If There is Grace, Why is There Judgment?

Don: On the one hand:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

But on the other:

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

We might begin to make sense out of these apparently contradictory verses by recalling that the purpose of our work is to propagate goodness:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

The Greek word for “workmanship”, ποίημα (poiema), means “that which has been made” but it also carries the connotation of a work of art or craft, a creative product like a painting or a work of sculpture. Such creations usually require finishing touches—some require  more than others.

Jesus confirmed that we were created to do good works:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

Similarly:

Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:12)

It seems that our good deeds are on display to show the goodness of God. Our task is to be purveyors of goodness. It may be the only picture of God that some people will see. God’s work is the definition of Goodness. In the Creation story, God’s work is pronounced as not just “good” but “very good.”

Goodness in the context of work carries a strong implication of external value. Goodness that glorifies God must be seen and felt by others. God’s work—the work of Goodness—is not just more prayers  and more bible study and more personal piety; rather, it is goodness that has others as its object. Like the lamp, it cannot be hidden under a bowl but must shine out to illuminate all around it.

Judgment seems to be related to this concept of Goodness. We are created for good works. The good works are to glorify God. We will be judged as to how we have portrayed and propagated this Goodness. Yet the judgment of work appears to result in a reward that is not salvation:

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  (1 Corinthians 3:9-16)

What might that reward be?

For if I preach the gospel [I think this can be read as “If I preach Goodness”—DW], I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel [Goodness]. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel [Goodness], I may offer the gospel [it] without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel [in this Goodness]. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel [for the sake of Goodness], so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Corinthians 9:16-23)

The last verse implies that in order to experience Goodness one must share it; or, as we have put it before, one cannot hoard the grace. It seems that the judgment of our works influences the reward, but maybe not our salvation. What is the reward?

Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” (John 4:36-38)

Confusingly, however:

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him…. Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. (Ecclesiastes 9:1;7)

Kiran: In the parable that talks about goat and sheep, the goats were thrown out of the kingdom because of their works.

David: It seems one can have one’s cake and eat it. One can be bad and be judged accordingly yet still receive grace in the end. But that does not gel with the notion of being thrown out of the kingdom.

Mikiko: It is important to remember the injunction:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  (Matthew 28:19)

Chris: Perhaps we should not pit grace against works, but put them together. I would propose that works are the result of grace. Good works follow naturally from the receipt and acceptance of grace. It is inevitable, when we receive grace gladly and without preconditions, that we will want to share it with others. This is the work, the works, that Jesus was trying to demonstrate to the disciples.

Jeff: That is a fine notion but it does not clear up the contradiction in the verses quoted at the start of this meeting. We are judged by our works and that judgment determines whether we are allowed into the kingdom or not.

David: I wonder if grace means “living within God” or simply “living” or “life”? Chris suggests that works are natural, and the most natural work of all is simply to live. We seldom think about the fact that we are alive but are usually grateful for it when we do. If grace is life, then judgment depends upon how we choose to live our lives—whether we share our lives—grace—with others, or hoard it to ourselves.

Jeff: If grace were just the gift of life then we could throw away our various scriptures. There would be no need to discern between good and evil, and therefore no need for judgment.

David: …Except that each of us is “a temple of God and … the Spirit of God dwells in [us]” (1 Corinthians quoted above).

Robin: Perhaps it means that we are judged by the motives of our works. God distinguishes between those who will be with him and those who will not. What seems, from the examples Jesus gave, to be different is the motivation behind the works of the two groups. One does “good” work but for selfish reasons—fame, recognition, money, and so on; the other simply works selflessly, for others, for love—as did Jesus. Grace, the holy spirit, helps us do this.

Michael: The distinguishing point might be the type of judgment. The type of judgment in which everyone is saved, no matter how we behave, precludes the need for scripture. The second type of judgment requires the manifestation of grace by sharing it, through works, with others.

Robin: By asking Jesus “Which of us will be greater in the KoH?” it is clear that even the disciples didn’t understand it at first.

Don: Are the contradictory points of view reconcilable, or not?

