Leaves Of Gold

A Call To Return To Biblical Teaching

“…to contend earnestly for the faith…”

Year Two, Number 7,  2007

 

Master Outline Number Eighteen

Taken From t he Christian Life Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, notes by Porter I. Barrington

 

The Judgments

In the Scriptures, we are instructed to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15, page 1226). This is most essential when studying the judgments. Do not endeavor to make all the judgments conform to the theory of One "general judgment:' The "general judgment" theory is the invention of early me­dieval religion and is not taught in the Word of God.

There are at least five separate judgments revealed in the Bible, and they differ as to time, place, and purpose. Yet, they all have one thing in common: the Lord Jesus Christ is the Judge John 5:22, page 1057).

Everyone, from Adam to the last man to be born on this earth, will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to be judged. In the first judgment, the sins of the believer have already been judged in Christ on the cross. In the second judgment, the believer is to judge self or be judged and disciplined by the Lord Jesus Christ. In the third judgment, all believers must appear at the "judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10, page 1168) where their works are to be judged. In the fourth judgment, all nations are to be judged at the second coming of Christ. In the fifth judgment, the wicked dead are to be judged at the Great White Throne.

 

18-A. The Judgment of the Believer's Sins (John 5:24)-ln the above verse, our Lord tells us that a believer "shall not come into judgment." Our sins were judged in Christ on Calvary, and every believer "has passed from death into life" (v. 24). This is present salvation. Christ paid for our sins. He was judged in the believer's stead. The believer will not come into judgment because

(1) Jesus Christ paid the penalty. On the grounds of His substitutionary death, the believer is separated from his sins forever (Ps. 103:12, page 570).

(2) The sins of the believer have been blotted out, and God has promised that He "will not remember your sins" (Is. 43:25, page 683).

(3) Our Lord suffered for our sins, "the just for the unjust," that we might be saved and never come into judgment as sinners (1 Pet. 3:18, page 1267).

(4) The believer will never be condemned with the world, because Christ was condemned in his place.

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us" (2 Cor. 5:21, page 1169). Christ was made a curse for us on the cross, and "has redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Gal. 3:13, page 1181). "He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb. 9:26, page 1244). The believer will not come into judgment, because his sins have been purged (Heb. 1:3, page 1236).

18-B: The Judgment of the Believer's Self. (1 Corinthians 11:31, 32)- The believer's self-judgment means more than judging things in the believer's life. When the believer judges his life, the good and the bad in his life come to light; he confesses the bad (1 John 1 :9, page 1278) and forsakes it (Is. 55:7, page 695). However, it is not enough just to judge sin in the believer; he must judge self.

(1) To judge self is to practice self-abnegation; for when the believer sees self as God sees him, he will renounce self. It is replacing the self-life with the Christ-life (Col. 3:4, page 1205). Christ is the believer's life.

(2) To judge self is to deny self. This is more than self-denial. Self-denial is denying one's self of fleshly gratifications. If we practice self-denial only, it is treating the symptom and not the illness. But when we deny self, we are attacking the root problem, for in self (i.e., in the flesh) "nothing good dwells" (Rom. 7:18, page 1136). To deny self is to take up our cross and follow Christ (Mark 8:34-38, page 994), to lose the self­life, and find the Christ-life (Gal. 2:20, page 1180).

(3) To judge self is to become less and less self-conscious, and more and more Christ-conscious (Matt. 28:20, page 982).

(4) To judge self is to become Christ-controlled (Acts 9:6, page 1100).

(5) To judge self is to esteem others better than self (Phil. 2:3, page 1197), to become selfless.

 

 

18-C. The Judgment of the Believer's Works (2 Corinthians 5:10)- The believer's works will be judged at the "judgment seat of Christ" (v. 10). The term "judgment seat of Christ" is found only twice in the Bible, but it is referred to many times. It is found in the above verse, and also in Romans 14:10 (page 1144). A careful reading of both verses in context reveals that only believers will appear at the judgment seat of Christ. Their works will be judged, not their sins; for we have already seen that the sins of the believer were judged in Christ on Calvary, and "there is therefore now no condemnation [judgment] to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1, page 1136).

(1) This judgment will take place "in the air" following the first resurrection. "And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thess. 4:14-18, page 1212). After the resurrection of the saved, a thousand years will pass before the resurrection of the unsaved (Rev. 20:4, 5, page 1313), and so there will be a thousand years between the judgment seat of Christ, where only saved will appear, and the judgment at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11, page 1313), where only unsaved will appear.

(2) At the judgment seat of Christ, the believer will give an account of himself to God. Therefore, we should look at our own works, and not judge the works of others (Rom. 14:10-13, page 1144).

