| Author | Message | ||
| Patti |
The Really Truly Good News about Judgment Most Christians think of the Judgment scene with varying degrees of uncertainty and fear. I believe that the Judgment is good news for the Christian. Starting with the book of John. The Book of John has a lot to say about judgment: John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. If we believe we are NOT JUDGED! If we do not believe WE ARE JUDGED ALREADY. If John stopped right there, that would be enough for me! But John continues. 3:19 "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. 3:20 "For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. That men loved the darkness rather than the Light of the world. They prefer to stay in the dark, believing that their paltry offering of righteousness is good enough to please God. Because they know, if they come into the Light, the brilliance of the perfection of the character of Christ, the true evilness of their characters will be exposed by the glory of Jesus Christ. Joh 12:31 "NOW is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." Judgment happened at the cross when the ruler of the world was defeated. THIS is indeed GOOD NEWS! Christ defeated Satan at the cross. His uplifted cross draws all men to Himself. And all will come, except those who do not want their true sinful nature exposed, as shown in the text above. John 12:44 And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me. 12:45 "And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me. 12:46 "I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. 12:47 "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. Again, an affirmation: We are judged on the basis of accepting or rejecting Christ. 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 16:8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; 16:11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. The ruler of this world has been judged. Satan has been defeated. 5:22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 5:23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Praise the Lord! We can know that we have passed from death to life when we are in Christ. In Christ, we will not even come into judgment. We have the gift of eternal life, right now, by believing in Him. Now THAT is Good News! 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. 5:26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 5:27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Jesus has all judgment in His hands. When we are in Christ, we have no fear of Judgment. We have the verdict of the judgment already: Christ is worthy. Therefore, those who believe in Him are also accounted worthy. "By the obedience of One the many will be made righteous." There is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah, what a Savior! |
