of our writers, in answering a question about this, Cecil Maranville, came up with what I think, is an excellent metaphor that helps up to understand this.  And I think in a very good way.  If you've ever been involved in any kind of an athletic team where you had a coach, you recognize that the coach has certain responsibilities.  The coach constantly watches over those who are participants who are taking part.  The coach's monitoring how they're doing and his purpose in doing so is to help them develop their skills even more.  

To help them really reach the potential that they have.  Sometimes he may reward those that he's coaching and encourage them and tell them they're doing a great job.  Other times, he may put them through some more difficult drills so that they can learn the lessons they need to learn.  They can, he can help them work harder so that they can really develop even more.  

Before my family was in the church, I was playing high school football and I still remember one time when I we were relatively new at it.  And, our coach was disturbed because basically we were when we would come up to the line; we were standing up too high.  And when you do that, playing football, you have a distinct disadvantage.  So, he was trying to teach us how to stay low.  

I remember one practice where he put a rope about three or three and half feet above the ground on this line of scrimmage. And all day long, everything we did, every block, every run, everything we did had to be below that rope.  It was uncomfortable, it was painful, but you know the next time we played a game, we were much lower; we stayed down, we kept our balance.  

It was his job to recognize when we were coming short and what we needed to do to correct it.  It was also his job that when we did well, to help us see, this is the right thing to do.  The coach's whole purpose in watching us was to help us improve.  

I think one of the most challenging things for a coach is that the players very often get tired of all the hard work of practice.  They just want to go play the game; they want to have a good time.  But any coach knows that you have to master the basics first.  Until you can do that, you're not ready.  So a coach has to have the ability to guide and direct those that are under him.  But his purpose is to help them improve.  His purpose is to help them be the best they can be.  

And, if you've ever done any coaching, you know that when you see people growing and developing in that way, it's fun; it's exciting and you're excited to see that taking place.  So, the coach in essence, is a judge.  He is constantly judging those under his care to help them accomplish what can be accomplished.  

In similar ways, Jesus Christ is watching over us.  He's determining when we need encouragement, when we need a trial because sometimes that's what we need.  When we're ready to learn more. The entire purpose of his judging us is to help us grow and to reach the true potential that God sees in each and every one of us.  That judging of God's people is an ongoing process and it does affect our lives today.  

Now this may seem a little out of context but let's turn back to Ezekiel, chapter 9.  There's a passage that we were pointed to a number of years ago.  And I think it's a very fascinating passage as it talks about what God expects of His people in a world that's seemingly gone crazy.  

We'll pick it up here in Ezekiel, chapter 9.  In the first couple of verses, it describes a vision which Ezekiel is given and God has sent out angels with, as it says there at the end of verse 1, (EZ 9:1 Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, "Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.")  

And they're going out to punish, they're going out to punish those who have not obeyed God and done the things that God says to do.  In verse 3, we pick up the story here and it says, EZ 9:3 "Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at (by) his side;" So we have several different ones, I believe there are six here who have weapons in their hand, but here's another one.  And instead of a weapon, he has a writer's inkhorn, a supply of ink with him.  

And verse 4-5 and the Lord said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it." 5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not (have) do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity."  

In other words, and then it goes on and says, Utterly slay old men, old and young men, women, and maidens, little children; do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.  (EZ 9:6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.)  

And we have sometimes said does that refer to God's own sanctuary, his church?  The people who are part of the temple that He is building today?  So, it says, they began with the elders who were before the temple.

So, we see in this prophecy that God is looking on people and He is sending a punishment but He is also sending protection.  And the protection is upon those who are living a certain way.  God's judgment of these people is an ongoing process.  And what sets these people apart is that they are upset; they are sighing and crying because of the abominations they see in the world around them.  

That certainly should be a lesson for all of us as we look around us at this world.  There should be times when we go before God and we truly do sigh and cry for all the terrible things we see taking place.  There're so many things that have happened in this world and this world is changing so very rapidly, it's hard to even imagine.  

Probably for many of us who have been around for a while, some of the changes that have taken place, for example, in the area of attitudes about homosexuality.  Changes that have taken place in the last ten years have been amazing.  Ten years ago the majority of people in this country viewed homosexuality as a wrong act.  And in ten short years it's reached the point where if you say anything against it, you're a bigot.  It's amazing to see that kind of change.  And, it's so sad.  

