Tag: judges

1 Peter 1:17 – Impartial Judgment

Posted on by Will

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay here on earth;

Truth to Learn

The way we live reflects how we really feel about God.

 

Behind the Words

“Without partiality” comes from aprosōpolēptos, which is a compound of three words meaning “not,” “appearance,” and “accept”. Hence, this word means that He does not take a person’s appearance into account, and it has come to mean “impartially.”

The word translated “judges” is from the Greek word krinō, which means “to distinguish or decide based on the facts.”

“Conduct” is translated from the verb form of the word anastrophē, meaning “our manner of living.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating a call to action.

 

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse seems to talk about a works based salvation since it says that God judges according to every man’s work. Taken in isolation from the numerous Biblical verses that talk about salvation being of grace by faith alone, some people have even said that this verse proves that our salvation is based on works. But what does the verse really say?

God judges us based on what we do, not to earn righteousness (salvation), but as a result of the righteousness (salvation) that has already been given to us. Our righteousness is imputed (given) to us when we believe (see Romans 4:22-24).

Now, regarding the works of the unsaved, the description of the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 makes it very clear that the unsaved will be judged according to their works and then will all be condemned to the lake of fire.

But Christians will not appear before the White Throne Judgment. Instead, we will appear before the Bema Seat Judgment, about which the Apostle Paul said:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

This judgment seat of Christ is the bematos, or Bema Seat of Christ. In the first century, the Bema seat was the platform upon which the judge of athletic games sat. It was at this seat that the winners were each given a wreath “crown” as a reward for their victory. Our Bema seat judgment is for believers (winners) only and occurs after the rapture when we have already become like Christ, hence we are blameless. This is where we will receive rewards for the work we have done for Him. And in 1 Corinthians 3:8-15 we learn that our works will be judged as having been done either for the glory of God or for ourselves. Therefore, Peter admonishes us in today’s verse to pass the time of our wandering here on this earth in fear. Not fear of losing our salvation, but fear that we won’t do everything we can to show God how grateful we are.

 

Application

I have often wondered how a person who is saved by God’s grace can then live the remainder of his or her life focusing on self. When we realize the value of God’s sacrifice to pay the price of our sins, we begin to understand how precious salvation really is. Now, what are we doing to show how much we appreciate His sacrifice? Christ died for us; therefore, we should live for Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

James 2:4 – No Discrimination

Posted on by Will

have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil reasonings?

Truth to Learn

Judging a person by how they dress and how wealthy they are is selfish and evil. We need to learn to not judge people by their outward appearance.

Behind the Words

The phrase, “have you not shown partiality” is translated from the Greek words ou diekrithē. Ou expresses the absolute negative and diekrithē is a compound word made up of dia, meaning “through,” implying separation, and a form of krinō, meaning “to distinguish, to decide, or to judge.” Hence, this word means “to thoroughly distinguish between two things” or “to make a judgment between two things.” In older translations this is the word “discriminate.”

“Judges” is translated from kritēs, the noun form of krinō, which we just saw means “to judge.” James is using a play on words here showing that when we discriminate we are making judgments about people and, therefore, have placed ourselves in the position of being judges.

The words “evil reasonings” are from the Greek words dialogismōn ponērōn. Ponērōn refers to “that which is wicked or evil in a moral or spiritual sense.” The word dialogismōn is made up of dia, meaning “through,” implying separation, and logismōn, a form of logidzomai, meaning “to count or conclude.” Thus dialogismon means “debating or reasoning” and, therefore, dialogismōn ponērōn refers to the evil thoughts that go into such reasoning.

Meaning Explained

Discriminate is an interesting English word. In the early and middle part of the 20th century it was considered good to be discriminating. This meant that a person recognized the difference between good things and bad things. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, however, to discriminate has taken on a negative connotation as it does in this verse. To discriminate between good and bad or between right and wrong is good. But, discriminating against anyone based on outward appearance is not good according to James.

As a nation we have learned over the past 50 years that it is not right to discriminate against someone simply based on their racial or ethnic origin. But we still discriminate based on a person’s apparent wealth. We get excited about seeing a person who is rich and famous, in the flesh, up close and personal. But we avoid the poor people of our society and don’t want to be near them. Why is this? Perhaps, so that we can brag about the fact that we have shaken hands with, or have actually spoken with, someone who is rich and famous. But even that is selfish and sinful.

So to sum up verses 2, 3, and 4, James is saying that we should not discriminate against anyone coming into our church simply based on outward appearances. If we do, we have become judgmental with evil intentions. Christ accepts all who freely come to Him and as His ambassadors, we need to likewise accept all who come to hear the Words of life.

Application

The next time you are asked to be a greeter in your church, go out of your way to make everyone feel welcome and important. Look past their outward appearance. That’s what God does. He sees their heart (and He sees yours as well).