Eternal Judgement

ETERNAL JUDGEMENT

Michael E.B. Maher

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this teaching are from the New King James Version of the bible.

Revised Edition 2021

ISBN:

Books by Michael E.B. Maher

Foundation Doctrines of Christ

Repentance from Dead Works

Faith Toward God

Doctrine of Baptisms

Laying on of Hands

Resurrection of the Dead

Eternal Judgement

Man, the Image of God

The Will of Man

The Spirit of Man

The Conscience of Man

The Mind of Man

The Body of Man

Gifts of the Church

Spiritual Gifts

Ministry Gifts

The Revelation Gifts

The Power Gifts

The Speaking Gifts

End of the Ages

The Last Days

The Seventh Seal

The Millennial Kingdom

The End of the Age

Standalone

There is Sin to Death

Prayer

Being Unforgiving

Being led by the Spirit

Born Free from Sin

The Two Gospels Explained

Being led by the Spirit

Of Such is the Kingdom

Rich through His Poverty

Suffering as a Christian

Growing Strong in Spirit

The Believer’s Authority in the Earth

The Prayer of Faith

Predestined to His Purpose

Holy Spirit Encounters

The Bible Creation Account

The Blood of Christ

The Church and the State

Contents

Chapter 1

Our eternal decision

Chapter 2

The saints’ judgement

Chapter 3

What will be judged

Chapter 4

Understanding our judgement

Chapter 5

Rewards available to the saints

Chapter 6

Ministry gifts judgement

Chapter 7

Unbelievers’ judgement

Chapter 1

Our eternal decision

Introduction

Hebrews 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (13) For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. (14) But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 6:1-2 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

There are six foundational doctrines to the Christian faith, i.e. repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. Because they are foundational, every believer should have a clear understanding of each one of these doctrines and live by them. Those who have a clear understanding of these doctrines and who also live by them will have a sure foundation, and they will not be deceived by any false teachings that they may come across in their Christian walk. The above quoted passages of scripture reveal to us that these doctrines are the milk of God’s word, which obviously implies that all new born believers should feed on these truths in God’s word. However, even mature adults drink milk as part of their natural diet and in the spirit that principle remains the same. And so it is good for mature believers to also revisit the foundational principles of Christ from time to time to ensure that their foundations remain solid. In this book we will examine the doctrine of eternal judgement, which is the last of the six foundational doctrines taught to the body of Christ. Sadly this particular doctrine is not really understood in the church, even though it is one of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. The main reason there is so little understanding about eternal judgement is because for varied reasons, ministers of the gospel stay away from teaching on this subject. As an illustration let me give you an example of what happened to me recently. I was at a men’s breakfast and I shared a small five-minute truth about the eternal judgement of believers. No sooner had I sat down when one of the pastors quickly stood up and made the following comment, Folks let’s not get all depressed, for the gospel is good news. We know there is a judgement but its all good news because were all saved. I think this pastor’s comment about sums it up. Ministers stay away from this doctrine because they find it depressing. And they also have a warped understanding of the doctrine, because they believe that being saved is all that matters. However if being saved is all that matters, then why does our Lord list eternal judgement as being one of the foundation doctrines that He wants every believer to have a clear understanding of? And so because ministers neglect to teach this particular doctrine to the church, many believers are not even aware that they will be judged on that day and they certainly do not prepare for it. As an analogy, we can look at how different people approach retirement at the end of their working careers. There are those who invest wisely and remain focused for the day they retire, and as a result they are able to enjoy the fruits of their investments when they retire. However, there are many who never invest for their retirement and just hope for the best when that day comes. Invariably these individuals suffer financial hardship in their retirement years. And so there is coming a day when every believer will retire from this life to enter into their eternal inheritance. Those who have invested wisely in this life will enjoy the fruits of their investments for eternity. However, those who have never invested for eternity and are just hoping for the best when that day comes may find themselves sadly disappointed on their day of judgement. As we will see in this book, the reason why the Lord made eternal judgement a foundational doctrine to be taught to the church, is because He wants all His saints to be focussed on the eternal prize, so that each one can receive their full reward on their day of judgement.