Because we see what it does to a people.  We see the deterioration of the family.  We see the horrible impact upon our society from these kinds of things not that by itself but all of these things.  And as God's people, we should be moved.  We should sigh and cry.  

But God's watching what we do day-by-day and in this case, he's putting a mark of protection upon those who are doing what's right, who are crying out to God.  God's watching what we do on a daily basis; and He is making judgment based upon, as it shows here, both our actions and our attitudes.  The sighing and the crying show the attitude and the action both.  

Okay, but what about those verses that says there is a specific day of judgment?  Okay, let's look at a couple examples and see what they're telling us. Let's go back to Matthew, chapter 12.  We referred to this earlier.  Matthew, chapter 12 and we'll begin in verse 34.  Matthew 12, verse 34.  The context here is he's talked about a fig tree bringing forth only figs, it can't bring forth something else.  The tree is to bring forth good fruit and if it isn't, it's a bad tree you get rid of it. (Mat 12:33Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.)

We pick it up in verse 34, he says, Mat 12:34-35 " Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance (or the overflow) of the heart the mouth speaks." What's deep inside and sometimes we are able to hide, sometimes just comes boiling out and it shows what's really there.  (Verse 35) A good man out of the good treasure of "(his) the "heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." 

I think most of us have read that verse and realize that that's a good verse, not for judging other people but for judging ourselves.  What kinds of things come out of my mouth, what kinds of things do I speak? Am I a person who speaks positively, negatively? Am I a critic; am I an encourager?  Those things tell a great deal about what's inside.

But I want to move to this next verse because this is the one I think that's very important.  (Verse 36-37): (But) "I say to you that for every idle word men may speak," (an idle word is simply a word that has no positive value to it)"for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  This tells us that in the Day of Judgment, we must give account for the way that we speak.  Okay, does that tell us that there's some future day of judgment? No.  What it tells us is that we are giving account for the way we speak - today.  

Because, as Peter tells us, judgment has begun on the household of God, that's you and me, judgment is on us today.  And in our day of judgment, we are going to give account.  It's important to understand that.  Let's drop down just a little lower, a little farther down here in this same chapter because we'll see a different rendering of judgment here.  

Let's pick it up in verse 41.  Mat 12:41 "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation" (the generation alive at Christ's time) "and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."  Well, what is this telling us?  

Well, for one thing, it's telling us that the men of Nineveh who have been dead at this point for over 500 years are going to rise up in the Day of Judgment.  And they're going to be in the same Day of Judgment as the people who are in this first century or around Jesus Christ who obviously were not yet called who didn't have a full opportunity.  But they're going to rise up and in that Day of Judgment they're going to see one another.  

Likewise as you go into the next verse, (Mat 12:42) "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."  This simply tells us that these people, though they haven't been judged yet, will have their day of judgment.  Judgment has begun at the household of God, but these people were not in the household of God.  

These were not called yet.  But they still have a day of judgment and they will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to give account for everything.  And they will be judged, again, the same way that we have been.  It shows us a principle that judgment is upon an individual when it is the time where they have the understanding of what God is saying to do.  

Now, I referred earlier to Romans, chapter 1.  Let's go back there.  Romans, chapter 1 is a very graphic chapter.  Even in the English language it's pretty graphic but if we were to go back to the original, it's almost painful to read.  As it describes society and how terrible society deteriorates when it leaves God out of the picture.  

But I want to pick it up with the very last verse of chapter one and move into chapter two.  Now remember chapters and verses are handy for us to find things, they're not bad, there's nothing wrong with them but they're not in the original.  The original author, when Paul wrote this, didn't have a division between chapter one and two.  It was a continuous thought so it's helpful to keep to that in mind, as we go through this.  

Okay, let's start in verse 32 of chapter 1.  Rom 1:32 "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God," now remember I told you there is that word that is used here; it's a little different than the others.  It has to do with what is clear and understood and in the mind of God.  So, in God's clear understanding in judgment, "knowing" this (the) "righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things" the things described earlier in this chapter "are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."  

It's quite a description of our society today.  "Therefore," verse 1 of chapter 2: Rom 2:1 "you are inexcusable, O man" so he's saying as a logical construct here because you know what God's righteous judgment is, you're inexcusable too, "O man
whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."  If we're doing the same things, then in in principle at least, then we don't really have any way to condemn somebody else for it.  

