Leaving The Principles Of Eternal Judgment

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Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

 

Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

 

The talk this evening stems from an earlier talk on suffering as a Christian and what it means. It brought to my mind some of the thoughts that developed into this talk. I pray I am used today to speak about and comfort those with the knowledge that the Lord has given me on just what “eternal judgment” is and how and why it is simply the beginning of our walk and not the end nor the result of the end of our walk. However, it is an extremely vital step in us to beginning and progressing ever the more towards the mark of the prize of the high calling Christ Jesus. With that let’s start our study.

Go On To Maturity

(NIV) Heb 6:1  Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[1] and of faith in God,

 

Starting with Heb 6:1, we can see in the NIV translation that we must leave the basic teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, or as was pointed out in the last study, we must begin to mature to the point where we are as Paul was in that we press towards the mark of the prize of the High Calling in Christ Jesus. There is a reason we must do this, and it is for life, Jesus Christ himself, because anyone living on milk and not starting to digest solid food will quickly die.

(NIV) Heb 5:13  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

(NIV) Heb 5:14  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

 

Heb 5:13 and 14 led us directly into the study which has been prepared for us today because it shows us that we must move on, leave and move past those things which result in spiritual death but are the beginning of life for those who mature past them.  The focus for today’s study specifically is moving past the doctrine of “eternal judgment” and maturing into the life which is Jesus Christ. My question to you all, and one which I have been tried with myself, is why and HOW do we do that? Hoe do we move on past this topic?

 

As always, let’s leave the scriptures to teach us and not go above that which is written on the subject. Let us also study to show ourselves approved, a workman not needing to be ashamed.
 

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [ to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

 

2Ti 2:14  Of these things put [ them] in remembrance, charging [ them] before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, [ but] to the subverting of the hearers.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

And I like how the NASB translation translates it:

2Ti 2:14  Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

2Ti 2:15  Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

 

“Eternal Judgment”

I believe that most of us here are aware of just how far off, occasionally, the translators are in what they ended up pinning down in the writings that later became the scriptures that we read.  Them being “far- off” is all of the Lord, if we believe He is truly sovereign, so we know that it is meant to be that way.  Sometimes we can study and find that the translators are far away from capturing exactly what is being said. None- the- less, God is sovereign and He has told us in His word to study to see if these things are so, as we just read. One of these examples is what the King James version translates as eternal judgment.

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

 

We should all be aware that the word eternal should simply be translated as aion, aionion, aionios or a form of these, which simply means an age, age abiding or so on. Everything has an age whether it is a generational age, the age of your life, etc., but what is rarely studied is the second part of this group of words, judgment. I know you have all learned that this phrase refers to universal salvation, so I will not go into that aspect of these words, but I would like to draw attention to where the Greek word G2917, “krima” is also used through the scriptures. We must always be willing to let scripture interpret scripture so that we do not fall into following the evil spirit of us ourselves interpreting verses of scripture. When we look into these various scriptures, keep in mind that we are being shown what the spirit of God has been used to say about the mind of Christ on any given subject.

G2917

κριμα

krima

Total KJV Occurrences:28

judgment, 12

Mat_7:2, Joh_9:39, Act_24:25, Rom_2:2-3 (2), Rom_5:16, Gal_5:10, Heb_6:2, 1Pe_4:17, 2Pe_2:3, Rev_17:1, Rev_20:4

damnation, 7

Mat_23:14, Mar_12:40, Luk_20:47, Rom_3:8, Rom_13:2, 1Co_11:29, 1Ti_5:12

condemnation, 5

Luk_23:40, 1Co_11:34, 1Ti_3:6, Jas_3:1, Jdg_1:4

avenged, 1

Rev_18:20

condemned, 1

Luk_24:20(2)

judgments, 1

Rom_11:33

law, 1

1Co_6:7
Let’s read several of these verses before we move on to what they spiritually mean.

Mat 23:14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

 

Rom 3:8  And not [ rather], (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

 

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

 

1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

 

1Ti 5:12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

Luk 23:40  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

 

1Co 11:34  And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

 

Jas 3:1  My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

 

Luk 24:20  And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

 

I have chosen to read a handful of these verses and I primarily read the verses that dealt with damnation and condemnation as translated in the King James. What should be starting to come to light is that judgment is the result of and leads out of itself into something which is past judgment, meaning judgment has a result gained form itself. You might be saying to yourself, “Well, duh Steven”, and I hope that is clearer now, but if it is not lets delve into this a little deeper.

 

Here is one of those verses above that we haven’t read yet, and I hope this will become ever- the- more clearer.

 

Luk 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

Luk 23:40  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

Luk 23:41  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

Luk 23:42  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

 

Here we have the two thieves slugging it out with the words they use which involves Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. One thief is saying “If you are who you say you are then save yourself and us,” and the other thief is basically saying, “You need to fear God and watch what you are saying because this guy is receiving the same judgment as we are and He hasn’t done anything wrong to deserve it.” The same word used as condemnation here is judgment, but what comes AFTER that judgment and the eventual death of Jesus Christ? What comes after is what the thief asks for, “Remember me”.
So, as we see line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, we can spiritually deduct that Christ was judged and it leads to something.

Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [ them that are] weaned from the milk, [ and] drawn from the breasts.

Isa 28:10 For precept [ must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [ and] there a little:

Christ himself told us what it leads to, and Heb 6:1 tells us where that all starts from.

 

Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

 

Christ says we as believers will do greater works than those works which He did? Do you believe Him? I do. Some of the greater works are pretty far up the ladder from the works Christ did physically because they all pertain to spiritual matters versus physical ones. As we saw last study, we mature from east to west, from babies needing to be pushed and nudged along and fed with a bottle of milk to those who now are being lead along by that which is in front of them, that spiritual hope of Glory we all have in Jesus Christ. Even as toddlers, we all start to become mobile and individually start moving towards those things that we want, instead of solely relying on those who were providing for our needs just yesterday. How is that accomplished spiritually? We all, as with all things that we do in our lives both physically and spiritually, LEARN THEM from experience.

