Let us consider together the Scripture evidence that responsibility to the judgment seat of Christ belongs to those who know God’s will. The principle that knowledge and responsibility are inseparable is stated in many passages and its precise application in many more. It is a principle that arises from the very nature of man and his relationship to the Creator. Man is a moral creature, and if God reveals His will man therefore has a responsibility for the actions that he does contrary to it.
The fact that man has power of choice does not rule out obligations on his part; the revealed will of God is not like an offer one man might make to another where the option of acceptance or refusal is equally in the person’s power. God sustains to man the relationship of Creator and Sustainer; though man has sinned, God will yet bring into existence a state where His will is supreme: therefore man either obeys and shares the abiding order God will establish, or he disobeys and becomes liable to that extinction which will come to all who have deliberately thwarted God’s will. In other words, an offer by God carries with it an assertion of His supremacy and of a man’s duty to choose obedience. It is outrageous to think that man can say to God, “I will think about it and make a decision”, as if that decision made no more difference to him than the refusal to enter into a contract with one’s fellow. Men are equal, but God is immeasurably higher than man. He is supreme and His approaches are acts of mercy and of benefaction.
Before touching on some of the outstanding passages that concern resurrectional responsibility, we reproduce the groups of passages set out by Bro. Roberts in his pamphlet, “The Resurrection to Condemnation”. And it should be noted here, that no collection of passages is available to illustrate the contrary view, but only specious reasoning based upon misconstrued passages of Scripture.
- That ignorance excludes men from accountability, but that they are responsible to divine judgment at the resurrection when they know the demand that God makes upon them by Christ and the Apostles, whether they submit to it or not.
Proof. “Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish” (Psa. 49:20).
“The times of this ignorance God winked at” (Acts 17:30).
“This is the (ground of) condemnation, that light is come” (John 3:19) “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin” (John 9:41).
“To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17).
“He that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not . . . ” (Matt. 7:26) “Who knowing the judgment of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death . . . ” (Rom. 1:32) “He that believeth not (the Gospel preached to him) shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my word, the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
“Whosoever will not hearken to my words which he (Jesus) shall speak in my name, I will require it of him”. (Deut. 18:19).
- That the scriptures recognize and teach it as according to righteousness and justice that those who rebel against the light should be brought to punishment, even though they be “without or outside”.
Proof: “We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things . . . After thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:2, 5).
‘Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).
“Them that are without, God judgeth” (1 Cor. 5:13).
“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Cor. 5:11). (This is connected with the judgment seat of the previous verse.)
“Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come . . . I say unto you that every idle word men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:32,36). “Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the son of God”. (Heb. 10:29).
“They that have done evil (shall come forth) to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:30).
- That the multitude who shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ will be composed, not only of the faithful and unfaithful members of his own immediate household (who are but a comparatively recent development of the divine principles that have been operative in the earth for 6,000 years) but of all who have refused to submit to the law of God when reasonably attested.
Proof. “He (to whom the gospel came in its apostolic presentation) that believeth not shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). “To them that perish . . . (the apostolic message) a savour of death unto death” (2 Cor. 2:15,16). “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness . . . God shall render to every man according to his deeds . . . to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Christ Jesus, according to my Gospel” (Rom. 1:18; 2:6,8, 9,16)
“Taking vengeance on them that know not God (that is, are not acquainted with him in the sense of submission) and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:8).
We will now look a little more closely at some of the statements which illustrate the teaching of Scripture on the subject of responsibility. When God speaks to men it is man’s duty to hearken and obey, whoever may hear, and wherever he may be. God may indeed speak to one man, or to one nation, and the word may have exclusive reference to them unless it is indicated that it has a wider application or is the enunciation of some general principle. Even so, to refuse to hearken is disobedience.
This general principle is clearly laid down in the very arrangements made by God with Israel concerning any revelation He would give to them. They had requested that a direct communication as at Sinai should not be repeated but that God should speak through Moses. God approved the request, and extended the arrangement beyond Moses: “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him”. Deut. 18:18,19.
Principle is clear
The principle laid down clearly, is that when God reveals His will, men who know that will are held accountable. If at the present time by the preaching of the gospel, God has extended His dealings to the Gentiles, and “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent”, then men are responsible for the refusal to hear, for God has “appointed a day in which He will judge the world (and not only Israel) in righteousness by Jesus Christ”.
Psalm 49:6-12 describes the general state of men engrossed in present affairs, eyes fixed on lands and wealth, without power to redeem themselves from death. They abide not; they are like the beasts that perish (verse 12). The Psalmist then contrasts his own hope of a future with the hopelessness of those others: God will redeem his soul from the grave; but their souls shall go to the generation of their fathers, they shall never see light. But the very contrast which will be evident in the resurrection makes necessary some qualification of the statement in verse 12. Not all perish as the beasts who yet do not attain to the blessedness of the future. What is the principle that governs the beast-like death? It is thus defined: “Man that is in honour and understandeth not is like the beasts that perish”. Where a man understands the eternal purpose of God he has a responsibility that extends beyond the present.