(Verse 2-4) "But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. (Verse 3) And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?  No one escapes the judgment of God.  

(Verses 4-6) Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who "will render to each one according to his deeds": 

In other words Paul tells us that God does carry out a judgment and that there is coming a time when God's righteous judgment is going to be executed.  The judgment may have been completed even earlier.  But He hasn't executed it yet; God hasn't stepped in the course of world affairs yet.  But He will.  There is a day of God's wrath and He will step in and executes that judgment that He has upon mankind.  

So He shows us here, when we ask the question of when does this judgment take place? That the process of judging takes place, for each person in the period of his or her life, when they have an understanding of God's truth.  How much of an understanding?  Only God knows that; we can't answer that.  He hasn't given that insight.  But when a person has adequate understanding, they are accountable to God for what they know.  

So, we come to a second question: all right in this judging that takes place; what standard is going to be used?  You can't judge something without having a measurement standard.  If you go to a doctor, and you have your blood pressure taken, it's measured against a standard.  And that's how you know whether your blood pressure's too high or too low.  At least it gives a basic indication.  

So what's the standard that God will use in the judging of all people when they stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ?  Let's go back to Revelation, chapter 20.  Revelation, chapter 20, we'll go here a couple of times.  But I'd like to begin first of all by looking at a period that we understand is describing what we sometimes call the great white throne judgment period or the period of the second resurrection, when all of those who have never had an opportunity for salvation are raised back to physical life, and given that opportunity. 

 Now notice what it tells us here, probably some of this you've heard as we go through this on the Last Great Day of the Feast.  Sometimes we probably should go through it a little more often than that but at least we've heard it there and we understand what it's saying.

Let's pick it up here in verse 11.  Rev 20:11-12 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God", okay, dead people don't normally stand.  Okay, this is not the zombie apocalypse; okay. This is simply a matter of He's telling us that they were dead and now they're standing.  So, they're alive; they're brought to life.  And then it tells us the: "books were opened."  

Okay, we have long understood that this book that we call the Bible, the Greek word is biblia and basically it means books.  This is a book composed of books.  We sometimes, depending on how we number it, we may number 66 different books or some would number it 49 different books but nonetheless we recognize it is a book, as we call it, but it's composed of a number of other books.

We also know from scripture that the words of these books, as far as most of mankind is concerned, those words have been closed.  They haven't been able to understand; they can read and they don't grasp it.  They simply don’t get it.  

I sometimes have told the students about a situation I had a number of years ago where there was a lady who was a church member, and her husband was not.  But he was he was a nice fellow.  He wasn't antagonistic in any way.  But he really wasn't interested in the church.  

And, he met some fellow at work, he kind of liked talking to different people and especially the subject of religion would come up and he would share certain things.  Basically what his wife had taught him.  But nonetheless, he would talk about those things. And he came across someone who really liked talking religion and seemed to be very interested in learning things.  

So, he told his wife about it and he said you know, really I think this fellow would really benefit from talking to your pastor.  So, you know do you think that would be possible?  So she came to me and of course, I was willing to do that.  We set up a meeting and went to their home and here was the lady who was the member and her husband who was you know all right fellow.  And then there was this man who was not connected in that way but was supposedly interested and had questions.

As we were going along, we talked about some of these things and I came to a passage we were talking about immortal soul and the wages of sin and so on.  And I came to the passage where it says, “Romans 3:23 all have sinned and come short of the glory of God
(Rom 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,")  

And then you go up to chapter 6 and verse 23 and it says, the wages of sin is death  
(Rom 6:23)For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)  And I remember looking at the man and saying, "Okay, death means the absence of life."  And he said, "Yes, okay, that's fine."  

I said, "Now all of us have sinned; so all of us are doomed to die.  To lose life the result of sin, the wages of sin is death and the lady of course, is sitting there; she well knows this. Her husband is kind of nodding his head, sure.  And this man says, "No, that's not what it means."  

And we, but we just said.  Death means absence of life.  He said, "Well, no that's not what it means here. And it doesn't mean that the wages of sin is you're not going to live anymore; no it doesn't mean that."  And I remember this lady's husband sitting there looking at him like: what's wrong with you? Anybody can see that's what it says!  That's what it means, the man couldn't grasp it.  

