Judgment
We shall be judged by the simple standard:
"Have you done what I commanded you?"
That will be the one simple question;
indeed, it is the very simplicity of it that seems to turn people away from it.
"Have you done what I commanded?"
We all know what we are doing, and shall be able to give a right account,
either good or evil.
Well, whatever we may say about ourselves,
He will make manifest what we are, and our anxiety should be,
while the Lord delay, to get on the right side of the account.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
The disasters that await this world are fearful.
The present is only a fitful hurricane under which trees of the forest
have bowed their lofty heads, but have not been uprooted.
The coming storm will be a tornado of thunder,
lightening, wind and hail of burning coals,
that will carbonize the Old Man to the very bones.
"There shall be"
saith Yahweh Tzvaoth-
"A time of trouble such as there never was ..."
Dan. 12:1
Brother John Thomas
~
"The Judgment Seat
will show
that God is not so much interested in saving people
as in making people worth saving!"
Logos, v. 47
~
It has been said we ought not to judge, as Christ has forbidden it.
My answer is:
that while we are not to judge in the sense forbidden by Christ,
(that is, deciding in advance who are and who are not worthy of eternal life),
there is a sense in which we are to judge,
as Christ indeed expressly enjoins in saying-
"Why do ye not of your own selves judge that which is right?" (Lk. 12:57)
"Beware of false prophets: ye shall know them by their fruits" (Mt. 7:15-6)
We are called upon on our behalf to decide
where fellowship should be given and where it should be withheld.
If this is not a true principle,
whence arises the true distinction between
the ecclesia and the world?
Brother Robert Roberts
"My days and My Ways"
~
The Lord will judge all presently.
Meanwhile, some "men's sins are open beforehand to judgment."
As one remarked the other day,
"There are helpers and yelpers,"
and as to which is which, it is not what people claim to be,
but what they are in fact as experienced by others,
that settles the question.
A tree is known by its fruits.
Brother Robert Roberts
1897
~
“Many shall follow their pernicious ways” ( 2 Pet. 2:2 )
So many are they at last that “all nations” are ensnared ( Rev. 17:2 ; 18:3 );
and the situation among men at last is so spiritually barren that Jesus did not anticipate finding faith upon the earth at his coming,
though that coming was to be in response to the prayers of the faithful ( Luke 18:8 ).
Yea, he plainly says that the state of things at his coming would resemble the state of things “in the days of Noah,”
when only one small family were found in an acceptable attitude before God. In view of all this,
what can we say concerning our evil day but that in a certain sense, things are as they ought to be.
Few are they who are found honoring the name of God and waiting upon Him in the way appointed in His word.
Few are they with whom His commandment is a law, and to whom the things in which He delights is a pleasure.
Few are they to whom His kingdom is a reality, and the high calling a business of practical moment.
It was thus in the days of Noah. The multitude now, are where they were then-
seeking their own ways, finding their own pleasure,
looking upon the claims of God as an intrusion; His will, an inconvenience;
and His purpose, a distasteful interference with their rights and occupations.
It is an evil situation-a dark and dreadful day.
But let understanding rule, and we shall not be overthrown.
"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find the faith on the earth? " Luke 18:8
Brother Robert Roberts
1886
~
...When God executes vengeance,
it is always done with great thoroughness.
Wherefore, saith Paul, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves.
"Pray for your enemies. Do good to them that hate you.
God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth
that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.
If not, then God's righteous arm will vindicate the just who wait on Him.
The hour will come when the words of terrible portent will be uttered:
“Your enemies whom ye have seen today, ye shall see no more for ever.”
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian
1889
~
What if vast masses of the population pass away like the grass;
they are but incidental to the plan of the great, wise, and irresponsible Maker of all.
There is no violation of eternal justice - no ultimate heritage of trouble.
They come - they had no right to come:
They go - they have no right to stay:
They vanish - they have no trouble in oblivion.
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian 1884
~
As the mirror will tell you no lies-
so the book of God's remembrances
will render a true account of all you say and do.
Christadelphian 1898
~
"They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them." (Proverbs 28:4)
"Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." (Proverbs 13:13)
"My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words." (Psalm 119:139)
If what we teach cannot be demonstrated from the Word, then call it by what name you please, it matters not to us; but if what we teach be proved to be the teaching of God by Moses, the Prophets, Jesus, and the apostles, then call it Thomasism at your peril; unless by Thomasism you mean a system of doctrine taught by the apostles John and Thomas: but even then you might select for it a more appropriate term. But if this be not your meaning, then call God's system of truth by our name at your peril. You have nothing to fear from us, who, all told, are but a 'little flock' -(Luke 12:32). The fearful looking for of judgment contemplates the indignation of Him who magnifies His truth above all His name.- Psalm 138:2.
