(Happenings Ahead) the Judgement Seat of Christ — Willie Mullan

Christ’s Return and the Righteous Judge

In the past few weeks, here in the Bible class, we have been looking at the moment of Christ's return, the moment, that marvellous, mighty moment, when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.

And we looked at it, that it would be the moment when the saints would go marching in. What a blessed moment that will be. It will be the moment when we shall see him as he is, in all his wonder, in all his grandeur, in all his greatness, in all his glory.

We shall see him as he is. And you remember that I underlined for you some of the very precious titles that belong to Christ when he comes to the air to meet his people. You remember that the men and wives said to the apostles and disciples on the Mount of Olives as he went up, they said, why stand ye gazing into heaven?

The same Jesus will so come. It will be the very same Jesus, the one that walked upon the Sea of Galilee, the one that touched the leper, the one that raised the dead, the one that hung on the cross, the one that lay in the tomb.

This same Jesus. You remember we looked up the title, The Master of the House, will rise and shut through the door. You remember we looked up the Lord himself, shall descend. You remember we thought about the chief shepherd, shall come.

Paul’s Crown of Righteousness

Now there's another title that we need to look up tonight because it leads up to a subject. When Christ comes, he is another title. It's 2nd Timothy, and it's chapter 4. Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy, and it's the 4th chapter, and as Paul pens these words, he's about to be led out to place his head upon the block and to become a master for Christ.

Nero commanded his beheadment, and he was beheaded. Here's what he says here to Timothy, quoting the letter at verse 6, 2nd Timothy 4, verse 6. He says, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is made up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

You see what Paul is saying to Timothy, he's just saying, you know, when I meet the Lord in the air, I shall meet him as the righteous judge. Not only this same Jesus, not only the master of the house, not only the Lord himself, not only the savior of the body, not only the chief shepherd of the sheep, we're going to meet him as the righteous judge.

I think we need to take a breath with this. You notice that Paul says, Henceforth there is made up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

He's talking about that day of his appearing as the righteous judge. But remember he's not meeting us in the air of a judge to condemn us, or to bring us in guilty. It's a judge who's giving away rewards.

That's quite different, you know. He's giving out rewards, he's giving crowns. He says, I'll get the crown of righteousness. You know there's a tremendous connection here, and I'm off to start preaching it.

If you really love Christ's appearing, I believe this, that you'll fight a good fight, that you'll run right along the course. You see, Paul can see the whole Christian life like a great competition, when he says, I have fought a good fight, I have run the whole race, I've finished the course, I've kept the faith, nobody knocked me down.

Yes, you do that when you really love his appearing, because when you keep his appearing foremost in your heart, it helps you to walk in the path of righteousness. And then, of course, the righteous judge will give you a crown of righteousness when he meets you.

No Condemnation for Those in Christ

But I want you to get the hold of that this evening, because he's coming as the judge, and we're going to stand, of course, at the judgment seat of Christ. But I want you to get it that he's looking at all the competitors, and he's not there to condemn them.

There's no condemnation for them that are in Christ. None whatsoever. He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me of everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation. I want you to get the hold of this, but we'll tidy it out as we get along.

Now we're going to rise and meet the Lord in the air. What a moment we shall say our love here. And then, of course, the next thing that will happen ahead for us will be that we shall go in to stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

That's what we're going to think about tonight. Let's go over to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, just for a moment. Paul's writing this letter to the believers, the chariots, and in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10, he says this, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

It's a tremendous statement, remember, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. This will be the judgment seat for all who rise to meet him in the air.

The Judgment of Sin and Sins at Calvary

You know, I think it's a good thing that we'll take a moment or two tonight to just deal with all the major judgments. I've got quite a lot of young believers in this class, and we're very thankful for this.

And I tell you this, young folks, that if you grasp the whole complete doctrine of judgment, then it will make the book live for you. And I want to take you through the major ones just now. Let's go back to John's gospel, and the very first chapter, John chapter 1, verse 29.

Here's a word you've known since your very early days. John 1 29, the next day John seeeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Now, this was the judgment of sin.

This was sin being dealt with in its totality for all eternity. It was being taken away, due additionally speaking. Yes, this was the judgment of sin. Now, note where it happened. It happened at the cross.

And I'm forever teaching the young fellows who preach here, don't be going out and quoting it. The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. Because if you quote it like that, you'll be preaching universalism, whether you know it or not.

