Articles
Principle- Eternal Judgment
Principles of the Doctrine of Christ (Hebrews 6:1-2)
i) Repentance from dead works, ii) Faith toward God, iii) The doctrine of baptisms,
iv) The laying on of hands, v) The resurrection of the dead vi) And eternal judgment
In recent articles we are looking at principles of the doctrine of Christ. The final principle is eternal judgment. A day of judgment is mentioned often in the scriptures. Jesus said, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Mt 12:36). The latter part of Matthew 25 gives us a picture of the judgment scene. We are told it is like sheep being divided from goats. Some will be told to depart into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Others will be welcomed into the kingdom prepared for them.
This judgment will occur to all men. Paul said, “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Rom 14:11-12) This is an appointment that you will not be able to skip.
The judgment relates to the concept of sowing and reaping. Paul said, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Gal 6:7-9) The judgment is kind of the climax for when our sowing becomes reaping. If we have sown spiritual things, we will reap our heavenly reward. If we have sown to the flesh, we will receive our just punishment.
We can be happy that in the judgment we will have a righteous judge, not some biased person. Paul 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 Ti 4:7-8)
One should be concerned about what standard they will be judged by. It would not be fair to be judged by an unknown standard. The standard will be the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul said, “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Rom 2:16) Paul was referring to the gospel of Jesus Christ which he also preached. Therefore he said, “My gospel.”
You will be judged by the very principles of this gospel that we have studied in this series of lessons. It is to your benefit to learn these principles and grow from there so that you are prepared for the judgment. You will be well on your way of being prepared for the judgment if you repent of your sins and have faith toward God. Use your knowledge of the doctrine of washings (or baptisms) to be raised with Jesus Christ and wash away your sins. Prepare for the resurrection of the dead and judgment that is to come.
Be not deceived. There are false prophets and false doctrines among us. Surely we can understand the principles of the doctrine of Christ. As you work out your salvation, diligently search for those who rightly divide God's word. Be noble and search the scriptures daily to see if the doctrines you are hearing are according to the truth of the gospel. Master these principles of the doctrine, then move on to the meat of the scriptures. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
