“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
for judgment to begin at the house of God
“Judgment” here is the persecution Asia Minor Christians were about to undergo. Evidently part of God’s design for allowing persecution was to bring Christians who stepped out of a walk with God back into fellowship (Hebrews 12:6-7).
The phrase “the house of God” refers to the church, or the family of God. God judges the church. This is judgment in time, not eternity. God’s judgment of the church is a purifying judgment.
Principle:
God judges the church in time, not in eternity.
Application:
When the church confesses its sins it is free to enter fellowship again. We have the judicial right to enter that fellowship because of the death of Christ. God is free to forgive because Jesus took the penalty to deal with sin judicially. God not only forgives us in confession but He cleanses us as well (1 John 1:7, 9). God the Father passed judgment on our sins when Christ was on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).
Every sin that we have ever committed has a penalty attached to it. Jesus took that penalty. He took the full wrath of God for sin. That is why we do not have to pay for sin. For us to get back into fellowship, we do not pay penance but simply confess (acknowledge) that that sin took Jesus to the cross.
Confession means I acknowledge the judgment has already been passed on Christ and confession is my recognition of Christ’s judgment for my sin. We recognize the judgment by simply confessing sin.
If we feel sorry for sins we punish ourselves. This detracts from the suffering of Christ (Galatians 2:21). We put ourselves in the place of suffering for sin. That is what we call “human works for restoration to fellowship.” When Christ hung on the cross the Father accepted the judgment for our sins. Penance is a system of paying for sin. It is a subtle system for intruding on the finished work of Christ.
If we do not confess sin as Christians God will bring us back into fellowship in His own way. Discipline is not a matter of punishment. Jesus already took the punishment. Discipline is a family matter. It is not a question of whether we are in the family it is a matter of our status in the family.
Some people think that they have a special “in” with God. They try to figure out what God likes and then give it to Him. They ante in their 10% in order to get a girl friend. This is not Christianity. This is legalism and religion.
We deal with our sins the same way we did when we became Christians. By faith we accept the finished work of Christ to forgive our sins. We need to realize that God is satisfied with the death of Christ for our sins (propitiation).
Most of us are spiritually flabby. We cater to our flesh. We do not like to buffet our body or to keep it under control (1 Corinthians 9:27). We like to give it free reign. It is human nature to be easy on ourselves. We do not deep short accounts with God. Why not begin today to walk with God by daily confessing your sin?
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