Lesson 12

In order for us to profit from the revelation of God concerning His judgment upon believers and unbelievers alike, we need to grasp the following truths:

Without an understanding of the judgment of God, many believers will not live in fear of God, will sin, and will hinder God's move in the church.
They will therefore come under God's judgment.
That would be a real tragedy for themselves, their families and the church.

It is never the will of God for believers to come under His hand of judgment.
No earthly father likes to discipline his children. More so our heavenly Father.
As we learn the truths about God's judgment, and act on them, we will live lives pleasing to God, bear fruit for eternity, and glorify God.

God's word declares that when we sin, we will die (Romans 3:23; Ezekiel 18:4; Genesis 2:17; Luke 13:3,5).
We will die spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially.

We come under a judgment of death.
The judgment of death is pronounced by God Himself.
Unless we repent, the judgment will be manifested progressively, inexorable, and tragically.

The wages of sin is death.
(Romans 6:23)

The soul that sins shall die.
(Ezekiel 18:4)

Thus God warned Adam in the Garden of Eden:

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely DIE."
(Genesis 3:15-17)

Spiritually, the one bound by sin will have no peace, no rest, no revelation.
His conscience is hardened, and he is separated from the presence of God.
This is spiritual death.
The joy of God would not fled, although he may put on a false front of gaiety.

Mentally, he will be confused, self-deceived, and fearful.
His mind will become increasingly oppressed, depressed and obsessed.
This is mental death.

Physically and socially, he is subjected to accidents, sicknesses, business failures, marriage breakup, business failures, rebellion of the children, disfavor from men. Physical death is the ultimate outcome of the physical judgment of God upon sin.

God hates sin.
Yet He loves all sinners, and has provided a way for them through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, to be reconciled with Himself (John 3:16).
Through repentance, a sinner can be saved and enjoy God's blessings instead.

However, when a person, whether a believer or an unbeliever, sins and does not repent, he has become wicked and will come under God's judgment.
Thus our Lord Jesus Himself has declared: "Unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:3,5).

Similarly, God reveals His hatred of the wicked through King David, who declared as follows:

You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
     with You the WICKED cannot dwell.
The arrogant cannot stand in Your presence;
     You hate all who do wrong.
You destroy those who tell lies;
     bloodthirsty and deceitful men
     the LORD abhors.
(Psalm 5:4-6)

When we repent as soon as we are convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), God forgives us and remembers our sins no more (1 John 1:9).
The judgment of death is removed, and we are spared the consequence of our sins.

If we repent (judge ourselves), we will not fall under God's judgment.
Otherwise, we will come under God's judgment and die (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).

E.g. Paul warned the Corinthians that when they live in persistent sin (division and strife, etc) and take the Lord's Supper, they will come under God's judgment instead of receiving His blessings.
As a result, many among them were weak and sick and some have even died.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are WEAK and SICK, and a number of you have FALLEN ASLEEP. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under God's judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined s that we will not be condemned with the world.
(1 Corinthians 11:27-32)

The judgment of death gives a right to the devil to enter into our lives to destroy us.
The devil knows the Bible better than we do.
He knows that he has the legal right to destroy us because of sin in our life.
He has come to this world to "kill, steal and destroy" (John 10:10).
And it is our sin that opens a door for the devil to destroy our lives (Ephesians 4:26-27).

When you are angry, commit no sin; do not remain angry until sundown. Do not give the devil an opportunity.
(Ephesians 4:26-27)

When the Israelites were delivered during the first Passover in Egypt, those who did not remain in the homes which were protected by the blood of the Passover lambs were destroyed by the destroying angel (Exodus 12:21-23).
(In Revelation 9:11, the angel of the Abyss, a ruler demon, is also called the Destroyer).
Likewise, those of us who do not repent and come under the covering of the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, will also be destroyed by demonic spirits.

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "God at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike don the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and He will NOT PERMIT the DESTROYER to enter your houses and strike you down.
(Exodus 12:21-23)

When Paul pronounced the judgment of God upon unrepentant church members, he surrenders them to the devil for the destruction of their sinful nature, that they might learn to repent (1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Timothy 1:18-20).
Please note that Paul does not surrender these unrepentant believers to God, but to the devil, for destruction.
It is the devil who is used by God to enforce the judgment of death on the wicked.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A an has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, HAND THIS MAN OVER TO SATAN, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the say of the Lord.
(1 Corinthians 5:1-6)

Timothy, my son, I give you instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, who I have HANDED OVER TO SATAN to be taught not to blaspheme.
(1 Timothy 1:18-20)

God will no longer protect us when we sin and do not repent (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
Our prayer for protection from God will go unanswered.
Our sin hides His face from us and He will not answer us (Isaiah 59:2).
Instead, He will allow the devil to destroy our carnal nature, so that we may repent and be saved (Matthew 18:32-35).

