And we have seen that the believer himself will not be subjected to judgementbut what will be judged are his works

Transcription

1 Study 6 Judgement Part THE JUDGEMENT OF THE BELIEVER S WORKS We have already seen that contrary to popular opinion, the Judge is not some stern faced man with a wig, or a vengeful creator- but Jesus Christ. He and He alone will be the judge of all things. And we have seen that the believer himself will not be subjected to judgementbut what will be judged are his works The believer s works will be judged at the Judgement seat of Christ. For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved]. 2 Corinthians 5:10 The term Judgement Seat of Christ is found only twice in the Bible, but it is referred to many times. It is found in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 14:10 A careful reading of both verses with the context reveals that: Only believers Will appear at the judgement seat of Christ. 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 Romans 14:10 Their works will be judged, not their sins, For we have already seen that the sins of the believer were judged in Christ on Calvary and there is therefore now no judgement to them which are in Christ Jesus. But if any person's work is burned up under the test, he will suffer the loss of it all, losing his reward, though he himself will be saved, but only as one who has passed through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:15 Refining Fire: Consists of purifying an impure material, usually a precious metal, by heating. In refining, the final material is usually identical chemically to the original one, only it is purer. Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

2 1. This judgement will take place in the air, following the first resurrection Note: There will be a thousand years between the resurrection of the saved and the unsaved- And there will be a thousand years between the- Judgement seat of Christ, where only the saved will appear, And the Great White Throne Judgement: where only unsaved will appear. Revelation 20:4-5 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep in death. For this we declare to you by the Lord's own word, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede into His presence or have any advantage at all over those who have previously fallen asleep in Him in death. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living ones who remain on the earth, shall simultaneously be caught up along with the resurrected dead in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always through the eternity of the eternities we shall be with the Lord! 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom authority to act as judges and to pass sentence was entrusted. Also I saw the souls of those who had been slain with axes [beheaded] for their witnessing to Jesus and [for preaching and testifying] for the Word of God, and who had refused to pay homage to the beast or his statue and had not accepted his mark or permitted it to be stamped on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived again and ruled with Christ the Messiah a thousand years. The remainder of the dead were not restored to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20: At the Judgement seat of Christ, the believer will give an account of himself to God; Therefore we should look to our own works and not judge the works of others It is a most humbling thought to know that one day the believer will face all of his works good and bad, some will be ashamed and suffer loss, not the loss of salvation, but the loss of rewards- And now, little children, abide, live, remain permanently in Him, so that when He is made visible, we may have and enjoy perfect confidence, boldness, assurance and not be ashamed and shrink from Him at His coming. 1 John 2 :28 So whatever you do, Do it to the glory of God. Why do you criticize and pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon or despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God; acknowledge Him to His honor and to His praise. And so each of us shall give an account of to God. Then let us no more criticize and blame and pass judgment on one another, but rather decide and endeavour never to put a stumbling block or an obstacle or a hindrance in the way of a brother. Romans 14:10-13 Just as the composition of a substance is revealed by heating a test tube... The composition and the quality of our works will be revealed... When we stand before Him. Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

3 Note: Without Faith it is impossible to please God, Therefore only that which is done in Faith, and that which is Christ s work- not our own ideas, will stand the test.. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is already laid; which is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. But if anyone builds upon the Foundation, whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, the work of each one will become plainly, openly known (shown for what it is); for the day of Christ will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done. If the work which any person has built on this Foundation; any product of his efforts whatever survives this test, he will get his reward. But if any person's work is burned up under the test, he will suffer the loss of it all, losing his reward, though he himself will be saved, but only as one who has passed through fire. 1 Corinthians 3: THE JUDGEMENT OF THE NATIONS The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Mat25:31-33 Note: In the Middle East, Sheep and Goats look almost identical, and they are kept together in one flock. You can only tell them apart by what they produce. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25:33-45 Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

4 1. This judgement is not the judgement of The Great White Throne Which is described in Revelation 20:11-15 A careful comparison of the two judgements will establish the following facts: The Judgement of the Nations Will take place when the Son of Man shall come in his glory then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. The Great White Throne is never called the throne of his glory 2. At this judgement he will judge The living nations At the White Throne judgement he will judge the wicked dead. Hasten and come, all you nations round about, and assemble yourselves; there You, O Lord, will bring down Your mighty ones. Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get down and tread the grapes, for the winepress is full; the vats overflow, for the wickedness of the peoples is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord will thunder and roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the children of Israel Joel 3: At this judgement there will be no resurrection of the dead At the Great White Throne all the wicked dead are raised. Rev 20:13 4. At this judgement the judge is God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Judging the living nations in his earthly kingdom. At the Great White Throne the judge is God, judging only the wicked dead. 5. At this judgement there are no books opened, At the Great White Throne the books were opened. 6. At this judgement there are three classes judged: a. SHEEP The Saved. Revelation 7:9-17 b. GOATS The Unsaved 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 c. BRETHREN The Elect of Israel Revelation 7:1 Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

