WHAT IS JUDGMENT?

To judge or not to judge, that is the question. Before this question can be answered one needs to ascertain what is judgment and how judgment or judging relate to the Christian and non-Christian. I will be discussing judgment in two parts. Part 1 will cover the topic of final judgment of mankind by God. Part 2 will address judgment as related to the Christian and non-Christian during this time.
Part 1 - Judgment by God
Judgment by God is a foundational teaching found in Hebrews 6:2. It is an elementary teaching, along with faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and repentance. It is a very important elementary teaching.
Who will be Judged?
Everyone will be judged. Romans 14:10-12 states that we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written, "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." (NIV) On the day of final judgment "the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." (I Thess. 4:16-17a NIV)
All of our deeds will be brought into judgment, as well. Ecclesiastes 12:14 states, "For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (NIV) "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Cor. 5:10 NIV)
Not only will every person (whether he is a saint or a sinner) be judged, angels will be judged. "And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home - these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day." (Jude 6 NIV)
Also, Satan will be judged. He was judged at the crucifixion when Jesus died on the cross but on the final judgment day, he will be thrown in the lake of fire. Rev. 20:10,11 says, "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown in to the lake of burning sulfur…will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (NIV)
Who Will Judge?
When He returns, the Lord will judge the world in righteousness and in truth. (Ps. 9:7,8; 96:13) God "has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man [Jesus] he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:31 NIV) Jesus has been given the judgment and on the day of final judgment, Jesus will be the one doing the judging. Jesus has been appointed the judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:42) The Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son, Jesus. (Jn. 5:22)
How will this Judgment Happen?
On the day of final judgment the heavens and the earth as we know them will be destroyed by fire.
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth with everything in it will be laid bare.
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Pet. 3:7,10,12,13 NIV)
At this time the saints will judge the world and the angels. (I Cor. 6:2,3)
'See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done and the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.' (Jude 14,15 NIV)
"The ungodly will not stand in the judgment." (Ps. 1:5a) "The wicked will be silenced in darkness. Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth…." (I Sam. 2:9,10 NIV)
Who are the ungodly? Those who don't believe on Jesus, who refused Jesus. Their lives are evidenced by the characteristics outlined in Galatians 5:19-21: Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness and orgies. "Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
When will the Final Judgment Occur?
The Lord Himself has not given a date nor an hour, for He says in Acts 1:7, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." (NIV) For some of us, the Lord will not be returning in our lifetime. In that case, when we die it will be over for us and judgment will have been determined. If we have lived for Jesus, we will be in Heaven. If we refused Jesus, we will be in Hell.
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Heb. 9:27,28 NIV)
In summary, all will be judged. Saints and sinners, angels and Satan will be judged in the final judgment when the Lord returns. However, when our life is over on this earth, whether the Lord returns for us or whether we simply die, we will face judgment after that. When our life is over, our deeds and our lives will be judged. If we have received Jesus, and obeyed Him, we will go into Heaven and be with Him. We will not, if we have not. We will be placed in the same place as the evil angels and Satan.
Rebellious Christians
There is a warning in Hebrews 10:26-31 for Christians who persist in rebellion against God.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (NIV)
Not only will God judge on the final day when He returns with the saints, He also judges on this earth in our lives.
[We] have come to God, the judge of all men, the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more, I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken, - that is, created things, - that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.' (Heb. 12:23-29 NIV)
In the Old Testament days the Lord's judgment in people's lives was often immediate and often in the physical realm. There are many Biblical examples.
At one time the Jews were bringing the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem and somebody touched it where they shouldn't have. They were instantly struck dead. (I Chronicles 13) Another time, while Moses had been up on the mountain for 40 days receiving the commandments, the Jews started making a golden calf and worshipping that rather than the Lord. The Lord was sorely displeased. He judged and killed a number of the Israelites. (Exodus 32) There are numerous other examples like that.
In the New Testament scriptures there are examples of instant physical judgment. There is a case where Ananias and Sapphira had lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11) and as a result were killed. Two other specific cases of something like this are recorded in the New Testament. Paul cursed a sorcerer with blindness (Acts 13:6-12) and an arrogant ruler was stricken with worms (Acts 12:21-23). There is also mention of those who take communion in an unworthy manner who eat and drink judgment to themselves. "For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [are dead].” (I Cor. 11:30)
Although sometimes physical judgments occur, even in our current lives, (you might want to read the endnote) we need to remember that we have inherited a spiritual kingdom. Jesus came to save, not judge, the world. He is merciful and wants to give us a chance to repent. Israel, although this kingdom was spiritual too, was primarily a physical kingdom. The Israelites understood God through natural means. God gave them physical laws to live by. God gave them physical acts of sacrifices in order to worship Him. God dealt with them primarily on a natural, physical level. Since Jesus came, He has dealt with us primarily spiritually and his judgment will be primarily spiritual. There will still be physical judgments. There has been and there will be this type of judgment because of God's wrath and displeasure.
At this point I would like to differentiate between chastening (discipline) and judgment. Oftentimes discipline from the Lord feels like judgment. Some Christians confuse God's discipline with judgment. Judgment involves decision. Discipline involves correction. Judgment involves differentiating between the Christians and the non-Christians - those that obey God and those that do not. Discipline involves education and training. Sometimes when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord so as to not be condemned with unbelievers. Some Christians feel that when God disciplines it is because He is judging us because He is displeased with our walk or our relationship with Him. This is not always so. But there may be some areas in our lives that He needs to deal with to help us have a clear or clearer understanding of who He is.
