Way of Life Encyclopedia
JUDGMENT
All men must stand before God to be judged for their earthly lives. All such judgment has been given to Jesus Christ (
Joh 5:22;
Ac 17:30-31).
Just as there are different groups of resurrections for men, there are also different judgments. Before God, all men are not in the same position and are not grouped together for one general judgment. In a broad sense men are divided into the saved and the unsaved (
1Jo 5:12,
19;
Joh 17:6-9). The Bible speaks also of three groupings of men in the world today: Jews, Gentiles, and the Church (
1Co 10:32).
The N.T. speaks of at least three judgments.
THE JUDGMENT OF TRUE BELIEVERS (
1Co 3:11-15;
2Co 5:9-10;
Ro 14:10-12). The Purpose of this judgment. (1) It is for Christians, not the unsaved (
1Co 3:1,
11-12). (2) It is to examine the believer's service, not to determine his salvation (
1Co 3:8,
10,
13). The believer is judged as a son and an heir (
Ga 4:6-7). The Foundation for this judgment. The foundation is Jesus Christ and the eternal riches of Calvary (
1Co 3:12). While the believer can fall on this Foundation; praise God, he cannot fall off! The Element of this judgment. The fire which shall try the believer's work is the Word of God (
Jer 23:29;
Joh 12:48). The Nature of this judgment. The believer's judgment is not for punishment, but to manifest his service for reward or loss of reward. It is the judgment of an Olympic athlete or the worker on the job or a son in the family business. The materials of this judgment. The "wood, hay, and stubble" are associated with man and that which is of the world, temporal. The gold, silver, and precious stones" denote that which is of God, that which has eternal value. We note that it is not the size of one's labor, but its value before God that is important. Some things which are "gold, silver, and precious stones"-faithful church membership (
1Ti 3:15;
Heb 10:25;
13:7,
17); being a loving, providing husband (
Eph 5:25;
1Ti 5:8); being a submissive, serving wife (
Eph 5:22;
Tit 2:4); being an obedient child (
Eph 6:1); Gospel preaching and world evangelization (
Mr 16:15); training children in the way of God (
Pr 22:6); being filled with the Spirit (
Eph 5:18); seeking God (
Heb 11:6;
Pr 8:34-35); sacrificing for Christ (
Mr 10:29); approving excellent things (
Php 1:10); being pure in spirit and body (
2Co 7:1). The Loss of this judgment. The loss will NOT be salvation (
1Co 3:15) or one's riches in Christ (
1Pe 1:3-4;
Ro 8:18;
Col 3:4). The loss will be crowns; reigning positions (
2Ti 2:12;
Re 2:25-26;
3:21;
20:4). No one who appears at this judgment will lose salvation for poor service; he WILL lose rewards and suffer shame (
1Co 3:15;
1Jo 2:28;
2Jo 1:8). Salvation is not gained through faithful service, but through faith in the blood of Christ (
Ro 3:1-4;
Eph 2:8-9). For the Christian, the judgment of God's wrath upon his sin is forever past. It was poured out upon the Savior on Calvary (
Joh 3:18,
36). The Grace of this judgment. It is God's nature to be gracious (
Ps 103:8-14), and His marvelous, free grace in Jesus Christ will be manifest in the believer's judgment. "In the counsels of God I am elect before the foundation of the world; hence I think that my own history will be detailed before the judgment seat, and, parallel with it, the history of the grace and of the mercy of God toward me. The why and the how we did this or that will be manifested then. For us the scene will be declarative, not judicial. We are not in the flesh before God; in His eyes, by His grace, we are dead. But then, if we have walked according to the flesh, we must see how we lost in blessing thereby, and what loss we have incurred. On the other hand, the ways of God towards us, all ways of wisdom, of mercy, and of grace, will be perfectly known and understood by us for the first time" (J.N. Darby). The Motivation of this judgment. The Judgment Seat of Christ is one of the greatest motivators in the Christian life. It should motivate the Christian to be spiritual (
1Co 3:1-3), to be busy (
1Co 3:9-10), and to be faithful (
1Co 4:2-4).
THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS. This occurs at Christ's return (
Mt 25:31-46). The King will judge the nations living at that time to determine which of them will enter Christ's kingdom.
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT. This occurs just prior to the establishment of the new heaven and new earth (
Re 20:11-15). Only the unsaved are resurrected to this judgment. The saved will already have been resurrected and will be reigning with Christ (
Re 20:1-5). This judgment is a judgment of works (
Re 20:12-13). Since all men's works are sinful before God, and since these wicked dead did not receive Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin during their earthly lives, they will be judged and suffer eternal punishment for their evil deeds and rejection of God's salvation.