Robert Sutherland
sutherlandrobert@telus.net

In Paul’s discussion of ultimate judgments, as relate to believers, he writes:

1Co 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw–
1Co 3:13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
1Co 3:14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Verse 15 should be a great comfort to each of us, and help dispel the false notions of God’s judgments.

We will be judged, and things done outside the control and leading of the Spirit will be manifest in that judgment, but those things, rather than us, will be judged and consumed in the fires of His love. It is His love that will consume those things so we don’t have to carry them around in our hearts for all eternity.

If we could grasp such grace in this life, and allow the Spirit within us to judge and then consume those things now, then in this life we can know the freedom from the anxiety of our sin, and be all the more prepared for the next life.

Paul’s words have always brought me great comfort.

yep, yeah, been there, done that, said that, thought that, taught someone else that.

you hit the nail on the head. i sadly recall a few times in a fundamentalist bible school that a few friends of mine were suffering from sever injury or sickness. the school’s answer was that they had sin in their lives . . . sigh.

sadly i also recall one summer being a counselor at high school church camp and reading the small groups lesson material. the only thing lacking was a big stamp from the republican party saying that they supported this lesson material. it made a few claims saying that God’s judgement was evident in the success of the democratic party in the moral issues (abortion, gay marriage, etc.)

i’m still looking for the proof text on where the israel of the OT is now the america of today. let me know when u find it.

mattdabbs.blogspot.com

God bless

I fear the lack of understanding about judgment largely comes from the lack of reading the Old Testament. In the Psalms particularly, there’s this sense of looking forward to judgment, because since we are on God’s side, God will judge our enemies. We blame God when it makes more sense to recognize our suffering is caused by our enemies (whether they be sin, nature, circumstances, our fallen world, evil humans, the devil and his angels, or what’s left of our own sin nature) and ask God to take up our cause as the plaintiffs in God’s judgment. We are not defendants; God has already declared us righteous and forgiven.

If we look at the New Testament passages on judgment through this lens, the all-too-common fear of judgment that you’re talking about makes much less sense.