T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S So, also, in John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my Word, and tielieveth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into Condem nation; but is passed from death unto life.” - Every believer should rejoice in this assurance: When Christ died, we died; when He was buried, we were buried; when He arose, we also arose, and we are now seated with Him in the heaven- lies. This is the judicial aspect of this transaction, as God sees the sinner saved by grace. (2) There is a judgment of believ ers for their service, at which time they will receive their rewards. This will take place when the church is caught up to be with the Lord. 1 Cor. 3:11-15 gives us the picture of this judgment: “Every man’s work shall he made man ifest, for the day shall declare it, and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s' work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” Every believer in the Lord Jesus is saved by faith. Works never enter into the matter of salvation. God would not allow' a sinner to add the weight of a hair to the finished work which He hath wrought in Jesus Christ, hut He does permit believers, to become fellow work ers with Christ, and does reward them for their service. These rewards are determined by the character of our service and suffering for Christ. All of the work we do,, all of the money and time we give, is rewarded by Him. There is much of so-called service which will never be rewarded by Him; work done which is merely a turning of the wheels of religious service; work which exalts a society, or a church,, or that gives us some undue prominence. Sin ners often have sympathetic hearts and are compassionate towards suffering. They pass out a cup of cold water, .feut it
848 teach concerning the abode of the blest; it does not teach concerning the “gen eral judgment” as it is called,:—hut it does teach concerning a definite judg ment as foreign to the idea of a general judgment as can be imagined. Some forty years ago the writer was faced with this passage by a Unitarian friend who claimed his right to Heaven by reason of his good works, and if this passage is designed to show the way and the title to heaven, the Unitarian friend was right. But even a casual reading will make manifest that this is not the case. There are many judgments spoken of in God’s Word, but there are four con cerning which we can well afford to teach our classes: (1) The judgment for sin which is past. The principle is laid down in God’s Word that sin must be punished; a penalty for every violation of law (Heh. 2:2, 3). “For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just rec ompense of reward; How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first be gan to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” Gal. 3:13: '“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.” John 12:31: “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” When Christ, our Substitute, was nailed to the cross, He bore our sin in His own body. He was judged, found guilty and put to death (Rom. 8:1): “There is therefore now no condem nation to them which are in Christ Je sus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.”
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