“Amazing Grace” Series

TGP’s “Amazing Grace” Series has 4 parts:

1. What’s so amazing about God’s wonderful grace?

2. Sin, forgiveness, confession – how do they relate under God’s New Covenant grace?

3. Judgment – will a Christian be judged?4. “The Law has its place, then it must give way to

Grace.” What’s the relationship between God’s Law and His Grace?

This is Session 3:

Will a Christian Be Judged?

What does the Bible say about judgment?

. . . . “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” . . .(Heb 9: 27)

What could be clearer than this?

God clearly says in the Bible that we will die

and after we die, we will face judgment.

But what do you make of this: (Romans 8:1):

. . . there is now

no judgment

( or condemnation)

for those who are

in Christ Jesus . .

Or this: (John 5:24):

Very truly I tell you,

whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me

has eternal life and will

not be judged (or condemned)

but has crossed over from death to life.

So, does the Bible contradict itself,

as many skeptics believe?

One minute it makes a general statement: “people will die and then face judgment.”

But then it says that SOME people will NOT be judged or condemned.

Can BOTH these statements about Judgment be correct?

In the PAWI training book called “Biblical Beliefs” there is an interesting teaching called –

JUDGMENT AT THE CROSS

Let’s see if it answers our

question about Judgment!

Here’s what it says:

Judgments of Believers

Most people think of all judgment taking place

after the resurrections.

One judgment at least takes place before death.Death is decreed on every person because of sin and

sin must be judged.

The judgment of believers as sinners

has already taken place through Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.

(John 3:18 and 5:24)

Judgment at the cross.

Judgment in a criminal case is the settlement of a breach against the law of society.

Judgment in a civil case is the settlement of a controversy between two individuals.

But no one is tried before a judge for guilt

IF HE HAS ALREADY PLEADED GUILTY.

Judgment at the cross (continued)

Christ has been appointed to judge the world, and at His judgment the sinner will be on trial for his sins.

But if the sinner has PREVIOUSLY PLEADED GUILTY and accepted the pardon offered to him in Jesus

Christ . . .”there is now no judgment for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), for by Christ “all that

believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

(Acts 13:38) As soon as men plead guilty and accept God’s gracious

provision for their sins, Christ will answer for them.

There is no future judgment for sin for the believer. That has taken place at the cross.

. . . .”there is now no judgment for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), for by Christ “all

that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of

Moses.” (Acts 13:38) . . . . .

So, the Bible does NOT contradict itself – it teaches that every person will face

judgment after death

UNLESS while still alive, they believed in Jesus and God justified them.

So, what is this wonderful thing called

JUSTIFICATIONthat saves us from God’s JUDGMENT?

And how is justification

far more than a pardon?

If you don’t know the answer to this, you should sign up for The Gathering Place’s Course called

“Amazing Grace”

In this course, you’ll discover 6 Amazing Truths about our salvation in Jesus.

You’ll discover that when God justifies us , He declares us to be as righteous as Jesus Himself!

But we don’t have time today to look deeply at God’s wonderful act of Justification.

That’s a whole study in itself.

We want to look today at 3 other areas where people may be confused about

Judgment and Condemnation.

Here’s a very common one:

“Confusing” Judgment Scripture passage number 2!

“The judgment seat of Christ.”

”For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in

the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor 5: 10)

Once again, we read here that we must ALL appear before the judgment seat of Christ. How can we understand this when we read

in Romans 8: 1 -

“there is now NO JUDGMENT (condemnation) for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Again, we look to the PAWI training book “Biblical Beliefs” for an answer.

The first thing this book does to help us understand is to quote another passage of Scripture: (1 Cor 3: 5 – 15)

“After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom

you believed the Good News.

Each of us did the WORK the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. The one who plants and the one who waters

WORK together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard WORK.

For we are both God’s WORKERS. . . .

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder.

Now others are building on it. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a

variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. . . .

But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of WORK each builder has done.

The fire will show if a person’s WORK has any value. If the WORK survives, that builder will receive a reward.

But if the WORK is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone

barely escaping through a wall of flames.

NOW we can understand WHO and WHAT is being judged at the judgment seat of Christ!

CHRISTIANS (believers) are being judged – and WHAT is being judged (or evaluated) is their

WORK AS Christians, AFTER they believed and were saved.

This is NOT a judgment of SIN,

but a judgment of WORKS!

Let’s quote “Biblical Beliefs” for a fuller explanation:“These passages in Corinthians have to do

solely with BELIEVERS . . . This is NOT a judgment for SIN, but for WORKS.

Judgment for SIN was ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED for the believer by Christ.

Salvation is a GIFT. Rewards are EARNED. This is a judgment of one’s ACCOMPLISHMENTS . . . This judgment will test the believer’s WORK by fire. The wise and worthy builder will receive a reward.

