Jesus was made judge of all

JESUS WAS MADE JUDGEOF ALL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 5:22 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but
has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Human Judge Upon The Divine Throne
John 5:22-27
J.R. Thomson
Many are the offices whichit is appointed for the Son of man to hold. Yet they
are all consistentone with another, and only a complete view of them can
present Christ as he really is, and canelicit towards him all those sentiments
which are justly due to him. If he is the Saviour of sinners and the Friend of
his people, he is also the Lord of the earth and the Judge of all mankind.
I. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST AS JUDGE. As representedby
himself, these are two.
1. His Divine ability of knowledge,ofauthority, of justice, in virtue of his
nature as Son of God. This is assertedin the claim he makes in ver. 22 of
equality with the Father, and of a consequentright to the same honour which
is accordedto the Father.
2. His participation in our human nature implied in the designation"Sonof
man" in ver. 27. This true humanity of our Lord ensures that all judgment

shall be conducted not only with Divine knowledge and equity, but with
human sympathy and consideration.
II. THE PERSONSOVER WHOM CHRIST EXERCISES HIS JUDICIAL
FUNCTIONS. All mankind must stand at his bar; God hath committed all
judgment unto him, and a day is appointed in which God will judge all men
by the Man Christ Jesus. Friends and subjects, enemies and rebels, alike must
receive sentence from his lips.
III. THE PRINCIPLES WHICH DIRECT CHRIST'S JUDGMENT. Ofthese
two may be mentioned.
1. The thoughts and intents of the heart are consideredas well as outward
actions.
2. With respectto those who have been privileged to hear the gospel, the all-
important question is - Did they receive or reject the Divine Mediator, the
offer of Divine mercy?
IV. THE INSTINCT PERIODSOF CHRIST'S JUDGMENT.
1. There is judgment here and now, as seems implied in ver. 22. Christ is ever
passing judgment upon men, criticizing their characterand their action,
discriminating betweenthe evil and the good, making allowance forhuman
infirmities on the one hand, and for human endeavours on the other. It is well
for us that Christ judges his people now; that when necessaryhe has a
controversywith them; that he has words of reproachfor the unfaithful, and
words of encouragementfor the depressed;that he chastens his people in
kindness and with purposes of love. It is for them to submit themselves to
their Lord, to bow before his chastising hand, to profit by his correction.
2. There is judgment hereafter. Life has to be considered, not only in detail,
but as a whole. When it is finished, then is the time for it to be duly estimated
and justly recompensed. Now, our Lord himself assures us that retribution in
the life to come is his peculiar work. The anticipation of this process should
quicken our spiritual diligence and solicitude. The sinner may well repent and
seek acceptance, so thathe may recognize his Saviour upon the judgment seat;

and the Christian may wellprepare to render in his account"with joy and not
with grief." - T.
The Delegationof Judicial Authority to Christ
J. Donne, D. D.
John 5:19-23
Then answeredJesus and saidto them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can
do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do…
I. JUDGMENTAPPERTAINSTO GOD. It is His in criminal causes (Romans
12:19)and in civil things (Psalm82:1). No function of God is so often
reiterated. And He is the Judge of judges themselves. Judgment is so essential
to God that it is co-eternalwith Him.
1. He knows, and therefore naturally detests evil. We are blind, and need the
assistanceofthe law to know what is evil. And if a man be a judge what an
exactknowledge ofthe law is required of him — for some things are sins to
one nation which are not to another, and some things are sin at one time
which are not at another. Only Godhas a universal knowledge, and therefore
detestationof evil.
2. He discerns when thou committest evil. Hence you have to supply defects in
laws so that things done in one country may be tried in another. But God has
the powerof discerning all actions in all places. Earthly judges have their
distinctions and so their restrictions;some things they cannotknow — what
mortal can, and some things they cannot take knowledge of, for they are

bound by evidence. But nothing keeps God from discerning and judging
everything.
3. He knows how to punish evil. The office of a judge being not to contractor
extend the law, but to declare its true meaning. God hath this judgment in
perfection, for He made the law by which He judges. Who then can dispute
His interpretation? As, then, God is judge in all these three respects, so He is a
judge(1) without appeal;
(2) without needing any evidence (Proverbs 24:12;Proverbs 16:2; 1
Corinthians 4:4); and if so, not only I, but not the most righteous man, nor the
Church He hath washedin His own blood, shall appear righteous in His sight.
II. How then, seeing that judgment is an inseparable characterofGod, can it
be said that THE FATHER JUDGETHNO MAN? Not certainly because
weary. He judges as God, not as Father. In the three greatjudgments of God
the whole Trinity judges.
1. Before all times in our election.
2. Now in separating of servants from enemies.
3. At the lastjudgment in separating the sheep from the goats.ConsiderGod
altogether, and so in all outward works, all the Trinity concurs, because all
are one God; but considerGod in relation, in distinct persons, and so the
severalpersons do something in which the other persons are not interested. So
the Sonjudgeth, the Father judgeth not, for that judgment He hath
committed.

III. TO THE SON HE HATH COMMITTED ALL JUDGMENT, the image of
the invisible God, and so more proportional unto us, more apprehensible by
us.
1. But doth He judge as Son of God or as Son of Man. Upon this the Fathers
and Reformers are divided. But take this rule, God hath given Christ this
commissionas Man, but Christ had not been capable of it had He not been
God too. The ability is in Him eternally, but the powerof actualexecutionwas
given Him as Man.
2. All judgment —
(1) Of our election. If I were under the condemnation of the law, and going to
execution, and the king's pardon were presentedto me, I should ask no
question as to motives and circumstances, but thankfully attribute it to his
goodness andacceptit; so when I considermyself as under God's
consideration, and yet by the working of God's Spirit I find I am delivered
from it I inquire not what God did in His cabinet council. I know that He hath
electedme in Christ. And, therefore, that I may know whether I do not
deceive myself I examine myself whether I cantruly tell my conscience that
Christ died for me, which I cannot do if I have not a desire to conform myself
to Him; and if I do that then I find my predestination.
(2) Of our justification, "for there is none other name," etc. Do I then
remember what I contractedwith Christ when I took His name at baptism?
Have I fulfilled those conditions? Do I find a remorse when I have not? Do I
feel remissionof those sins when I hear the gracious promises of the gospelto
repentant sinners? Have I a true and solid consolationwhenI receive the seal
of pardon at the Sacrament? Therefore this judgment is His also.

(3) Of our glorification(Revelation1:7). Then He shall come as Man and give
judgment for things done or omitted towards Him as Man, "fornot feeding,"
etc. Conclusion:Such is the goodness ofGod that He deals with man by the
Son of Man.
1. If you would be tried by the first judgment; are you electedor no? Do you
believe in Christ?
2. If by the second, are you justified or no? Do you find comfortin the Word
and sacraments ofChrist?
3. If by the third, do you expecta glorification? Are you so reconciledto Jesus
Christ now that you durst say now, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus"?then you
are partakers ofall that blessedness whichthe Father intended for you when,
for your sake,He committed all judgment to the Son.
(J. Donne, D. D.)
The RedeemerOur Judge
H. Melvill, B. D.
John 5:19-23
Then answeredJesus and saidto them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can
do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do…

That our Saviour was perfectGod and perfectman is a truth which cannot be
denied and Christianity not fall to the ground. But this very combination will
cause apparent inconsistenciesin the way in which He is spokenof. And it
should be remembered that what holds goodof Him in one capacitymay be
inapplicable to Him in another. As God judgment could not be committed to
Him. He had it by Divine necessityand right. But it is as Mediator, a Being in
which the two natures combine, that He is entrusted with the authority as
Judge.
I. HE WILL JUDGE AT THE LAST DAY. What are the qualifications
requisite for such an office?
1. Obviously no mere creature can fulfil that function. There must be
acquaintance with secreciesofcharacteras wellas open actions. Hypocrisy
must not pass undetected, nor unobtrusive merit fail of recompense. Angels
cannot be judges of human character, nor possessthemselves ofall the
necessaryevidence. Omniscience alone willsuffice.
2. But if we cannot approachan angelic judge with confidence, how approach
omniscient Deity? A createdjudge is immeasurably nearer than the Creator,
though of a different nature.
3. You ask, therefore, forone who shall have a thorough fellow feeling with
those brought to his bar, i.e., a man. But how canyou hope to have a man
who, qualified by sympathy, should yet possess the qualification of
omniscience?

