Foundational Principle #6: “Eternal Judgment – p.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, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and Eternal Judgment..”
-Hebrews 6:1-2a.
Notes:
This is the last principle discussed in our foundation series in the Book of Hebrews! There are judgments of God that take place temporarily on earth now, but this scripture specifically relates to the eternal judgments of God.
The teaching for today will only deal with eternal judgment for the christian and the teaching for tomorrow will deal with eternal judgment for non-christians.
Let’s begin…
God has appointed a day of judgment for all people who have lived and will ever live.
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”.
-Hebrews 9:28.
He has divided His judgment into 3 categories of people:
- Christians
- Gentiles (The Nations)
- Jews
Eternal Judgment will come first to Christians.
“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
– 1 Peter 4:17
It is not a judgment for sin, but for rewards. We must remember that for true christians, there is no condemnation for sin. It will be based on how we obeyed the gospel and glorified the Lord upon the earth.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:10.
If we do all things through faith and our Love for God and love for one another, we can have confidence in the day of judgment.
Willing to Take the Challenge?
The end goal is not to have rewards, but to glorify Christ. As a result, the rewards will follow.
Three things to look at in our lives to help us prepare for the coming judgment are:
Our Motives–are we pleasing ourselves for our own satisfaction and glory or are we sincerely
seeking to glorify Jesus and do His will?
Obedience–are we serving according to the principles and methods revealed in the Word of
God or are we fashioning our own forms of worship and service?
Power–are we serving in the inadequacy of our own carnal will and strength or have we been
renewed in our minds and empowered by the Holy Spirit?