SIN AND JUDGMENT TO COME

 THE PERFECT STANDARD

 And here we may get hold of a great principle which will help us to reconcile seemingly conflicting statements of Scripture, and to silence some of the cavils of unbelief. The thoughtful will recognize that in divine judgment the standard must be perfection. And when thus tested, both the proud religionist Christendom "exalted to heaven" like Capernaum by outward privilege and blessing, and the typical savage of a degraded pagandom, must stand together. If God accepted a lower standard than perfect righteousness He would declare Himself unrighteous; and the great problem of redemption is not how He can be just in condemning, but how He can be just in forgiving. In a criminal court "guilty or not guilty" is the first question to be dealt with in every case, and this levels all distinctions; and so it is here; all men "come short," and therefore "all the world" is brought in "guilty before God." But after verdict comes the sentence and at this stage the question of degrees of guilt demands consideration. And at "the Great Assize" that question will be decided with perfect equity. For some there will be many stripes, for others there will be few. In the vision given us of that awful scene we read that "the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (<Rev. 20:12>).
 And this will be the scope and purpose of the judgment of the Great Day. The transcendent question of the ultimate fate of men must be settled before the advent of that day; for the resurrection will declare it and the resurrection precedes the judgment. For there is a "resurrection unto life," and a "resurrection unto judgment" (<John 5:29>). While the redeemed, we are expressly told, will be "raised in glory"-- and "we know that we shall be like Him," with bodies "fashioned like unto His glorious body" (<Phil. 3:21>)-- the lost will be raised in bodies; but here I pause, for Scripture is almost silent on this subject, and conjecture is unsafe, it may be that just as criminals leave a prison in garb like that they wore on entering it, so the doomed may reappear in bodies akin to those that were the instruments of their vices and sins on earth. If the saved are to be raised in glory and honor and incorruption, (<1 Cor. 15:42-44>), may not the lost be recalled to bodily life in corruption, dishonor and shame?
 

 JUDGMENT TO COME

 But though the supreme issue of the destiny of men does not await that awful inquest, "judgment to come" is a reality for all. For it is of the people of God that the Word declares "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" (<Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10>), and "every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (<Rom. 14:10,12>). And that judgment will bring reward to some and loss to others. Incalculable harm results from that sort of teaching which dins into the ears of the unconverted that they have no power to live a pure and decent life, and which deludes the Christian into thinking that at death he will forfeit his personality by losing all knowledge of the past, and that heaven is a fool's paradise where waters of Lethe will wipe out our memories of earth. "We must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (<2 Cor. 5:10>).
 But this judgment of "the [beema (grk 968)] of Christ" has only an incidental bearing on the theme of the present article, and it must not be confounded with the judgment of the "great white throne." From judgment in that sense the believer has absolute immunity: "he cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life" (<John 4:26>), is the Lord's explicit declaration. He gives the "right to become children of God" "to them that believe on His Name" (<John 1:12>); and it is not by recourse to a criminal court that we deal with the lapses and misdeeds of our children.
 

 DEGREES OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

 We have seen then that man is a sinner in virtue both of what he is and what he does. We do what we ought not, and leave undone what we ought to do. For sin may be due to ignorance or carelessness, as well as to evil passions which incite to acts that stifle conscience and outrage law. And we have seen also that every sin gives rise to two great questions which need to be distinguished, though they are in a sense inseparable. The one finds expression in the formula, "guilty or not guilty," and in respect of this no element of limitation or degree is possible. But after verdict, sentence; and when punishment is in question, degrees of guilt are infinite.
 It has been said that no two of the redeemed will have the same heaven; and in that sense no two of the lost will have the same hell. This is not a concession to popular heresies on this subject. For the figment of a hell of limited duration either traduces the character of God, or practically denies the work of Christ. If the extinction of being were the fate of the impenitent, to keep them in suffering for an aeon or a century would savor of the cruelty of a tyrant who, having decreed a criminal's death, deferred the execution of the sentence in order to torture him. Far worse indeed than this, for, ex hypothesi, the resurrection of the unjust could have no other purpose than to increase their capacity for suffering. Or, if we adopt the alternative heresy-- that hell is a punitive and purgatorial discipline through which the sinner will pass to heaven-- we disparage the atonement and undermine the truth of grace. If the prisoner gains his discharge by serving out his sentence, where does grace come in? And if the sinner's sufferings can expiate his sin, the most that can be said for the death of Christ is that it opened a short and easy way to the same goal that could be reached by a tedious and painful journey. But further, unless the sinner is to be made righteous and holy before he enters hell-- and in that case, why not let him enter heaven at once? he will continue unceasingly to sin; and as every fresh sin will involve a fresh penalty, his punishment can never end.
 

