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This is a repost from an awesome article written by Paul Ellis of escapetoreality.org. To view the original article on Paul’s website, click this link: Paul also really loves feedback, so if you have any comments or questions, post them under the original article on his site. Thanks!
Enjoy it!
Cornel
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“For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet 4:17)
Here’s a passage that seems to come up whenever something bad happens to Christians. If a pastor stumbles in sin and his church splits, it’s God judging His house. If an earthquake wipes out a city and some of those who die happen to be Christians, it’s God judging His house. Some people seem to take perverse delight in threatening others with the sword of God’s judgment. They seem to forget Jesus’ warning in Matthew 26:52.
All of our sins were dealt with at the cross. We have been fully redeemed and sanctified by the blood of the Lamb. There is a day coming when Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, but this is only bad news if you’re a goat! If you are a sheep it is a day to look forward to with eager anticipation and confidence. Where does this confidence come from? It comes from a revelation of the Father’s love as expressed in the Son’s perfect work on the cross.
So what is Peter talking about when he says it’s time for judgment to begin with the house of God? I’m going to give you two interpretations. The first interpretation emphasizes things we must do while the second emphasizes things Christ has already done. However, I will first give you the scripture in context:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Pet 4:12-19)
Interpretation #1: Work harder
There are only two kinds of religion in the world – religion based on our works or religion based on His blood. Someone whose faith rests in human works will interpret the judgment of 1 Peter 4:17 as punishment for Christians. Of course they won’t come right out and say it. They will use words like purification and discipline but what they really mean is condemnation and wrath. They will refer to patterns of judgment in the Old Testament but make no mention of the cross. They may talk about Ananias and Sapphira but ignore Jesus. Strip away the jargon and their message will be this: “Bad things are going to happen to you. God is behind these bad things, but don’t worry because far worse things are going to happen to sinners.” They may try and pass this off as “good news” by saying it’s better to suffer a little wrath now than hellfire later. What should we do in response to such a message? More works of course! We should try harder to be better Christians. We should repent more, confess more, and generally straighten up and fly right.
There’s no way around it. If you interpret 1 Peter 4:17 through the lens of works you will end up with a condemning message. “God loves you and because He loves you He’s going to give you a whipping. It’s for your own good.” How is it, then, that in the five verses immediately preceding, Peter uses words and phrases like “rejoice,” “be overjoyed,” “you are blessed” and “praise God that you bear His name”? How in the name of all that is sensible are we supposed to get joyful over a divine whipping? Either Peter has lost touch with reality, or he has something completely different in mind.
Interpretation #2: Make up your mind
The key to understanding 1 Peter 4:17 is the word “judgment.” In the original Greek this word is krima which means “decision” or “decree.” It is closely related to the word krino which means “to distinguish or decide.” The appropriate image is of a judge deciding a case. A judge’s decision is called a judgment. If you have been raised with a legal mindset, it is natural to assume that all judgments are bad. When a cop waves you over, you automatically think the worst. But a judgment is not inherently bad; it’s just a decision. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:13 “judge (krino) for yourselves whether a woman should pray with her head uncovered,” he is saying “you decide.”
When Peter says it’s time for judgment, he is literally saying it’s decision time. Who is making the decision and what is the decision being made? From most translations we get the impression that God is judging or deciding things about the church. But a literal translation of this verse, such as is found in the Literal Translation and Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible, reveals that Peter is seeking a judgment, or decision, from the house of God. It is those in the house of God who are deciding. What is the decision that Peter has in mind? Judging by what he says in the next verse, it seems to be the decision that separates the righteous from the ungodly. Peter reminds us that the decision to put one’s faith in Jesus is the most important decision there is:
“…if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not respect or believe or obey the good news (the Gospel) of God?” (1 Pet 4:17 AMP)
Some context will help. Peter was writing during a time of great persecution. Because of Nero – not God – Christians were being tortured and killed for their faith in Christ. Paul was probably dead and Peter himself would soon be crucified. If you were a follower of Christ, martyrdom was a very real prospect. In view of this, Peter says three things:
(1) Don’t be surprised that you are suffering for the gospel (4:12). If they persecuted Jesus they will persecute you.