4. This combination, however, does exist. A man sits on that "greatwhite
throne," "bone of our bone," but God to whom all things are nakedand open.
II. HE JUDGES NOW, forall judgment is committed to Him.
1. To this we are indebted for that tenderness which characterizesGod's
present judgments. Afflictions are not allowedto come together; "the rough
wind" is restrainedtill "the eastwind" has passedaway. Chastisementis very
different conceivedas inflicted by God and inflicted by the Mediator.
2. If this be so how heavy will be the final judgment! There will be no pleading
that our case wasnot thoroughly understood. All along we have been drawn
by the cords of a man; then the impenitent will be judged by the Man who
died for them and tried by every possible means to turn them from enemies
into friends. His presence itselfwill condemn, and they will call to the rocks,
etc., to hide them from not the thunderbolts of avenging Deity, but from the
face of Him who became man for their salvation. Anything might be better
borne than the glance of this face so eloquent of rejectedmercies.
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
The Human Judge Upon the Divine Throne
J.R. Thomson
John 5:22-27
For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son:…

Many are the offices whichit is appointed for the Son of man to hold. Yet they
are all consistentone with another, and only a complete view of them can
present Christ as he really is, and canelicit towards him all those sentiments
which are justly due to him. If he is the Saviour of sinners and the Friend of
his people, he is also the Lord of the earth and the Judge of all mankind.
I. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST AS JUDGE. As representedby
himself, these are two.
1. His Divine ability of knowledge,ofauthority, of justice, in virtue of his
nature as Son of God. This is assertedin the claim he makes in ver. 22 of
equality with the Father, and of a consequentright to the same honour which
is accordedto the Father.
2. His participation in our human nature implied in the designation"Sonof
man" in ver. 27. This true humanity of our Lord ensures that all judgment
shall be conducted not only with Divine knowledge and equity, but with
human sympathy and consideration.
II. THE PERSONSOVER WHOM CHRIST EXERCISES HIS JUDICIAL
FUNCTIONS. All mankind must stand at his bar; God hath committed all
judgment unto him, and a day is appointed in which God will judge all men
by the Man Christ Jesus. Friends and subjects, enemies and rebels, alike must
receive sentence from his lips.
III. THE PRINCIPLES WHICH DIRECT CHRIST'S JUDGMENT. Ofthese
two may be mentioned.

1. The thoughts and intents of the heart are consideredas well as outward
actions.
2. With respectto those who have been privileged to hear the gospel, the all-
important question is - Did they receive or reject the Divine Mediator, the
offer of Divine mercy?
IV. THE INSTINCT PERIODSOF CHRIST'S JUDGMENT.
1. There is judgment here and now, as seems implied in ver. 22. Christ is ever
passing judgment upon men, criticizing their characterand their action,
discriminating betweenthe evil and the good, making allowance forhuman
infirmities on the one hand, and for human endeavours on the other. It is well
for us that Christ judges his people now; that when necessaryhe has a
controversywith them; that he has words of reproachfor the unfaithful, and
words of encouragementfor the depressed;that he chastens his people in
kindness and with purposes of love. It is for them to submit themselves to
their Lord, to bow before his chastising hand, to profit by his correction.
2. There is judgment hereafter. Life has to be considered, not only in detail,
but as a whole. When it is finished, then is the time for it to be duly estimated
and justly recompensed. Now, our Lord himself assures us that retribution in
the life to come is his peculiar work. The anticipation of this process should
quicken our spiritual diligence and solicitude. The sinner may well repent and
seek acceptance, so thathe may recognize his Saviour upon the judgment seat;
and the Christian may wellprepare to render in his account"with joy and not
with grief." - T.

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(22) Forthe Father judgeth no man.—Better, Fornot even doth the Father
judge any man; and if not the Father, to whom judgment belongs, then none
other but the Son to whom He hath committed all judgment. To judge (comp.
John 5:29) is the opposite of to quicken in the previous verse. The fact that the
Son hath powerto judge is correlative with His power to quicken whom He
will. The spiritual life given to, and receivedby, some (John 5:24), is a
separationfrom, and a judgment of, others. The eternallife which shall be
given to some, shall be the eternal separationfrom, and exclusionof, others.
The reasonwhy judgment is committed to the Son is given in John 5:27 as
resulting from His humanity. It is stated here as resulting from His divinity. It
is that this power, like the quickening powerof John 5:21, should lead all to
give to the Sonhonour equal to that which they render to the Father. Again,
this relation is urged againstthose who professedto honour God, and as a
proof of it were seeking to kill His Son. That Sonship, expressing at once
subordination and unity, necessarilyinvolved the Fatherhood. To rejectHim
was to rejectthe Fatherwho sent Him. (Comp. John 5:24; John 5:30; John
5:36-37.)
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:17-23 The Divine power of the miracle proved Jesus to be the Son of God,
and he declaredthat he workedwith, and like unto his Father, as he saw good.
These ancientenemies of Christ understood him, and became more violent,
charging him not only with sabbath-breaking, but blasphemy, in calling God
his ownFather, and making himself equal with God. But all things now, and
at the final judgment, are committed to the Son, purposely that all men might
honour the Son, as they honour the Father; and every one who does not thus
honour the Son, whateverhe may think or pretend, does not honour the
Father who sent him.

Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Judgeth no man - Jesus in these verses is showing his "equality with God." He
affirmed John 5:17 that he had the same powerover the Sabbath that his
Father had; in John 5:19, that he did the same things as the Father; in John
5:21 particularly that he had the same powerto raise the dead. He now adds
that God has given him the authority to "judge" men. The Father pronounces
judgment on no one. This office he has committed to the Son. The powerof
judging the world implies ability to searchthe heart, and omniscience to
understand the motives of all actions. This is a work which none but a divine
being can do, and it shows, therefore, that the Son is equal to the Father.
Hath committed ... - Hath appointed him to be the judge of the world. In the
previous verse he had said that he had power "to raise the dead;" he here
adds that it will be his, also, to "judge" them when they are raised. See
Matthew 25; Acts 17:31.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
22. For the Father judgeth no man, &c.—rather, "Forneither doth the Father
judge any man," implying that the same "thing was meant in the former verse
of the quickening of the dead"—both acts being done, not by the Father and
the Son, as though twice done, but by the Fatherthrough the Sonas His
voluntary Agent.
all judgment—judgment in its most comprehensive sense, oras we should say,
all administration.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Alone he judgeth no man, he judgeth no man but by the Son, no man without
the Son; but committed all judgment in the administration of the mediatory
kingdom in the church to his Son, and by his Sonwill judge the world at the
last day.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
For the Father judgeth no man,.... That is, without the Son; which is another
proof of their equality: for that he does judge is certain; he is the Judge of the

whole earth; he is God that judgeth in the earth, or governs the world with his
Son, who works togetherin the affairs of providence: he judged and
condemned the old world, but not without his Son, who by his Spirit, or in his
divine nature, went and preachedto the spirits now in prison, then
disobedient in the times of Noah; he judged and condemned Sodom and
Gomorrah, but not without the Son; for Jehovahthe Son rained, from
Jehovahthe Father, fire and brimstone upon those cities, and consumedthem;
he judged the people of Israel, and often chastisedthem for their sins, but not
without his Son; the angelof his presence that went before them; he judges all
men, and justifies and acquits whom he pleases,but not without his Son; but
through his justifying righteousness, whichhe imputes to them; in doing
which he appears to he a just judge, and to do right; and he will judge the
world in righteousness atthe last day by his Son, whom he has ordained; so as
the Sondoes nothing without the Father, the Father does nothing without the
Son, which shows perfectequality. The Jews had an officerin their
sanhedrim, whom they calledAb Beth Din, or "the father of the house of
judgment", to whom belongedthe trying of causes, and of judging and
determining them. Hence the Targumist on Sol 7:4 says,
, "and the father of the house of judgment", who judgeth thy judgments, or
determines thy causes, is mighty over thy people, &c.''
Whether there may not be some allusion here to this officer, I leave to be
considered:
but hath committed all judgment to the Son; as the judgment, or government
of his church and people, especiallyunder the Gospeldispensation;and which
he exercises by giving ordinances peculiar to it, such as baptism and the
Lord's supper; and by enacting laws, and prescribing rules for the discipline
of his house, over which he is as a Son; and by appointing proper officers
under him, over his churches, to administer these ordinances, and see that
these laws are put in execution, which he qualifies them for, by bestowing
proper gifts upon them: and he exercises this judgment, by protecting and
defending his people from all their enemies, so that they well safelyunder his
government: as also the generaljudgment of the world at the last day, is
committed to him; which affair will be managed by Christ, the Son of God,

when he comes a secondtime; he will then raise the dead, that everyone may
receive for the things done in his body, whether goodor evil; he will gather all
nations before him, and all shall stand before his judgment seat, both great
and small; he will separate one from another, the sheep from the goats, and
setthe one on his right hand, and the other on his left; he will bring every
work into judgment, with every secretthing, and show himself to be the
searcherofthe hearts, and the trier of the reins of the children of men, and
will pass a most righteous and decisive sentence upon all: now for such a trust,
and such a work as this, whether the particular government of the church, or
the generaljudgment of the world, he would not be fit, was he not God equal
with the Father;the thing he had suggested, andwhich he supports and
maintains in this vindication of himself.
Geneva Study Bible
For the Father {g} judgeth {h} no man, but hath committed all judgment unto
the Son:
(g) This word judgeth is takenby the figure of speechsynecdoche to represent
all governing.
(h) These words are not to be takenas though they simply denied that God
governedthe world, but rather they deny that he governed as the Jews
imagined it, who separate the Fatherfrom the Son, whereas indeed, the
Father does not govern the world, but only in the personof his Son, being
made manifest in the flesh: so he says below in Joh5:30, that he came not to
do his own will: that his doctrine is not his own, that the blind man and his
parents did not sin Joh7:16 Joh 9:3, etc.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 5:22 does not state the ground of the Son’s call to bestow life (Luthardt,
comp. Tholuck and Hengstenberg), but is a justification of the οὓς θέλει,—
because the κρίσις refers only to those whom He will not raise to life,—in so
far as it is implied that the others, whom the Son will not make alive, will
experience in themselves the judgment of rejection(the anticipatory analogon

