What is judgment?

February 22, 2021

Relevant Words of God:

The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it must naturally be carried out by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the use of the truth to conquer humankind, there is no question that God would still appear in the incarnate image to perform this work among man. That is to say, in the last days, Christ shall use the truth to teach people across the world and make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth

At the mention of the word “judgment,” you are likely to 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 were not God’s judgment of man; they were but words spoken by God within different environments, that is, in different contexts. These words are unlike the words spoken by Christ as He judges man during the last days. In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. 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 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, the 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 a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called 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.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth

Sermon and Fellowship Excerpts for Reference:

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 and gain the truth. The more people understand the truth, the more they know God. In this way, people can eliminate corruption and attain purification. When people live out the truth and enter the reality of the truth, they will be 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 said by God are the truth and are the judgment of the human race. No matter the era, the words that God speaks have the effect of judgment. In the Age of Law, Jehovah God’s words were the judgment of corrupt humankind. In the Age of Grace, the words spoken by the Lord Jesus were the judgment of corrupt humankind. Now in the Age of Kingdom, all that Almighty God says in His work of judgment and chastisement is even more judgment, which in the end will make the human race able to see that Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement of humankind are God’s greatest love. What God’s judgment and chastisement deliver to the human race is salvation and 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 will fall into destruction and perdition….

—The Fellowship From the Above