Easy Reading Edition July 1-7

SABBATH—JULY 1

Judgment Must Begin

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READ FOR THIS WEEK’S STUDY: Ecclesiastes 12:14; Daniel 12:1, 2;Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:1-13; Matthew 25:31-33, 46; John 3:18;2 Corinthians 5:10.

MEMORY VERSE: “People will be judged on the day God appoints [choos-es] Jesus Christ to judge their secret thoughts. That is part of my goodnews” (Romans 2:16, NIrV).

GRAFFITI (WRITING) WRITTEN ON A WALL BY AN ITALIAN ATHEIST (NON-BELIEVER) READS: “There is no God—and Mary is His mother!”

This is funny, but it also is important. We try to be fair. We try to look at thingshonestly. But we always bring our own opinions into whatever subject we dis-cuss. Even the idea of not having an opinion about something is really to havean opinion about something.

We know we have limits. But this week we are going to be as neutral as we canas we look at what the Bible says about judgment. Let us forget for the momentabout 1844, the pre-Advent judgment,1 Ellen White, Hiram Edson in the cornfield,et cetera. Let the Bible speak for itself on the judgment. Let us see what answersthe Bible gives to the following questions: (1) How are judgment and the gospelconnected? (2) What are the final results of judgment? (3) Are Christians judged?(4) What part do works play in judgment? (5) When is the judgment?

None of the answers tell us all we need to know about the judgment. Buttogether, the answers will help us better understand the idea of judgment, nomatter what opinions we may already have about it.

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1pre-Advent judgment—the judgment that will take place before Jesus’ second coming. Adventists believethat God’s judgment comes in three parts. The first part began in 1844 and is continuing until Jesus’ return tothe earth. This is the pre-Advent judgment. The pre-Advent judgment is also called the investigative judgment.

Lesson 2 Judgment Must Begin

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HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT(Daniel 12:2)

As Adventist Christians, we saythat the gospel of Jesus is “goodnews.” The Greek word translated“gospel” means “good news.”

But good news about what? It is thegood news that Jesus died as ourSubstitute2 (1 Peter 2:24). At theCross, Jesus paid the penalty for oursins (Isaiah 53:6). Through faith inHim, we stand perfect in God nowbecause we are covered with perfectrighteousness (holiness) (Romans3:22). And because of what Jesushas done for us, we have the promiseof eternal3 life (1 John 5:11, 12).

So the good news is that wehave eternal life. Why else is thisgood news?

What is the choice for those whowill not have eternal life? Daniel

12:2; Matthew 8:12; Matthew 25:46;John 3:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:9;Revelation 14:11.

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How do Romans 2:15 andRevelation 14:6-8 show the con-nection between the gospel andjudgment? How does today’s les-son help you understand why weare so blessed by Jesus’ sacrifice?

LIFE OR DAMNATION? (Matthew 12:37)

What are the two final classes ofpeople pictured in the versesbelow?

Daniel 12:2 ____________________

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Matthew 12:37__________________

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John 3:16 _____________________

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SUNDAY—JULY 2

MONDAY—JULY 3

2substitute—someone who takes another person’s place. Jesus is our Substitute because He died for our sins.3eternal—forever; without beginning or end; lasting forever.

More good news!

Good news!

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Lesson 2 Judgment Must Begin

John 5:29 _____________________

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Judgment results in only two class-es of people: (1) people who aresaved eternally (forever) and (2) peo-ple who are lost eternally. In the end,the fate of all of us is (1) eternal life or(2) eternal destruction.

It is clear that judgment divides therighteous (holy) from the wicked. Afinal separation takes place. It is ajudgment in which the final fate ofeveryone is decided forever.

Read the following verses: “ ‘TheSon of Man will come in all his glory.All the angels will come with him.Then he will sit on his throne in theglory of heaven. All the nations willbe gathered in front of him. . . . Hewill be like a shepherd who sepa-rates the sheep from the goats. Hewill put the sheep to his right and thegoats to his left’ ” (Matthew 25:31-33,NIrV). What more do these versesteach us about the judgment?