You can't teach me anything else but this. If the Lord Jesus took away the sins of the world, then you're gone. Tell me that the rich man in hell is suffering for his sins, that Christ took them away.

You need to come round and talk to me, wouldn't you? You don't tell me there's a man in hell tonight suffering for his sins, that Jesus Christ took them away. God can at time and place demand, first at my bleeding shorty's hand, then again at mine.

Don't quote the verse wrong and you'll have no trouble. Know when we were born, all of us, there's a thing inside called sin. It's an old nature. And by that sin, that old nature, we were children of wrath, even as us.

We were sinners when we were born. We were sinners not because we had said anything wrong, or thought anything wrong, or did anything wrong. We were sinners because a thing inside called sin was there.

Of course, you know that babies die, don't you? Many a time the mother thinks, if death could claim my little baby, death could only claim it because it was a sinner. Where is it? What's happened to it?

The only reason that it was condemned here is because there was a thing inside called sin. But the thing inside was dealt with in all its totality for eternity by the Lamb of God. And because of that precious work of His on the cross, the baby goes to heaven on the work of the Lamb.

Neither needs water nor priest. It's the blood of the Lamb. Precious, powerful, redeeming, saving blood of Jesus. Now that's just one judgment. That's the judgment of sin. Do you know the sin question is settled.

It's the son question you need to settle. But which I show you this, this is quite different. This is 1st Corinthians, and it's chapter 15. 1st Corinthians, chapter 15. Paul writing here, careful in verse 1, Moreover brethren, and you can see that he's writing to believers, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you.

This is the gospel that he preached. Which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved. If you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in me. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which also I received, how that Christ died for our sins.

That's different, isn't it? In the first place, it's the Lamb of God bearing away the sin of the world. In this place, it's Christ dying for our, who's we are now? Oh, we're putting the world in there.

It's believers that's in there. Oh, talking about believers here. Christ died for our sins. This is believers, this is a text that belongs to believers. Every believer here tonight can say, Christ died for my sins.

You know, if a little baby could speak. If the mentally handicapped could understand. If those who are irresponsible in life because of some thing that happened, maybe at birth, or happened to their minds, they could say, the only thing that's against me is sin.

Christ dealt with it at Calvary. Believers could say, Christ died for our sins. You know, you want to be very careful dealing with the word of God because you preach it upside down, if you don't. I saw a fellow preaching in a big open air meeting once with a thousand people around him, and he was talking to the whole crowd saying, Christ died for your sins.

And a clever, argumentative, critical teacher came up and said, did you say that Christ died for my sins? Yes. Are the saints false? Are they all wrong? And he said, I can go on with it any time. I can go to the bookies when I like.

I can pick up a prostitute when I want. You want to be very careful. You preach the text the way it's written, or leave it alone. Because God's not asking you to write a bible. When we read, Christ died for our sins, this is a text that belongs to the family of God.

An old believer said to me once, Willie, it's a family text. Yes, it's a family text. And you'll find it a whole lot of times in this book just like this. Have a look at this. It is 1st Peter, 1st Peter, and it's the 2nd chapter, 1st Peter chapter 2, and it's verse 24.

He's talking about Christ. It says, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. And again, it belongs to believers. Every believer here tonight, this is exactly what we believe, you know.

We believe that he, his own self, bear our sins in his own body on the tree. What a wonderful thing. And the word bear is a very interesting one, because it means that he, his own self, bear our sins away, never to be found no more forever.

They're gone, you know. So, you want to be very careful who you preach that to. If you preach that sort of thing to the world, then God helps you. You're not preaching what this book preaches at all. You've changed it, man.

Here's what Hebrews chapter 1 says. Hebrews chapter 1, talking about Christ, it says in verse 3, who being the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of God's person, and upholding all things by the words of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins.

That's a big word, isn't it? Purged our sins. Do you know what that means? Look it up, if you like, in the Greek, you'll find it means that he blotted them out, just like the schoolmistress with all the letters on the board, and she takes the duster, and she blots them out, and you can't find them again.

Oh, that only happens when you believe. This belongs to belief. He purged our sins. Yes, I want you to get that, you know. That's tremendous, because I want you to get this, that this was the judgment on the believer's sins.

My Saviour stood in the breach. My sin, oh, the breast of this glorious cross, my sin, not in part, but the whole, was nailed to the cross. I dare it no more. I want you to get it correct now. The judgment for sin.

Jeanne d 'Arc Calvary, it was the work of the man. The judgment of our sins, every believer. It was at Calvary, when he, his own self, there are sins, away forever, in his own body on which he purged our sins.

Christ as Advocate and Propitiation

Now, just in case there's somebody, and you're reaping up a verse that's always reaped up in this doctrine, it's 1 John, let's have a look at it. 1 John chapter 2. I want you to get this correctly, and save any argument afterwards.

1 John 2, verse 1. My little children, who's John talking to? He's talking to believers. In fact, he may be talking to believers that he led to the Lord himself. I've got maybe a hundred, or maybe nearly two hundred in this meeting that I led to the Lord, in my faith.

They're my children in the faith, you know. Yes, my little children is what he is saying. They're all believers that he's talking to. He's saying, my little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not.

This book, you know, if you really believe it, and follow it, and be guided by it, it will keep you from sin. And yet, he says to these believers, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.

Now, he is not the advocate of sinners, remember. He's the advocate of the children of God. He's an advocate with the Father. God is my Father. I'm his child, and I have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ, the righteous.

In heaven tonight, he's the great high priest of every believer. He's the advocate of every child in the family. He's the head of the complete church, and don't mix them up. Just keep them the way they're written.

Now, he's saying, we have, and it's the little children he puts in, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins. It's the same phrase again.

Christ died for our sins. Yes, when he had by himself purged our sins. Yes, he bared our sins. He was the propitiation for our sins. You want to be careful with the word propitiation, because it's a big word, but it simply means that on the cross, he gave a satisfactory sacrifice to God.

Yes, he gave that satisfactory sacrifice to God for our sins. But you know, it goes a little bit further here, and it says, and not for ours only. Now, some people have read more into that than they should, because I'll tell you this, when John was writing this letter to his little children, he was writing to Jews that he had led to Christ.

And just Peter and John and Paul were very careful that the Jews didn't get an exclusive view of the cross. Not for ours only! There were Gentiles from the world included in this. But what I want to show you is this.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And if you've got a good Bible, and you should have, you'll find the word the sins of are in italics.

And when you find that these words anywhere in any verse are in italics, it means that they're not in the original. The word the sins of the whole world are not in the original at all. He gave a satisfactory sacrifice for our sins, for every believer among the Jews, and for not for us only, for every believer among the Gentiles.

But at the same time, he gave a satisfactory sacrifice to God, that would allow God to come and offer salvation to the whole world. But don't believe in sins into it, for it wasn't there. Did you mark it now?

Because so many come around with the text, and it's just a pity like that, but the italics tell us that it's not there. Now, this is the judgment of sin. The judgment of sin and the judgment of sins was at Calvary.

The Judgment of Sons in the Church

Now, there's another judgment, it's the judgment of sons. Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And this is the chapter where he speaks about the Lord's table. How as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do so the Lord's death till he come.

That is what we do every Sunday morning here, and it's most important that on the first day of the week we should be remembering the Lord. He says, verse 26, 1 Corinthians 11 verse 26, for as often as you eat this bread, of course for some people only do this once a month, or sometimes they only do it once in six months.

Well, this book doesn't say how seldom as you eat this bread. This book happens to say as often as you eat this bread, drink this cup, you do so the Lord's death till he come. Then he goes further, he says, wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, but let a man examine himself.

So let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup, for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned of the world. You see, the moment that you are led to Calvary, to place your trust in the Christ who died, and to embrace this great fact, that Christ died for your sins, this is belief now.

This is belief testifying. You know, the heart believeth and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And the moment you come to Christ and embrace him by faith and confess that he's your everything, your all in all, your saviour, your sacrifice, at that very split second you become a child of God.

You become a child in the family. You become a son or daughter of the living God. Now God will let you do as you like. Lots of believers, you know, think because the cross has settled it, you can do as you like.

God will hit you. He's your father. And he was talking to these Corinthians, he said, you boys are coming to the table and you're fooling around and you're not deserving the Lord's body at all for this cause.

Many are weak and sick at night, some even die fall asleep and weep. Ah yes, God deals with it too. He chastens every son. If you won't judge yourself, then God will judge you. You'll be chastened. And this is the judgment of sons.

It happens now in the church. I've seen men taken away to heaven before this, you know. I've seen them. I could write a history book on this. Yes, well, the judgment of sins. And the judgment of sins was at Calvary.

