1 Peter 4:17-18 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (18) Now "if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter teaches us that many believers will barely make it into heaven, for He says, pertaining to the saints’ judgement, that the righteous one is scarcely saved. Sadly there are many saints that live lives that are almost indistinguishable from the lives of the unbelievers that live around them. Nevertheless they remain the Lord’s children and were they to die they would depart from this life to be with the Lord Jesus. If you refer to an earlier section in this series, you will realise that I am referring to the saints that have not yet committed the sin to death. Those same saints however will still be held to account for their sin on their day of judgement and as Peter says, they will scarcely be saved.
James 2:12-13 “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. (13) For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle James teaches us that as believers, we will be judged by the law of liberty on that day. In other words we will be held to account according to God’s standards for His saints under the new covenant, whether we met those standards or whether we fell short. In this passage when the Holy Spirit tells us that we will be judged by God’s word He links mercy with that judgement. It is only those who are found guilty that require mercy. And so clearly there will be believers who will be found guilty of transgressing God’s laws on that day, and will therefore need to receive mercy from the Lord. In James’s teaching he tells us that one who has shown mercy to others during his life can expect to receive mercy on that day, even though they may be found guilty. However he also tells us that those who have not shown mercy in this life cannot expect mercy when they are judged on that day. And so we see that some saints will receive mercy on that day and some won’t. For the saints who receive mercy it will impact positively on their eternal inheritance, whereas for the saints who do not receive mercy it will impact negatively on their eternal inheritance. The mercy referred to in this passage of scripture pertains only to the judgement of the saints, for the unbelievers will not experience any mercy when they are raised to their judgement of condemnation.
2 Timothy 1:16-18 “The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; (17) but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. (18) The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day--and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul again gives us some insight as to just how strict the saint’s judgement will be. In context the apostle Paul was speaking to Timothy about a fellow believer named Onesiphorus, and Paul mentioned that this particular believer had ministered to him in many ways. And so one would think that with a recommendation like that from one of the Lord’s leading apostles that Onesiphorus could expect to approach his day of judgement with great boldness. But I want you to note the comment made by Paul, specifically regarding Onesiphorus’ day of judgement, for Paul prays that Onesiphorus may find mercy from the Lord Jesus on that day. Clearly Onesiphorus will need mercy on that day; otherwise Paul would not have requested that the Lord grant him mercy. The apostle James says that we all stumble in many things (James 3:2); so clearly we will all need mercy from our Lord Jesus on that day.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comentários