 

Suffering And Judgment

 

This is where suffering and judgment come in. We, as Christ did, learn obedience by the things which we suffer. The very sufferings themselves are one very important part of that judgment. The reason why they are so important is because the suffering with Christ is indicative of judgment being on the house of God in US. We learn by experience of both suffering and judgment from Christ who was put through the same thing himself, in the same flesh we have because as Christ seats on His rightful throne in us He teaches us these things. Out flesh will be put through the same things that was good enough for Christ’s flesh to be put through.

 

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

 

Heb 5:8 and 9 are amazingly told to us just before we are told we are babies drinking on milk but also what we must do in order to mature into those which will OBEY Christ and God the Father by Christ doing those things IN US.

 

1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

 

If you pay close attention to what is being said here, it is that we should not be suffering as evil doers – murderers, thieves, evildoers or BUSYBODIES in other men’s matters, but we need to be suffering as CHIRISTIANS. That judgment on us as “Christ likes,” which is what Christian means (Christ- like), results in obedience.

 

I know we at IWWB drill home obedience, but obedience is something that comes from suffering. It is a direct spiritual result. How can that be? We read it earlier. It is obeying Christ, being obedient to what Christ would have us do.

 

(KJV) Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

           

(BBE)  But solid food is for men of full growth, even for those whose senses are trained by use to see what is good and what is evil.

           

 (GNB)  Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.

(LITV)  But solid food is for those full grown, having exercised the faculties through habit, for distinction of both good and bad.

It is through the very act of SIN, the very act of committing SIN that we learn to be obedient. We learn what is right from wrong because through the sins we commit we learn what NOT to do any longer; thus, we learn obedience because we are judged with a big ol spanking from good ol’ Dad. As parents, do we not discipline our children for doing what’s wrong? Do our children not learn what is wrong from doing it and being JUDGED of it? We teach them what they must or must not do, and it is the Lord who also teaches us what we must do to move on to maturity. In essence, He takes away our bottle full of milk in His own timing and starts to give us solid spiritual food.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

 

The words here translated as ‘chastening’ should say ‘teaches’ or ‘teaching’, and when we are loved by our Father we are shown the error of our ways, we are shown Judgment which Lord willing is NOW on our house, the House of God. You might be thinking, “but Christ didn’t sin.” Of course Christ didn’t sin, but Christ was made sin and that flesh that Christ was made into had to be judged and done away with.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him [ to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Suffering and Judgment = Acknowledgment and Obedience

We suffer because we are being judged, and this all builds up to us ultimately acknowledging our sovereign Father as our Head and saying, “Nevertheless, thy will be done” as is what Christ prayed to God the Father when His flesh didn’t want to be judged.  After all, when we are disciplined as physical children it simply results in our children acknowledging that what we told them they need to be doing will result in certain actions on our part if they don’t obey and do as we say. Ultimately, we do it or should be doing it because we LOVE them, and how much more do we believe that our Father loves us when we are going through the sufferings He has prepared for us? That is exactly what we told is why we are taught obedience through the things we suffer:

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [ us], and we gave [ them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened [ us] after their own pleasure; but he for [ our] profit, that [ we] might be partakers of his holiness.

Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

 

If Christ Himself had to endure judgment on His flesh, how much more will we need to endure judgment on our flesh which is sin in and of itself but also how much more will we have to endure judgment because of the very sins we have committed. That is why I hope you all know that this why I am not saying, “Go sin because it will be judged and you will suffer and therefore become obedient.” What I am hopefully driving home is that you do not need to commit any sin because it is who we are by nature. We are by nature children of wrath, and that is why we must go past the milk of the doctrine of Christ and move on towards maturity. The more sin we commit, the more there is to be judged.

When sin no longer has dominion over us, then it is not something that we need to concentrate on. Indeed, it is VERY important to consider and repent of immediately, but it is NOT our master. Someone or something that is our master has dominion over us and tells us what we are going to do and when how and why, but we have been freed from that. Our old masters demand our full attention “or else”, but when we have those masters no longer, we give attention to our new master, our new head, Jesus Christ.

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

 

If we are to go onto maturity, we must start becoming obedient to those things which demand our all to the kingdom of God and being obedient to the Will of God in our lives. We cannot do any of that if we do not fully accept the sovereignty of God in every single second and aspect of our lives. Christ came to do the Will of His Father and fulfilled that Will by “learning obedience by the things He suffered”.  We, too, must be willing servants to only do His will and not our own. We must be willing to pick up our cross and follow Christ to death and that on a daily basis. God wants His whole sacrifice, His truly FULL tithe paid in full daily.

Conclusion

Tonight we have seen in the Word that as children we will be living on the milk of the Word of God as we start off our spiritual walk with the Lord. However, we must move past those things which we all have been taught week after week in the orthodox Christian churches that we all have come from and is mentioned in Heb 6, specifically “eternal judgment”. This is accomplished through the sovereign work and Will of the Lord in our lives as He passes judgment on us which results in us learning obedience because of these things we suffer from that judgment.
If we endure these teachings, we are considered sons. If we endure them now, then we have something that has been burned out of us now and will not have to be later if we indeed end up in the lake of fire. Finally, please take comfort in knowing that we will all have to endure these same judgments at the appointed time of our Father and His judgments are just.

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (judgment)

 

(ASV) Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

 

(ASV) Rev 18:20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.

 

(ASV) Rev 18:21  And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.
           

Rev 15:3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [ are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [ are] thy ways, thou King of saints.

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