The book has been closed to most people, they don't understand.  It's Satan deception that's caused this.  God has a plan, He's going to help them understand and this is talking about that time when most people will have that.  But, it tells us here the books have been closed; now they're opened.  And then it says, another book was opened which is the Book of Life (Rev 20:12 … "And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life…")  

The Book of Life is where those who were converted have their names written.  Okay, so what this basically tells us is through those dead, who are now standing before this great white throne, before God, and have the books opened; for the first time, the Book of Life is opened for them.  They've never had that opportunity before.

And, then it goes on to say:  (Rev 20:12) "And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books."   Okay, here's our standard of judgment.  The book tells us what to do, what do we do with it?  
Now, would it be fair for God to judge those people for something they couldn't understand in the first place?  Well, that wouldn't be a very fair judgment. God would not be just in doing that.  So, there has to be, as we've long understood, a period of time in which because they know, they now have the opportunity to do, to live.  And, they are judged accordingly.  

Verse 13 tells us, Rev 20:13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, (and) Death and Hades" or the condition of the dead "delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works."  So, we're shown, here's the standard.  We're judged by what we do and according to what's written in the book.  

Now there is one more verse I'd like to tie in with this which I think is also very helpful here.  It's just a few pages back in the book of James.  James, chapter 2, James, chapter 2 and James tells the people he's writing to that this is a more general epistle how they are to conduct themselves.  This is going to come in the context of how we deal with one another, how we reach out to help those who have needs.  How we speak.  

And he says here in James 2, verse 12:  James 2:12 "So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty." He tells us as Christians we are judged by what he calls here the "law of liberty."  God's law which gives us liberty, which gives us freedom.  

I'm reminded the other day I saw a cartoon that someone had posted and it captured it well.  It showed two people standing on this kind of a grassy area and there's a fence and one of the people says, "I'm tired of this law of God, I think the fence was labeled, "God's Law."  And, I'm tired of the Law of God restricting me and keeping me from doing things.  I'm going over the fence. And he jumps over the fence.  And just as he jumps over the fence, the other on stands there and says, "Wait a minute, that's not a fence, it's a guard rail."  And on beyond is a chasm that he's dropping into.  God's law gives us liberty to be safe; keeps us safe where we are and we're judged by that.  So, that's the standard that's used.  

Now, I also think it's fair to ask another question.  Who does the judging?  Who does the judging?  Let's go back to John; chapter 5, John, chapter 5 and again, this is very encouraging, as we understand what is being said here.  John, chapter 5 in verse 22.  John, chapter 5, we'll begin in verse 22.  Jesus says, John 5:22 "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son," Jesus Christ has been given the responsibility of judging. ' that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father." 

There needs to be that recognition and respect, He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Verse 24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me" (this is again, Jesus speaking) "has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment" in other words there won't be something that he has to fear in some kind of a final penalty phase but he has passed from death into life.  

There is a judging process going on and he's moving in the right direction, he doesn't have to fear the ultimate penalty of this judgment.  So, we're told Jesus Christ is the ultimate judge.  That's very encouraging to us because Jesus Christ understands what it is to be a human.  He's been here; He's experienced what it means to be a human.  He knows what it feels like.  He knows the struggles; He knows the temptations.  He is in a position better than anyone else in all of existence to judge human beings.  

But He has something else going for Him too as a judge.  Something that none of us have He also knows what it is to be God.  And none of us know that.  So, He is imminently qualified far beyond any human being who ever could be a judge.  He knows what it is to be human and He knows what it is to be God.  

Now it doesn't stop here.  Jesus Christ, as we'll see, and there are a couple of passages that will show us this, Jesus Christ is the ultimate judge.  But He has the authority to assign certain judging to His brothers and sisters as well.  Let's go back to First Corinthians, chapter 6.  This is a passage that I've often heard quoted and I think frankly not understood all-that well.

First Corinthians, chapter 6; what's taking place here?  When you read through the book of 1st Corinthians I I've often brought out to the students that the church in Corinth apparently had a real problem with pride.  They really struggled with pride and there's so much in this book that talks about that though you will never find the word.  You will find things about being puffed up and that kind of thing.  But yet you won't find the word pride but you will find the subject is covered throughout the book.  

We come to chapter six and Paul is very clear as you go through this chapter.  Paul is very upset about something that's taking place in the church.  Because of this attitude of pride and I'm important and I'm not going to let anybody get the advantage on me.  When two people have a disagreement, they're going to the courts of the world and suing each other.  And, Paul is absolutely amazed!  How could you think such a thing was acceptable for the people of God?  How on earth do you justify this?  