5 How do we know that there are Three Classes of People? They are revealed in the following Scriptures. SHEEP- The Saved Revelation 7:9-17 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from? And I said to him, Sir, you know. So he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. GOATS- The Unsaved 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 And to recompense you who are so distressed and afflicted by granting you relief and rest along with us your fellow sufferers when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in a flame of fire, To deal out retribution (chastisement and vengeance) upon those who do not know or perceive or become acquainted with God, and upon those who ignore and refuse to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such people will pay the penalty and suffer the punishment of everlasting ruin (destruction and perdition) and eternal exclusion and banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, When He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day He will be made more glorious in His consecrated people, and He will be marvelled at and admired in His glory reflected in all who have believed, who have adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him, because our witnessing among you was confidently accepted and believed and confirmed in your lives. Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

6 BRETHREN- The Elect of Israel Revelation 7:1-9 and Romans 11:25-28 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening,insensibility has temporarily befallen a part of Israel to last until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I shall take away their sins. From the point of view of the Gospel they the Jews, at present are enemies of God, which is for your advantage and benefit. But from the point of view of God's choice (of election, of divine selection), they are still the beloved for the sake of their forefathers. Romans 11:25-28 This does not mean that the Jews will be saved by any other means- than through trust in the Lord Jesus Christ- their Messiah- But that they will see the truth and accept him as their Lord unto Salvation. At this judgement the King gives the kingdom to those who have eternal life: The gentiles (Non Jews) who have believed in the name and put their whole trust in Jesus The Elect of Israel- who have put their trust in their Messiah by faith. At the Great White Throne: There is only one class, the dead. There are no saved, and no kingdom, they are all cast into the lake of fire. Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

7 5. THE JUDGEMENT OF THE WICKED The Great White Throne Judgment Then I saw a great white throne and the One Who was seated upon it, from Whose presence and from the sight of Whose face earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavours in accordance with what was recorded in the books. And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades, the state of death or disembodied existence, surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done according to their motives, aims, and works. Then death and Hades, the state of death or disembodied existence were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 The Great White Throne judgement Will follow the thousand year reign of Christ. This is the final judgement, and only the wicked dead are to be judged. According to Revelation.20:5 the believers were resurrected a thousand years before The remainder of the dead were not restored to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. As we have seen, this judgement and their works were judged at the judgement seat of Christ 2 Corinthians.5: At this judgement the wicked dead will seek a hiding place from the face of the Lord Jesus Christ the judge, but there is no hiding place. 2. At this judgement the dead small and great will stand before God, but the greatness of the great will be of no value. All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one! Romans 3:12 3. At this judgement the Book of Life will be opened. Why the Book of Life, if there are no saved at this judgement? The wicked will be shown that God in his mercy provided space for them in the Book of Life, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20 For God's holy wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God Himself has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So men are without excuse altogether without any defence or justification, Romans 1:18-20 Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

8 4. At this judgement the dead will be judged according to their works, God is a just God, and since there are degrees of punishment in hell, some will be punished more than others Luke 12:42-48 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful steward, the wise man whom his master will set over those in his household service to supply them their allowance of food at the appointed time? Blessed, happy and to be envied is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will set him in charge over all his possessions. But if that servant says in his heart, My master is late in coming, and begins to strike the menservants and the maids and to eat and drink and get drunk, The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he does not know, and will punish him and cut him off and assign his lot with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act as he would wish him to act shall be beaten with many lashes. But he who did not know and did things worthy of a beating shall be beaten with few lashes. For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more. Luke 12: At this judgement there will be no acquittal. No higher court to which the lost may appeal. It is lost and lost forever, it is damned to all eternity and that without hope. There was a certain rich man who habitually clothed himself in purple and fine linen and revelled and feasted and made merry in splendor every day. And at his gate there was carelessly dropped down and left a certain utterly destitute man named Lazarus, reduced to begging alms and covered with sores. He eagerly desired to be satisfied with what fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs even came and licked his sores. And it occurred that the man reduced to begging died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, the realm of the dead, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have pity and mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime fully received what is due you in comforts and delights, and Lazarus in like manner the discomforts and distresses; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who want to pass from this place to you may not be able, and no one may pass from there to us. And the man said, Then, father, I beseech you to send him to my father's house-- For I have five brothers--so that he may give solemn testimony and warn them, lest they too come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear and listen to them. But he answered, No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent (change their minds for the better and heartily amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins). He said to him, If they do not hear and listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded and convinced and believe even if someone should rise from the dead. Luke 16:19-31 Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised

9 There is a hell and in hell there is no hope, no sympathy, no love. Even the love of God does not extend beyond the portals of hell. It is common to hear these days: If God loves everyone, he wouldn t send anyone to hell. Luke 16:19-31 makes it clear that God does not send anyone to hell- people choose to go. God is both Love and Justice SUMMARY Which Judgement Who or what is judged When Details 1. First judgement Salvation The believer No Judgement On the cross The sins of the believers have already been judged and covered by the atoning blood of Christ 2. Second judgement Sanctification The believer is to judge self In Life Or be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ and disciplined 3. Third judgement The Judgement Seat of Christ All believers Works are to be judged. In the air. The First resurrection. Some will escape as those through fire- they themselves will be preserved but they will suffer loss of reward. 4. Fourth judgement Judgement of All Nations The Living nations Second coming of Christ 3 Classes of living people: Sheep Goats Brethren 5 Fifth judgement The Great White Throne The Wicked dead One Thousand years later at the End of the Age. Degrees of punishment in Hell. The devil, death and Hades are thrown into the lake of Fire. Bob Hibbert 22 nd March 2009 Revised