(2) Even though persecution is painful, rejoice on account of the coming glory (4:13). It hurts now, but justice is coming.
(3) If this suffering is causing you to be in two minds about being identified as a follower of Christ, then make up your mind and decide (4:17). Better to suffer with Jesus now than to be found without him later.
Is Peter saying Christians can lose their salvation?
No he is not. There are two issues here. One is security and the other is fruitfulness. In the last verse in the passage he encourages the believers to commit themselves “to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” Who is faithful? God is! You may be worried about persecution but you do not need to worry about God letting you go. In the words of Spurgeon, if He has loved you once He will love you forever. The concern is not that Christians could lose their salvation, but that they might be driven underground in fear (3:6,14). This is why Peter urges them to continue doing good (4:17), even in the face of persecution. Peter knew from personal experience what it was like to run from Jesus in fear and he didn’t want his readers doing that. The good news of God’s grace will not be heard unless its preachers are bold.
A final word on judgment
Jesus said two things about judgment that are relevant here:
“For God sent not the Son into the world to judge (krino) the world…” (Jn 3:17a, ASV)
“For judgment (krima) I have come into this world…” (Jn 9:39)
Jesus did not come to judge the world, yet the world will be judged on account of Jesus. Remember that another word for judgment is decision. Now if Jesus said He is not the one doing the deciding (krino), but that decisions (krima) will be made on account of Him, then who is making these decisions? We are! Every single one of us will either decide to put our faith in Jesus or we won’t. Those who put their faith in Christ are made into a new creation and given His Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor 5:5,17). Those who refuse to decide are left unchanged. You could say that we are all born goats but some of us choose to become sheep. When Jesus returns in glory He will not judge anyone. He will simply separate those who have chosen to become sheep from those who have chosen to remain goats. The Grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, but not all men will put their faith in Him.
Let me finish with three questions for those who still think God is judging/punishing the church or Christchurch or the West.
- Those who are in Christ are complete (Col 2:10) and perfect forever (He 10:14). If Jesus said He would not judge even the lost (Jn 12:47), why would He judge those He has redeemed and are now reckoned perfect?
- Peter said “Christ died for sins once for all” (1 Pet 3:18). If my sins have been removed and God is now “done with sin” (1 Pet 4:1), then what is left to punish?
- Finally, if the punishment that brought us peace was placed on Christ (Is 53:5), how can God now punish us? Would He not be unjust if He punished twice for the same offence?
Just something to think about.
Paul Ellis
Aesop was a Greek slave who lived lived around 600BC. He is renowned for telling pretty awesome fables, some of which are known and retold all over the world to this day. You might recognize some of his fables actually. Ever heard of ‘The Tortoise And The Hare’ or ‘The Ants And The Grasshopper’ or ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’? If you haven’t, what is it like living under that rock? Just kidding. I recently started reading his collection of fables again. The very first one was enough to get me thinking for a few days. It’s called, “The Wolf And The Lamb”
“A Wolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf’s right to eat him. He thus addressed him: ‘Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me.’ ‘Indeed,’ bleated the Lamb in a mournful tone of voice, ‘I was not then born.’ Then said the Wolf, ‘You feed in my pasture.’ ‘No, good sir,’ replied the Lamb, ‘I have not yet tasted grass.’ Again said the Wolf, ‘You drink of my well.’ ‘No,’ exclaimed the Lamb, ‘I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother’s milk is both food and drink to me.’ Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, ‘Well! I won’t remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations.” – The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.”