It is a most humbling thought to know that someday the believer will face all his works-good or bad. Some believers will be ashamed (1 John 2:28, page 1279) and "suffer loss"-not the loss of salvation, but the loss of rewards (1 Cor. 3:11-15, page 1149). So whatever you do, do it to the glory of God (Col. 3:17, page 1207).

 

 

18-D. The Judgment of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46)- This judgment is not that of the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15, page 1313). A careful comparison of the two judgments will establish the following facts:

(1) The judgment of the nations will take place "when the Son of Man comes in His glory ... [and] then He will sit on the throne of His glory" (v. 31). The Great White Throne is never called "the throne of His glory."

(2) At this judgment, He will judge the living nations (Joel 3:11-16, page 871). At the Great White Throne, He will judge the wicked dead.

(3) At this judgment, there will be no resurrection of the dead. At the Great White Throne, all the wicked dead are raised: "the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them" (Rev. 20:13, page 1314).

(4) At this judgment, the judge is specifically Christ "the King" (v. 34) judging the nations in His earthly kingdom. At the Great White Throne, the kingdom is no longer in view-indeed, the earth itself has "fled away" (Rev. 20:11, page 1313).

(5) At this judgment, no books will be opened. At the Great White Throne, there will be books opened (Rev. 20:12, page 1313).

(6) At this judgment, there are three classes judged:

(a) "Sheep"-the saved (v. 33; Rev. 7:9-17, page 1300).

(b) "Goats"-the unsaved (v. 33; 2 Thess. 1:7-10, page 1215).

(c) "Brethren"-the elect of Israel (v. 40; Rev. 7:1-8, page 1300; Rom. 11:25-28, page 1141). At the Great White Throne, there is.only one class, "the dead" (Rev. 20:12, page 1313).

(7) At this judgment, the King will give the kingdom to those who have eternal life. At the Great White Throne, there will be no saved and no kingdom; all those judged will be "cast into the lake of fire" (Rev, 20:15, page 1314).

.

18-E. The Judgment of the Wicked (Revelation 20:11-15)- The Great White Throne judgment will follow the thousand-year reign of Christ. This is the final judgment, and only the wicked dead are to be judged. According to Revelation 20:5 (above), believers were resurrected a thousand years before this judgment, and their works were judged at the "judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10, page 1168).

(1) At this judgment the wicked dead will seek a hiding place from the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Judge. But there is no hiding place.

(2) At this judgment the "dead, small and great" (v. 12), will stand before God. But the greatness of the great will be of no value. "There is none who does good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:12, page 1130).

(3) At this judgment the "Book of Life" (v. 12) will be opened to show conclusively that these people are not in the Lamb's Book of Life.

(4) At this judgment the dead will be judged "each one according to his works" (v. 13). God is a just God, and since there are degrees of punishment in hell, some will be punished more than others (Luke 12:42-48, pagel031).

(5) At this judgment there will be no acquittal, no higher court to which the lost may appeal. They are lost, and lost forever; they are damned to all eternity, without hope. In hell there is no hope, no sympathy, no love. Even the love of God does not extend into the portals of hell.  (These studies will continue)

 

 

Atonement and Redemption

These studies are taken from the book “Rightly Dividing The Word” by Clarence Larkin

 

Atonement and Redemption

                                                                                                                                                                  I                            I

The Christian Religion has been charged with being a "BLOODY" Religion; that it savors of the Abattoir, turned the Temple into a "Slaughter House," and is a "Religion of the Shambles" because it demands the "Blood of Christ," and therefore is revolting to persons of refined sensibilities. What the blood is to our bodies (life), the "Blood of Christ" is to the Bible. Take the "scarlet word" out of the Bible, and the Bible is a DEAD book. If you were to take a brush and dip it in red ink and go carefully through your Bible from Genesis to Revelation and mark out all the passages that refer to the "Blood," and are associated with it in any way, you -would be surprised at how little of the Bible you would have left. In fact its value would be gone. The his­torical portions would be meaningless, the ethical teach­ing powerless, and the prophetical statements unfulfilled. Every doctrine in the Bible is dependent on the "Blood." \Without it there would be no "Forgiveness," no "Re­generation," no "Justification," no "Sanctification," no "Peace," no "Joy," no "Rest," no "Hope," no "Resurrec­tion," no "Heaven," no "Robes Washed," no "New Song." Twenty-eight times in the Book of Revelation Jesus is called THE LAMB, and that title is always associated with His atoning work. So we see if we take the "Blood~ out of the Bible the Doctrine of the Atonement must go.