And the judgment of sons, it just happens now. God will deal with every member of the church. And you'll not just be allowed to do as you like or say as you like. Maybe you think you will, God will chasten you.

Maybe put you on the broad of your batting weakness. Maybe you'll be sick for a day or two. Maybe if that doesn't cure you, he'll take you home altogether, because there is a sin unto death for belief.

The Judgment of Nations in the Millennial Kingdom

But that's the judgment of sons. It's quite different, you see. Judgment of sins, judgment of sins, the judgment of sons. Now there's another judgment, and sometimes young folks get it mixed up. I'm calling it the judgment of subjects, because it's the subjects of the millennial kingdom that's in view here.

Let's go to Matthew's gospel, chapter 25, please. Matthew's gospel, chapter 25. Now, if we read this together closely, and I make a few remarks, you'll get it quite clearly, all right. We're at Matthew 25, verse 31, the Lord Jesus is speaking.

And he says, when the Son of Man shall come in his glory. First thing I want you to mark is the title. It's called the Son of Man here. Now, when we've watched him coming to the air, you know, it has always been this same Jesus, the Lord himself, the chief shepherd, the master of the house, the righteous judge, and quite a lot of others.

But you know, the Son of Man was a title that he held on earth. When he walked down here, he was always called, and mostly always, the Son of Man. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save. That is the law.

And you know, when we rise to meet him in the air, and go to the judgment seat, as we'll see in a moment, you know, the tribulation period will begin down here, and the Antichrist will begin to deal with those sealed witnesses.

But we'll come to all this. This tribulation, according to my calculations, will go on for seven years. And all that time will be at the judgment seat and then at the marriage supper of the Lamb. But then the Lord will come to the earth as the Son of Man.

That's the bit he's talking about. It's not coming to the air, this one, you know. You'll see it in a moment. He's coming as the Son of Man, and he's coming to the earth. Verse 31, When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his God.

You know, when he was about to be born, the angel said to Mary, the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Coming back, you know, to take that throne one day. Maybe Nazar never thought about this.

I'll tell you, he'll deal with Nazar when he comes. Yes, he's coming back, and he's going to take the throne of his glory. Now, I want you to notice this bit very particularly, and mark it in red ink if you can.

Verse 32, And before him shall be gathered all nations. And hit it now. All nations. We're not talking about saints rising to meet us. He's got the word now. Because it reads all right, this ubiquity.

It's all nations. It's nations. It's not individual saints. It's not believers. It's nations. I want you to get that. That would tell you in a glance that it's on earth. This is not the saints going marching in.

This is the Son of Man coming to the earth and gathering all the nations. That's what he's doing. And I want you to get the hold of this. And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on the left. Now, I want you to get this. When he talks about setting the sheep on his right hand, it's sheep nations. When he talks about goats, it's goat nations.

He's not talking about individuals. You know, when the tribulation takes place down here, and 144 ,000 Jews elect us as the witnesses of Christ, you know, there will be large and small nations who will defend them.

They will try to help them in every way. Of course, there'll be nations that will help the Antichrist to kill them, if possible. And it's these nations he's looking at now, and he's going to divide them.

He's dividing them right and left. Sheep nations on the right, goat nations on the left. Now, I want you to watch this word very carefully. Then shall the king say. Isn't that a marvellous word, the king?

Mind you, we do talk sometimes wrongly. He's not the king of the church, I'm not at all. My dear friend, he's the head of the church. He's the bridegroom of the bride. When we have a king and queen on our throne, the king may be the head of the nation, but he's not the king of the queen.

He's her husband. That's just a little bit different here. And the Lord Jesus is the bridegroom of the bride. Ah, but he's still the king of nations. And the king is talking to nations now, because it's on earth, you see.

And shall the king say to them on his right hand, Come ye, blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Yes, he was always thinking about this great millennial kingdom.

From the foundation of the world, you ought to be able quickly to see a difference here. Do you remember when he stood with his dear believers in the upper room? He's about to go away. You know, he's putting his arms around them.

He says, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many luncheons, is it not so? I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Surely the place that he's going to prepare is different from the place that he has prepared from the foundation of the world.

If you couldn't see that, I couldn't help you. Because you couldn't pass the eleven courses. Send! This kingdom is prepared from the foundation of the world. Ah, but the home that he went to build for the bride is the home that he's going to prepare.

I go to prepare a place for you. That's our place. This is their place. You wouldn't mix it up if you took your time with it, would you? Now, watch again. Then shall the king say unto them on the right hand, Come ye, blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was in hunger, didn't you give me meat? I was thirsty, didn't you give me drink? I was a stranger, didn't you take me in? Naked, didn't you close me? I was sick, didn't you visit me? I was in prison, didn't you come unto me?

Then shall the righteous, that's the nations on the right hand, these who had done something for them, then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee in hunger? They never had even seen him.

And said they, Now thirsty, didn't you give me drink? When saw we thee a stranger, didn't you take me in? Or naked, didn't you close me? When saw we thee sick or in prison, and came unto me? And the king shall answer him, saying unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren.

Now, who are his brethren now? Ah, this hundred and forty-four thousand are all Jews. They are his brethren. And do you know they were having a rough time in the tribulation? And some of these nations gave them clothes, and some of these nations gave them food, and some of these nations attended them, and some of these nations, yea, made them endure unto the end.

You wouldn't like to start to tell me that's the way you get into heaven, would you? Because I would tell you you're preaching another gospel if you sent a brethren sick folk and given them clothes, or money, or food, or get you into heaven, you'll go to hell.

Oh, no, you don't get in by works. That's works. That's a different, different thing, and you'll get it all muddled if you don't work. Now, we're not saved by works, praise the Lord, we're not. We're saved by grace.

It's not of works, lest any man should stand up and boast, oh, no, we're saved by grace through faith. Come on Sunday, I'll tell you all about it. Yes, you know, friends, we're seeing the judgment of nations now.

Man, that will be subject for the kingdom. Now, that's the subject, that's the judgment of subjects. But we'll deal with a wee bit further one night to come. That's not the subject for tonight. You know, there's still the judgment of sinners that you want to watch.

The Great White Throne and the Judgment of Sinners

Remember the book of Revelation, chapter 20? John says in verse 11, I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. I found no place for them. I saw the dead small and great stand before God.

This is the great judgment morning. How many times we've heard this all day? The judgment morning. What a weeping and wailing. Ah, these are sinners now. Yeah, their bodies have come out of the grave at last.

This is the rest of the dead that lived not again till the thousand years were finished. In fact, you know, this is a scene in eternity. This old book's a great book because it takes you away forwards in its historical pages and lets you see things that happened before the world began.

Wonderful things, there's a whole host of them. Then it takes you the other way in its prophetic pages and it lets you see things that will happen when time shall be no more and when the earth and all the heavens have fled away and God pushes the stars out and pulls the sun away and goes away with the moon and makes a bigger room to bring all the sinners in.

What a morning it'll be. It'll be the judgment of sinners, sir. We'll deal with that when we come to it. You're getting the judgments all right, you're getting them noted down now because you'll need them, I'll tell you that.

There's the judgment of sin. There is the judgment of sins. There is the judgment of funds. There is the judgment of subjects for the millennial kingdom. There is the judgment of sinners of the great white throne.

The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Service of Believers

But you know the one we're at tonight's not in the monrame at all. Oh, when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, it won't be our sins that will be brought up. You can't bring them up again, thank God.

Oh no, it will be the judgment of servants. You know the day we got saved we didn't only become the sons of God, we became the servants of God. Every one of us has got a life of service that's got to be accounted for.

Let's go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. That old clock is away already. It's seven minutes past nine and we're only starting. And I'm not going to cripple the message. If you're sweating half as much as I am, you're uncomfortable.

But I'm going to stick it and you're going to stick it. I was going to say how many would beat the half ten. But the last minute I said we'll beat the half ten. About 500 put their hands up and I said you'll be here on your own for I'll be away.

So I couldn't do that over again, could I? Well now here we are. You want to tidy this up properly now. You see this is the judgment seat of Christ and it's the judgment of servants. Now let's read this 10th verse again.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad. You know the people who believe in a general judgment, they try to tell me when it says we must all appear, that we're all embracing saints and sinners and subjects and all the rest of it.

I don't think you can read it all. That's my problem with you. Now let's do it properly. What does it say? For we must all. Who's the we? You must get who the we is. All right take all the we's out of the chapter and see how you get on and see if it's general.

See the first verse, verse one of chapter five. For we know, 2nd Corinthians 5 .1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we lift up a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.