Program / Course 10: Salvation and Eschatology / Lesson 6.3
What you will learn
- Trace the idea of God’s judgment from the day of the LORD in the prophets to the teaching of Jesus and Paul.
- Explain why Christ is named as judge and what that means for believers.
- Describe the relation between judgment according to works and justification by faith.
- Compare how the five traditions understand the purpose and scope of the last judgment.
The big idea
The creeds say that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. In Scripture judgment is both a warning and a hope: it means that wrongs will be put right, the hidden will be revealed and God’s justice will be seen. Jesus teaches that the Father has given judgment to the Son. Paul says that all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Christians agree on the fact and on the person of the judge. They explain differently how judgment according to works fits with salvation by grace.
Key terms
- Last (final) judgment
- The judgment of all people by Christ at the end of the age, after the resurrection.
- Day of the LORD
- A prophetic phrase for the day when God acts decisively to judge and to save.
- Judgment seat (bema)
- The platform from which a Roman official gave judgment. Paul uses it for Christ’s judgment in Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10.
- Particular judgment
- In Catholic and Orthodox teaching, the judgment of each soul at death, distinct from the general judgment at the end.
- Judgment according to works
- The biblical statement that God will repay each according to what has been done (Romans 2:6, Revelation 20:12).
- Advocate
- A defender who speaks on behalf of another. First John 2:1 calls Christ an advocate with the Father.
- Theodicy
- An attempt to explain how God’s goodness and power are compatible with evil. The last judgment is often central to such explanations.
Background
The Old Testament speaks of God as judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25). Judgment in the Hebrew Bible is often good news to the oppressed: God rises to help the widow, the orphan and the poor. The psalmist calls on creation to rejoice before the LORD, because he comes to judge the earth with righteousness (Psalm 96:13). The prophets also speak of a day of the LORD, which will be darkness for the unfaithful as well as rescue for the faithful (Amos 5:18-20).
The New Testament joins this expectation to Jesus. The one who will judge is the one who died for sinners. This is central to Christian understanding. It does not remove the seriousness of judgment, but it changes its character. This lesson sets out the main texts, then the question of works and grace, and then the way traditions have understood the purpose of judgment.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Jesus on judgment
Jesus speaks of judgment often. In Matthew 25:31-46 the Son of Man comes in glory and separates the nations as a shepherd separates sheep and goats. The judgment turns on acts of mercy done to the least of his brothers: food, drink, welcome, clothing, visiting the sick and the prisoner. In John 5:22 he says that the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son. In John 3:17-18 he says that God sent the Son not to condemn the world, and that unbelief is the ground of condemnation.
His parables, including the talents, the wise and foolish virgins and the wheat and weeds, stress readiness, accountability and the separation of the good and the wicked at the end.
Step 2: Paul and the apostles
Paul preached at Athens that God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained” (Acts 17:31). He wrote to the Romans that God “will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6), and to the Corinthians that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). He also writes that there is “no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
In Revelation 20:11-15, John sees a great white throne, the books opened, the dead judged according to their works, and the book of life. Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire. The image is dramatic and symbolic, and the passage is read in different ways, as the final lessons of this course show.
Step 3: Works and grace
How can judgment be according to works if salvation is by grace? The traditions offer different answers. Lutheran and Reformed teachers say that works are the evidence of faith, and that at the judgment the works of believers are shown as the fruit of grace, not as the ground of acceptance. Believers are acquitted already in Christ (Romans 8:1), and the judgment will make that public. Their works are then rewarded by God’s generosity.
Catholic teaching holds that eternal life is both a gift and a reward for good works done in grace. Charity is the criterion, as Matthew 25 shows. The Catechism cites a saying of John of the Cross that at the evening of life each person will be judged on love. Wesleyans and Arminians stress that persevering faith, which works by love, is the condition of final salvation. In all traditions the judge is the Savior.
Step 4: The purpose of judgment
Judgment has several purposes in the Bible: to vindicate the righteous, to expose and condemn evil, to reward faithful service and to bring the whole creation under God’s just rule. The Catechism says that the last judgment will reveal the justice of God’s ways and the ultimate result of every good deed. The book of Revelation presents it as an answer to the cry of the martyrs.
Some Orthodox writers, drawing on the fathers, describe judgment as the revelation of divine love, the same light which is joy to those who love God and torment to those who reject him. Others, including many Reformed and Catholic writers, emphasize the legal aspect of judgment as the declaration of the righteous judge. The traditions are not necessarily opposed. Both can be found in the Bible’s images.
Step 5: Judgment as hope
Christian prayer has long said, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (Revelation 22:20). The Apostles’ Creed puts Christ’s coming to judge in the same breath as his place at the right hand of the Father. For the persecuted and the wronged, judgment is the hope that wrongs will be answered. For the self-satisfied, it is a warning. A sober reading holds both, with Christ at the center.
- Why do you think the Bible names Christ as the judge?
- What is striking about the criteria in Matthew 25?
- How can a person be both justified by faith and judged by works?