of the decisive judgment at the secondadvent, John 5:29). It is given to no
other than the Son to execute this final judgment. The κρίνει οὐδένα should
have prevented the substitution of the idea of separationfor that of judgment
(comp. John 3:17-18).
οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ π.] for not even the Father, to whom, however, by universal
acknowledgment, judgment belongs.[209]Consequentlyit depends only upon
the Son, and the οὓς θέλει has its vindication. Concerning οὐδέ, which is for
the most part neglectedby commentators, comp. John 7:5, John 8:42, John
21:25. The antithesis ἀλλὰ, κ.τ.λ., tells how far, though God is the world’s
Judge, the Fatherdoes not judge, etc.
κρίνει] the judgment of condemnation (John 3:17-18, John5:24; John 5:27;
John 5:29), whose sentence is the opposite of ζωοποιεῖν, the sentence of
spiritual death.
τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν] judgment altogether(here also to be understood on its
condemnatory side), therefore not only of the last acton the day of judgment
(John 5:27), but of its entirety (see on John 16:13), and consequently in its
progress in time, whereby the οὓς θέλει is decided.
[209]Weiss, Lehrbegr. p. 185, explains it as if it ran: οὐδὲ γὰρ κρίνει ὁ πατήρ,
etc.
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 5:22. But not only does the Son quicken whom He will, but He also
judges; οὐδὲ γὰρ … υἱῷ. “Fornot even does the Father judge any one, but has
given all judgment to the Son.” “Forsince He knows Himself to be the sole
mediator of true life for men, He can also declare that all those who will not
partake through Him of this blissful life, just therein experience judgment

whereby they sink into death.” Wendt, ii. 211;and cf. John 5:27. οὐδὲ γὰρ
introduces the fresh statement, that He judges, not only as the reasonfor what
goes before, but on its own accountalso, as an additional fact to be noticed. It
would seem an astonishing thing that even “judgment,” the allotting of men to
their eternal destinies, should be handed over to the Son. But so it is: and
without exception, τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν, “all judgment,” of all men and without
appeal.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
22. For the Father judgeth no man] Rather, Fornot even doth the Father(to
Whom judgment belongs)judge any man. The Sontherefore has both powers,
to make alive whom He will, and to judge: but the secondis only the corollary
of first. Those whom He does not will to make alive are by that very fact
judged, separatedoff from the living, and left in the death which they have
chosen. He does not make them dead, does not slay them. They are spiritually
dead already, and will not be made alive. Here, as in John 3:17-18, the
judgment is one of condemnation; but this comes from the context, not from
the word.
hath committed] Or, given; there is no reasonfor varying the common
rendering.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 5:22. Οὐδέ, neither) The Fatherdoes not judge alone, nor without the
Son: yet He does judge; John 5:45, “Do not think I will accuse you to the
Father;” Acts 17:31, “He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the
world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained;” Romans 3:6,
“Godforbid: for then how shall God judge the world?” Nor is the word
δέδωκε, He hath given, in this passage, opposed[to the Father’s judging]:
comp. John 5:26, “As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given the Son
to have life in Himself,” with John 5:21, “Foras the Father raiseth up the
dead, and quickeneththem: even so the Sonquickeneth whom He will.”—γάρ,
for) The Sondecides by His own judgment whom He pleases [wills] to

quicken. [And for that end the dead are raised up, that they may be judged.—
V. g.]—οὐδένα, no man) To this refer πάντες, all men, in the ver. following.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 22. - That οὕς θέλει is the point of connection with what follows, and
that the Son quickeneth whom he willeth, is more clear, seeing that (γὰρ) the
Father even judges no man; judges no man apart from the Son. "Paternon
judicat solus nec sine filio, judicat tamen (ver. 45; Acts 17:31;Romans 3:6)"
(Bengel). The word κρίνει does not mean exclusively either "condemn" or
"acquit," but the exercise ofjudicial functions which will either acquit or
condemn. As in John 3:17, the "condemnation" is rather inferred than
asserted. Moreover, we are there told that the Son was not sent into the world
for the purpose of judgment, but for the larger purposes of salvation, and "to
give eternallife." Nevertheless,"life" to some is judgment to others, and
judgment even unto death is the obverse of the gift of life when the conditions
of life are not found, in John 1:39 Christ declares that one solemn
consequence ofhis coming was εἰς κρίμα, "unto judgment" - to revealthe
final decisions ofthe Judge. How, then, shall we reconcile these apparently
incongruous statements? Judgment unquestionably results from the rejection
of the proffer of mercy. The judgment rests on those who say, "We see." Their
sin remaineth. Those who are not willing to be made whole remain unhealed.
Those who love darkness rather than light abide in the darkness. This is the
judgment, but this judicial process was (not the end, but) the consequence of
his mission. The Father's ordinary providence, which is always passing
judgment upon the lives of men, is now placedin the hands of "the Son."
Howbeit he hath given the whole judgment - i.e. the judgment in all its parts -
to the Son. He has made the entire juridical process whichbrings to light the
essentialtendencies ofhuman hearts, issue from the receptiongiven by man to
the Son. The whole question of right againstwrong, of life versus death,
acquittal againstcondemnation, is determined by the attitude of men towards
the Son. In many passagesthis plenipotentiary endowment of "the Son" with
functions, powers, authorities, is expressedby this same word (δέδωκε), "he
hath given" (ver. 36; John 3:35; John 6:37, 39;John 10:29; John 17:2, 4).
Meyer limits the meaning of κρίνει to "condemnation," and Slier includes in it
the separationofsin from the life of believers; but surely the judgment of the

world is effectedby the light that shines upon it, and the essenceofthe
judgment (κρίσις) is the discrimination which infailibly follows the revelation
of the Fatherthrough the Son.
Vincent's Word Studies
For the Father (οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ)
The A.V. misses the climax in οὐδὲ;not even the Father, who might be
expectedto be judge.
Hath committed (δέδωκεν)
Rev., given. The habitual word for the bestowmentof the privileges and
functions of the Son. See John5:36; John 3:35; John 6:37, John 6:39; John
10:29, etc.
All judgment (τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν)
Literally, the judgment wholly.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BARCLAY
He is the bringer of judgment. John says that God committed the whole
process ofjudgment to Jesus Christ. What he means is this--a man's judgment
depends on his reactionto Jesus. If he finds in Jesus the one person to be loved
and followed, he is on the way to life. If he sees in Jesus anenemy, he has
condemned himself. Jesus is the touchstone by which all men are tested;
reactionto him is the testby which all men are divided.

A. MACLAREN
THE LIFE-GIVER AND JUDGE
John 5:17 - John 5:27.
‘The Jews’were up in arms because Jesus haddelivered a man from thirty-
eight years of misery. They had no human sympathies for the sufferer, whom
hope deferred had made sick and hopeless, but they shuddered at the breach
of the Sabbath. ‘Sacrifice’was more important in their view than ‘mercy.’
They did not acknowledgethat the miracle proved Christ’s Messiahship, but
they were quite sure that doing it on the Sabbath proved His wickedness. How
formalism twists men’s judgments of the relative magnitude of form and
spirit!
Jesus’vindication of His action rousedthem still farther, for He put it on a
ground which seemedto them nothing short of blasphemy: ‘My Father
worketheven until now, and I work.’They fastenedon one point in that great
saying, namely, that it claimedSonship in a specialsense,and vindicated His
right to disregard the Sabbath law on that ground. God’s rest is not inaction.
‘Preservationis a continual creation.’All being subsists because Godis ever
working. The Sonco-operates withthe Father, and for Him, as for the Father,
the Sabbath law does not apply. The charge of breaking the Sabbath fades
into insignificance before the sin, in the objectors’eyes, of making such
claims. Therefore our Lord proceeds to expand and justify them.
He makes, first, a generalstatementin John 5:19 - John 5:20, in which He sets
forth the relation involved in the very idea of Fatherhoodand Sonship. He, as
perfect Sonof God, is perfectly one with the Fatherin will and act, and so knit
to Him in sympathy that a self-originatedactionis impossible, not by reason
of defect of power, but by reasonof unity of being. That perfect unity is
expressednegatively{‘can do nothing’} and then positively {‘doeth likewise’}.
But it is not manifest in actions alone, but has its deep roots in the perfect love
which flows everfrom eachto each, and in the Father’s perfect
communication to the Son, and the Son’s perfect receptionfrom the Father.