Enduring to the end

1 Corinthians 11:30-32 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (31) For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. (32) But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

Before we go any further on the subject of eternal judgement we need to deal with an erroneous teaching that has caused many believers to stumble. The false teaching that I am referring to is that once someone is saved they can never lose their salvation. In other words the error that is taught is that once someone has made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour that decision can never be reversed. All believers however, still have a free will after they are saved and to say that they cannot reverse their decision can therefore not be true. Some will argue that one, who is born-again, will never want to reverse their decision to have Jesus as their Lord. If that statement were true, then why does scripture teach us that it is possible for believers to be condemned with the world? In writing to the church in the above quoted passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals to us that our Lord Jesus judges some believers in this life with weakness, sickness and even early death. So why does He do that? This passage tells us that He does that because He is concerned about our eternal destination. And so when He sees that if we were to continue down a certain path that will lead us to ultimately rejecting His Lordship and thus being condemned with the world, He then judges us in this life rather than allowing us to be eternally condemned.

Romans 11:17-22 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, (18) do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. (19) You will say then, Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. (20) Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. (21) For if God, did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. (22) Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul warns us as believers that if we choose not to continue in the goodness of God, that He will cut us off just as natural Israel have been cut off. Clearly Christians can make the decision of their own free will not to continue in God’s goodness, otherwise the Holy Spirit would never have written this warning to us. There have been a number of instances recently, of high profile believers who have publicly renounced their faith in Christ and have chosen to walk away from the Lord Jesus. Each one of these individuals made their decisions of their own free will, which has created a lot of confusion among believers that have always been taught that it is impossible for one to reverse their decision once they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. For those who have been taught correctly however, they recognise that these individuals have, for varied reasons, decided to no longer continue in the goodness of God and have thus been cut off by Him.

Revelation 3:16-19 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. (17) Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- (18) I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent.

When our Lord Jesus wrote to the church in Laodicea as quoted above, He warned them that unless they turned around from the path that they were on, that He would eventually vomit them out of His mouth. In other words, very graphically, our Lord stated that they would no longer be in the body of Christ. Many ministers who teach the error of eternal security will go to any lengths to proclaim their message, some even to blasphemy. I have actually heard a minister teach from this passage that the Lord is able to take up that vomit again, thus comparing the Lord Jesus to a dog that returns to his own vomit (Proverbs 26:11). And so we can see that scripture plainly teaches us that it is certainly possible for believers to reverse their decision to yield to the Lordship of Jesus, and the Lord warns us about this. I also want you to notice that in all three scriptures quoted above, the Holy Spirit is writing to born-again believers. Some who teach falsely that no one can lose their salvation; claim that people that fall away were never really saved to begin with. However, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit know the difference between those who are saved and those who are not saved. And in these scriptures they are warning those who are saved.

1 John 5:16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not to death. There is sin to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle John refers to two types of sin that believers can commit, for in the context of this passage John is writing to believers. He refers to sin which is not to death and he refers to sin which is to death. The death that John is speaking about in this passage is spiritual death, not physical death. And so we see that there is a type of sin that believers can commit which does not result in spiritual death, and he tells us that we can pray for forgiveness for the believer who commits this type of sin, and that the Lord will forgive those sins. But he also refers to a type of sin which does result in spiritual death, and he tells us that we cannot pray for forgiveness for the believer who commits this type of sin. So why can’t we pray for forgiveness for the believer who commits the sin which results in spiritual death? The reason we cannot pray for forgiveness for this type of sin is simply because, just as with the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, there is no forgiveness available for this type of sin and those who commit it are therefore subject to eternal condemnation (Mark 3:29).

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. (15) Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

So what is the sin to death that the apostle John speaks about? In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle James give us some insight into what that sin is, for He tells us that full-grown sin brings forth death. In context the apostle James is writing to believers. And so in this passage James teaches the church that if sin is allowed to reach maturity or become full-grown, that it will ultimately bring forth death. The death that he is referring to is spiritual death not physical death. And so what James is saying is that all sin, if left unchecked, will eventually lead the believer to committing the ultimate sin, which is the sin to death that John spoke about. This truth explains to us why it is, as we saw earlier, that the Lord Jesus judges His saints when they refuse to repent from their sinful practices, for the reason given is that Jesus judges His saints so that they will not be condemned with the world. In other words, the Lord Jesus knows that if we continue to practice sin unchecked, that we will eventually commit the sin to death and thus be condemned with the world.

John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

As revealed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture,