Judgment in the House of God - By Mervin Yoder

1 Peter 4:17: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"

One night I had my Bible open studying various verses, and the word "judgment" started rolling around in me, and I believe the Lord began to speak to me concerning it. Judgment is something we get a little scared of. We're not quite sure what to do with it, and it's considered an ugly word in our society, even in our churches. It's a word nobody wants to hear about.

But I believe there is a lot of capacity for salvation when judgment is at work in the house of God. In this verse in 1 Peter, it doesn't say a time of judgment is coming. It says "the time is come." The time is now that judgment must begin. We know of the judgment seat of Christ and the great white throne judgment. But we don't wait until then for the judgment of God.

Recently I was speaking with a family member about my concern for a denominational church that had homosexual members. When I said there is no such thing as a homosexual Christian, this family member responded, "Be careful. Don't judge." I had not condemned any individuals but had simply made a scriptural distinction. "We have to love," I was told.

Many of you may have had similar experiences. We mull the idea of judgment around in our minds and hearts and aren't quite sure what to do with it.

But the basic idea of judgment is simply "to distinguish" or "to decide." It has to do with justice. The Bible exhorts the house of God to distinguish between right and wrong, between what ought to be and what ought not to be. If nothing is ever decided we will come to the place where sin is not sin and where salvation is no longer necessary. When lines are never drawn, people don't know where to stand.

Imagine if someone said, "Well, we don't want to judge. Let's not call Pennsylvania 'Pennsylvania.'" How would anyone ever find it? How would anyone know how to get there? But someone decided about Pennsylvania long ago, and we can look at the border and determine just what and where the state is. In the house of God we don't support opinions. We follow the will of God, for it is clearly laid down in scripture just as Pennsylvania is laid down in the atlas.

When I was pastoring in the charismatic church, we had accepted so-called "Christian rock and roll." An evangelist came to the church and preached against such music, saying there is no way God works in all that long hair and leather and lights and dancing. I was sitting on the platform, and as he preached he kept backing me into a corner. The whole church knew where I stood on the issue, and this sermon was terribly humiliating.

As I sat there, it became clear I had a decision to make. My congregation would expect a response. Either I had to explain this man away as one of those evangelists who doesn't have much love, or I had to admit my error and repent. By the grace of God I chose to repent, and my life was changed.

You see, I was brought to a decision. There was a line drawn before me, and I had either to step over it or stay behind it. Such judgment must begin in the house of God.

In the book of Judges, God continually had to raise up men who would call the Israelites to righteousness, who would put the Sodomites out of the land and tear down the altars of Baal and Ashtaroth. The Israelites' hearts would turn to the Lord, but as soon as the judge died what did they do? They turned back to evil, to what was "right in their own eyes." When there is no judgment, when men are afraid to draw lines, then personal opinion leads men astray to sin and folly.

Opinion counts for nothing. God gives us his Word and the Holy Spirit to move in us and speak to us. He is the judge, and his judgments are true and firm. We follow him and stay within his unchanging lines, not following the wavering lines of personal opinion.

I want to qualify this teaching by referring to James 2. There is a kind of judgment that the scriptures warn against, a judgment that Christians have no business practicing. James often warns against "respecting persons," against honoring or dishonoring men because of clothing or money or the lack of such things. We are to make no judgments, no distinctions, about such things.

But even when we judge about sin and righteousness, about cases where distinctions do need to be made, we must be careful about how we judge, as we see in James 2:13: "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." James is saying that if we judge someone or make a decision without the work of mercy in our hearts, then we, too, will face judgment without mercy. That is not to say we shouldn't make judgments, because we must continually make judgments in our families, in our churches, and in other areas of our lives. Wouldn't it be nice to lay back and never bother with such decisions? To simply kick out of the way the evil that confronts us? No, we are called of God, we have been given positions, and we must do the work of judgment. But that work of judgment must go hand in hand with the work of mercy.

Hebrews says that if something is lame, don't let it be turned out of the way, but let it be healed. We must stop and determine what is lame before we can bring healing. We don't just kick it out of our way. In the same way, we must judge sin and make distinctions about evil, refusing the modern idea that "anything goes." But after judging that sin, through mercy we bring healing and restoration. Judgment must come first, and that's why it is necessary to salvation.

The verse says mercy "rejoiceth" against judgment. That means mercy is more glorious than judgment, for it is God's beautiful way of bringing restoration.

Romans 2 goes even further and says we are inexcusable when we judge another, because we who judge do the same things. And if we judge another while we have the same sin in our own hearts, we will not escape the judgment of God. Paul goes on and on in verses 19-23 about how the Jews were judging others for their own sins. "Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?" It's this very point, I am sure, that has caused many people to cease making decisions. They refuse to draw lines and make judgments because they don't want God's judgment to fall on them. But it is their misunderstanding of judgment that makes them shirk their God-given duty--for the sin described in those verses is the sin of judging without mercy, and the sin of judging others before judging oneself. Judgment must begin in the house of God.