Brother John Thomas
The Herald, 1856
~
Our present life is the seed-time of an eternal harvest.
As we sow now, we shall reap at the coming of the Lord.
To reap as we sow is the postulate of moral responsibility.
It asserts, in measure, that
we are the masters of our own destinies.
It teaches that while God has determined the future of the saints,
our participation therein will be governed by our present independent actions.
Our destinies depend on our present choice..
Brother H.P. Mansfield
Logos 1984
~
God's judgments are invariably accompanied by merciful kindness. When the flood was brought to destroy every living thing, Noah and his family were the subjects of divine care. God's beneficence was again shown in the case of Lot. The righteous are never lost sight of. When God punished the Canaanites He had borne with them for 400 years, and this exempted faithful Rahab from the wholesale slaughter that was inflicted. God is terrible in His anger, but equally kind to those who fear him-
Logos Oct. 1965
~
The Lord will judge all presently. Meanwhile, some "men's sins are open beforehand to judgment." As one remarked the other day, "There are helpers and yelpers," and as to which is which, it is not what people claim to be, but what they are in fact as experienced by others, that settles the question. A tree is known by its fruits. The disaffected try to paint us black. We wipe off the pitch. They cannot object to this. If we tried to put it on others, they might complain: but this we have never done, and will not. We leave them in the Lord's hands.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
All will not be right when Christ comes,
unless all is right before he comes.
Those who are wrong now will be wrong then.
Those who are selfish now will be selfish then.
Those who are unfaithful now will be unfaithful still;
those who are unjust now will be unjust still;
and he who is holy now will be holy still.
Everything depends on the present;
our own little circle is the sphere in which we make or mar our destiny;
and therefore let every man and every woman,
to the extent of their means, however little,
and their opportunities, however few,
see to it, that they are good, and they be faithful stewards,
so that at the return of the master, to whom they hold stewardship,
they may be able to render a satisfactory account.
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian
1868
~
Our present life is the seedtime of an eternal harvest.
As we sow now, we shall reap at the coming of the Lord.
To reap as we sow is the postulate of all moral responsibility.
It asserts, in measure, that we are the masters of our own destinies.
It teaches us that whilst God has determined the future of the saints,
our participation therein will be governed
by our present independent actions.
Our destinies depend on our present choice.
Brother H.P. Mansfield
Logos 1983
~
We have to do with a judge who
is merciful in the shortcomings of those who love him.
He has said:
"Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."
The misfortune is that people don't "come"
in the sense of his words, but go away. . .
"everyone to his own way."
Brother Robert Roberts
~
In hundreds of matters,
we see the wrong done with the presumptuous fearlessness on the part of the wrongdoers,
and without the least indications that God sees or regards.
Time passes,
and the wrongdoer not only seems none the worse-
but all the better for his wrongdoing.
In this our faith is sorely tried.
But if we are wise we will endure the trial.
We will not be deceived by appearances.
We will behold without dismay the success of evildoing,
in the knowledge of a final and effectual remedy.
We will hearken to the voice that addresses us by Solomon-
"If thou seest the oppression of the poor,
and violent perverting of justice and judgment in a province,
marvel not at the matter,
for He that is higher than the highest reigneth."
Brother Robert Roberts
~
It is often claimed that this is a sick world. We disagree entirely with the description.
The troubles of the present stem not from sickness - but from sinfulness.
To describe it as being sick is to excuse its conduct;
but the evils of this present age come from a blatant refusal to heed
sound principles of morality.
We must recognize the sinfulness as such for it is the reality,
and because of it, frightful judgments will overwhelm it:
"The slain of Yahweh shall be on that day from one end of the earth
even unto the other end of the earth" (Jer. 25: 33).
The world's wickedness is deliberate and will be judged by Yahweh as such.
Brother H.P. Mansfield 1987
~
“All manner of sin shall be forgiven unto men.”
Our shortcomings, our failings, our weaknesses, our sins, will receive merciful consideration.
“He that confesseth his sins and forsaketh them, shall have mercy.”
Let us, however, realize the conditions. There are two things required:
confession and abandonment.
Brother Robert Roberts
1880