 FALSE ARGUMENT

 Every treatise in support of these heresies relies on the argument that the words in our English Version, which connote endless duration, represent words in the original text which have no significance. But this argument is exploded by the fact that the critic would be compelled to use these very words if he were set the task of retranslating our version into Greek. For that language has no other terminology to express the thought. And yet it is by trading on ad captandum arguments of this kind, and by the prejudices which are naturally excited by partial or exaggerated statements of truth, that these heresies win their way. Attention is thus diverted from the insuperable difficulties which beset them, and from their bearing on the truth of the atonement.
 But Christianity sweeps away all these errors. The God of Sinai has not repented of His thunders, but He has fully revealed Himself in Christ. And the wonder of the revelation is not punishment but pardon. The great mystery of the Gospel is how God can be just and yet the justifier of sinful men. And the Scriptures which reveal that mystery make it clear as light that this is possible only through redemption: "not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (<1 John 2:2>). Redemption is only and altogether by the death of Christ. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (<John 3:16>). To bring in limitations here is to limit God.
 

 THE CROSS OF CHRIST

 In the wisdom of God the full revelation of "eternal judgment" and the doom of the lost, awaited the supreme manifestation of divine grace and love in the Gospel of Christ; and when these awful themes are separated from the Gospel, truth is presented in such a false perspective that it seems to savor of error. For not even the divine law and the penalties of disobedience will enable us to realize aright the gravity and heinousness of sin. This we can learn only at the Cross of Christ. Our estimate of sin will be proportionate to our appreciation of the cost of our redemption. Not "silver and gold"-- human standards of value are useless here-- but "the precious blood of Christ" (<1 Pet 1:19>). Seemingly more unbelievable than the wildest superstitions of human cults is the Gospel of our salvation. That He who was "Son of God" in all which that title signifies God manifest in the flesh; for "all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made" (<Jn 1:3>)-- came down to earth, and having lived in rejection and contempt, died a death of shame, and that in virtue of his death He is the propitiation for the world (<1 John 2:2>, English Revised Version (1885))
 Here, and only here, can we know the true character and depths of human sin, and here alone can we know, so far as the finite mind can ever know it, the wonders of a divine love that passes, knowledge.
 And the benefit is to "whosoever believeth." It was by unbelief that man first turned away from God; how fitting, then, it is that our return to Him should be by faith. If this Gospel is true-- and how few there are who really believe it to be true!-- who can dare to impugn the justice of "everlasting punishment"? For Christ has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers; the way to God is free, and whosoever will may come. There is no artifice in this and grace is not a cloak to cover favoritism. Unsolved mysteries there are in Holy Writ, but when we read of "God our Saviour," who willeth that all men should be saved; and of "Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all" (<1 Tim. 2:3-6>), we are standing in the full clear light of day.
 This much is as clear as words can make it-- and nothing more than this concerns us-- that the consequences of accepting or rejecting Christ are final and eternal. But who are they who shall be held guilty of rejecting? What of those who, though living in Christendom, have never heard the Gospel aright? And what of the pagan who have never heard at all? No one can claim to solve these problems without seeming profanely to assume the role of umpire between God and men. We know, and it is our joy to know, that the decision of all such questions rests with a God of perfect justice and infinite love. And let this be our answer to those who demand a solution of them. Unhesitating faith is our right attitude in presence of divine revelation, but where Scripture is silent let us keep silence. (NOTE: The scope of this article is limited not only by exigencies of space but by the nature of the subject. Therefore it contains no special reference to the work of the Holy Spirit.)

excerpt from SIN AND JUDGMENT TO COME

 By Sir Robert Anderson,
 K.C.B., L.L. D.
 London, England
(from Fundamentals:  A Testimony to the Truth)

The Judgment of the Cross.