And I won't go through the whole aspect of it but I want to just point out the first part here because it tells us something about who's doing the judging.  Verse 1.  
1 Cor 6:1-2 "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" 

Now I want you to think about something before we even go any further here.  I want you to think about something.  Are you called to be a judge of the world today?  Well, not really. Now in a sense, you have to make judgments about what's acceptable in this world or not; but you have no judging authority where the world is concerned.  And this talks about having judging authority. 

What world are you going to be judging?  The judging that the saints are going to do of the world is the judging that's going to take place of the world that Jesus Christ and the saints are ruling over.  Is that going to be a negative judgment?  Could we have a negative judgment of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ?  

Does judgment maybe mean something a little different?  Well, let's go on, it doesn't stop there. (1cor6:2-3) "And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" And then it says this: " Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?" The saints, that means you and I and our brethren down through the ages are going to judge the world.  But it's a new world,
a millennial world.
 
And, we are also told that the saints, you and I, are going to judge angels.  How's that going to work out?  The Bible, frankly, is not specific in explaining it so anything we say is going to be at least a little bit speculative.  But, I'd like to think about this.  I've heard some people say, "Well, you know the only ones really that need to be judged are the unrighteous angels."  Is that true?  

As a matter of fact, when you read through the book of Jude, you will find that God has already judged the unrighteous angels.  He hasn't executed the judgment; He will come and execute judgment.  That's what Jude tells us. 

But He has already judged those angles; He's determined what's going to happen to them.  It indicates in scripture that God is waiting to execute the judgment on them; that He's going to be casting them into what is called, outer darkness or as Jude puts it in Jude verse 13 that they will be wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.  (Jude 13: raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.)

Why would God need us to judge the angels that are in rebellion to Him?  That's pretty clear already.  None of us are going to justify rebellion against God.  So, why would we need to judge the rebellious angels?  But, then of course, it's very logical to ask then the question: if we're not going to judge the rebellious angels, the only ones left are the faithful angels. Why would we need to judge them?  

I think the problem here is again, because so often we tend to view judgment in a negative light.  Judgment can be positive too.  Think about we've just recently, as this sermon is being given, we've recently been through the Winter Olympics.  And if you've watched and part of it, you know that for many of the events like the figure skating and so on, there are judges, a variety of judges, who make judgments about the participants and how well they do.  

The purpose of the judging is to see who receives what award.  The judging is to determine who's best.  Those are the ones we remember; those are what the judges determine how they have done?  Who's done really well?  Who's a deserving participant to receive an award?  When someone or some angel has done well, why wouldn't their judgment be positive, something to look forward to?  

Now God tells us in the first chapter of Hebrews that the angels are created as servants for mankind.  And they have been serving faithfully throughout all of the time that God has given them responsibility for serving mankind.  We don't necessarily find in scripture that there is a specific guardian angel for each individual but we do recognize that God does send His angels; He tells us in Psalms that the angels camp around the righteous; set up camp around the righteous and protect them.

We find many examples in scripture where God has used the angels to protect His people.  And quite honestly we don't just have to look at scripture.  Many of us, if not all of us, can look at times in our lives, when we recognize that it had to be angelic protection that we received.  That God has stepped in and done things for us when perhaps we did something foolish or that we shouldn't have done.  Or in some cases, we weren't necessarily at fault but things happened and God steps in and saves us and protects us in very special ways.  And we're very grateful for that.  We recognize that that's happened.  

I know for example in, when my wife and I were visiting South Africa a couple of years ago, we were told the story about an elderly couple who had gone on out one day, I believe it was even a Sabbath day.  They had taken a little drive in the afternoon.  And there was a very picturesque spot and they stopped.  And the lady was standing beside the car and the gentleman walked back up into the bushes to try to get a little bit better angle and take a picture of his wife standing there in this very scenic spot.  

And, while he was back there and some others didn't realize he was there; a couple of fellows came along, they were speaking a native language there.  But he understood what they were saying.  And they looked out and saw this little elderly lady standing there by the car and one of them said to the other, "It would be very easy for us to go down there and push her over the cliff and steal that car." 

