For if we adjudicated ourselves, we would not be judged. Yet, being judged, we are being disciplined by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Paul to the Corinthians (1) 11: 31-32, Concordant New Testament
I had a communication with a friend the other day concerning the topic of judgement. Specifically, the judgement upon those who are behaving in the wrong way. The traditional Christian thought is that those who are behaving wrongly are guilty and in need of repentance. Failing in this, these individuals are deemed guilty and condemned to hell. This is what has been drummed into our heads from a very young age. Growing up in the church, I was constantly in fear of what God thought of the way I behaved. I saw God as a critical eye watching over me. So it was that we were warned not to stray. But even the threat of an eternity in hell could not direct me away from many a wrong behavior. I would often find myself in prayer pleading the Lords forgiveness for the things I had done. This is the hamster wheel of sin and consequences. We behave wrongly, pray God forgiveness yet we keep returning to our wrong ways, or so we thought. It turns out that a lot which I never knew about sin played a huge role in my view of God. Growing up, I never understood that Jesus gave Himself for me once for all time {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. Jesus bore the punishment for my sins once. On the cross Christ declared "it is accomplished" before giving up His spirit {Johns Account 19:30}. He had finished what He was dispatched by the Father to do. That being bearing the sins of all mankind. At the cross, I was judged and deemed guilty of sin {Paul to the Romans 3:23}. THIS was the judgement which many Christians fear most. I lived in fear of being judged by the Lord for what I had done in my life. But my sin has already been taken up by Jesus and put to death upon the cross. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, I am no longer a sinner. For Jesus has accounted for all of my sins past, present and future. Remember, Jesus gave Himself ONCE for all. So, in regards to those who we see as behaving badly, what is their punishment? Now, if we don't tread carefully here, we might find ourselves still stuck on that hamster wheel once again.
Now all discipline, indeed, for the present is not seeming to be a thing of joy, but of sorrow, yet subsequently it is rendering the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those exercised through it.
To the Hebrews 12: 11, Concordant New Testament
The author J. Preston Eby writes that it is the Fathers good pleasure "To bring us into this relationship of sonship to Himself" {Savior of the World, J. Preston Eby}. It has never been Gods desire that we would be judged for our wrong behavior. That ship has already sailed. But what so many Christians see as Gods punishment may very well be the Lords correction in our lives. For if we find ourselves indulging in bad behavior, it is Gods desire to steer us away from it, to correct us. As parents, we do not desire our own children to engage in bad behaviors, so we correct them. For the child enduring that correction, it most certainly may seem like he is being punished. Yet years later he will look back and be grateful for the correction {To the Hebrews 12:11}. To think that the Lord is judging us for our sin is taking away from the work of Christ Jesus on the cross. We no longer have any sin which to judge. When Jesus took the sin of all mankind unto Himself, that debt (judgement) was paid in full. What we often see as Gods punishment is simply His correction to guide us into that closer relationship with Him {Paul to the Galatians 4:6-7}. We are no longer slaves, but sons.
Now, seeing that you are sons, God delegates the spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" So that you are no longer a slave, but a son. Now if a son, an enjoyer also of an allotment from God, through Christ.
Paul to the Galatians 4: 6-7, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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