In John 16, Jesus tells the disciples he must go away but promises to send the Holy Spirit, whom he calls the "Comforter." Jesus continues: "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." It is the Comforter, the one who gives comfort, who likewise brings judgment. That should change our thinking a bit.

I can remember so many times when my dad found out something I had done wrong, and it was the worst thing in the world waiting for the judgment to come. But I can tell you, after judgment was given did he ever have a good boy! And I felt free, for my guilt was no longer hanging over my head. I would walk beside Dad, get in the pick-up, look at the cows, do whatever we needed to do, enjoying his presence. If my dad hadn't judged me for my sins, I'd still be in those sins tonight. But through his judgment I obtained his forgiveness and was restored to the family. He freed me up to serve him.

I've seen people under conviction at times of preaching who can't even look up. Finally they make it to the altar and then to the counseling room, where they pour it out. The next night they are up front testifying, when the night before they couldn't look up. They are free!

You have seen husbands and wives who have a conflict and then refuse to deal with it or talk about it. Their home becomes a miserable place for their children. But when they open up and talk it out, casting judgment on the sin and mercy on one another, their love springs free and more vibrant than ever.

Judgment must begin in the house of God, where God's mercy can do its work of restoration. Jesus said he came first to the lost house of Israel, and as he stood over Jerusalem he wept and longed for Israel's repentance, but they would not repent. 1 Corinthians 11:31 says, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." The purpose of judgment is to save us from the condemnation of God that is reserved for those who reject him.

Judgment also belongs in the house of God to prevent it from being spread out for the world to see. I know of a man who was asked to declare his occupation while going through customs in New York a few years ago, and when he said "I'm an evangelist," the official said, "I'd be embarrassed to say that if I were you." Many people shared the same sentiments in the wake of so many fallen television evangelists. That's why we need to judge ourselves before others judge us.

I say this with hesitation, but I used to love to listen to Jimmy Swaggart. He preached the power of God and repentance unto holiness throughout the U.S. and in Central and South America. Yet, as the scripture warned, he found himself in the same sins he preached against. I believe that God would have brought mercy and restoration, but the one thing he would not receive from his elders was judgment. Everyone I have talked to about the situation agrees that God would have forgiven the man, but when his presbyters gave him the work they wanted him to do, he would not receive it. The Bible insists that restoration must start there.

Proverbs says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of the enemy are deceitful." A true friend is willing to bring judgment--with mercy--to save us and free us from sin. Some people think it's loving or kind to look the other way, but that is the way of the enemy, that is the way of cowardice. Judgment begins in the house of God, among friends and brothers and sisters.

A true friend will break your arm if he has to to keep you from touching that evil thing. Those wounds he inflicts are like the wounds of Jesus, leading to salvation. They are not meant for destruction but for salvation.

1 Corinthians 14:29 says, "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge." This is written concerning the gifts of the Spirit, and again we see the Spirit, the Comforter, bringing judgment to allow for restoration. Verse 31: "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." Many times when I am thinking about making a decision, I'll talk it out with my wife, and her response helps me judge the situation. She helps me see and distinguish what is important and what must be done. Sometimes we walk in uncertainty, afraid of making judgments, because we won't speak out and let God direct us. "All prophesy one by one, that all may learn." God can lead us and teach us proper judgment, but we must be willing to put everything on the table, and that requires the love and sensitivity of fellow believers in the house of God, led by God's spirit.

Proper judgment must extend to those outside the faith as well, for judgment can lead to their repentance and salvation. In Acts 24, Paul spoke boldly to Felix: "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled." Felix trembled because he saw God face to face in a way he had never seen him before.

I heard about an evangelist who was invited to a banquet with the princess of England. He was nervous because he knew God had given him a word to say to the princess, but he wondered how he would get an opportunity to say it. Then to his surprise, as they seated the people they seated him next to her. She turned to him and said, "Sir, I am going to talk to the person on my left for 20 minutes, then I'll turn and speak to you, and I want to hear what you have to say." When his turn came, he spoke concerning the judgment and salvation of God. The princess asked, "How can I know these things?" He gave her a book, and when he saw that princess again three years later, she beckoned to him and asked, "Sir, do you have another of those books? I have read that one for three years now and I'd like to know more."

Often we're afraid of casting judgment on the Felixes and higher ups of the world, but God's judgment, coupled with his mercy, is what will convict of sin and bring repentance. Remember Paul wrote the great chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13, but in Acts 19 we read how he went to the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, "disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." I wonder how many people were going up to Paul and saying, "You need to have more love" or "that's no way to reach anybody." But Paul knew that judgment was part of the loving process.

As is always the case, many were hardened and refused to believe Paul, and these "spake evil of that way before the multitude." But did Paul quit? Did he decide that he would cease to judge? No, he went and disputed elsewhere, for he had a passion to bring salvation to the lost. He was the friend who was not afraid to wound others to save them from destruction.

"Judgment" is not the the ugly word that many think it is. We must bring judgment--coupled with mercy--to the house of God, and through it find restoration and comfort.