Then the other one said, "Yeah, but look, there are two great big guys beside her and I don't want to mess with them."  And this elderly man looked down where his wife was; there was no one there.  But, these two fellas who were bent on doing something harmful looked down and they saw two very big burly fellows who they didn't want to mess with.
God sends His angles for protection in all kinds of different ways.

There are all kinds of stories that many of us can tell.  We can spend the rest of the day sharing those stories and sometimes it's good to talk about some of those ways in which we recognize God's protection is there.

But, how many times have God's righteous angels protected you and me and we weren't even aware of it?  Things took place, we were protected maybe spiritually as well but we're protected and we're not even aware that something took place.  My wife tells me she has this mental image in her life of this poor bedraggled angle standing before the throne of God saying, "God, please don't make me go with that woman again, she is wearing me out."  

And I think probably many of us understand that kind of a feeling that we sometimes feel like we're really wearing out God's angels and the protection that they give to us.  But, think about that.  When you are finally able to see and understand how faithful God's angels have been protecting you, protecting your family, helping you.  Would you be happy to judge them and reward them for their faithfulness?  Now scripture doesn't tell us that's exactly what judging angels means but I think it certainly is legitimate to see it in that way.  

Seeing what God says about executing or carrying out His judgment on the fallen angels, how does that principle apply to us?  God's judging of the saints is complete when our physical lives are over.  There's nothing that remains to be judged when that time is over.  At that point, God has made a judgment about us, an eternal judgment.  But He has not executed that judgment yet; that takes place at Christ's return.  When we're changed from physical to spirit, we're resurrected into God's family, God's eternal judgment of us, is completed.  

And we will be eternally a part of His family.  We must never make the mistake of assuming that judgment is only for punishment.  Part of our job in God's kingdom will be to judge humans, as we have been judged by Jesus Christ.  It will be our job like good coaches, good mentors to help our younger brothers and sisters achieve God's potential in their lives.  

Turn back to Revelation 20 again. Revelation 20, and I want to pick up an earlier verse on this one.  It talks about those who have been faithful who did not worship the beast and so on.  Let's pick it up here; I just want one verse, Revelation 20 in verse 4.  Rev:20:4 "(And) I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them."  See that judgment is committed or entrusted to them.  "Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."  

And then it tells us again about the rest of the dead living later on and verse 6 tells us: Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.  On them the second death has no power but they shall be priests of God and Christ and reign shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.)

There's this promise of judgment being committed to the saints and it's a positive judgment; it's an encouraging judgment.  And, it's a judgment that takes place within the lifetime of an individual who's understanding that truth.  Their day of judgment is not come yet.  Ours is here now.  We are being judged today; we are giving account today.  

Why is it important to know that?  Why is it important for us to recognize that we don't have some appointment in a courtroom in heaven somewhere in the future?  But, that our judgment is today.  If someone thinks that judgment is strictly something for the future, then they fail to recognize that we must acknowledge and deal with sin today.  We must always recognize our thoughts; our actions always produce an outcome in our lives today.

And we must accept responsibility for what we think, what we say and what we do.  Now I'd like to turn back to and I only have a couple more scriptures left but let's turn to 1st John, chapter 4 because again, I think in the context of what we're talking about it makes this scripture really come to life.  

1st John, chapter 4 and we'll begin in verse 17.  1st John 4, verse 17. Think about the kind of judgment we're talking about; think about Jesus Christ judging us as our coach, our mentor, the One who wants to see us really achieve the potential that God has for us.  

Verse 17.  1 John 4:17 "Love has been perfected" (or matured is the sense of it) "among us in this (way): that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; God wants you and me to have boldness, confidence, assurance in the day of judgment because we know what our judge is like.  We know what He is trying to accomplish.  We don't have to be afraid.  He goes on to say, "because as He is, so are we in this world."  

There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. He who fears has not been made perfect in love.  God wants you and me to have boldness in our day of judgment.  Our day of judgment, which is today.  Judgment is now on the household of God.  Our day of judgment is not a day to be frightened; it's a day to have boldness, encouragement and to realize that Jesus Christ and God, the Father are on our team.  

And they're wanting us to succeed.  Eternal judgment shows that God's righteous judgment is going to produce an eternal result.  He's going to welcome His children into His family forever.  

So, getting back to the beginning, are you prepared to meet your God?  Well, actually He's already introduced Himself.  He's our Father.  We need to be respectful toward Him, but we don’t need to be frightened by Him.  The passage that is quoted there is actually from the book of Amos.  I'm going<