The unwise builder . . .”shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved . . “ (1 Cor 3: 15)

“As men are pardoned INDIVIDUALLY, so they are rewarded ONE BY ONE.

The result of individual acceptance of God’s PARDON is eternal salvation, but the result of individual SERVICE

is the inheritance of personal treasure laid up where neither moth nor rust corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal.”

(End of quote from “Biblical Beliefs.”)

Christians should not be AFRAID to think of standing before Christ’s judgment seat!

SIN will not be judged there – our WORK as Christians will!

Thinking of standing there should give us

great ZEAL to do the WORK for the Lord

that He has given each one of us to do!

NEXT: “Confusing” Judgment

Scripture passage number 3!

“A fearful expectation of judgment”

Onto the third “confusing” Scripture passage about judgment: (Hebrews 10: 26)

“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.”

How can we understand this when we read in Romans 8: 1 -

“there is now NO JUDGMENT (condemnation) for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

To understand Hebrews 10: 26, we need to ask:

1. Who was the book of Hebrews written to?2. Did some of them have an Old Covenant

mindset about the relationship between them and God? Was this mindset still correct after the death of Jesus ushered in the New Covenant?

3. Were Christians at that time facing a lot of persecution for being Christians?

4. What are the main themes of Hebrews?

First, let’s look at the 6 main themes of Hebrews.

(As we do this, the first 3 questions on the last slide

will be answered.)

1. Jesus is superior to the Old Covenant prophets; superior to angels; to Moses;

to the Old Covenant High Priests.

2. Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins is better than the Old Covenant sacrifices for sin.

3. Now that Jesus has given Himself as the final “once for all, for ever” sacrifice,

the Old Covenant sacrifices are obsolete and there is no longer any more sacrifice for sin.

4. Some Israelites were having a hard time letting go of the Old Covenant teachings and practices – they were

“kind of believing” in Jesus while still “kind of believing” in the Old Covenant way of

trying to be right in God’s sight.5. Others had accepted Jesus as their savior, but were getting a lot of persecution and suffering because of

this. They were tempted to stop believing in Jesus and go back to the Old Covenant way.

6. The big final theme of Hebrews is the writer trying to get the Israelites to trust COMPLETELY in Jesus (and give

up their Old Covenant practices) and once they have trusted in Him to KEEP on believing and not to go back

to being unbelievers.

So, with these questions and themes in mind, let’s look at Hebrews 10: 26 – 39:

“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 two or three

witnesses.

How much more severely do you think someone 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 them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a

great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side

with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you

knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,

“In just a little while, he who is coming will come

and will not delay.”And,

“My righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure

in the one who shrinks back.”

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but

to those who have faith and are saved.”

Two important questions:

1. What happened to someone who rejected the law of Moses?

2. Why should someone deserve to be punished MORE SEVERELY than this? What 3 things were THESE people in danger of doing because of persecution and suffering?

Here’s what they were in danger of doing:

How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has

(1) trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has

(2) treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them,

and who has

(3) insulted the Spirit of grace?”

• Because of persecution and suffering, these people are in great DANGER.• They are in danger of doing 3 things that will

mean they are REJECTING God’s New Covenant Saving Grace, bought by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

• If a person rejects this “so great salvation”, NO SACRIFICE FOR SINS IS LEFT.• Hebrews 10: 26 is warning people about the sin

of NOT BELIEVING IN THE FINISHED SAVING WORK OF JESUS.

The writer of Hebrews is saying: “Remember what a great salvation we have

in Jesus!”“Don’t give it up because of persecution!”

He ends by prophesying that the Hebrews will NOT give up:

“But we do not belong to those who shrink back

and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”

The sin that will result in a “fearful expectation of judgment” is the sin of UNBELIEF in Jesus.

Rejecting the law of Moses (the Old Covenant law) resulted in DEATH.

A person who rejects God’s wonderful

New Covenant Saving Grace “deserves to be punished more severely ” because they are rejecting something of

INFINITE greater worth!

We Christians today, too, must NOT shrink back!We, too, must PERSEVERE in our FAITH

and be SAVED.

FINALLY: “Confusing” Judgment

Scripture passage number 4!

“Eating and drinking judgment on yourself.”

This is 1 Corinthians 11: 17 – 34, the well-known “Lord’s Supper” passage.

The words “judge” or “judgment” appear FOUR times in this passage.

Sadly, after it is read before the Lord’s Supper is about to be shared, the pastor usually tells the

flock that if they partake with UNCONFESSED SIN in their lives, they will be

eating and drinking JUDGMENT upon themselves.

He then usually invites the people to examine themselves for a couple of minutes

and silently confess any unconfessed sin, so that they may partake “worthily.”

The result of this is that many people then partake WITH GUILT ( and some don’t partake AT ALL),

because they are wondering,

“Did I remember and confess EVERY sin?”

