Gospel Q&A | 1. What is judgment?

    Relevant Words of God:

    The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it should naturally be done by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the conquering of the human race through the truth, it is unquestionable that God still appears as the incarnate image to do this work among men. That is to say, in the last days, Christ shall use the truth to teach men around the earth and make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment.

from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

    When it comes to the word “judgment,” you will think of the words that Jehovah spoke to all the places and the words of rebuke that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. For all their severity, these words are not God’s judgment of man, only words spoken by God within different environments, that is, different settings; these words are unlike the words spoken by Christ as He judges man in the last days. In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.

from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

    What I’m saying today is to judge people’s sins and their unrighteousness; it is to curse people’s rebelliousness. Their deceit and crookedness, and their words and actions, all things that are not in line with His will undergo judgment, and people’s rebelliousness is condemned as sinful. He speaks according to the principles of judgment, and He reveals His righteous disposition through judging their unrighteousness, cursing their rebelliousness, and exposing all of their ugly faces. … Judgment, chastisement, and exposure of mankind’s sins—not a single person or thing is able to escape this judgment. All that is filthy is judged by Him. It is only through this that His disposition is said to be righteous. Otherwise, how could it be said that you are worthy of being called foils?

from “How the Second Step of the Work of Conquering Bears Fruit” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

    Through what is God’s perfection of man accomplished? Through His righteous disposition. God’s disposition primarily consists of righteousness, wrath, majesty, judgment, and curse, and His perfection of man is primarily through judgment. Some people don’t understand, and ask why it is that God is only able to make man perfect through judgment and curse. They say that if God were to curse man, wouldn’t man die? If God were to judge man, wouldn’t man be condemned? Then how can he still be made perfect? Such are the words of people who do not know the work of God. What God curses is the disobedience of man, and what He judges are the sins of man. Although He speaks harshly, and without the slightest sensitivity, He reveals all that is within man, and through these stern words He reveals that which is essential within man, yet through such judgment, He gives man a profound knowledge of the essence of the flesh, and thus man submits to obedience before God. The flesh of man is of sin, and of Satan, it is disobedient, and the object of God’s chastisement—and so, to allow man to know himself, the words of God’s judgment must befall him and there must be employed every kind of refinement; only then can God’s work be effective.

    From the words spoken by God it can be seen that He has already condemned the flesh of man. Are these words, then, the words of curse? The words spoken by God reveal man’s true colors, and through such revelation you are judged, and when you see that you are unable to satisfy God’s will, inside you feel grief and remorse, you feel that you are so indebted to God, and insufficient for God’s will. There are times when the Holy Spirit disciplines you from within, and this discipline comes from God’s judgment; there are times when God reproaches you and hides His face from you, when He pays you no heed, and does not work within you, soundlessly chastising you in order to refine you. God’s work in man is primarily in order to make plain His righteous disposition. What testimony does man ultimately bear to God? He testifies that God is the righteous God, that His disposition is righteousness, wrath, chastisement, and judgment; man testifies to the righteous disposition of God. God uses His judgment to make man perfect, He has been loving man, and saving man—but how much is contained within His love? There is judgment, majesty, wrath, and curse. Though God cursed man in the past, He did not completely cast man into the bottomless pit, but used that means to refine man’s faith; He did not put man to death, but acted in order to make man perfect. The essence of the flesh is that which is of Satan—God said it exactly right—but the facts carried out by God are not completed according to His words. He curses you so that you might love Him, and so that you might know the essence of the flesh; He chastises you in order that you might be awakened, to allow you to know the deficiencies within you, and to know man’s utter unworthiness. Thus, God’s curses, His judgment, and His majesty and wrath—they are all in order to make man perfect. All that God does today, and the righteous disposition that He makes plain within you—it is all in order to make man perfect, and such is the love of God.

from “Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

    The Man’s Fellowship:

    What is judgment? “These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God.” These kinds of words are truly God’s judgment of man. Make sure you understand this! Now, which aspects of man’s condition do God’s words of judgment focus on? First, they “are all focused on the essence of man.” Second, they are focused on man’s “corrupt disposition.” Third, they “are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God.” The words that are expressed based on these conditions of man, the stern words of reproach, revealing and judgment, these are God’s judgment of man. These kinds of words of judgment, how do people feel when they hear them? How do their hearts react to them? Do their hearts feel hurt? Their hearts feel hurt, bitter, pained, and helpless. They want to run away but they cannot. Those words are like a double-edged sword. They pierce into man’s heart and bone marrow and make man feel hurt, bitter, and distressed.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 137)

    And what is judgment? It is God revealing and defining the corrupt essence of mankind and the truth of mankind’s corruption through words; this is called judgment. Are there many such words among God’s utterances? There are indeed many, such as when God said, “You are the children of the great red dragon.” These are words of judgment. “You are the progeny of Satan,” are also words of judgment. There are many other examples. God spoke these words of judgment with poignancy, revealing the essence and truth of mankind’s corruption with just one sentence or several words. When people first hear them, they are unable to accept them, but after experiencing them for a period of time, they will all become convinced, feeling that the actual fact is precisely as God has said. This is what is achieved by the words of judgment. And what is chastisement? When man has sinned, has resisted or rebelled against God, then he must be judged, and with judgment comes chastisement. When it is determined that you belong to Satan, are the progeny of Satan, and are the offspring of the great red dragon—the kind that resists and rebels against God—then what do these words bring to you? They bring pain, and the pain brought about by judgment is chastisement. Words of judgment make you suffer; this is chastisement. Therefore, judgment brings with itself a kind of chastisement, it is chastisement itself. This is one aspect of chastisement.

from “God Performing Work in Different Ways to Save Mankind Has Tremendous Meaning” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (III)

    After we experience God’s judgment and chastisement we can see a fact that the source of truth is God, and the source of all things positive is God. Wherever there is the disruption and corruption of Satan and the sin of resisting God, there God’s judgment and chastisement are certain to follow. Wherever there is God’s judgment, there is the appearance of truth and the revelation of God’s disposition. Truth and God’s disposition are revealed during God’s judgment and chastisement. Only where there is truth are there judgment and chastisement; only where there are judgment and chastisement is there the revelation of God’s righteous disposition. Therefore, wherever there are God’s judgment and chastisement there we find the footprints of God’s work, and that is the truest way to seek God’s appearance. Only God has the authority to pass judgment, and only Christ has the power to judge corrupt humankind. This confirms and demonstrates that the Son of man—Christ—is the Lord of judgment. Without God’s judgment and chastisement humans have no means to gain the truth, and judgment and chastisement are what reveal God’s righteous disposition, providing humans with the opportunity to know God. The process by which humans understand the truth is the process by which they know God. The truth for corrupt humankind is judgment, scrutiny, and chastisement. What the truth reveals is precisely God’s righteousness, majesty, and wrath. People who understand the truth can throw off corruption and break free from Satan’s influence. This is completely down to the power and almightiness of God’s words. God saves people and perfects people to let people understand the truth, to gain the truth. The more people understand the truth, the more they also know God. In this way people can eliminate corruption and become holy. When people live out the truth and enter the reality of the truth, they are living in light, living in love, and living before God. This is the result that Christ achieves by delivering the truth and passing judgment. In fact, all words that are God’s are the truth and are judgment of the human race. No matter in what era, the words that God has spoken have the effect of judgment. In the Age of Law Jehovah God’s words were judgment of corrupt humankind. In the Age of Grace, the words spoken by the Lord Jesus were judgment of corrupt humankind. Now in the Age of Kingdom, when in the last days God carries out the work of judgment and chastisement, all that Almighty God says is judgment and chastisement, pruning, dealing, trial and refinement, which in the end will make the human race able to see that Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement of humankind is God’s greatest love. What God’s judgment and chastisement deliver to the human race is salvation, is perfection. Only by accepting and obeying God’s judgment and chastisement does one gain God’s true love and full salvation. All those people who refuse to accept God’s judgment and chastisement will be subjected to God’s punishment and sink into destruction and perdition….

from “How to Know God’s Work of Judgment and Chastisement in the Last Days” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life