1. THE ATONEMENT

The word means "AT-ONE-MENT." The "Fall of Man" put man and God "AT-TWO-MENT," that is, alienated and separated them. The purpose of the Atonement is to make them one again. It is a principle of law that the "Penalty" of a broken law must fall on the breaker of the law or on his substitute or bondsman, otherwise the law is of no effect. A law without a penalty would be useless. It is not the law but the penalty that men stand in fear of. An "Atonement" then is any "Provision" that may be introduced into the administra­tion of a Government, whereby that Government may, upon just, safe, and honorable grounds, release an offender from the "Penalty" of a broken law. Now God made a "Law" to govern the conduct of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The "Law" was-"Of every tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the 'Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil' thou SHALT NOT EAT." The "Penalty" was-"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely DIE." Gen. 2: 16-17. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit they broke that "Law" and were doomed to die. But their death would frustrate God's purpose in their creation, which was to repopulate the restored earth. Gen. 1: 28. Now God could not withhold the "Penalty" of death without break­ing His Holy Word, and in the future cause Adam and Eve to doubt his truthfulness. It became necessary therefore that the "Penalty" of the Law, if it was not to Fall on Adam and Eve, should fall on some one who should take their place. The substitute that God in His love and justice provided was HIMSELF in the person of His Son Jesus, for Jesus was no other than God manifest in the flesh. 1 Tim. 3: 16. But this substitute was not provided immediately. It was not until 4000 years later that Jesus paid the "Penalty" of Adam's disobedience by His death on the Cross.

But during those 4000 years, by the shedding of the blood of bullocks, goats, and innocent lambs, whose bodies were laid smoking and quivering on Hebrew altars, God, in one great "Object Lesson," kept before the people the fact that without the SHEDDING OF BLOOD there could be no remission for sin. The sprinkling of the blood of every Passover Lamb was a reminder of Him who was to be the "Lamb of God" who should take away the sin of the world. John 1: 29. And· when the hour had come for the offering up of THE SACRIFICE, we see Justice and Mercy standing on the Hill Calvary, and hear Justice say to Mercy-"Where is He who, over 4000 years ago, in the Garden of Eden, offered Himself a SUBSTITUTE for the sin of the world?" "Behold Him," says Mercy, "coming up the Hill (end of 176) bearing His Cross." When He reached the top of the Hill Justice presented the "Bond," executed centuries before, and demanded its payment. The Son of God re­plied-"I will this day cancel it." Soon all the prepara­tions for the sacrifice were complete, and the "Lamb of God" was laid on the ALTAR OF THE CROSS. As Jesus laid His hand upon the crossbar of the Cross, He held in it, invisible to human eyes, the "Bond" to be can­celled, and when the Roman soldier drove the nail through that hand there were fulfilled the words of the Apostle-

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all tres­passes; BLOTTING OUT THE HAND­WRITING OF ORDINANCES that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took IT out of the way, NAILING IT TO HIS CROSS." Col. 2: 13-14.

By the cancellation of the "Bond" the Law and Justice of God were satisfied, and it was possible for God to “Be JUST and the JUSTIFIER of them who BELIEVE IN JESUS." Rom. 3: 26.

But some one may say, "How could an innocent per­son assume the guilt of another?" This can only be done by the innocent person entering into "Corporate One­ness" with the guilty person, and thus becoming IDEN­TIFIED WITH HIM. For illustration, the debts of a poor widow could not be justly charged up to a million­aire neighbor, but if he entered into "Corporate Oneness" with her by marrying her, and thus assuming all her obli­gation, then he could justly and legally be held respon­sible for her debts. Now this is just what the Apostle says-

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become DEAD TO THE LAW (our first husband) by the body of Christ (that is by Christ's death) ; that ye should be MARRIED TO ANOTHER, even to Him (Christ) who is RAISED FROM THE DEAD." Rom. 7: 4.   T

This union with Christ results in a "LEGAL AN­SWERABLENESS" by Him for all our debts to the Law, and Jesus recognized the justice of all His sufferings on the Cross, when He said to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus-"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: OUGHT NOT CHRIST TO HAVE SUFFERED THESE THINGS, and to enter into His Glory?" Luke 24: 25-26. We see then that the Atonement of Christ means more than mere "Substitution," it means a "CORPORATE ONENESS," a union in which it was perfectly just for God to exact from His Son the penalty of death in satisfaction of the broken Law. We are therefore as believers to "RECKON OURSELVES DEAD TO THE LAW." (Rom. 7: 4.) That is, we are to believe and act as those who have been freed from the Law, for "there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8: 1), for we were judged for sin in Christ on the Cross, and our Judgment for "Sin" IS PAST.