Going to church will not save us from diseases, if we are unrepentant.
Giving money to charities will not save us from oppression, if we are unrepentant.
Only repentance will save us from the hand of the devil.

Out of God's grace, He gives every sinner, whether believer or unbeliever, a period of time to repent.
Because of His great patience with us, He withholds His judgment most of the time, giving time for us to repent (2 Peter 3:9).

Where would we be, if god were to judge us the very moment we sinned?
None of us would make it into the kingdom of God, or live long either, since we know that we sin daily and frequently, and are slow to repent.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is PATIENT with you, not wanting anyone to PERISH, but everyone to come to repentance.

Just because God is merciful and patient with us does not mean that God has given us the license to sin.
We must not sin purposely with the idea that we can get away with it.

If we test God often enough with our sin, there will come a time when God will pour out His judgment suddenly upon us.
There will be no remedy at that point (Proverbs 29:1).
Do not provoke the wrath of God by persistent sinning.

A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
     will suddenly be destroyed - without remedy.
(Proverbs 29:1)

Those who have a habit of criticizing and rebellion, complaining and grumbling, drinking and gambling, lying and cheating, etc., are provoking God's wrath.
Repent before it is too late.
If we do not, we will reap the judgment of God.

E.g. The people of Israel, on their journey to the Promised Land of Canaan, tested God 10 times with their grumbling and complaining.
God judged that whole generation, and those above 20 years of age (about 1.2 million adults) did not enter the Promised Land as a result, except for Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13:21-35).

"Not not of the men who SAW MY GLORY and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me TEN TIMES - not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefather. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it."

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "How long will this WICKED community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'as surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the every things I heard you say: In this desert you bodies will fall - every one of you  twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.'"
(Numbers 14:22-23, 26-29)

Where God's glory is mightily manifested, where His presence, power and love is expressed mightily among His people, God will judge sin almost immediately.

This is because those who sin become instruments of the devil, who will enter in among God's people and hinder the move of God (Acts 5:3).
Sin is infectious, and it can spread quickly through the church, like yeast in a batch of dough, unless it is swiftly dealt with (1 Corinthians 5:6).

In fact, one aspect of God's glory is His swift judgment upon the wicked.
God's glory is not only the mighty manifestation of His presence, power and love, but also of His swift judgment (Exodus 34:6-7).
Do not forget this when we pray for God's glory.

In showing God's glory to Moses, God declared:

"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
(Exodus 34:6-7)

During the time of the Israelites' journey to the promised land, when God's glory accompanied the people day and night (Exodus 40:34-38), His judgment on rebellion was always immediate and swift (E.g. Numbers 12:1-16; 14:1-37; 16:1-50).

Thus when Miriam and Aaron grumbled against the leadership of Moses, their brother, God intervened swiftly with His judgment, and Miriam became a leper.
However, when they repented, God healed her, although the journey of the people was delay (Numbers 12:1-16).

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't He also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.

The anger of the LORD burned against them, and He left them.
When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam - leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprous; and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed."
(Numbers 12:1-2; 9-11)

In the early church at Jerusalem, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the early church, the glory (presence, power and love) of God was mightily manifested.
The people were of one heart and mind and  love prevailed (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35).
Signs and miracles followed the preaching of the word (acts 2:41; 4:4).

Thus when Ananias and Sapphira lied about the money they were donating to the church, God judged them immediately, and they died on the spot (Acts 5:1-11).

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died.
(Acts 5:3-5)

In these last days, as we come to the end of this age, we see more and more of God's glory arising upon the church (Isaiah 60:1-3; Haggai 2:6-9).
This is in fulfillment of God's prophecy for the end-time church.
Because of this, God's judgment upon sin will be immediate in the church today.

"Arise, shine, for you light has come,
     and the GLORY of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
     and think darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
     and His GLORY appears over you."
(Isaiah 60:1-2)

"I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with GLORY," says the LORD Almighty. The GLORY of this present house will be greater than the GLORY of the former house," says the LORD Almighty.
(Haggai 2:7-9) 

We are now in the last days.
Let us therefore learn to fear God and not take His patience as a license to sin.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a Holy God, for God is a consuming fire.
Judgment has already began in the household of God (1 Peter 4:17).

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with REVERENCE AND AWE, for our God is a CONSUMING FIRE.
(Hebrews 12:28-29)

Your thought

1. Our sins bring on God's judgment which affects not only ourselves personally, but also our ministry, our families, our church, and others under us.
   Study the following passages and specify the sins and the effects of God's judgment:

   1. Adam's sin (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 5:1-19);

   2. Korah's sin (Numbers 16:1-50);

   3. Aachen's sin (Joshua 7:1-26);

   4. David's sin (2 Samuel 24:1-25);

   5. Gehazi's sin (2 Kings 5:1-27);

   6. King Herod's sin (Acts 12:19-23).