Jesus was “the Prophet” of God, and we turn to God’s words which he spake. He had “words of eternal life” and his doctrine concerned the Kingdom and how men should seek it. His “Sermon” begins with “blessedness” on certain people because they were related to future good; it ends with searching counsel based on the parable of two builders. But before the closing parable he had said that not lip acknowledgment of his lordship, but doing the will of God, would open the door to the Kingdom; and that “in that day” he would disown mere lip servers. He contemplates a time when as Judge he will dispatch from his presence men who have known him and of him, but have not sought to apply the knowledge by obedient service (Matt. 7:21-23). He emphasizes his meaning by connecting with this saying the parable: “Therefore whosoever heareth these things of mine, and doeth them”; he is a house-builder whose work is laid on foundations that stand the crisis of storm; but “everyone who heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man” whose building comes to ruin (verses 24-27). There is no escape from the conclusion that the division between the two is based on “hearing and doing” and “hearing and not doing”, and the division will be made final in the day of judgment. Responsibility comes with hearing, and failure to respond does not exclude judgment.
Three possible states
There are three possible states in relation to faith: a person hears and accepts—he believes; a person hears and rejects—he disbelieves; a person never hears and his position is defined as unbelief. The A.V. in Mark 16:16 is ambiguous when it says, “he that believeth not shall be condemned”; but the R. V. correctly translates Mark’s words, “he that disbelieveth shall be condemned”. Jesus is considering the issues which spring from the preaching which he has just instructed his disciples to do; men hear and believe, or hear and disbelieve to their future judgment.
It might be expected that John’s gospel would have something to say on the subject: the antagonism between light and darkness, used in figure by John so much, involves it. Space does not permit for elaboration, but only for brief comments. John 3:18-21: the evidence of God’s work in Jesus is so strong that rejection is wickedness, and a man is revealed for what he is by not believing: he therefore “hath been judged” (R.V.) already—the facts judge him even though the decision is not announced until the day of judgment and salvation. The ground of judgment is that light has come. John 12:46-48: in these words we have the final summing up of the public ministry of Jesus. They clearly are to be connected with the words of Moses in Deut. 18; and the day of judgment is clearly indicated. The supreme act of God in sending His Son is a challenge to sinfulness, and if man does not ally himself with God’s work when the light permeates the darkness of his mind, then he is God’s enemy, and only judgment awaits him.
Leaving aside some statements which define the principle indirectly we quote specific statements from the epistles. In Rom. 2:16 we have one of the most elaborate arguments on the subject. A man who can judge another is by that act shown to be responsible himself (verses 1,2). If he despises God’s goodness which leads him to repentance (verse 4) he treasures up wrath against the day of wrath (verse 5) when God will render to those who do not obey the truth, indignation and wrath (verse 8). The judgment applies equally to Jew and Gentile (verse 9).
The grounds of Judgment
Peter declares that certain Gentiles who defamed the disciples “shall give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead”. He adds the grounds upon which they will be judged. He had just spoken of Noah’s contemporaries to whom the “Spirit of Christ” in Noah preached, but who were now dead.
The gospel evidently was preached to them as well as to the Gentiles of Peter’s days “For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in Spirit” (1 Pet 4 6) The two issues which spring from the preaching are both stated —judgment and life.
Do these things matter? They do in several ways An urgency is given to the preaching of the message when it is recognized that the hearer is being called to obedience and not to an “option” It is not a question of frightening men into the way of salvation, the appeal is one of love, but flouted love has terrors, a recognition of this affects the spirit of the speaker Because Paul knew “the terror of the Lord’ he persuaded men” Men have preached the terrors of hell and believers in the Truth ha\ e revolted from it, but the sentiment abroad today would treat God if He is recognized at all, as a kind of good-natured benefactor We must keep a Just balance between the holiness and righteousness of God, on the one hand, and the love and kindness on the other, so doing we shall uphold His supremacy and declare His love to men.
You mislead me
Bro Roberts pictures a preacher meeting a man at the judgment who thought he was safe from God’s wrath as long as he did not enter the covenant by baptism and who had not been warned of God’s righteous claims “How terrible it will be in that day, if through looseness of doctrine in this matter on our part, men should find themselves awake from the dead to Judgment who did not expect to be there, and who would naturally turn their reproaches against us ‘Why did you tell me I was not responsible?’
Paul declared himself ‘free from the blood of all men, because he ‘had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God In this position we can scarcely consider ourselves, if we lull people into a deadly indifference by teaching them that if they choose to disobey God, the worst they have to look for is to be left undisturbed in an everlasting grave This is not the worst There is a judgment which shall ‘devour the adversary’, of which every (responsible) soul of man will partake who are ‘contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness’ (Rom 2:8).
There is a class who, having no understanding, ‘shall not rise’ but pass away as the beasts that perish But to this class those do not belong who, having come into contact with ‘the light that is come into the world’, love darkness rather than light These, having heard the words of Christ and rejected them by refusing to walk in accord with them, will be “judged by them in the last day”.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One