The efficacy and "Substitutionary" character of the Atonement is beautifully illustrated in the story of Barabbas. Barabbas had been condemned to die, he was to have suffered the penalty of his crime on the cross between the two thieves, but when the multitude was given the choice between Christ or Barabbas, they chose Christ, and He as a SUBSTITUTE took Barabbas' place on the central cross, and His death satisfied the Law, and Barabbas was free. If Barabbas had gone out to Calvary that day and witnessed Christ's death in his stead, and had accepted Jesus as his personal Savior from sin, he would have been the first man to understand the substi­tutionary character of the Atonement.

As sinners we were under the "curse of the Law," but as believers-"Christ hath redeemed us from the CURSE of the Law, being made a CURSE for us: for it is written, CURSED IS EVERY ONE THAT HANG­ETH ON A TREE." Gal. 3:13. The "Tree" that Christ hung on was the CROSS. We are therefore DEAD to the Law; not physically dead, but JUDICIALLY dead, for the "Penalty" of a law cannot be exacted twice. If Jesus "bare our sins in His own body upon the Tree (1 Pet. 2: 24), then they are no longer upon us and we are free from sin. The death of Christ was no mere accident or incident, it was predetermined. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD." 1 Pet. 1 : 18-20.

From this we see that there was a purpose in Christ's death; that Calvary and the Cross were a necessity, and that the mission of Christ was not simply to bear witness to the Father, and reveal God to men, but to die upon the Cross for the Salvation of the World.

THE EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT

Some would limit the Atonement to the elect only.

They look upon the Atonement as a "Commercial Trans­action," and quote the words-"Ye are bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6: 19-20), and claim that as in a commer­cial transaction there must be a buyer and seller, a thing to be bought and sold, and a price to be paid, that God was the "Buyer," that the Law was the "Seller," that the "elect" were the "Thing" sold, and that the "Blood of Christ" was the "Purchase Price." Now as in a com­mercial transaction there must be a mutual understand­ing as to the price to be paid, and the quality and quan­tity of the articles to be delivered, the "Commercial View" of the Atonement implies that God bargained for a certain number of persons that He personally would choose, and that He would insist on the delivery of .not only the exact number, but the same ones. To illustrate if a man bought 100 horses, it would not suffice when the animals were delivered to merely count them to see whether there were 100, but he would want to know if they were the same horses that he had purchased.

From this we see that the "Commercial View" of the Atonement limits the "purchasing value" of Christ's Blood to the elect only. But Christ did not die to save a few individuals; He died to pay the "Penalty" of Adam's disobedience, which was DEATH. In other words He died to redeem the human race from the "curse of sin," and put it in a salvable position. "He is the propitiation of our (the Righteous) sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD." 1 John 2: 2. The word "Propitiation" means the "act of reconciliation." The "Death of Christ" was the ground on which God can deal, and does deal in mercy with the whole world. "For if, when we were enemies, we were RECONCILED TO GOD by the 'Death of His Son,' much more, BEING RECONCILED, we shall be saved by His life." Rom. 5: 10. Or as Paul puts it in Co!. 1: 20. Christ "MADE PEACE through the 'Blood of the Cross,' and has reconciled ALL THINGS unto Himself, whether they be on earth or in Heaven." We see then that the Atonement of Christ on the Cross is sufficient for the whole human race and places it in a SALVABLE position. But this does not mean "Universal Salvation," for all men are not saved, because they do not comply with the condition of Salvation, which is to accept the FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST.

II. REDEMPTION

The words Atonement and Redemption are used as if they meant the same thing, but they are different as to time and act though they are both the result of the "Finished Work" of Christ on the Cross. Redemption means to redeem a thing that is rightfully our own, but for the time being is in the possession of another, whose claim upon it must be legally met. Writing to the Ephesians Paul said-"Ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the REDEMPTION of the PURCHASED POSSESSION." Eph. 1: 13-14. Then there is a POSSESSION to be REDEEMED. What this is Paul tells us in Rom. 8: 22-23-"We know that the WHOLE CREATION GROANETH AND TRAVAILETH IN PAIN TOGETHER UNTIL NOW. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the 'First-fruits of the Spirit,' even we ourselves also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY." From this we see that something belonging to "Creation" and to "Man" has slipped out of their possession and needs to be redeemed. What this was we are told in the third chapter of Genesis. When Adam sinned he lost the immortality of his body, and his inheritance of the earth. The latter passed into the posses­sion of Satan to the disinheritance of all of Adam's seed. Adam was impotent to redeem what was lost, but the Law (Lev. 25:23-34) provides that a kinsman may re­deem a lost possession. That "Kinsman" has been pro­vided in the person of JESUS CHRIST. To become a kinsman He had to be born into the human race. This the "Virgin Birth" accomplished. Jesus paid the RE­DEMPTIVE PRICE, which was His own BLOOD on the Cross (1 Pet. 1 : 18-20), but He has not as yet claimed that which He then purchased. Redemption is not the act of a moment, but requires a period of time. This is the "Day of Salvation," but it has extended over nearly nineteen centuries. The "Day of Redemption" will be at least a 1000 years long. It will begin with the Resur­rection of the bodies of the Righteous dead, and con­tinue until the New Heaven and Earth appear.