Jesus claimedto stand in such a relation to the Fatherthat He was able to do
whatsoeverthe Father did, and ‘in like manner’ as the Father did it; that He
was the unique objectof the Father’s love, and capable of receiving complete
communications as to ‘all things that Himself doeth’; that He lived in such
complete unity with the Father that His every act was the result of it, and that
no trace of self-will had ever tinged His perfect spirit. What man has ever
made such claims and not been treated as insane? He makes them, and
likewise says that He is ‘lowly of heart’; and the world listens, if not believing,
at any rate reverent, as in the presence ofthe bestman that ever lived.
Strange goodness,to claim such divine prerogatives, unless the claim is valid!
It is expanded in John 5:21 - John 5:23 into two great classesofworks, which
Jesus says that He does. Both are distinctively divine works. To give life and to
judge the world are equally beyond human power; they are equally His
actions. These are the ‘greaterworks’which He foretells in John 5:20, and
they are greaterthan the miracle of healing which had originatedthe whole
conversation. To give life at first, and to give it againto the dead, and not only
to revivify, but to raise them, are plainly competentto no powershort of the
divine; and here Jesus calmly claims them.
That tremendous claim is here made in the widest sense, including both the
corporeallyand the spiritually dead, who are afterwards treated of separately.
The Son is the fountain of life in all the aspects ofthat wide-reaching word;
and He ‘quickeneth whom He will,’ as He had spontaneouslyhealed the
impotent man. Does that assertioncontradictthe other, just before it, that He
does nothing of Himself? No; for His will, while His, is ever harmonious with
the Father’s, just as His love, which is ever coincident with the Father’s. Does
that assertionimply His arbitrary pleasure, or make man’s will a cipher? No;
for His will is guided by righteous love, and wills to quicken those who comply
with His conditions. But the assertiondoes declare that His will to quicken is
omnipotent, and that His voice can pierce ‘the dull, cold ear of death,’ and
bring back the soul to the empty house of this tabernacle, or rouse the spirit
‘dead in trespasses.’
The other divine prerogative of judging is inseparable from that of
revivifying, and in regard to it Christ’s claim is still higher, for He says that it

is wholly vestedin Him as Son. The idea of judgment here, like that of
quickening, with which it is associated, is to be takenin its more generalsense
{‘all judgment’} , and therefore as including both the presentjudgment, for
which Jesus saidthat He was come into the world, and which men pass on
themselves by the very factof their attitude to Him and His Gospel, and also
the future final judgment, which manifests characterand determines destiny.
Both these has the Father given into the hands of the Son.
The purpose, so far as men are concerned, of the Son’s investiture, with these
solemn prerogatives, is that He may receive universal divine honour. A
narrowerpurpose was stated in John 5:20, where the persons seeing His
works are only His then audience, and the effectsought to be produced is
merely ‘marvel.’ But wonder is meant to lead on to recognitionof the meaning
of His power, and of the mystery of His person, and that, again, to rendering
to Him preciselythe same honour as is due to the Father. No more
unmistakable demand for worship, no more emphatic assertionofdivinity,
can be made than lie in these words. To worship Christ does not intercept the
honour due to God; to worship the Sonis to worship the Father; and no man
honours the Fatherwho sent Him who does not honour the Sonwhom He has
sent.
In John 5:24 - John 5:27 the two relatedprerogatives are presentedin their
spiritual aspect, while in the later verses of the chapter the resurrectionand
quickening of the literally dead are dealt with. Mark the significant new term
introduced in John 5:24, ‘He that believeth.’ That spiritual resurrectionfrom
the death of sin and self is wrought on ‘whom He will,’ but He wills that it
shall be wrought on them who believe. Similarly, in John 5:25, it is ‘they that
hear’ who ‘shall live.’ It must be so, for there is no other way by which life
from Him, who is the Life, canpass into and quicken us than by our opening
our hearts by faith for its inflow. The mysteries of the Son’s divinity and of
His imparted life are deep, but the condition of receiving that life is plain. If
we will trust Jesus, we shall live; if not, we are dead. Trusting Him is trusting
the Fatherthat sent Him, and that Father becomes accessible to our trust
when we ‘hear’ Christ’s ‘word.’

The effects offaith are immediate, and the poor present may be enriched and
clothed in celestiallight for eachof us, if we will. ForJesus does not point first
to the mysteries of the resurrectionof the dead, and the tremendous
solemnities of the final judgment, but to what we may eachenter upon at any
moment. The believing man ‘hath eternal life,’ and ‘cometh not into
judgment.’ That life is not reservedto be entered on in the blessedfuture, but
is a present possession. True, it will blossominto unexampled nobleness when
it is transported into its native country, like some exotic in our colderclimates
if it were carried back to the tropics. But it is a present possession, and heaven
is not different in kind from the Christian life on earth, but differs mainly in
degree and in circumstances.And he that has the life here and now is, by its
moulding of his outward life, preservedfrom the sins which would bring him
into judgment, and the merciful judgment to which he is still subjectis that
for which his truest selflongs. And that blessedcondition carries in it the
pledge that, at the last greatday, which is to others a ‘day of wrath, a dreadful
day,’ he whom Christ has quickenedby His own indwelling life shall have
‘boldness before Him.’
Obviously, in these verses the presenteffects of faith are in view, since Jesus
emphatically declares that the ‘hour now is’ when they can be realised. Once
more He states in the strongestterms, and as the reasonfor the assurance that
faith secures to us life, His possessionofthe two divine prerogatives of
quickening and judging. What a paradox it is to say that it is ‘given’ to Him to
have ‘life in Himself’! And when was that gift given? In the depths of eternity.
He ‘sits on no precarious throne, nor borrows leave to be,’ and hence He can
impart life and lose none. Inseparably connectedwith that given, and yet self-
inherent, life, is the capacityfor executing judgment which belongs to Him as
‘a Son of man.’ It has been as ‘the Son’ of the Fatherthat it has been
considered, in the previous verses, as belonging to Him; but now it is as a true
man that He is fitted to bear, and actually is clothed with, that judicial power.
No doubt He is Judge of all, because by His incarnation and earthly life He
presents to all the offer of eternal life, by their attitude to which offer men are
judged. But the connectionof thought seems ratherto be that Christ’s
Manhood, inextricably intertwined with His divinity, is equally needed with
the latter to constitute Him our Judge. He ‘knowethour frame,’ from the

inside, as it were, and the participation in our nature which fits Him to ‘be a
merciful and faithful High Priest’also fits Him to be the Judge of mankind.
END OF PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
Jesus as the Judge of All the Earth
Additional Evidence from the New Testamentfor the Deity of Christ
Sam Shamoun
According to the Hebrews Scriptures Yahweh is the Judge of all the earth:
"Farbe it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the
wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked!Far be that from you! Shall
not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" Genesis 18:25
"The adversaries ofthe LORD shall be broken to pieces;againstthem he will
thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give
strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed." 1 Samuel2:10
"O LORD, God of vengeance, O Godof vengeance,shine forth! Rise up, O
judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!" Psalm 94:1-2
The Old Testamentfurther teaches that Yahweh has appointed a day when he
will come and gatherall the peoples before him in order to judge them in
righteousness:
"Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up againstthe fury of my
enemies;awake forme; you have appointed a judgment. Let the assemblyof
the peoples be gatheredabout you; over it return on high. The LORD judges
the peoples;judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness andaccording
to the integrity that is in me." Psalm7:6-8
"But the LORD sits enthroned forever;he has establishedhis throne for
justice, and he judges the world with righteousness;he judges the peoples with
uprightness." Psalm 9:7-8

"I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a
time for every matter and for every work." Ecclesiastes3:17
"Forbehold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will
the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those
slain by the LORD shall be many." Isaiah 66:15-16
This Day of Judgment is knownas the Day of the LORD or of Yahweh:
"Forbehold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of
Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the
Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on
behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scatteredthem
among the nations and have divided up my land… Hasten and come, all you
surrounding nations, and gatheryourselves there. Bring down your warriors,
O LORD. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of
Jehoshaphat;for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in
the sickle, forthe harvestis ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The
vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of
decision!For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun
and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The LORD
roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the
earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the
people of Israel. So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells
in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalemshallbe holy, and strangers shall
never again pass through it." Joel3:1-2, 11-17
"Be silent before the Lord GOD! Forthe day of the LORD is near; the LORD
has prepared a sacrifice and consecratedhis guests. And on the day of the
LORD's sacrifice--‘I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who
array themselves in foreign attire. On that day I will punish everyone who
leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master's house with violence
and fraud… The greatday of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the
sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A
day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and

devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry againstthe fortified cities and against
the lofty battlements." Zephaniah 1:7-9, 14-16
And on this day when Yahweh arrives to judge he will rescue his elect, his
flock, and distinguish the peoples as a shepherd distinguishes betweenthe
sheep, goats and rams:
"Forthe LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver;the LORD is our
king; he will save us." Isaiah33:22
"Strengthenthe weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Sayto those
who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong;fear not! Behold, your God will come
with vengeance, withthe recompense ofGod. He will come and save you.’
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leaplike a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for
joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;"
Isaiah35:3-6
"Forthus says the Lord GOD:Behold, I, I myself will searchfor my sheep
and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeksouthis flock when he is among his
sheepthat have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue
them from all places where they have been scatteredon a day of clouds and
thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gatherthem
from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed
them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places
of the country. I will feed them with goodpasture, and on the mountain
heights of Israelshall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good
grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I
myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie
down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the
strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the
fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. As for you, my
flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge betweensheep and sheep,
betweenrams and male goats. Is it not enoughfor you to feed on the good
pasture, that you must tread down with your feetthe rest of your pasture; and

to drink of clearwater, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your
feet? And must my sheepeatwhat you have trodden with your feet, and drink
what you have muddied with your feet? Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to
them: Behold, I, I myself will judge betweenthe fat sheepand the lean sheep.
Becauseyou push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your
horns, till you have scatteredthem abroad, I will rescue my flock;they shall
no longer be a prey. And I will judge betweensheepand sheep. And I will set
up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he
shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God,
and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have
spoken." Ezekiel34:11-24
Moreover, since Yahwehdoesn’t forgetand has perfectknowledge ofall
things he alone is able and qualified to render perfect judgment and repay a
person according to everything s/he has exactlydone:
"I the LORD searchthe heart and testthe mind, to give every man according
to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." Jeremiah17:10;cf. 11:20,
29:23
Finally, one of the many reasons givenin Scriptures to worship Yahweh alone
is the factthat he is the Judge of all:
"Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory
and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering,
and come into his courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the
peoples with equity.’ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;let the
sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall
all the trees of the forestsing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he
comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, andthe
peoples in his faithfulness." Psalm96:7-13
"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song
and sing praises!Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the
sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful

noise before the King, the LORD!Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the
world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills
sing for joy togetherbefore the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He
will judge the world with righteousness,and the peoples with equity." Psalm
98:4-9
With the foregoing in perspective we cannow turn our attention to the NT
teaching to see what it has to say about Christ being the Judge.
If the NT writers believed that Jesus is God we should not be surprised to find
them ascribing these very Divine functions to the risen Lord. However, if the
NT doesn’tteach the full Deity of Jesus then we should not expect them to
attribute to Christ the Divine prerogative of judgment since this would be
idolatry on the grounds that this would be ascribing to a creature the
incommunicable or exclusive characteristicsofGod. After all, only One who is
both omniscient and omnipotent canever be able to render perfect justice to
every creature that has ever lived and will live.
Let us see what the NT books teachregarding this issue.
1. Jesus is the Judge of All.
"And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the
one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead." Acts 10:42
"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the
world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has
given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31
"in that day when, according to my gospel, Godjudges the secretsofmen by
Christ Jesus."Romans 2:16