- Is judgment good news? For whom, and why?
- How does the idea of judgment shape the way people act in the present?
- What does the doctrine say about the seriousness of ordinary choices?
Examples
Matthew 25 and a food pantry
A volunteer at a church food pantry hears the parable of the sheep and goats read at a service. She notes that the people in the story did not know they were serving Christ, and that those who failed did not know either. She decides to see each person in line as someone Christ identifies with. (A constructed example.)
A court of appeal
A lawyer in a church class explains that a good judge does not simply punish. He examines the evidence, hears the victims, and corrects what was done wrongly. He says that this helps him understand why Psalm 96 can call the coming of the judge a cause for joy. (A constructed example.)
Different perspectives
Catholic
At the last judgment, Christ will judge the living and the dead, and the hidden counsels of hearts will be revealed. Everyone will be judged on love, in works done to the least. Good works are fruits of grace and deserve reward by God’s promise. The judgment confirms the particular judgment at death and completes it.
Orthodox
The Orthodox confess that Christ will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. Many Orthodox writers describe judgment as the encounter with the uncreated light of Christ, in which each person’s heart is revealed. The Church prays for mercy at the judgment, and its icons of the last judgment call to repentance.
Lutheran
Believers need not fear, because they are justified by faith and their sins are forgiven. The works of believers will be shown as fruits of faith. The unbelieving face condemnation for their unbelief and sin. The doctrine of judgment is a warning to the careless and a comfort to the troubled.
Reformed
The Westminster Confession says that God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, so that all may be made to give an account of their thoughts, words and deeds. The purpose is the manifestation of the glory of God’s mercy in the salvation of the elect and of his justice in the damnation of the reprobate.
Arminian and Wesleyan
Christ will judge all, and the standard is whether a person has trusted and loved him, as shown by the fruit of faith. Wesleyan teaching stresses the call to holiness in light of the judgment. Believers have confidence because Christ is their advocate, though they are urged to watch and persevere.
Why it matters
The doctrine of judgment sets human life within a moral order that is finally ruled by a just and merciful judge. It gives hope to those who suffer injustice, and it gives weight to the choices of ordinary life. It also reminds readers that the judge is the Savior, which shapes how Christians have preached it: with seriousness, but also with the invitation to turn and be saved while there is time.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Judgment according to works contradicts justification by faith.
Correction: Each tradition explains how the two fit, whether as works as evidence, works as fruits that God rewards, or faith working through love. None says works replace Christ.
Misunderstanding: The Old Testament God judges and the New Testament God does not.
Correction: Jesus speaks of judgment more than any other New Testament figure, and the prophets speak of God’s mercy. Both testaments hold judgment and mercy together.
Misunderstanding: The final judgment is when the soul first learns its destiny.
Correction: Catholic and Orthodox teaching speak of a particular judgment at death. The final judgment completes it and reveals it publicly.
Misunderstanding: Judgment is only about punishing wrongdoers.
Correction: Biblically it is also the vindication of the righteous and the putting right of the world.
Knowledge check
What is the main teaching of Matthew 25:31-46?
The Son of Man comes in glory and separates the nations according to whether they showed mercy to the least of his brothers, by feeding, welcoming, clothing and visiting them. The judgment turns on acts of love, and Christ identifies himself with the needy. It is one of the clearest teachings that judgment concerns how people lived.
Why is Christ named the judge?
John 5:22 says the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, and Acts 17:31 says God will judge the world by the man he has appointed. Christians understand this to mean that the judge is the one who became human and died for sinners, which gives believers confidence and gives the warning its weight.
How do Reformed teachers reconcile judgment by works with justification by faith?
They hold that believers are already acquitted in Christ, so there is no condemnation for them. At the judgment their works appear as evidence of their faith and are rewarded by God’s grace, not as the ground of their acceptance. The unbelieving are condemned for their sins.
What is the particular judgment?
In Catholic and Orthodox teaching, it is the judgment of each person at death, in which the soul receives its destiny or its foretaste of it. It differs from the general judgment at the end, when Christ will judge all publicly and the resurrection of the body will complete the sentence.
Think it through
- When you hear the word judgment, what feelings arise? How does it change to read of the judge as Christ?
- Which would you most want to be revealed at a perfect judgment: your acts, your motives, or something else?
- Why might the Bible link judgment with joy in some texts?
Independent assignment
A study of Matthew 25
In your notebook, write 400 to 600 words. Read Matthew 24:36 to 25:46. List the four parables or scenes about readiness and judgment. For each, say what virtue it commends. Then write a paragraph for each of a Catholic, a Lutheran and an Orthodox reader, stating how each might explain the standard of judgment in the final scene.
Further study
- Augustine of Hippo, The City of God Read Book 20, on the last judgment, with care for Augustine’s interpretations.
- Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith Read the closing chapter on the last judgment.
- Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the paragraphs on the last judgment.
- C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain See the chapters on divine goodness and on hell for a reflective treatment.
- Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
- Romans 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds.
- Revelation 20:12 The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books.