THE REDEMPTION OF THE BODY

We cannot conceive of the glory of the "Resurrection Body." The Transfiguration of Christ gives us a faint conception of it, for we are told that when He shall appear we shall be like Him. Paul attempts to give us an idea of it in his immortal chapter on the Resurrection. 1 Cor. 15. He says. "It is sown in 'corruption;' it is raised in INCORRUPTION." That is the unvarnished truth; it is sown in foul rottenness. Paul called it a "VILE BODY." Phil. 3: 21. Whence cometh this corruption?' [t is simply SIN MATERIALIZED AND CONSUM .• MATED. But it is to be raised in INCORRUPTION;. o happy day, when the bodies of the "Dead in Christ'" shall come forth from the tomb in immortal bodies and fadeless beauty, and the living saints shall be changed and clothed in the garments of Glory, and caught up to meet their Redeemer in the air!

2. "It is sown in 'dishonor,' it is raised in GLORY.’ “How many a body has been sown in dishonor through sin, that has caused disfigurement, but the Resurrection will change all this, for we shall then be raised in GLORY, and have a body like unto His "Glorious Body."

3. "It is sown in 'weakness;' it is raised in POWER."

A corpse is the very embodiment of weakness. Nothing else seems to have such a dead weight as a lifeless body. But if that lifeless body be the body of one of God's saints He will raise it with POWER. Not only shall God display power in the breaking of the tombs of the dead, but the raised body shall be possessed of power. Not simply power as to strength, but new powers of sight, hearing, memory, etc. It shall be able to travel with the speed of light, and run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.

4. "It is sown a 'natural' body; it is raised a SPIRIT­UAL body." This does not mean that our "Spiritual Body" shall be an "Etherealized Spiritlike Structure," but a real body of "flesh and bones," not blood, for it is the blood that causes corruption, but a body like Christ's resurrection body, of which He said-"Handle me and see, for a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." Luke 24: 36-43. Now our bodies arc controlled by natural laws; then they will be governed by the laws of the Spirit World. Then we shall bask in the sunshine of God's presence in a land where there is no sorrow, pain or death.

But Jesus did not die simply to redeem our bodies but to redeem the brute creation, and the earth. We read that in the "Day of Redemption"-"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." Isa. 11 : 6-8.

The effect of the Fall of Man was far-reaching. Not only was the human race involved, but the whole earth and atmosphere was affected. "And unto Adam He (the Lord God) said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,' saying, That: shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for Thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life: THORNS also and THISTLES shall it bring forth to thee." Gen. 3; 17-18. From this we see that "Thorns" and "Thistles" are the result of sin. And from other scriptures we learn that animal life suffers, and the land fails to give its increase on account of sin. It is not without significance that the one who is to be the Redeemer of the earth from its sin-cursed state was crowned with THORNS. It was symbolic of His office as Redeemer. But the day is coming when the earth shall be redeemed from its sin-cursed condition and the exterior surface of the earth go through a "Bap­tism of Fire," that will consume and destroy the thorns and thistles and all disease germs and insect pests, all the result of sin, and the At"\10sphere will also be purified with fire, and cleansed of evil spirits, and out of it all will come the "New Heaven" and the "New Earth" wherein shall dwell righteousness, and on it shall rest the "New City," the home of the redeemed of God. Then all discord shall cease, and Eternal Harmony shall prevail throughout the Universe of God. No, God is not going to destroy this earth on which His Son died. It is too sacred and holy a spot. So he saw to it that the work of the Cross should include not only the Salvation of man's SOUL, but the Redemption of his BODY and of the EARTH as well.

(These studies will continue)

 

 

These “Leaves of Gold” is published each month by James A. Nelson, jan@twinvalley.net.  Our webmaster is Pastor Martin Gutzmer   mrgutzmer@gmail.com.  Our sponsor is David R. Pickett   dr.pickett@hotmail.com

 

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ATONEMENT AND REDEMPTION