Judgment Over God’s House

“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? Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” 1 Pet. 4:17.

We who are of the bride are God’s house. Heb. 3:6. Judgment begins first with us. “This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world.” Jesus is the light of the world, and He said, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness.” No one can receive Jesus without being judged. They knew that in Jesus’ time; they thought He had come to judge them. But He said, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17-21.

It is our own choice whether or not we receive Jesus—whether or not we allow ourselves to be judged. Those who love the truth come to the light now and are saved. Their sins are cleansed away as they acknowledge them.

“For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” 1 Cor. 11:31-32. These verses tell us that no one can escape God’s judgment; however, we can postpone it. Now is the time of grace, and judgment is for our salvation. God’s light shines into our hearts and shows us our sin little by little. If we acknowledge it, the blood of Jesus cleanses us, and we can forsake it in the power of the Spirit. This is how we can be saved from wrath, because Jesus came full of grace and truth. Many people want to have grace in the form of forgiveness, but they do not love the truth which can free them from sin. They want to have their sin covered, but they do not want to give it up. During this time of grace, it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, and this succeeds with the bride—God’s house—because they judge themselves. However, as we have seen previously, it takes God’s wrath to bring the others to repentance.

“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds.” Rom. 2:4-6.

Treasuring up. Think of a pile of stones. You sense the Spirit’s chastisement because of your vanity and you seek the honor of man, but you have a hard heart and so you disregard the judgment; you make one excuse after another. The Spirit’s voice grows quieter, and you have a kind of peace. However, you should know that you have treasured up that judgment until the day of God’s wrath. You are envious and love to preach, you show partiality, are greedy and covetous, etc. You sense the Spirit’s judgment in your inner man. Grace—God’s goodness—is over you unto salvation, but you disregard it. You will not be among the firstfruits; you do not love the truth. God does not torment you. He will leave you in peace. He even shows you care and goodness, and you believe that He is with you. Is. 57:11. “I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not hear.’” Jer. 22:21. You believe that you have avoided judgment. Not at all! You have only postponed it—you have treasured it up until the day of God’s wrath.

I would say with Jesus: “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace.” Now is not the time for you to be taken by force. It is God’s house that is being judged now—those who love the truth and come to the light. They willingly choose to go into the fire with all the self-life that the light has revealed to them, and so they are saved. They receive divine nature in place of their corrupt, human nature. They become God’s house. This is how God, through His goodness, separates the firstfruits. They will not be judged together with the world.

We can see that it is difficult even for the righteous to be saved. We gather together for meetings, and we speak God’s Word in all its sharpness; and the sharper it is, the better we like it. We pray to God and exhort one another. Nevertheless, partaking of divine nature—being saved from “I, me, and mine”—is a slow process. How do you think it will go with the ungodly and the sinner—those who cannot bear being corrected without getting offended? Prayer meetings are the worst thing they can imagine. We have already seen what their end will be. Take this to heart, be sober, and sin no more.

When we read of God’s punishment over the ungodly, we read of thunder and fire. This thunder is the accumulation of the loving whispers of God’s judgment in the heart—those judgments that, hour by hour, were salvation to the bride. The fire is the accumulation of that fire which, little by little, has consumed the corrupt human nature of the bride. But now, all this will come upon the ungodly and the sinner in one day. Oh, how important the apostle’s exhortation is: “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.” Heb. 12:15.

The time for judgment over God’s house is from the day of Pentecost until the rapture.