Speaking of the 3 judgments of the brethren as described in the Bible, we have:
1- The judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ.
The judgment of believers is not for condemnation, for they already have eternal life (John 3:18; Romans 8:1). The judgment at Christ’s judgment seat is a matter of reward or discipline (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12; Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). New Testament believers will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ, while the wicked will be judged by God at the great white throne judgment. The judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ will be before the Millennium, at the coming of Christ, but the great white throne judgment will be after the Millennium. The judgment of the believers is not for perdition, but for reward, while the judgment of the wicked is for condemnation. “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 hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10,12)
“For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:4-5)
“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matthew 16:27)
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Revelation 22:12)
“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31)
We can clearly see that, although we have been saved, we will still be judged by God. This judgment has no relation whatsoever to hell; it is a judgment for reward. If there is a reward, logically, there’s also punishment. Naturally, when we confess our sin, we are forgiven and there is no more record of that sin before God. The problem arises when we practice things worthy of reproach or even when we break a commandment, even one of the lesser ones, and then teach it to the brethren. Such a person will be disciplined and will be considered the least in the kingdom. “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)
This judgment of believers is represented in the Parable of the Talents. In the end, the Lord will come to settle accounts with his servants. That will be the judgment seat of Christ. Note that, in that parable, the servants were not judged by the faith they had but by their works – specifically, whether they traded with the talent. The problem is that one of the servants buried his talent. What he did was not sinful, like committing adultery, stealing, or killing. He didn’t even lose the talent he was given; he just buried it. However, he had to account for his infidelity (Matthew 25:14-30).
The Word of God shows us in Luke, not only the possibility of losing the reward but also the possibility of discipline. “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47-48)
“If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:15) [Note: The verse reference you provided as “1 Co 5.15” appears to be an error. The content aligns with 1 Corinthians 3:15.]
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:6)
Not abiding in the Lord and being cast out or into the fire are experiences of discipline before God. If a believer falls into sin and fails to repent and leave the sin, he may be disciplined by God. A sin in the life of an unbeliever is a sin, but a sin in the life of a believer is equally a sin. Luke 12:35-48 addresses the time of judgment for believers. “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:35; 47-48)
This parable highlights the importance of girding our body. Galatians 3:27 shows that we are clothed with Christ for salvation through baptism. On the other hand, Revelation 19:7-8 reveals that we are weaving our bridal garment through our acts of righteousness. Therefore, there’s a garment of salvation and a bridal garment. The garment for the wedding feast represents the reward. This garment is woven through our acts of righteousness. After hearing the parable, Peter wondered whether it applied to believers. In verse 42, the Lord responds that the exhortation was for the stewards, the servants. To be a steward, one must be a believer. To be a servant, one must be born again.
Believers who knew but did not do the Lord’s will shall receive many stripes. Those who were unaware and did not do God’s will shall receive few stripes. Naturally, the stripes are just a human illustration of the discipline we’ll receive that day if we do not fulfill the Lord’s will.
2- The judgment of nations upon Christ’s return.
The nations will be judged based on how each treats the Jews and Christians persecuted by the antichrist during the great tribulation (Mt 25:31-46; Rev 16:12-16; 19:11-21). The second judgment is in Matthew 25, the judgment of nations. When the Lord Jesus returns, nations will still exist on Earth. Not everyone will die during the great tribulation. Thus, those who survive will be judged upon His return. These nations will be judged based on what’s written in Matthew 25, from verse 31 onwards.
“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 glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats…For I was hungry, and you gave me meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in…” (Mt 25:31-40)
When the Lord says, “I was hungry and you didn’t feed me, thirsty and you didn’t give me a drink, naked and you didn’t clothe me, imprisoned and you didn’t visit me”, the text indicates that some complied while others didn’t. Interestingly, those who complied were unaware they had done anything for the Lord, asking when they had seen Him hungry, thirsty, naked, or imprisoned. The Lord’s response was, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
The judgment of nations isn’t based on faith. The Lord doesn’t mention believing in the gospel or the message of salvation. It’s a judgment based on deeds. And which deeds? Those who were condemned simply didn’t care for the Lord’s “least of these brethren.”