If we are disciplined, it does not mean that the Lord does not love us. It means that He does love us and that we are His children and that He wants us to be holy and trained up to be like Himself.
‘My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as his son.'
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness." (Heb. 12:5,6,10 NIV)
Holiness is important. God requires us to be holy as He is holy. He cannot live without holiness. Pursue holiness for "without holiness, no one will see the Lord." (Heb. 12:14b NIV)
Part 2 - Judgment by Us
Judgment begins at the house of God.
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’ (I Pet. 4:17,18 NIV)
In the past there have been a number of the leaders in the Church that have been publicly denounced and exposed for sin in their lives. They have been exposed publicly through the media for their sin and wickedness. Some people said, "This is Satan, this is the ungodly, trying to destroy the Church." I say, "Since when has Satan been interested in exposing sin? God is interested in exposing sin." It is ideal for the person in sin to repent himself, before God. Or, if necessary, one or two other people would come privately and expose the sin to him; the sin is taken care of there. If these are ineffective, then the Lord wants the Church to take care of the sin. If the Church would take the responsibility to rebuke those in sin and expose them, then our dirty laundry would not be thrashed out in front of the world to see.
Judge Ourselves
But judgment begins at the house of God. Not only will the leaders be judged but also others will be judged. God is exposing, and will continue to expose sin. But He would rather that we judge ourselves. If we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When the Lord judges us, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. (I Cor. 11:31,32) "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger." (Zeph. 2:3 NIV) We need to stop thinking that we would avoid God's judgment in our lives if we hide our sin. We need to expose instead of hide sin, so as to avoid God's judgment.
But if we are persisting in sin against the Lord, and are not repenting and judging ourselves, then we are in danger of God's wrath being poured out upon us. God would rather that we be disciplined in this life, so that we could know Him more fully and be spared in the day of final judgment.
Judging Others
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently…" (Ga. 6:1a NIV)
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of this way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:19,20 NIV)
The Lord has commanded us to restore our brothers. The one who is spiritual should go to that brother and reveal to him his sin and try to bring him back to the Lord. However, if your brother does not listen to you, then you need to take one or two others with you. If he still will not listen, then you need to take him before the Church and expose his sin there. If he still will not repent, then the Church is to treat him as an unbeliever. We are no longer to fellowship with him. We are not even to eat with him.
I Corinthians 5 discusses a particular case in the Corinthian church where a man in sexual immorality had his father's wife and the church was proud! Paul said,
Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast - as you really are…. (I Cor. 5:2-7a NIV)
Avoiding and ignoring sin only allows it to spread. Unless we purge the evil from among us, it will spread throughout the church. It already has. The Church is full of sin, wickedness, and disobedience to the Lord, because of this one point. We have not judged ourselves and we have not judged others.
Some would say, "Do not judge lest you be judged." But, as Paul says, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.'" (I Cor. 5:12,13 NIV) Even Paul passed judgment, as in this case. We are commanded to judge those in the Church who refuse to repent of their sin.
Paul said,
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. (1 Cor. 5:9-11 NIV)
We are to have no fellowship with a so-called brother who continues in any of these sins, after it has been brought before the Church and he has not repented.
Speak the Truth in Love
We are to tell the truth in love to all believers, whether they are in sin or not, so that "we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." (Eph. 4:15b,25 NIV)
One reason that many of us are not growing up into Jesus is because we are not speaking the truth in love. We are being very patronizing. If somebody says something and we might happen to disagree with it, we tend to keep our mouths closed. We don't go to that brother to discuss with him our disagreements; we do not try to work through our disagreements. Many of us do not like confrontation and conflict. We don't want to work through and understand what the truth of the matter is. But the truth is: If we don't speak the truth in love, we will not grow up into Jesus. Challenging and correcting one another will help us to grow up in Him.
The spiritual man is able to make judgment about all things, because we have the mind of Christ. (I Cor. 2:15,16) But it is important that we do not judge by mere appearances, but with righteous judgment. (Jn. 7:24) Sometimes people's names will be mentioned for the sake of exposing heresy (false teaching). Jesus blasted the religious leaders of His day. He called them a brood of vipers, whitewashed tombs, full of dead man's bones, among many other insulting names. (Mt.23) Paul mentioned that Hymenaeus and Alexander had rejected faith and a good conscience and so shipwrecked their faith. He mentioned he had turned them over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. (I Tim. 1:19,20)
Some Christians dare to say, "Touch not my anointed", which is scripture taken out of context. This refers to the Israelites at a specific time. (See Psalm 105:15.) If this were so and we were to "touch not my anointed", Jesus and Paul wouldn't have done what they did. Jesus spoke against the religious leaders of His day and Paul spoke specifically against two individuals. Besides, who is it that declares someone is the "anointed"? The false cannot be "anointed".
Sin needs to be exposed. If a Christian will not repent, he and his sin needs to be revealed to the body of Christ so that in the end, his soul may be spared on the final day of judgment. Better to be judged now than on the final day.

_ Some people, including me, believe that 911, the December 2004 Asian tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina were judgments of God. I believe the 911 New York City twin towers disaster was being used to awaken the American people, in particular the Christians. The tsunami destroyed parts of Indonesia, which is a persecutor of Christians, and New Orleans is a city that has been known for its wickedness.
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