The devil is exactly like this wolf. He will try to justify his tyranny with a pretext. He will throw every excuse at you to justify his attack. Here are his most common pretexts:
1. ”Because you have sinned, I have a right to do this to you.” You probably did sin, but that is no justification for the enemy taking anything from you. If my car is locked in my garage with a satellite tracking and steering lock on, a thief could break in and steal it. If on the other hand I leave my car in a shady part of town at night with the windows rolled down and the keys in the ignition, a thief can still come and steal it. In both scenarios my car was stolen. My careless actions made it much easier for the thief in the second case, but it in no ways justified the theft. Similarly, a rape is not justified because the clothes the woman did or didn’t wear. (John 10:10)
2. ”It’s not me, it’s God punishing you.” Some people are smart enough to not fall for the first pretext above. Obviously the thief has no right. ‘But God has a right to punish sin, so maybe He has something to do with this.’ Yes, God does have a right to punish sin, but what the devil wants you to not realize is that God already punished sin on the cross, even the very sin you just committed minutes ago. God already judged and punished Jesus in your place. If not, what was the point of Jesus’ death? (John 5:22, John 5:24, John 12:47)
3. ”Of course Jesus died for your sins, BUT…” Your internal alarm bells should sound whenever anybody tries to add a ‘but’ to the Gospel. The ‘but’ is usually followed by some sort of measure you have to live up to in order to make the benefits of Jesus’ death applicable to you. … BUT you need to fast. BUT you need to tithe. BUT you need to belong to our church. BUT you need to live in this manner. BUT you you you have to do do do this this and that. Basically forget about Jesus and all He did, look at what you still have to do, not to mention what you are not doing. Excuse me, but does Scripture not say we are saved by grace through faith AND IT IS NOT OF OURSELVES? (Eph 2:8-9) Does it not also say we received the Spirit by Faith and not by law? That miracles and power work amongst us through faith and not our self-righteousness? (Gal 3:1-3)
Preaching a but-gospel? Look at what Paul had to say about that:
2Cr 11:4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or [if] you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted–you may well put up with it!
If you preach a but-gospel, you will have to put up with a it. If you preach bondage, you will have to put up with bondage.
Gal 1:6-9 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
I think Paul said it clearly enough. Don’t fall for the enemies pretexts. Understand what Jesus did for you. Understand the covenant you live under.
Cornel
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This is a list/summary of things said by Kris Vallotton on judgmental prophecies. So good!
Why Judgmental “Prophetic Words” Are Usually Wrong – Kris Vallotton
1.) They represent God as an angry person who only has one response to sin and the problems of the world and that is kill everybody
2.) They assume that disaster leads to repentance and revival
3.) Life and death are in the power of the tongue: prophesying disaster brings them on
4.) They ignore the fact that we are salt and light in this earth whose responsibility is to bring change and transform our environments for the better.
5.) They agree with the accuser whose ministry is to steal, kill and destroy. When you create judgmental words that steal, kill, and destroy, you come into agreement with the wrong spirit (John 10:10).
6.) They work against the principles instituted by God for the restoration of ruined cities (Isaiah 61). Why are people judging the cities we are supposed to restore?
7.) The world already sees us as the bringer of the Law and not the Lover of the world and they already think that [the church] loves “the rules” more than we love them.
8.) False prophets promote words that instill fear. Fear is not from God. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
How do you know if you are listening to the wrong spirit? Your prophetic declarations will scare people.
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Core Values on “The End Times” – Kris Vallotton
1.) I will not embrace an end-times worldview that re-empowers a disempowered devil (Col. 2:15).
2.) I will not accept an end-times view that takes away my children’s future and creates mindsets that undermine the mentality of leaving a legacy. (Jer 29:11)
3.) I will not tolerate any theology that sabotages the clear commands of Jesus to make disciples of all nations and the Lord’s prayer that the earth would be like heaven.
4.) I will not allow any interpretation of Scripture that destroys hope for the nations and undermines our clear command to restore ruined cities.
5.) I will not embrace an eschatology that changes the nature of a good God.
6.) I refuse to embrace any mindset that celebrates bad news as a “sign of the times” and a necessary requirement for the return of Jesus.
7.) I am opposed to any doctrinal position that pushes the promises of God into a timezone that can’t be obtained in my generation and therefore takes away any responsibility that I have to believe God for them in my lifetime
8.) I do not believe that “the last days” are a time of judgment, nor do I believe that God gave the church the right to call for wrath for sinful cities. Therefore, there is a Day of Judgment in which God will judge the world…not us.
- Do Christians Still Have A Sinful Nature? – Ryan Rufus (Book Review) February 22, 2012
- Incomplete Vs. Complete Forgiveness November 25, 2011
- 20 Rob Rufus Quotes On Law vs. Grace November 23, 2011
- When Kids Pray… November 20, 2011
- Why Does God Love You? November 17, 2011
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