PTNews – February 2016
Published 10 times annually
All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006
Our Judge is Coming
Part One
“Behold, the judge standeth before the door.” – James 5:9
By Mike Wingfield
[As I travel and speak in prophetic conferences, I am asked many questions about the future of our world, particularly, the future for believers in Jesus Christ. Topics that are great concerns for many Christians deal with our future resurrection and judgment. In these two newsletters, I will attempt to give Biblical answers to most of these questions that concern us. God’s Word does have answers for these questions! I encourage you to read this newsletter with the Bible in your hand. Please read the numerous Bible references cited so you you can better understand these very important truths that should change all of our lives. ]
My life is driven by preparation for the day when I will stand before my Lord and Judge, Jesus Christ. This will be the most important day in my life! When I gave my life to Him, I became His child (John 1:12), His bond-servant (Ephesians 6:5-6), and His possession (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore, all that I do in this life since the time of my salvation will be examined by Him on my judgment day. My deeds, words, and motives will be measured against His holy standards, which are clearly revealed in the Bible. It will be the day that I give an account to my Lord, the Shepherd of my soul.
You and I will join with all of the church saints in heaven after the Rapture, and worship our Lord and joyfully proclaim: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) Oh that we all had this perspective as we live out our daily lives!
I am convinced that knowing and reflecting upon what I will share with you in these two newsletters can help to motivate you to really work at living your life in preparation for the day when you stand in judgment before Judge Jesus. Remember, on that day He will be your Lord, Savior, and Judge! To those who claim to be saved and willfully and habitually live in sin, the Bible warns: “The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31)
If you really love Jesus Christ, and He is your Lord (Master), then you will be thinking and praying about that moment when you stand before Him. When a believer saturates his mind with the Word of God, He will walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will teach him to view everything from an eternal perspective. (1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Colossians 3:1-4) The Apostle Paul modeled this for all of us. He faced many difficulties and dangers. However, he looked at all of these challenging events in light of eternity. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, the Holy Spirit caused Paul to record for us how Spirit-filled believers view the times of suffering in life: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
According to the Bible, at the center of our faith is “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.” (Colossians 1:5) The Spirit-filled believer will not look at life here on this earth as the main focus of his faith. He will view life here as only being momentary. (1 Peter 1:13-21) The Spirit wants us to grasp the perspective that this life on earth is like the fog of a morning that quickly evaporates when the sun rises. (James 4:14) Please read Psalm 39:3-6 and Psalm 90. The godly believer should pray the prayer of King David in Psalm 39:4: “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.” Psalm 90 records a prayer of Moses. He cried out to God: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Consequently, the believer should live his life in light of eternity. This is wisdom that comes from God!
The believer who practices this on a daily basis will be trained to do so because of the impact of God’s future eternal plans recorded in the prophetic Word of God. (Matthew 6:33) As he reads about the events in God’s future plans (like the 7-year tribulation and the 1,000-year kingdom of God) he will be made to think of his life here as a speck of time. In contrast to this, the ungodly are always mocking God’s prophetic Word, and are only focused upon the present fleeting moment. (See 2 Peter 3:3-4) These fools are willfully ignorant of the Word of God and the fact that God is not bound by time. (2 Peter 3:5-9) Please note that the godly men in Scripture (the Old Testament prophets, and the New Testament apostles) were directed by the Holy Spirit to write about God’s eternal plans. They were captivated by the future. Please remember that “all Scripture,” including the prophetic texts, have been given to equip us for life and ministry while here on earth. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Someone has said that the core message of the BIBLE is “basic instructions before leaving earth.” I once saw a church sign that captures this truth. It read: “This life on earth is a dressing room for eternity.”
Unfortunately, we live at a time when most church ministries and Biblical resources are exclusively focused upon the here and now. This is extremely important, but it falls short of the kind of the eternal hope that is our motivation for living the Christian life here and now! Our mission is here on this earth, but the finish line is in heaven in His presence! As we keep our eyes on Jesus, we must remember that He is “the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) Our salvation will not be complete until we have been made “like him” at His coming. (1 John 3:2) As the Apostle Paul promised the believers in the early church, we can be confident “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
The apostles and their associates continually challenged the early believers to be ready for the judgment of Christ at His coming. For example, the half-brother of our Lord, James, wrote the first N.T. book around 45 A.D. He was the faithful pastor to the Jewish church in Jerusalem. He was probably not saved until after the resurrection of our Lord. Then, he grew in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and rose to prominence among the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and became their pastor. His epistle is written “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” (James 1:1) After almost 15 years of faithful preaching and teaching about the imminent return of the Lord, James urged His Jewish brethren to be patient as they endured persecution and difficulties. He reminded them that they needed to focus on the coming of the Lord. It is apparent that some of the brethren were beginning to lose sight of the imminent return and consequently, conflict was brewing in the local assemblies. As a result, he reminded them: “Grudge not one against another, brethren; lest you be condemned: behold the judge stands before the door.” (James 5:9)
As the Apostle Paul neared the end of his life, in the last chapter of his last epistle, he wrote to Timothy and reminded him that the Lord Jesus Christ “shall judge the [living] and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4) Then, with a view of his life nearing its end, he said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) It is evident from this text, that Paul finished his course and kept the faith that he received on the day of his conversion when he met Jesus Christ and was saved. It is apparent from his life and ministry, as revealed in the epistles that he wrote, that Paul was focused upon the moment he would stand in the presence of his Savior and Judge, Jesus Christ. In almost one-third of his Biblical writings, he wrote about the believer’s future and its relationship to the Second Coming of Christ. It is evident that Paul loved the precious truth about the Second Coming. Therefore, he reminded the believers that Jesus will reward those who “love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8) How sad it is that the majority of pastors and church members today have no interest in hearing about or knowing what the Scriptures have to say about the return of Christ! This is an eye-opening commentary on the true spiritual condition of the church today.