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the
living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:" 2 Timothy 4:1
2. Jesus comes to gatherhis flock and to separate the peoples as a shepherd
separates the sheepfrom the goats.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and
he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. And he will place the sheepon his right, but the goats on the
left. Then the King will sayto those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world’… Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you
cursed, into the eternalfire prepared for the devil and his angels’… And these
will go awayinto eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46
"Forthe Sonof Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10
It is interesting to see the way the following passages describe Jesus’
appearance whenhe comes to execute judgment:
"This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be
consideredworthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering--
since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict
you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord
Jesus is revealedfrom heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting
vengeance onthose who do not know God and on those who do not obey the
gospelof our Lord Jesus. Theywill suffer the punishment of eternal
destruction, awayfrom the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his
might, when he comes onthat day to be glorified in his saints, and to be
marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was
believed." 2 Thessalonians1:5-10
"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!The one sitting on it is
calledFaithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His
eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a

name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in
blood, and the name by which he is calledis The Word of God. And the
armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on
white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down
the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the
winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on
his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelation
19:11-16
Jesus will appear in flaming fire and with a sword in his mouth that he uses to
strike the nations, which is similar to the way Isaiah 66:15-16 describes
Yahweh’s appearance whenhe comes to judge!
3. Jesus is omniscient and omnipotent and can therefore render perfect
judgment and repay a personaccording to everything s/he has exactly done.
"Forthe Sonof Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his
Father, and then he will repay eachperson according to what he has done."
Matthew 16:27
"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord
comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will
disclose the purposes of the heart. Then eachone will receive his
commendation from God." 1 Corinthians 4:5
According to Paul, the Lord who is coming to expose the secretpurposes of
the heart of men is the Lord Jesus:
"so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you waitfor the revealing
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day
of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:7-8
"I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If anyone has no love for the
Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!The grace ofthe Lord Jesus be
with you." 1 Corinthians 16:21-23

"Forwe must all appear before the judgment seatof Christ, so that eachone
may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether goodor
evil." 2 Corinthians 5:10
Fully agreeing with the Apostle Paul is John the Evangelistsince this is what
he wrote in his Apocalypse:
"And to the angelof the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of
God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feetare like burnished
bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient
endurance, and that your latter works exceedthe first… And all the churches
will know that I am he who searchesmind and heart, and I will give to eachof
you as your works deserve.’" Revelation2:18-19, 23
"‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay
everyone for what he has done… He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely
I am coming soon.’Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!The grace ofthe Lord Jesus be
with all. Amen." Revelation22:12, 20-21
4. God assignedJesusthe role of Judge specificallyso that all the peoples
would worship him.
In the first sectionwe quoted two specific Psalms where the Psalterexhorted
the people to worship Yahweh since he was coming to judge the nations. This
presupposes that one of the many reasons why Godis worthy of worship is
because he is the Judge of all creation.
In a similar manner, the Lord Jesus claims that the reasonwhy God entrusted
all judgment to him is so that everyone may worship the Son as they worship
the Father:
"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may
honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoeverdoes not honor the Son
does not honor the Fatherwho sent him… And he has given him authority to
execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man." John 5:22-23
Christ doesn’tsay that the people are to honor him in the same way they
would honor a prophet, messenger, rabbi, parents etc. Rather, Jesus

emphatically states that everyone must give him the same honor that they give
to God! Jesus is basicallydemanding to be worshiped as God since this is the
kind of honor that the Father receives. Anyone who fails to worship Christ
will be judged and condemnedby him.
Moreover, Jesus says thatanother reasonwhy he judges is because he is the
Son of Man:
"And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of
Man." John 5:27
Lest a person is familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, specificallythe book of
Daniel, s/he may fail to see the connectionbetweenJesus being the Sonof Man
and his judging the people. Here is the OT key which unravels this puzzle:
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaventhere came
one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented
before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages shouldserve him; his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that
shall not be destroyed." Daniel7:13-14
Daniel foresaw a Sonof Man whom God appointed to rule over the peoples of
the earth foreverand whom all the nations had to worship and serve. Jesus
was basicallysaying that he is that Sonof Man whom Daniel saw, the very
One who rules forever overthe entire creationof God and who shall be
worshiped by everyone.
To put it simply, the reasonwhy Jesus judges all the nations is because he is
none other than that very same Son of Man of Daniel’s vision who reigns
forever and whom the nations must serve and worship.
5. The NT writers callthe judgment day the Day of the Lord Jesus, the Day of
Christ.
The NT authors do something which would be quite shocking to their fellow
Jews. Insteadof referring to the judgment day as the Day of Yahweh the

inspired authors of the NT actually call it the Dayof the Lord Jesus or the
Day of Christ!
"just as you did partially acknowledge us, that on the day of our Lord Jesus
you will boast of us as we will boastof you." 2 Corinthians 1:14
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a goodwork in you will bring it to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ… so that you may approve what is
excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ," Philippians 1:6,
10
"holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." Philippians 2:16
The only way for monotheistic Jews (as the NT writers were, with the
exceptionof Luke who was a Gentile) could ever think of identifying the
judgment day as the Day of the Lord Jesus is if they had been convincedthat
Jesus is Yahweh God. Otherwise, they would be guilty of assigning to a
creature the very Daywhich the OT says belongs to Yahweh God Almighty.
The foregoing data makes it abundantly clearthat the NT writers were fully
convinced that Jesus Christ wasn’t merely a human being, but that he was
Yahweh God Almighty who had become man for the salvationof the world.
This is why these inspired authors had no difficulty with ascribing to Christ
the very functions and titles which the OT Scriptures apply to Yahweh.
Jesus, Judge of All
Some popular schools ofChristian theologysuppose that there is a coming
single day of judgment for everyone. One finds this view reflectedin literature
and art through Christendom. However, a careful reading of the Bible
indicates that there are at leasteight major judgments recordedin Scripture
applicable to various groups of people.
Jesus as Judge

John's gospel, Chapter5, is very important to this entire discussion.
"Forthe Fatherloves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does;
and He will show Him greaterworks than these, that you may marvel. For as
the Fatherraises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to
whom He will. For the Fatherjudges no one, but has committed all judgment
to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He
who does not honor the Son does not honor the Fatherwho sent Him.
Mostassuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who
sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed
from death into life.
Mostassuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead
will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the
Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Sonto have life in Himself,
and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son
of Man.
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the
graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, to the
resurrectionof life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrectionof
condemnation.
I can of Myselfdo nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous,
because I do not seek Myown will but the will of the Fatherwho sent Me."
(John 5: 20-30)
Since God is both holy and just, He must judge evil and vindicate
(recompense)those who have been wronged. He does this in accordancewith
His own time-tables and calendar. In the Lamentations of Jeremiahwe learn
that God's judgments are undertaken reluctantly after all else fails. God is
"slow to anger" and very patient and "longsuffering," --but when He does
judge He is thorough and even (to us) ruthless.
In his commentary on the Gospelof John, Ray C. Stedman writes,