Who are these “least of these brethren” according to the Bible?
The Lord has three types of brethren according to the Bible:
- The Jews, as they share the same lineage (Acts 7:23-26; Romans 9:3).
- His own flesh-and-blood siblings (Matthew 12:46-48; 13:55).
- The church (Matthew 12:48-50).
It doesn’t seem logical to me that the text refers to Jesus’ fleshly brothers, Mary’s other children. Hence, we can conclude that the “least of these brothers” of Jesus refers to the Jews and the church. The judgment of nations will be based on how they will treat the Jews and the church during the persecution that the antichrist will instigate against them during the great tribulation. During the great tribulation, the antichrist will establish a mark without which one cannot buy or sell:
“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” (Revelation 13:16-17)
Under these circumstances, the lives of believers and Jews will be very difficult. It is at this moment they will receive help from some whom the Lord calls “sheep”: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left… ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?…And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'” (Matthew 25:31-40)
However, they will do this without realizing that, in fact, they will be doing it for Christ himself.
3- The Great White Throne Judgment:
This will be the judgment of the dead, those who died without Christ. They will be resurrected and thrown alive into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:11-15). Notice that God does not mix audiences. Each judgment is for a specific group. The judgment of Christ’s tribunal is only for the servants. This judgment will take place as soon as the Lord returns when all believers will be resurrected. The Great White Throne judgment, on the other hand, will be after the Millennium.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)
Grace for Judgment
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Matthew 18:23-35
Matthew 18:23-35 talks about a servant being forgiven of his debts by his master. Another servant owed a debt to the first servant. However, the servant who was forgiven of his debt didn’t want to forgive his fellow servant. The first servant undoubtedly represents a saved person, as he pleaded for his master’s forgiveness, and the master, moved by compassion, let him go and forgave his debt. We are all helpless individuals coming to the Lord seeking grace. The Lord forgave our debt and let us go. If the first servant represents a Christian, then whatever he expresses represents what we will express. The way the master deals with his servant will be the way the Lord deals with us.
It’s impossible to repay our debt to the Lord.
The King in the parable is the Lord, and the servants are us. Even after we are saved, we still sin against the Lord, but when we cry out for mercy, we are immediately answered. According to the parable, our debt was immense and unpayable.
The gracious forgiveness of the King.
The Lord forgave the entire debt of the servant, which was a thousand talents (equivalent to approximately 5 billion pounds). We need to be clear about the gravity and price of our sins before God to better appreciate His abundant grace.
Others’ debts to us are much smaller than our debt to the Lord.
Verse 28 says that the servant had a fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii (approximately ten thousand dollars). And by seizing his fellow servant, he demanded payment of the debt. This refers to a brother’s sin against us. Such a sin is insignificant compared to our debt that was forgiven by the Lord.
Forgiveness is a matter of will.
The parable says that the man did not want to forgive his fellow servant. He could, but he didn’t want to. Many claim to be unable to forgive, but in reality, they don’t want to. The man who was forgiven by the king was saved, so the parable deals with saved people.
Our lack of forgiveness saddens our brothers.
The fellow servants of that servant were greatly saddened. When we refuse to forgive, our attitude saddens our brothers and quenches the Spirit in the church.
Punished by the Lord for not wanting to forgive.