The Judgment of Believers.

 The Believer's Works.

 The Judgment of Self.

 Judgment of the Nations.

 The Judgment of Israel.

 The Judgment of Angels.

 The White Throne Judgment.

(from New Unger's Bible Dictionary)
(originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois.  Copyright (C) 1988.)

(from New Unger's Bible Dictionary)
(originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois.  Copyright (C) 1988.)

2. krima ^2917^ denotes the result of the action signified by the verb krino, "to judge"; for its general significance see CONDEMNATION, B, No. 1: it is used (a) of a decision passed on the faults of others, <Matt. 7:2>; (b) of "judgment" by man upon Christ, <Luke 24:20>; (c) of God's "judgment" upon men, e. g., <Rom. 2:2,3; 3:8; 5:16; 11:33; 13:2; 1 Cor. 11:29; Gal. 5:10; Heb. 6:2; Jas. 3:1>; through Christ, e. g., <John 9:39>; (d) of the right of "judgment," <Rev. 20:4>; (e) of a lawsuit, <1 Cor. 6:7>.

 3. hemera ^2250^, "a day," is translated "judgment" in <1 Cor. 4:3>, where "man's judgment" (lit., "man's day," marg.) is used of the present period in which man's mere "judgment" is exercised, a period of human rebellion against God. The adjective anthropinos, "human, belonging to man" (anthropos), is doubtless set in contrast here to kuriakos, "belonging to the Lord" (kurios, "a lord"), which is used in the phrase "the Day of the Lord," in <Rev. 1:10>, "The Lord's Day," a period of divine judgments. See DAY.

 4. gnome ^1106^, primarily "a means of knowing" (akin to ginosko, "to know"), came to denote "a mind, understanding"; hence (a) "a purpose," <Acts 20:3>, lit., "(it was his) purpose"; (b) "a royal purpose, a decree," <Rev. 17:17>, RV, "mind" (KJV, "will"); (c) "judgment, opinion," <1 Cor. 1:10>, "(in the same) judgment"; <Rev. 17:13>, "mind"; (d) "counsel, advice," <1 Cor. 7:25>, "(I give my) judgment; "<7:40>, "(after my) judgment"; <Philem. 14>, mind. See MIND, PURPOSE, WILL.#
 Notes: (1) In <1 Cor. 6:4>, KJV, kriterion, "a tribunal," is rendered "judgments" (RV, "to judge," marg., "tribunals"). See JUDGE, B, No. 3, Note (1). (2) In <Rom. 1:32>, KJV, dikaioma, "an ordinance, righteous act," is translated "judgment" (RV "ordinance"); in <Rev. 15:4>, "judgments" (RV, "righteous acts"). (3) In <Acts 25:15>, KJV, katadike, "a sentence, condemnation," is translated "judgment" (RV, "sentence"). Some mss. have dike. See SENTENCE. (4) In <Phil. 1:9>, KJV, aisthesis, "perception, discernment," is translated "judgment" (RV, "discernment"). (5) In <Acts 21:25>, in the record of the decree from the apostles and elders at Jerusalem to the churches of the Gentiles, the verb krino (see JUDGE, B, No. 1), is translated "giving judgment," RV (KJV, "concluded").
 B. Adjective.

 hupodikos ^5267^, "brought to trial, answerable to" (hupo, "under," dike, "justice"), <Rom. 3:19>, is translated "under the judgment," RV (KJV, "guilty").#

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)