THE GOD OF GRACE AND JUDGMENT. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

God’s judgment is as pervasive in the Bible as is the theme of salvation; in fact, the two teachings are intricately entwined.

^{GOD’S DIVINE COURT. Rom.5: 17} For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

As Christians, it is God’s law that condemns us. We are saved by God’s grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). “Yet being under grace does not give believers the license to ‘continue in sin that grace may abound’ (Rom. 6:1). Rather, grace supplies the power that makes obedi­ence and victory over sin possible.”

“Christ’s death magnified the law, upholding its universal authority. If the Decalogue could have been changed, He would not have had to die. But because this law is absolute and immutable, a death was required to pay the penalty it imposed. This requirement Christ fully satisfied by His death on the cross, making eternal life available to all who accept His magnificent sacrifice.”

…our Father…sends us the Holy Spirit to keep us from sinning and to transform our character.

Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 2nd ed.  Cited by Fernando Ayala, San Miguel, www.ssnet.org

JUDGMENT DAY…judgment is not contrary to salvation or to the gospel. Indeed, both themes are woven together in Scripture from Genesis through Revelation.

Judgment and salvation reflect twin aspects of God’s character: His justice and grace…the New Testament talks more about judgment than does the Old.

Ecc.12:  13Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

^{Heb.10: 30} For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[a] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

^{Matt.16: 27} For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Rev.22: ¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

^{Matt.12: 36} But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

1 Peter 4: ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Rev.14: ⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

These are just a small sample of the texts that clearly teach judgment. As noted above, many of the most explicit judgment texts, texts that clearly reveal the reality of divine judgment, or judgments, appear in the New Testament. This fact certainly works against the notion that judgment is somehow contrary to the new-covenant concept of God’s grace, which is also clearly taught in the New Testament. What this should teach us is that however we understand judgment, and however we understand grace, we must understand them as divine truths that work together with each other. To pit one against the other is to misunderstand the fullness of the gospel, which we looked at last week.

Jo Ann Davidson, Professor of Theology, Andrews University, www.ssnet.org

JUDGMENT AND GRACE WORKING TOGETHER. John 3: ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

we see a pattern:  1. Someone commits a sin.  2. God pronounces judgment upon the sinner. 3. God offers grace to the sinner.

“This call is not to be perceived as condemnation but as an invitation to turn back to God and away from Satan and the bondage to sin he has brought into the world. [Here] the Creator presents Himself as Saviour with a call that offers grace.”

If we truly accept His grace, the Holy Spirit will live in our hearts and transform our lives (Gal. 5:16–23). First John 4:17 assures us that “we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world” (NASB).

How awesome it is to believe in a God who provides for our needs even before the need occurs. ..We are sharing His grace when we tell others about His salvation just as we received His grace when we first believed.

Heber David Morán Zeledón, www.ssnet.org

JUDGMENT AND GRACE IN EDEN. Gen.3: ⁹ But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Immediately, though, the Lord entered, calling out “Where are you?” This question doesn’t have to be seen as condemnatory; it was more an invitation to come to Him, the One who created and loved them. It was a call to turn away from their deceiver and to return to their Maker.

^{Gen.3: 15} And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring^[a] and hers; he will crush^[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Verse 15 is the first gospel promise. As soon as He declares His judgment against the serpent, He then immediately gives the first message of grace, of redemption, of salvation for humanity. And only then, only after that gospel promise, does He start declaring His judgments against the woman and the man.

Though God must judge and condemn sin, the promise of grace is always there, always present, always available for those who will claim it for themselves.

In what ways might the Lord be saying to you, “Where are you?” What are you doing that, perhaps, is causing you to hide from Him?

Jo Ann Davidson,  Professor of Theology, Andrews University

HE KNOWS YOU BY YOUR NAME. Exo.34: ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ 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 parents to the third and fourth generation.”

“Then those who pierced Him will call on the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? ‘The wrath of the Lamb’—One who ever showed Himself full of infinite tenderness, patience, and long-suffering, who having given Himself up as the sacrificial victim, was led as a lamb to the slaughter to save sinners from the doom now falling upon them because they would not allow Him to take away their guilt.”

“While Jesus is pleading for the subjects of His grace, Satan accuses them before God as transgressors…

“Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands

Ruth Jenniffer Paz Herrera, www.cqbiblestudy.org