Kiran: It’s hard for us because our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. But once we receive grace, we have to do works. The Message bible says:

If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me. (Matthew 10:38-39)

If I try to save myself, I will fail; but if I accept God’s grace, I will be saved. This is a difficult concept.

Don: The question is, if we are saved by grace and not by works, why the judgment? Why do our works need to be examined at all, if not for salvation? Scripture leaves no doubt that there is such judgment. Is it possible that we will receive a reward (or not) based upon our works but one that is not salvation?

Jeff: The Book of Life is clearly the basis on which we are judged, but the concept of salvation through grace makes the Book irrelevant except to show that which is already known: That we do not deserve salvation, that we are unworthy.

Mikiko: Judgment is not reserved to the End Time. Judgment was passed on humanity in Noah’s day and in the days of Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah, when there were no people of righteousness left on earth. God judges all of us all the time based on what he sees in our hearts.

Anonymous: Grace is given to those who live in Jesus:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Jay: Lot’s story is instructive and may be a key. God was willing to suspend judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah until he determined that there was not one bit of righteousness left. As long as there was even just a trace of goodness, love, mercy, etc., the judgment was held in abeyance, but once the last trace disappeared, it fell. Could this apply to each one of us? Does this lessen the contradiction we are wrestling with?

David: In this version, though, judgment is all about damnation and has nothing to do with salvation.

Jay: We live within the Kingdom of Heaven—within salvation—now.

David: Yes—we live within grace, no matter what; no matter whether we squander it or not. It seems we can be damned and sent to hell but God’s grace will accompany us even there!

Robin: There’s a difference between a repentant sinner and an unrepentant sinner. The latter are the ones condemned. God knows their hearts. He knows whether we have extinguished, or are just ignoring, the inner light.

Jeff: But do we ourselves know?

Kiran: In the parable of the wheat and tares, the tares are judged—not the wheat. We are wheat even though we may look like tares and God makes the distinction in the final judgment—hence, salvation; hence, judgment is a good thing, not a bad thing. In the Book of Judges, God sent judges to eliminate enemies—tares.

Michael: The bible makes reference to the gnashing of teeth at judgment, but perhaps it is just another way of describing our anxiety in daily life. Living in the kingdom of God makes us less anxious.

Jay: If the Kingdom of Heaven is now, here, within us, then it changes how we think about judgment. Instead of being a one-time event in the distant future it becomes a proximate, recurring event.

Mikiko: The counter to that is:

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44)

Mohamed: God ordered us to love one another regardless of religion.

David: That sentence alone would make the perfect bible!

Rimon: No matter how we try to make the bible seem soft and loving, it’s not: It’s tough, it’s damning. Judgment Day is for the people not in Christ.

Anonymous: Who will be judged?

Robin: Each one of us, not just the totally wicked.

Jay: Wheat cannot turn into a tare. The tare—wickedness—is plucked out in the judgment. The wheat remains.

Anonymous: Judgment justifies and saves the good and condemns and eliminates the evil. The story of Lot is indeed illuminating: As long as there is some faith, God will extend his grace.

Don: The concept of judgment being in the present and not in the future is worthy of further discussion.

Jay: Grace and works and the kingdom of God are about today. Jesus said he came to establish the kingdom on earth, in the here and now. Our role is to do our best to live within it. We usually think of salvation as a ticket into the kingdom, and judgment as the ticket dispenser at the door. But if the kingdom is here and now, this interpretation doesn’t hold.

The bible is not as smooth and consistent as we would like it to be. It’s a compilation of perspectives, compiled over centuries, and a powerful tool if looked at in that light.

David: The examples Mikiko gave are of judgment taking place on earth at various times. So Jay’s views that the kingdom is here and now, and that the bible can help us see that, may both be true!

We are in the kingdom here and now by God’s grace, but we are being judged every second and can be condemned and thrown out of it at any moment. But we can also be allowed back in at any moment!

Anonymous: Perhaps judgment in the here and now is our judgment of one another, and the final judgment is to restore those who were unjustly judged.

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