Do you love the Biblical truths about the coming of our Lord? Are you focused upon that moment when you will stand before Judge Jesus? Those who do will be driven to moral purity (1 John 3:3), and a ministry of integrity that is motivated by pleasing the Lord, not self, or man. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5) The New Testament repeatedly points to the believer’s judgment day. Let us briefly examine what the Bible has to say about our day in the future court of God. I will answer five questions about this judgment. Four of these questions will be answered in this newsletter. The final question will be considered in the March newsletter. That question will be: When will God judge us?
1. Will God Judge Everyone?
The Bible promises that every human being, both saved and unsaved, will have their day in court with God. Philippians 2:10-11 states “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, … And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The very first book in the Bible gives God the title “the Judge of all the earth.” (Genesis 18: 25)
The Bible challenges all of humanity to soberly think about this judgment day. The writer of the book of Hebrews declares: “The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31) For some professing believers, this message is too strong. They do not want to think of God in these terms. It is true that God is our Father. He is gracious and compassionate. But, at this judgment, God is not exercising His love, but His holiness. He is judging our lives by His holy standard. God’s holiness will not allow His love to override His holy standards. If He did, He would not be holy, just, and righteous! In light of this, please consider what Psalm 19:7-11 has to say about the holy Word of God. All of the underlined words are references to the Word of God: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping them there is great reward.”
2. Who will be the Judge?
When a person’s day in God’s court comes, he will stand before Jesus Christ. Jesus will be his judge. During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught that the Father has “committed all judgment unto the Son.” (John 5:22) Several decades later, when Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he pointed back to these words of Jesus when he wrote that the day was coming “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” (Romans 2:16)
Jesus will be the judge on that day because He is the Creator, and therefore, it is only right that His creation will be judged by Him. (Colossians 1:16) Man, the crown of God’s creation, was created for His pleasure. (Revelation 4:11) All life comes from Jesus. (John 1:4) Jesus testified of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Therefore, it is only right that Jesus will examine what we have done with the gift of life that He has given us.
Jesus will be our judge in God’s courtroom because as a result of His incarnation, He is both God and man. While speaking about His Father, Jesus said that the Father had “given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” (John 5:27) No one will ever be able to say to Him on that day that He does not know what it would be like to be tested and tempted as a human being. The Bible declares that during His earthly visit, Jesus experienced “the feelings of our infirmities; [and] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) When every person stands before Him, no excuse will be acceptable. As the song writer put it, “Jesus knows all about our troubles.”
Jesus is God. He knows all things. He sees all things. Nothing is hidden from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says: “Neither is there any creature that is [hidden] in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Furthermore, Psalm 90:8, states: “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.”
We often think of Jesus as our Savior and High Priest. But, at His coming He will be our Judge. It is sad to think that the overwhelming majority of people who have ever lived have never know Jesus as the Savior or High Priest. They will only know Him as their Judge!
My friend, if you have never received Jesus as your Savior, then surrender your life to the One who has given you life, controls your next heartbeat, and will judge you someday. You need to turn from your sin and come to God through the cross of Jesus. Jesus said that He is “the way … no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) Jesus can save you now. But, if you die before you repent of your sins, then you are lost forever. The Bible states: “… it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) You will stand before Jesus on your judgment day and cry out to Him for mercy. However, it will be too late! Remember the verse above. After your death you will not have a second chance. Why not humble yourself now and cry out to Him for His salvation? I encourage you to think about this. Most people who are already in hell probably never thought they would end up in a place of eternal damnation. Either they were deceived and were trusting in another way to heaven (Matthew 7:21-23), or they just waited too late! Please do not let that happen to you!
3. Why will God Judge us?
As mentioned already, Jesus will be our Judge because He created us. It is God’s plan that all of humanity will give an account unto Him on their judgment day. In 1 Peter 4:1-7, the Holy Spirit directed the Apostle Peter to address the sharp contrast between those who are living “according to the will of God,” and those who are following the desires of men. In this text, he explains that those who are only following their sinful desires don’t understand the believer’s godly lifestyle. The believer is the one who lives as if “the end of all things is at hand.” (verse 7) However, the unbeliever does not live his life so as to “give account to him that is ready to judge the [living] and the dead.” (verse 5)
We live in an age when evolution has been taught for several generations. Consequently, many have been deceived, and no longer believe in a literal creation as recorded in Genesis 1-2. Many others live in doubt and are not sure what they believe. Collectively, they have arrived at the conclusion that they cannot trust the Bible. God and the Bible have no place in their lives. They have conveniently, so they think, removed God from the creation. Therefore, in their thinking, they are not accountable to Him. A few seconds after their death, they will tragically come to realize that they were wrong!
