Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
How many of you have had an appointment that you couldn’t be late for? It was something that you couldn’t neglect, so you posted a note on your refrigerator door, or left other reminders around the house so you wouldn’t forget about it. More than likely, you set an alarm clock when you went to bed that night, just to make sure that you got up so you could do what needed to be done. The next morning when the buzzer finally rang, you knew that the time had come!
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Whether it’s showing up for work or getting to class, certain things are going to have to be done in a timely manner, and as we learn from the Apostle Peter, the time has come for judgment to be happening within the church.
1 Peter 4:17 (KJB) 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?
Judgment must happen in the church, because if it didn’t, sin would run amok. The Apostle Paul warned that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and if there was any type of sin going on amongst the church members, it needed to be rebuked and repented of quickly. But these are wicked days that we are passing through because we are surrounded by a sea of false Christianity that will grow steadily worse. It is a bleak period of history when those who profess Christianity have a “judge me not” mentality. The Apostle teaches that judgment must begin, and the word “must” means that something is a requirement and a necessity. Judgment is the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day because of their lack of judgment.
Matthew 23:23 (KJB) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luke 12:57 (KJB) Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?
Whenever you make judgments, you are drawing a line in the sand about what is right and what is wrong, and many times this is going to bring on persecution from those who are abiding in sin. This is because you are shining the light and exposing the wicked deeds of darkness.
Mark 6:17-19 (KJB) For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
Matthew 3:7-8 (KJB) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
The Lord Jesus was hated for making judgments against sin.
John 7:7 (KJB) The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
John 7:1 (KJB) After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
The prophets and disciples of Christ were persecuted for making righteous judgments.
Matthew 23:34 (KJB) Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Even Steven was murdered because he stood up and spoke out against evil.
Acts 7:51-54 (KJB) Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Judgment is a good thing, because you are making moral decisions and differentiating between what is right and wrong in the eyes of God. In the church, judgments are made, not according to the opinions of men, but according to the teachings of God’s Holy Word. Unlike Earthly opinions that constantly change, scripture is unchangeable, a rock of Truth and an Everlasting foundation that will never be moved. If it was wrong 2000 years ago, it is wrong today, no matter how much society has changed. Another point is that without judgment, there is no genuine leadership. What I mean by that is, how can you possibly point people onto the path of goodness, righteousness and Truth, without making judgments about what is bad, evil and deceitful? The Apostle Paul warned the church that they needed to be capable of judging things!
1 Corinthians 6:1-6 (KJB) Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Out in the world there are many places of temporal authority that were created by the Lord Jesus and for His purposes, but they are simply a shadow of what is coming in the future. They make judgments based upon the laws of men while in the church, judgments are based upon the eternal teachings of God. Those who claim to be a Christian are forbidden from going to law enforcement, or earthly courtrooms for justice, because these matters must be taken care of within the church.
1 Corinthians 14:29 (KJB) Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
In all the churches of the Saints, judgments must happen, remembering that when you serve the Lord Jesus with an obedient and faithful heart, you will be in charge of judging things in the everlasting world to come. All the places of authority in this world are going to stand in judgment before the Saints of God.
Jude 1:14-15 (KJB) And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Matthew 12:41 (KJB) The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
Who doesn’t like judgment? The wicked! This is because they don’t want their evil deeds to be called into question, which is one of the reasons why it must be happening within the church. We must rise up and be able to not only discern right from wrong, but speak out against evil and encourage everything that is good! Love for the salvation of others will speak the truth, and judgments give people the opportunity to recognize the error of their way so they can repent, and prepare themselves for what is coming in the future. Judgment cannot be neglected, and the truth must be told, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand,….and,….
……….The Time Has Come
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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