# judgment on elect?



## MichaelGao (Aug 10, 2010)

I might be asking a very basic question here.

But, does the elect get judged in any way? If so, on what basis? How does it work?

I find it hard to see why we will be judged, even if its not for salvation but for rewards. Because all our works are _carried out in_ God (Jn 3:21). And He works in us to will and to work for His Pleasure (Phil 2:13). If I lived more faithfully than my brother, it doesnt mean I earn more rewards or more worthy of commendation. Right?

Yet there are numerous passages suggesting that even believers will be judged. My pastor likes to teach that salvation is by faith, yet there are different rewards based on how well you utilized your gifts from God and how faithfully you lived. He bases this on Luke 12:48: Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required. 

I am almost 100% persuaded this interpretation is going back to works and human merit. Except I cant ignore the passages that does speak of reward and judgment.

Help...

btw my pastor is not reformed.


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## Peairtach (Aug 10, 2010)

God rewards the grace He works in us to the extent that we co-operate with the Holy Spirit in the work of sanctification.

Justification is by Christ's life and death (His "active and passive" righteousness) alone and not achieved by us. This guarantees any who exercises faith in Christ a place in the Heavenly Kingdom even if they make a "pigs ear" of their sanctification.

Of course if they do make a complete pigs ear of their sanctification, and no-one's progressive sanctification is other than filthy rags with a few gold nuggets of true good works scattered among, we may well wonder if they were truly saved in the first place, because progress in sanctification - however imperfect - is evidence of justification.

If it isn't just for God to reward the good works that He works in us by His grace, then it is also not just for human beings to receive rewards of any kind, since it is e.g. only by grace, common and/or saving, that a person is able to work for an employer and earn a wage, that an artist is able to produce a work of art that deserves praise and reward, etc, etc.

How could there be any just rewards at all for human beings, e.g. a man's pay packet at the end of the month, since all that they have and do is either by common grace or saving grace or traced to it?

_For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (I Corinthians 4:7, ESV) _

Yet no-one would think that it was right for an employer to deny his employee his wages, because the employee had done all by grace, would they?

Everything praiseworthy that saved or unsaved Man does is by God's grace!

The nature of these rewards additional to our justification by faith is somewhat mysterious, but it is true that even in this life some believers enjoy more fellowship with Christ than others. 

Was e.g. King David enjoying felowship with God through Christ when he committed adultery and murder, and was unrepentant of it for a period of time?

Was Peter enjoying fellowship with His Lord when he denied Him? He missed out on this because of sin which He was responsible for.

You need to study what the Bible, the WCF and Reformed theologians have to say about the difference between justification (and adoption, which happens once for all at the moment we are justified) and sanctification.

We co-operate by God's grace in our sanctification, and produce genuine good works motivated by true love for the true God, ut our justification was achieved wholly by Someone Else, namely Christ Jesus.


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## kvanlaan (Aug 10, 2010)

And yet we are judged for our actions, no? That is, the idle words, etc. that we use on God's time. As someone once explained it to me, we are justified clear and away, we do not stand in judgment with regards to our salvation, but we do indeed stand in before our Lord re: rewards/crowns. (And this was indeed a reformed person, I think I may even have read it here on the PB!)


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