This must make our Lord Jesus Christ

VERY SAD.Perhaps He thinks, “Do these people think we are still in the Old Covenant, with Days of Atonement, when the people confessed their sin and rebellion again and again, because the shed blood of bulls

and goats could only COVER sin and could not

TAKE IT AWAY?”

“Did they not hear what I said the night before I shed MY blood?”

I said:

“This cup is the New Covenant between God and his people—

an agreement confirmed with MY BLOOD. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.”

“Do they not understand that MY blood, the blood of The Lamb of God,

TOOK AWAY the sin of the world?”

“Do they not understand that I gave them the “Lord’s Supper” so that they could

REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE

THAT I TOOK THEIR SIN AWAY?”

“Don’t they understand that MY shed blood enables New Covenant believers to

experience something that Old Covenant people could never experience?”

“That in the New Covenant, sacrifices would STOP being offered,

because worshippers would be cleansed ONCE FOR ALL, FOR ALL TIME and would

NO LONGER FEEL GUILTY FOR THEIR SINS.”(See Hebrews 10: 1-2)

“The Lord’s Supper should be a time ofJOYFUL CELEBRATION and REMEMBRANCE

of MY shed blood –

MY FINAL and COMPLETE sacrifice that TOOK AWAY the sin of the whole world.

Who dares to turn it into a time of

GUILT and CONDEMNATION?”

(End of what we imagine Jesus might think.)

So, we have now established that “unconfessed sin”

is NOT the reason why the believers in Corinth were in danger of eating and drinking

judgment on themselves as they shared the Lord’s Supper!

The reason that the Lord’s Supper EXISTS is that Jesus’ shed blood ushered in a

brand NEW COVENANT – a BETTER Covenant under which

ALL our sins, past, present and future, have been TAKEN AWAY by HIS BLOOD!

So, WHY were the Corinthians in danger of

eating and drinking judgment upon

themselves?

The answer is found in the last 2 verses of 1 Cor 11: 17 – 34.

(This is where Paul tells the Corinthians what they must do

to avoid bringing judgment upon themselves.)

And HOW simple the solution is!!“So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for

the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. If you are really hungry, eat at home

so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together.”

TWO simple things they must do!!

1. EAT AT HOME before they come to meet.

2. WAIT FOR EACH OTHER when they have gathered.

If they do these two simple things, they will not bring judgment on themselves.How come?

Because the reasons the Corinthians were eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord

in an unworthy manner is that they were not “recognizing the body of the Lord” nor

“honouring the body of Christ.”

They were not recognizing or honouring His body at 2 levels:

(REMEMBER! When THEY came together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they had a FULL MEAL!)

Here’s how they didn’t recognize or honour the body of Christ at 2 levels:

1. They were so eager to “chow down” on the meal that they took no time to remember the Lord’s broken body and shed blood for them – they ignored the very purpose for which they had gathered – the very purpose of the Lord’s Supper.

2. They were so eager to “chow down” that they did not recognize that they, TOGETHER, were the Body of Christ on the earth. Instead of being patient and polite as the meal was being served, they grabbed lots and started gobbling before seeing if there was enough food for everyone, so some went hungry.

The Corinthians’ problem was NOT “unconfessed sin” in their lives!

Their problem was that in their

GREED and SELFISHNESS, they were not recognizing or honoring

the body of Christ. (at 2 levels, as we have seen.)

What can WE learn from this?When WE meet for The Lord’s Supper, WE TOO need to recognize and honour the body of Christ at these two levels!

1. The Lord’s Supper is not just a ritual – we must partake in JOYFUL remembrance of Jesus’ broken body and shed blood that TOOK AWAY our sins.

2. We must also recognize and honour EACH OTHER as vital parts of the body of Christ here on earth – fellow believers who remember together what our Saviour did. We must remember that WE together

are now His ambassadors, appealing to unbelievers to be reconciled to God!

But NEVER AGAIN should we let someone STEAL OUR JOY as we share the Lord’s Supper

by making us feel GUILTY about “unconfessed sin.”

The reason that the Lord’s Supper EXISTS is that Jesus’ shed blood ushered in a

brand NEW COVENANT – a BETTER Covenant under which

ALL our sins, past, present and future, have been TAKEN AWAY by HIS BLOOD!

Jesus did not give us the Lord’s Supper so that we can remember how SINFUL we are.

What Jesus wants us to remember is this:

“God was reconciling the world to Himself In Christ;

NO LONGER COUNTING PEOPLES’ SINS AGAINST THEM.”

(2 Cor 5: 19)

Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper so that we can remember how FORGIVEN we are!

In Jesus, God has TAKEN AWAY ALL OUR SIN and He has credited US with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS –

“a righteousness from God that is by faith . . .”

Let us remember THIS as we partake with GREAT JOY!

The world should want what we Christians have because of our

JOY

May these

4 TRUTHS ABOUT JUDGMENTBring us great

JOY and PEACEas we accept them and

learn to rest in them.