July 25, 2010

Judgment

 In 2:12-3:20 we will be under the heading that special privileges do not exclude anyone from obedience   and judgment.

Read vv 12-16  For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.   For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Three divisions of thought to look at here,

1. The dual judgment
2. The doing of work
3. The day of reckoning

In verse 12 we see  The dual judgment in other words, we will be judged in our own system.  12  For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 

Here is God showing us once more his impartial judgment.  He simply wants us to know that the truth from verse 6 is still in effect, God will judge all people, Jew or Gentile for sinning.   And we see that his judgment will be within our own framework or system of judging.  The Jews lived by the law and so will be judged by the law. The Gentles lived apart form the law so they will be judged without it.

The Gentiles with no law will be punished for their sin, the Jews IN the law will be punished for their sin. God will not look at their parentage, but at their record.

So it is a dual judgment and in verses 13-15 it is seen to be THE DOING OF WORK.  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)   
 
The Jews had the same problem then as the “Church” or Christendom has today, they thought that simply being in the possession of knowledge about God would work to their advantage. But God says through Paul here what he echoes through James in 1:22 “Be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves.”

It is not enough to Hear the law or the Word, it must be ACTED upon (revealed PROPOSITIONAL truth). Note verse 14 Gentiles who do the law can expect good, it is ACTING upon the word that matters. The world will know the tomb is empty when they see us acting on the knowledge we have. Like these Jews who were content with loading up on knowledge and doing nothing about it, we too are often in a mode of “ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth.” Grasping for more and more facts and deep truths, but not simply acting on the simple knowledge we already have.

It is our nature to delve into the deep mysteries of life and the Bible and yet stumble over truths like “love one another.”

Love God with all your heart, care for each other, tell others about Christ and so on. And God isn’t honored by knowledge without action, “obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.”  Because God is not honored by knowledge without action, by people learning great truths but not walking in truth.

Take, for example, the Church in Ephesus In Rev. 2:1-7 Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.   But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.   He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 Do thy first works, get back to being “LOVE MOTIVATED people. Do the basics. Forgive as you have been forgiven.

Heb. 5:12 “When you ought to be teachers you have need that one teach you the principles of God’s word and have need of milk and not meat.”

Oh how easily we base our spirituality on “how much we know” when God judges by how we walk. Our obedience to the truth.

The Gentiles were not under the law, but v 15 says they had a law in their hearts , something that made them excuse or accuse one another, either by their conscience even  social order laws, people knew right and wrong.

That all boils down to what is being said here, it is what you do with what you know that matters.

But this is not dealing with works salvation, but simply showing some principles to those who look to the law for justification, saying :If a man relies on  works then he needs to have works.”

But not only does the impartial God have Dual judgment and not only is the doing of work important , But most significant v-16 says there is a Day of Reckoning.”  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

A very visible part of Paul’s gospel, you may recall, is the judgment. Back in verses 5-9 we spoke about the Holy judgment of  God and in verse 12 he also speaks of judgment.

I would rather avoid judgment and this whole topic, but I committed to teach the whole counsel of God and so we shall. If I didn’t BELIEVE in the coming judgment I could easily avoid it, but I firmly believe there will come a day when Jesus will judge all mankind and I want you to be able to stand in that day all sin atoned for by the very one who would otherwise judge you.

Notice here the agent of judgment. No longer “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” but the Holy Judge.   In Mat 25:31 -33 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

 Here it is the national judgment and the judge is Jesus .
In  Joh 5:22  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

 Look over at Act 10:42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
  
 Act 17:31  Because he (God)hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.   

Also in this verse we see it. Then later in   Rom 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  

Look at 2 Tim 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
 
Paul simply points out here that the judgment is coming and as Hebrews 9:21 says It is appointed ….And those who say “we are OK, we know the law, will be faced with Jesus who said in John 9:41  , If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remained.

They were depending on a system, being associated with a specific group, to save their souls.

But God will judge the secrets of men! Uh-oh, that puts a new light on it.  God knows the secrets of our hearts, our inward thoughts. The word of God is a 2 edged sword that penetrates and divides the soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When we stand before him no amount of rhetoric, lawyers etc. will be enough for HE knows our secrets, our hidden things our innermost self.

Now Paul is addressing Jews in particular here, but application can be made to all who claim to be moral men and women. How will you stand in that day before the laser scalpel of the soul when every thought will be open?

Let me ask you, are you holding yourself up as the example of true spiritual maturity? Do you compare others with yourself ?

Do you rely on your accumulated spiritual knowledge to give you some sort of status with God and yet have not even mastered the basics.

God wants you to grow to maturity, not just to pig out on truth and not act on it, but to USE what you hear as fuel to operate your lives.  Start with basics, love as Christ loved.
 
Me? I have to work on some areas. You, you have to work on some areas.  My job isn’t to hammer you into shape just to enlighten.  Your job isn’t to hammer me or others into shape, just to enlighten.

And one day, if we are faithful, when we stand at that judgment  we will hear a well done and receive rewards for our labor.

Amen