4. How will God Judge us?
We now come to a very important consideration of man’s future judgment that many have never thought about. When Jesus judges every individual who has ever been conceived, how will He judge them?
The Bible is emphatically clear that on that judgment day, Jesus will examine the works (Romans 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:8; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 20:12-13), words (Matthew 12:36-37), and will (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5) of everyone. Each person’s individual record will be examined and the evidence will determine their eternal rewards or eternal punishment.
While speaking to the church about the New Testament believer’s judgment, the Apostle Paul said: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) While using a human analogy that we can grasp, the Apostle Paul referred to the judgment of the Christian as God’s refining fire that will separate the “good” [that which is honorable before God] from that which is “bad” (the worthless deeds of the flesh). (Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-15.) In reality, the holy, fiery eyes of the Lord (Hebrews 4:13; Revelation 1:14) will consume away all that is not by God, in God, and for God.
In general, the Bible teaches four facts about the decisions of Judge Jesus on our judgment day:
A. They will be true! (Based on His holy character.)
Jesus is called “the righteous judge” (2 Timothy 4:8) because His judgment always flows out of His holiness. He is always true, righteous, and just in all of His ways. When Jesus, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation Period, Revelation 19:11 declares that “in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” During His kingdom reign, He will be the judge of all those living on earth. While speaking about His millennial kingdom, Psalm 96:13 states: “…for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” Therefore, we can rest assured that the declarations that flow from the lips of Judge Jesus will always be correct, just, and truthful. (Acts 17:31) He is “the truth.” (John 14:6) Therefore, Jesus’ decisions of judgment at our judgment will always be based upon His holy character.
B. They will be fair! (Without partiality)
When the judgment day comes, Judge Jesus will be fair! A person’s race, nationality, or social status will not matter. While writing about “the judgment of God“ (Romans 2:2), the Apostle Paul declared: “For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2:11) When the judgment of all the unsaved takes place at the end of time, “the dead, small and great, stand before God.” (Revelation 20:12) The kings, presidents, and judges of this earth will be judged alongside the poor who lived in the streets. While reminding the believers that God is holy, and demands that we practice holiness, the Apostle Peter caused them to think about their judgment day, and declared that God who is “without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.” (1 Peter 1:17)
All of this simply means that the Lord will judge each person individually on the basis of their opportunities and gifts they were given while on earth. It will be based upon our time, talents, and treasures. Most of all, it will examine what we have done with Jesus and the Bible. Jesus taught this truth when He said: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke 12:48)
C. They will comprehensive! (All consuming)
Jesus’ judgment will be comprehensive. He will leave nothing out! His eyes will almost instantly sweep across the spectrum of our entire lives. It will be like an all-consuming fire! (1 Corinthians 3:13-15) He will expose our secrets. (Romans 2:16) He will recall our words. (Matthew 12:36-37) He will examine our works. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15) And, He will unveil the motives of our heart. (1 Corinthians 4:5)
There is no deed so small that the Lord will overlook it. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41) Think of it! If you just give a cup of water from the heart for the glory of God to one of His servants, He will reward you for that!
I am reminded that a number of years ago at one of my conferences, I mentioned this in the morning message. That evening several glasses of water mysteriously appeared on the lectern where I was to speak. At least I knew some were listening to the Word that morning!
D. They will be predictable! (His Word is eternal.)
This point is often overlooked. The judgment of Jesus on our judgment day is very predictable. It will be based upon the eternal and unchanging Word of God. Jesus said, “… the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) In Romans 2-3, the Apostle Paul takes all of humanity into God’s courtroom and declares: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Like a lawyer building his case by examining the evidence, Paul reminds everyone that there is coming a day “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 2:16) When the sinners of all the ages are made to stand before Judge Jesus, the Bible declares that “the books [will be] opened.” (Revelation 20:12) I know of 66 books that will be opened on that day. They will be the 66 books of the Bible! Think about this! So many people amuse themselves with worldly facts and fiction, but never open a Bible.
This is why it is so important to read, study, and memorize God’s Word. We have a choice. We can look into the perfect Word of God and allow it to judge us and expose our sins so that we confess them. Or, we can ignore the Word of God and wait for it to judge us on our judgment day! (Read James 1:19-25.) I have chosen to be serious about allowing God’s Word to judge me now, rather than waiting until later. We must allow the living holy Word of God to be grafted into our lives. (James 1:21)
Next month, I will answer the fifth question in this article: When will God judge us? In the next newsletter many questions will be answered about the timing of the resurrections and judgments. In the mean-time, “Get ready for the shout that will take us out!”