Verse 34 says: “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Mt. 18:34-35
This person who had been shown mercy and forgiven was handed over to the tormentors until he paid his entire debt to the Lord. Whether he could actually repay everything he owed is another issue. The fact is that he would have to suffer. This shows us that if a Christian does not forgive another, on that day the Lord will deal with him in the same way as he dealt with others. If you do not forgive your brother, the Lord will deal with you according to your unforgiving attitude. This certainly refers to the Lord’s treatment of His servants at His coming. If we do not forgive our brothers today, the Lord will discipline us in His coming. If we die today full of bitterness, we cannot reign with the Lord on that day. We need to understand how God’s forgiveness works. Forgiveness in this age is for the salvation of sinners. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Acts 2:24
Through him, everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Acts 13:39
If a believer, after being saved, commits a sin but does not want to cleanse themselves through confession and the purification of the Lord’s blood before they die, their sin will not be forgiven in this age but will remain to be judged in the judgment seat of Christ. Such a believer will not receive a reward but will be disciplined to cleanse themselves of their sin and be forgiven in the coming age. They will be saved, but as if through fire. According to Matthew 12:32, some sins will be forgiven in the coming age, that is, in the kingdom age.
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Mt. 12:32
If someone offends and does not want to repent, or if someone is offended and does not want to forgive the offender and dies in this condition, then they will be excluded from the kingdom. The same principle applies to the one who offends in Matthew 5:23-26. Such a person also has great responsibility before God. Many people have offended you, but remember how the Father has forgiven you and forgive others as well.
Mercy and Judgment
We know that our God is a just God. In the future, at the judgment seat, He will judge us according to righteousness. However, despite there being justice at the judgment seat, there will also be mercy. If you show mercy to others, the Lord will be merciful to you. If you are unyielding towards others, if you are as just and uncompromising with the failures and weaknesses of others, the Lord will deal with you purely with justice on that day. If you are merciful to others, the Lord will show mercy to you. Luke 6:37 says that if you do not judge, you will not be judged; if you do not condemn, you will not be condemned, but if you forgive, you will be forgiven. Some Christians are too petty. When criticizing others, they point out every mistake made. In the future, God will deal with them in the same way they deal with others. Therefore, the Bible says that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). There’s one thing judgment cannot overcome – the fact that a person shows mercy to others throughout their life. We are not free from mistakes. However, if we show mercy to others today, God will be unable to deal with us. When the time of judgment comes, there will be some against whom even the Lord of judgment will not be able to raise any accusations. This doesn’t mean that man can deliberately alter God’s command. It only means that if you are merciful to others while living on earth, God will be merciful to you. Your mercy today will triumph over His judgment tomorrow. The way you judge others will be the way you are judged. This grace is just. The way you treat others will be the same way the Lord treats you. Your treatment of others will shape a vessel, with which God will measure judgment for you.
James 2:13 says, “because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Those who do not show mercy to others will be judged without mercy. But for those who show mercy to others, mercy will triumph over judgment. Your mercy will exceed judgment. This is a wonderful fact. Matthew 18 clearly shows us that the children of God can still fall into the hands of tormentors. If this happens, they will have to stay there until they pay the entire debt. Verse 35 says, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
This portion of the Word is not spoken to unbelievers but to Christians and shows the relationship between the heavenly Father and His children, and between brothers. Remember that our eternal salvation in the new heaven and new earth is unshakeable. This is due to grace. But if our problems today are not specifically dealt with, we will still suffer specific punishment in the future kingdom.
In the tapestry of our lives, the threads of grace and judgment are intricately woven. As we stand at the crossroads of mercy and justice, let us remember the parable of the forgiven servant, a mirror reflecting our own journey. It’s a poignant reminder that even in our unworthiness, the boundless grace of our Heavenly Father is ever-present, ready to cleanse our hearts and forgive our debts. The weight of our sins, heavy as they may be, is surpassed by the limitless ocean of His mercy.
The verse 35 the Lord says: “So also will my heavenly Father do to you, if from your heart you do not forgive each one his brother.” This portion of the Word is not spoken to unbelievers, but to Christians, and it shows the relationship that exists between the heavenly Father and His children, and among the brothers. Remember that our eternal salvation in the new heaven and new earth is unshakeable. This is because of grace. However, if our problems today are not specifically addressed, we will still suffer specific punishment in the future kingdom.