The claim of Jesus is that life belongs to him. He only loans it, for a while, to
us. Think of that! It cuts right across the philosophy and the propaganda of
our day! Television, radio, newspapers and magazines tell you that your life
belongs to you, and you can do with it what you want; it is up to you to make
of yourself whatever you desire. That is what is fed to us all the time. But that
is a lie! Your life is not yours. You did not invent it, you were handed it, you
were given it. One of these days you will have to give it back. Those two great
facts underscore all of life, yet how easyit is to forget them.
How frequently the world tries to operate on a basis that is not true, that life
belongs to us, and it will go on as long as we want it to! One of the reasons we
gather here Sunday after Sunday is that we might counteractthat lie and
remind ourselves afreshthat many of the things that are being saidto us by
the world are not true, they are not basedon reality. Sooneror later, an
exciting, compelling, terrifying reality is going to crashin upon us and we will
have to deal with life the way it really is. That is what this claim of Jesus
states. He claims not only to possess the powerto give physical life, but
spiritual life as well.
"Spiritual" life is what the Bible calls "eternal" life. It is a different levelof
life. It is not merely, as it is frequently translated(especially in the King James
version), "everlasting" life. Thatconveys the idea that this present, earthly life
will be extended infinitely. But that is not what the Bible is talking about when
it speaks of"spiritual" or "eternal" life. It is rather describing a quality of
life. It is true that it goes on forever, but primarily the Bible is talking about
the richness, the fullness, the beauty of life. It is a quality of life that is
enduring, true, but it is also enriching; it cannot be diminished by
circumstances orended by death. It is a quality of life that is given to us now.
It begins here, not in heaven after you die. The claim of Jesus is that he alone
has the power to give that kind of life.
BecauseJesus gives "to whomhe will," that makes him also the arbiter of the
destiny of human beings:He is the Judge of all men. It is his knowledge of
who is to receive eternal life, and who is to remain without it, that constitutes
him an infallible Judge of human destiny. These two ideas blend together;one
grows out of the other. If Jesus gives you life you are on your way to heaven. If

he gives you eternal life you will never die, you will never taste the emptiness
and awful loneliness of death. You will immediately have a fuller experience of
life than you have ever had before. But only if Jesus gives it to you. He is the
sole possessorofspiritual life.
If he does not give you life then you remain exactlythe way you were, on your
way to hell, on your way to frustration, torment, hollowness -- all those
negative things the Scripture means when it speaks ofhell -- life without God,
without blessing, without richness, without fullness.
If this claim of Jesus is, real it clearly makes him the most important Person
in anybody's life. If your very physical existence has come from him, and your
spiritual destiny is in his hands, then he is the most important Personyou will
ever have to deal with. More than that, he is the most important Personin the
whole world, the central figure in all the universe. This is statedall through
the Scriptures.
In the last book of the Bible, which was also written by the Apostle John, there
is a tremendous scene describedin Chapter 5, where John takes us beyond the
limits of earth and shows us the throne of God. The creatures of heavenare
gatheredaround the throne, worshiping God, and in the centerof the scene
John sees a Lamb that has been slain. Here is his description:
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the
elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and
thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who
was slain, to receive powerand wealthand wisdom and might and honor and
glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and
under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon
the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for
ever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders
fell down and worshiped. (Rev 5:11-14)
There is Jesus, sitting at the heart of the universe. Because ofthis, no
Christian can ever put Jesus Christon a par with Mohammed, Buddha,
Mahatma Gandhi, the virgin Mary, Moses,the prophets, or any religious
leaderof any time. This is why we cannot call a Christian one who only

accepts the teachings of Jesus, orwho adopts his moral standards, or admires
him as a socialreformer or religious leader. Jesus himself does not allow us
that privilege. He is above all of this. He alone has the right to give the gift of
eternal life. In his first letter, John has written of him, "This is the record,
that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the
Son has life, but he who does not have the Sonof God does not have life," (1
John 5:11-12). The relationship you have to Jesus Christis the most important
relationship of your life. It determines your ultimate destiny.
If that is true, the greatquestion before us is, "To whom and on what terms
does Jesus give eternal life?" The answerto that is given in one of the greatest
verses in Scripture, Verse 24. It is one of my favorite texts, one I have used
many, many times. I hope you will memorize these words of Jesus,
Truly, truly, I sayto you [remember, that introduction in effectunderlines the
words that follow, calling attention to the importance of them], he who hears
my word and believes him who sent me, has eternallife; he does not come into
judgment, but has passedfrom death to life. (John 5:24 RSV)
That verse makes clearthat when Jesus says he gives life "to whom he will," it
is not a matter of arbitrary selectiononhis part. He does not point at people
in a capricious way, and say, "You, and you, and you, canhave eternal life,"
and so on. It is clearthere is a responsibility we are to fulfill.
To whom does Jesus give eternal life? To the man or woman, boy or girl who
"hears his words and believes in Him who sent him," to the one who is willing
to listen to his claims, believe his credentials, and acton that basis, to follow
him and be his obedient disciple. When one hears his words and obeys what
he says, notice what happens: immediately Jesus says he "has eternal life;"
not, he "shallhave" it some day when he dies. He has it, right then.
Immediately also all judgment is past. Such a one has "passedfrom death to
life." Our Lord is making very clearto these Jews and to everyone else who
reads his words the terms on which one passesfrom death to life.
All of us are born headedfor death. We do not like to talk about it, we put it
awayfrom our thoughts as long as possible, but we are all headed for death.
Beyond death lies the seconddeath -- unless we have eternal life. Thus the

most important question anybody has to settle is whether he has believed in
Jesus and receivedfrom his hand the gift of eternal life. In Verse 25 Jesus
extends this wellinto the future:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [the
spiritually dead] will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hearwill
live. For as the Fatherhas life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to
have life in himself..." (John 5:25-26)
What does Jesus mean by the words, "the hour is coming"? This is a clear
reference to the Day of Pentecost, to the new thing that would happen when
the Spirit of God would come in a new, fresh wayand this gift of eternallife
would be given to Jews and Gentiles alike all overthe world and through all
the succeeding periods of time. Already the "hour" of which Jesus speaksis
over 1900 years long. During that time whoeverhears his word and believes
on him who sent him receives eternallife.
But, Jesus also says, "itnow is," i.e., it was alreadyhappening. By those words
he is referring to his own giving to individuals of the gift of life. We have
already seenthis in John's gospel. Nicodemus, the troubled religious leader,
came by night to Jesus in an effort to find peace. Jesus saidto him, "Justas
Moses lifted up the serpentin the wilderness, so must the Sonof man be lifted
up [on a cross], that whoeverbelieves in him may have eternal life," (John
3:15 RSV). Nicodemus believed and received the gift of eternal life. The
Samaritan womanat the well, who was living such an empty life, trying to
find satisfactionin five husbands, hoping marriage would satisfy her
yearnings, came empty, hungry, and thirsty to Jesus. To her he said, "If you
knew who is speaking to you, you would have askedof him and he would have
given you a well of waterspringing up to eternal life," (John 4:10 RSV). Thus
he gave her eternal life. She went awayso excited she could not contain
herself, but soonbrought the whole town out to hear this One who could give
the gift of eternal life.
So it was already happening, "the hour is coming, and now is," when the
spiritually dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
live. Then he adds that as the Sonof God, as the One who is eternally with the

Father, he has always had this ability to give life to the spiritually dead. He
has this life "in Himself." He is the One who has always given eternal life, in
the Old Testamentas well as the New. But now he adds something else. Verse
27:
"...and[the Father] has given him authority to execute judgment, because he
is the Sonof man." (John 5:27)
In other words, because he has now become a man and understands how we
live, how we feeland what we face, he has the right to pass judgment on
whether we should have the gift of life or remain in death. It is because Jesus
came among us that he understands us. He knows the pressures and the
problems we face, therefore he knows clearlywhen we have reachedthe place
where we are ready to give up depending on ourselves and are able to receive
the gift of life.
To receive the gift of life is the only way by which a man can be permanently
changed, whether he has a black record or not. The only thing that can
transform us right at the very heart of our being, and make us new again, is
the gift of eternal life. Those who have it cannever be the same again. The
growth process cansometimes be very painful, as many of us know, but, when
the gift of life is there at the heart of our being, we cannever go back to what
we once were. That life is in God's Son. But all physical life is also in his
hands. Verse 28:
"Do not marvel at this [What does that tell you about what they were doing?
They were agog with astonishment that he would speak like this. Their
mouths dropped open at the daring claims he made.] for the hour is coming
when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who
have done goodto the resurrectionof life, and those who have done evil to the
resurrectionof judgment.
I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is
just because I seek notmy own will but the will of him who sent me," (John
5:28-30)

What a marvelous claim! Jesus says there is coming an hour in history when
all the dead, all of them -- bad, good, evil, kind, loving, unloving, murderers,
rapists -- all, shall come forth from the grave. He is going to empty the
cemeteries ofthe world. Then, even the bodies of men and women will share
in their final destiny.
Those who have "done good" shallexperience the resurrection of life. What
does "done good" mean? Many people extract this verse from the context and
make up their own ideas about what it means to "do good." Theysay if you
have been fairly nice to your neighbor, do not beat your wife too often, speak
kindly to people now and then, and try your best to obey the Ten
Commandments, then perhaps the goodyou have done will outweigh the evil
and God will let you into heaven.
But that is not what this verse is saying. This is just a few verses removed
from what Jesus saidabout the gift of eternal life. To "do good," ofcourse,
means to have receivedeternallife. Only those in whom the life of God is
dwelling can "do good" in God's eyes. In the words of an old hymn, "He died
that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good;That we might go at last
to heaven, Savedby His precious blood." Those who have obeyedhis word,
walkedin fellowship with him and shared his life -- those are the ones who
have "done good."
What does "done evil" mean? Obviously this is referring to those who have
refused his life, turned their backs on truth, and shut their ears to the offer of
grace from God; those who have denied even the witness of nature, the
witness of their own inner hearts. Those are the ones who have all their life
"done evil" even though there were times when they thought they were doing
good. They will come forth to the "resurrectionofjudgment."
That is clearly the import of the words of Jesus. No wonder he frightened and
challengedthe people who heard him on that day, as he frightens and
challenges us when we hear his words today. But note his assurancein Verse
30:
"I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment
is just..." (John 5:30a)

There will be no argument againsthis judgment, no one cancomplain that it
is unfair, because it is the work of both the Father and the Son; the Father
who gave us life to begin with and who knows all that is in our hearts;the Son
who came among us and knows how we feeland is both our Saviorand Judge.
We decide which he is going to be by the reactionwe have to truth. (He's Got
the Whole World in His Hands, http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/john/3844.html).
Judgment of everyone is basedon our Knowledge and on our "Works"
God judges all men on the basis of the truth they have receivedand their
actions (deeds)in life. (The works that count in the life as far as God is
concernedare the acts of Christ in and through us--the result of our faith).
"...do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and
patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to
repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath
for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be
revealed. Forhe will render to every man according to his works:to those
who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he
will give eternallife; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth,
but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation
and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the
Greek, but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew
first and also the Greek. ForGod shows no partiality. All who have sinned
without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned
under the law will be judged by the law. Forit is not the hearers of the law
who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they
are a law to themselves, eventhough they do not have the law. They show that
what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their consciencealso
bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse orperhaps excuse them on
that day when, according to my gospel, Godjudges the secrets ofmen by
Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:4-16)
In Chapter One of Romans we learn that the active, ever-present"wrath" of
God "is [continuously] revealedfrom heaven againstall ungodliness and

unrighteousness of men who repress the truth in unrighteousness."
Furthermore, all men everywhere know enoughabout God to be without
excuse--one cannot plead ignorance onthe day of judgment. "He who believes
in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Sonshall not
see life, but the wrath of Godabides on him." (John 3:36)
In Romans chapter 2 we are introduced to the "storedup" aspectofthe wrath
of God. When the "stored-up" wrath is unleashed it can not be stopped. For
example, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedinglygreat,
and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say,
'The LORD has forsakenthe land, and the LORD does not see!' "And as for
Me [the Lord] also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will
recompense their deeds on their own head." (Ezekiel9:9-10)
Romans 2 tells that that when we judge and condemn others we are playing
God. We have neither the knowledge northe right to sit in judgment on
others. Therefore our judgmental attitudes are serious sin. (Judging others in
order to make ourselves look goodis not the same as discernment which we do
need in order to help and encourage others).
Motives matter. "Man looks upon the outward appearance, Godlooks upon
the heart." At the judgment of the sheepand goats in Matthew 25:31ffmen
are evaluated, basically, on the basis of loving their neighbor in practical
ways. The Sermonon the Mount intensifies the demands of the Law of Moses
by showing that the motives of the heart are as important as outward conduct.
James says, "Whoeverkeepsthe whole Law and fails in any one point, is
guilty of all of it."
The standards of Godare very high. "All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God." One of the definitions of sin is comparedto shooting an arrow
at a target and missing the mark. Trying hard is not goodenough. Who
among us actually lives out the Golden Rule (Mt. 7:12) in our daily lives? The
gulf betweena holy God and us sinners is an infinite chasm, bridgeable only
by God Himself who, in Christ, has made our reconciliationpossible.
What is the standard for acceptable human conduct? The standard is actually
Jesus Himself. Jesus is God's righteousness. In contrast"...we are all like an

unclean thing, And all our righteousnessesare like filthy rags; We all fade as a
leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." (Isaiah64:6)
The three-fold work of the Holy Spirit in the world during the age we live in
includes convicting the world of its unrighteousness:
"NeverthelessI tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I [Jesus]go
away;for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart,
I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convictthe world of
sin, and of righteousness, andof judgment: of sin, because theydo not believe
in Me; of righteousness, because Igo to My Fatherand you see Me no more;
of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
Life Styles:People who live outwardly moral and decent lives are usually
pursuing goals in life that run contrary to the will of God because theyare
most likely selfish and self-seeking. Fromwhence comes the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, or the freedom to have an abortion, or
the right to choose one's sexualpreferences? Manis a worshiping being by
nature and if not serving the true and living God, is automatically serving
idols.
Hypocrisy (pretending to be godly when one is not) is actually worse than
open immorality.
"These sixthings the LORD hates, Yes, sevenare an abomination to Him: A
proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that
devises wickedplans, Feetthat are swift in running to evil, A false witness
who speaks lies, And one who sows discordamong brethren." (Proverbs 6:16-
19)
Providence and Common Grace:God is kind to all men, "He makes his rain
fall on the just and the unjust." His kindness, patience and love to all mankind
is for the purpose of bringing us to repentance. The proper response to God's
grace is thanksgiving, worship, and commitment.
God's judgment is utterly fair and impartial. He judges us on our actual
conduct basedon what we do know about Him. God judges according to truth

and He takes our motives into account. Doing goodoccasionallyis not enough.
A consistentgoodlife marks the path of the righteous.
Summary of God's Judgments
1. God is holy and just. He must judge all evil everywhere. "Shallnot the
Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)
2. The Lord prefers mercy to judgment: He is compassionateand
longsuffering, He is, "Not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
3. Becausejudgment is often delayed in time (God is longsuffering), many
people assume Godwill never judge us.
4. Judgment is God's "strange work"--howeverwhen Goddoes move in
judgment He is thorough and even ruthless.
5. More than one single judgment: Some popular schools oftheologysuppose
that there is a coming single day of judgment for everyone. One finds this view
reflectedin religious literature and art. However, the Bible indicates that
there are eight or more separate judgments of various groups of people
recordedin Scripture.
Judgments at the Cross
A. When Jesus died on the cross the sins of all of mankind were judged. Jesus,
the innocent Lamb of God, was the substitute who endured the full wrath and
punishment of God for all of the sins of everyone who has ever lived. (Rom.
3:21-26, 1 John 2:2) The judgment of all human sin by God through the
propitiatory sacrifice ofhis Son on the cross has made it possible for all men
everywhere to be freely forgiven and thus reconciledto God. For instance,
Paul pleads with men to acceptGodgoodfavor towards them now (2 Cor.
5:14-21). "He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, so that we might
become the righteousness ofGod in Him." (This does not mean that all men
are saved, because Godcannot violate human freedom to refuse his grace).

B. The judgment of the Adamic nature of believers was carriedby Christ on
the cross. (Rom. 6:1-10)This aspectof the work of Christ on the cross with us
(not merely for us) is widely overlookedby Christians today!
C. Satan, the chief of the fallen angels, was judgedat the cross. This is a vast
subject containedwithin the short statement "Godwas in Christ reconciling
the world unto Himself." (Col. 1:19-20, John 12:31)"For it pleasedthe Father
that in Christ all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things
to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made
peace through the blood of His cross." (Col. 1:19-20)
The Judgment Seatof Christ.
This one judgment applies to Christians only. This judgment is not a
judgment for the Christian's sin but of his "works."(John3:18, 5:24, Rom.
8:1-4, 1 Cor. 3:9-15, 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:9-10, Rom. 14:7-12). It is a "job
performance evaluation."
The Judgment of Israel
This event comes after the rapture of the church but before the judgment of
the nations. (Matt. 24:1-25:46). This is a vastsubject! (For starters see Daniel
12:1-3, Ezek. 20:33-44, Matt. 24:29-31, Zech. 12:10-14, Joel3, Malachi3:1-6,
Ezek. 36-37, Isa. 63-66, Hosea 5:13-6:3, Rom. 11:25-36, Rev. 14:14-20, Matt.
25:31-46). Jesus is the Avenger of Blood and Kinsman Redeemer, especially
for Israel. Jesus has a specialand unique relationship with His own people
Israel, and they are a specialnation as God's model nation. They are to be
judged more strictly than the gentile nations for these two reasons.
The Judgment of Angels
Christians, working togetherwith their Lord Jesus will judge both angels and
the world. (1 Cor. 6:2,3). No details are given.
The Final Judgment of the Nations
The gentile nations will be judged immediately following the judgment of the
nation Israel, just after the Lord Jesus has returned to the Mount of Olives at

the SecondAdvent. The basis for this judgment is how the nations have
treated the Jews!(Joel3:1-8, Matt. 25:31-46)
The GreatWhite Throne Judgment
Sometimes calledthe "LastJudgment". (Rev. 20:11-15)All the unbelievers of
all time, will be judged by the deeds and banished forever from the presence
of God. There are degrees ofpunishment for the wicked. This judgment
comes (in earth-history time) at the end of the Millennium, but before the
"New Heavens and New Earth."
Temporal Judgments
God also judges nations down through history. Nations ruse and nations fall.
This is discussedin Ray Stedman's studies of the parables of Matthew 13,
Behind the Scenes of History, http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/behind/, and can be
seenin his book Deathof a Nation on the book of Jeremiah,
http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/jeremiah/. Points in time when God judges an
individual or a nation are illustrative of greaterjudgments which will come
later in time. The destruction of Sodomand Gomorrah and the cities of the
Plain is an example of a temporal, point-in-time judgment. Jude says, "And
the angels who did not keeptheir proper domain, but left their own abode, He
has reservedin everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the
greatday; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar
manner to these, having given themselves overto sexualimmorality and gone
after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of
eternal fire." (Jude 6,7)The latter event was a judgment by God at a certain
point in time past, about 2000 BC, (Genesis 18-19).
The judgment of the Canaanites whomGod ordered Joshua and the incoming
Israelites to "utterly destroy" is often criticized by non-Christians as an
indication that Yahweh is cruel and arbitrary. Glenn Miller discusses this
judgment in an article, How could a Godof Love order the
massacre/annihilationof the Canaanites? http://www.christian-
thinktank.com/qamorite.html
Individuals are also judged when any group of people is being judged.

Individuals are also judged during their life-times. A particular sin "which
leads to death" means that a certain believer may not be allowedto live out
his full life span on earth but may be called home early because of
disobedience. See RayStedman's notes on "the sin unto death,"
http://ldolphin.org/deliberate.html.
Wars are temporal judgments from God applicable to both parties. (That is,
there are no just wars). God's role in these judgments usually escapesthe
notice of the world, but discerning believers will see God's hand in world
affairs. "Acts of God" in legaleseare "accidents," suchas shipwrecks in a
storm, where there is no obvious human cause. Since there are in reality no
accidents in a universe where God is in full control of all the details, God
allows and even causes shipwrecks, andsuch, but we don't always know why.
When a natural disasteroccurs many prognosticatorsrush to explain why the
victims in the disastersufferedand died. In most cases we cannot track down
the chain of causalityand we ought not to try. Romans 11:33 reminds us
"How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out" is a
clearstatement
Avoiding Judgment
We canavoid being judged by God and we can avoid being disqualified for
the Lord's work--if we judge ourselves regularly. The Apostle Paul suggests
he was all too aware of the possibility he might fail to finish the task he was
calledto--that he might be disqualified. He says, "But I discipline my body
and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preachedto others, I myself
should become disqualified." (1 Cor. 9:27) He also says, "Forif we would
judge ourselves, we would not be judged." (1 Cor. 11:31)and further adds
that every followerof Christ canexpect corrective discipline from God. "But
when we are judged, we are chastenedby the Lord, that we may not be
condemned with the world." (1 Cor. 11:32)The discipline of God for the
believer is not punitive but corrective. This is discussedin Hebrews 12:1-17.

GGodwill invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere
openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He
does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks
onto the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right, but what is the
goodof saying you're on His side then, when you see the whole natural
universe melting awaylike a dream and something else--something it never
entered your head to conceive--comes crashing in; something so beautiful to
us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this
time it will be God without disguise;something so overwhelming that it will
strike either irresistible love, or irresistible horror into every creature. It will
be too late then to choose yourside. There is no use saying you choose to lie
down, when it's become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for
choosing;it will be the time when we discoverwhich side we really have
chosen, whetherwe realize it or not. Now, today, in this moment, is our chance
to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not
last forever; we must take it or leave it. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)
Systematic Theologyby Lewis Sperry Chafer, KregelPress, 1976.CHAPTER
XXVI:
THE JUDGMENTS
OF EIGHT JUDGMENTS announcedin the Bible, one is wholly past, two
pertain to the present, and five are wholly future. The five, being future, are
themes of unfulfilled prophecy. To the end that the entire field of judgment
may be appraised under this generaldivision, those judgments which are not
predictive in characterwill be included in this thesis; and the two pertaining
to the present, because oftheir interrelationship, will be consideredtogether.
By their recognizanceofbut one so-calledfinal judgment, theologians in
generalhave laid themselves opento the suspicion that they have not been

worthy firsthand students of the SacredText. It is here contended that there
are various judgments which are widely separatedwith respectto time,
theme, subjects, and circumstances.This body of truth bearing on these
judgments is not only comprehensive but free from complications. These
judgments are:
I. THE DIVINE JUDGMENTSTHROUGHTHE CROSS:Three features of
divine judgment, alreadyindicated under Soteriology, were achievedby
Christ's death on the cross. These are (1)the judgment of the sin of the world,
(2) the judgment of the believer's sin nature, and (3) the judgment of Satan.
These, it will be seen, were perfectly met by Christ when He died.
1. THE JUDGMENT OF THE SIN OF THE WORLD:Regardlessof
objections raisedby some theologians who have a theory to defend, the New
Testamentasserts withunqualified assurance that Christ died for the sin of
the world (cf. John 1:29; 3:16; Heb. 2:9; I John 2:2). It is true that out of at
leastfourteen objectives in His death Christ had a specific designregarding
the sins of the elect, or those who would believe (cf. John 11:11; Eph. 5:25-27;
I John 2:2); but His inclusion of the sins of the electas a particular class does
not exclude the essentialtruth that He also had a world-wide purpose in His
death. Though it may not be comprehended wholly by finite minds, the
messageis to be received, as declaredin the Word of God, which asserts that
full pardon and deliverance from the penalty of sin has been perfectly secured
for all those who believe. Without discussing againthe theologicalimplications
of this declaration, it may be pointed out that this is a divine judgment for sin
which falls upon Another, who bears it as a Substitute. In this judgment
unrestricted demands are imposed and these are endured to infinite
completeness.
2. THE JUDGMENT OF THE BELIEVER'S SIN NATURE:Evidence that
this important judgment is not extended to the unregenerate is conclusive,
since no Scripture relates it to them. The value to the believer of the
accomplishmentof a sufficient and final divine judgment of the sin nature (cf.
Rom. 6:1-10)is far-reaching. That value does not accomplishany change in
the presentvital forcefulness of that nature. This judgment consists rather in
a divine reckoning which disposes of every moral objection that the sin nature

would otherwise impose upon the indwelling Holy Spirit so as to preclude His
control of that nature. Thus the entire possibility of the overcoming powerof
the Spirit in the daily life of the Christian is involve- Since there is no divine
intention that the unsaved shall be empoweredto holy living in their unsaved
state--having not the Spirit (cf. Jude 1:19)-there is neither provision nor
promise which extends the value of this judgment beyond the limits of those
who are saved. It could not be questioned that Christ's death for the believer's
sin nature is a form of divine judgment (cf. Rom. 6:1-10; Gal. 5: 24; Eph.
4:22-24;Col. 3:9-10).
3. THE JUDGMENT OF SATAN THROUGH THE CROSS:Since it is but
partially revealed, to human minds the relationship betweenGod and the
angels is incomprehensible. The particular relation betweenChrist and Satan
is equally veiled. Though vast in its scope, some light is gained on the relations
existing betweenChrist and the angels from the protevangelium of Genesis
3:15, the temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4: 1-13), the war in heaven (Rev.
12: 7-12), the thousand-year reign in which angelic powers are subdued (I
Cor. 15:25-26), but more especiallyfrom the judgment of Satanby Christ in
connectionwith the cross (John 12:31;14:30; 16:11;Col. 2:14-15). Thus it is
disclosedthat the cross ofChrist in its threefold outreach is one of the
greatest, if not the greatest, ofall divine judgments.
II. THE SELF-JUDGMENT OF THE BELIEVER AND THE CHASTENING
JUDGMENTSOF GOD:Two distinct judgments are in view under this
generalhead and, as before stated, because oftheir interdependence. The
child in the Father's household and family must understand that God is a
perfect disciplinarian. Disobedience must in His own time and way result in
chastisement. The central passage onthe Father's discipline is Hebrews 12:3-
15. In this context it is declaredthat every son in the Father's householdis
subject to chastisementas occasionmay arise. Verse 6 makes reference to
both chastisementand scourging. These are to be distinguished. Scourging
aims at a once-for-allconquering of the human will, and when the will is
yielded there is no more need for scourging. On the other hand, chastisement
may be many times repeatedand may be administered to the end that the
believer may be strengthened thereby, or to prevent him from going into evil
paths. A goodman may by discipline become a better man. Christ said,

"Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth [pruneth] it, that it may bring
forth more fruit" (John 15:2). As for chastisementwhichis a correctionfor
wrong, it is written of those who partake of the communion unworthily, "For
this cause many are weak and sicklyamong you, and many sleep" (I Cor. II:
30). Immediately following this declarationand closelyrelated to it is the
added truth that the Christian may avoid chastisementforwrongdoing by
making a confessionof it to God, which confessionis self-judgment. Should
the confessionbe withheld, there must be chastisement. The passagereads,
"Forif we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are
judged, we are chastenedof the Lord, that we should not be condemned with
the world" (I Cor. 11:31-32). It is in this passagethat two aspects ofjudgment
appear with the one dependent upon the other. First, the believer is to confess
to God every known sin, and, second, the Fathermay judge His child by
chastisementwhen the confessionis refused (cf. I John I :9). The divine
provision is gracious to the last degree. When the Christian has sinned, God
awaits the confessionofthat sin. Should the confessionbe withheld, God, in
His own time and way, must correctHis child.
III. THE JUDGMENT OF THE BELIEVER'S WORKS: Though in infinite
faithfulness--which is based on infinite provisions--the believer cannotcome
into judgment respecting the sins which Christ has borne (cf. John 3:18; 5:24;
Rom. 8:1, R.V.), it yet remains true that the believer will be brought into
judgment concerning his service for God-the use he has made of his ransomed
powers after he has been saved. This judgment is to the end that suitable
rewards may be bestowedon those who have served in faithfulness. This form
of judgment, so far as it is relatedto believers who have not been faithful,
brings it about that such works as they may have wrought will be burned, but
with the assurancethat, in spite of the burning of the works, the believer
himself will be saved. He must remain saved, since his salvationrests not at all
upon his works but upon the worthiness of Christ who never changes, He who
is the same yesterday, today, and forever(Heb.13:8).
The doctrine of rewards--treatedelsewherein this theologyat length--must be
consideredan essentialcompaniondoctrine to the doctrine of saving grace.
Since the savedone is in no wayallowedto contribute to the ground of his
acceptance, it becomes certainthat his service is not credited to his salvation;

Jesus was made judge of all

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