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Several interesting points arebrought out in these verses. First of all,what is being judged? The verses saythat “all nations” shall be gathered infront of Jesus as Judge. So, a univer-sal judgment. All nations come underHis inspection. This means thateveryone comes under Him becauseHe is “the Judge of the whole earth”(Genesis 18:25).

Here, too, we are faced with thesame clear division: the sheep andthe goats, the saved and the lost.There are those who shall “go awayto be punished forever. But those whohave done what is right will receiveeternal life” (Matthew 25:46, NIrV).

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Think seriously about what theverses for today’s lesson suggest.How much more serious shouldyou be about your own soul andabout working for the salvation ofothers?

“Those who have done good will rise andlive again” (John 5:29, NIrV).

The judgment is the same as separatingthe sheep from the goats.

Lesson 2 Judgment Must Begin

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HOUSE OF GOD (Hebrews 10:30)

Yesterday we learned about anend-time judgment that involved allpeople. But what about the church?What about people who claim to haveaccepted Jesus? What about peoplewho appear to be living the Christianlife sincerely and faithfully? Will theybe judged?

As Christians, we understand thatJesus was judged and punished at theCross in our place. Jesus faced thepunishment for sin that we should face (Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 20:28;Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:14;Ephesians 5:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:10).“All our sins were put upon Christ asour Substitute. He was charged withlaw-breaking so that He might save usfrom the heavy penalty of the law. Theguilt of every person from Adam waspressing upon His heart.”—Adaptedfrom The Desire of Ages, p. 753. Doesthis mean that Christians do not facejudgment because Christ acceptedthe penalty of death in our place?

What do the following verses tellus about Christians being judged?

Matthew 7:21-23 _______________

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Hebrews 10:30 _________________

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Romans 14:10 _________________

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1 Peter 4:17 ___________________

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These verses and many othersmake it clear that God’s people doface judgment. Jesus scolded thosewho claimed that they did many won-derful things in His name. He was not talking to atheists,4 Hindus,5 orWiccans.6 They do not do things inHis name. Paul’s words that “we shallall” stand before the judgment seatincludes himself.

According to the Bible, people whoclaim to be followers of Christ willface some kind of judgment at theend of time.

When was the last time some-one judged you? What differencedoes it make for you knowing thatin the end, God will judge bothwith mercy7 and with justice (fair-ness)? Why do you want mercymore than justice? Why will youneed it?

4atheists—nonbelievers.5Hindus—followers of a religious group in India.6Wiccans—a group of people who practice beliefs similar to astrology, black magic, and witchcraft.7mercy—kindness we do not deserve.

TUESDAY—JULY 4

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Lesson 2 Judgment Must Begin

“EVERY SECRET THING”(Ecclesiastes 12:14, NIrV)

Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes.Ecclesiastes 12:14 is one of theclearest statements in the Bible aboutjudgment that includes our works and“every secret thing.”

Solomon is not the only one to tellus about a judgment by works. Jesuswas clear in Matthew 12:36, 37. “Onjudgment day, people will have toaccount [explain] for every carelessword they have spoken. By yourwords you will be found guilty or notguilty” (NIrV). Peter wrote, “You callon a Father who judges each per-son’s work without favoring one [per-son] over another [person]. So liveyour lives as strangers here. Have thehighest respect for God” (1 Peter1:17, NIrV). Paul, too, understood thepart works play in judgment. “Wemust all stand in front of Christ to bejudged. Each one of us will be judgedfor the good things and the bad thingswe do while we are in our bodies.Then each of us will receive what weare supposed to get” (2 Corinthians5:10, NIrV). In Revelation, John alsowrote about a judgment by works: “Isaw the dead, great and small, stand-ing in front of the throne. Books wereopened. Then another book wasopened. It was the Book of Life. Thedead were judged by what they haddone. The things they had done werewritten in the books” (Revelation20:12, NIrV).

What other Bible verses can youfind that talk clearly about a judg-ment by works?

Why does a judgment by worksmake sense? To think about all theevil in this world, how could Godbe just (fair) if there were not sucha judgment by works? On the linesbelow, write why a judgment byworks is important.

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REWARD IS WITH HIM (Matthew 22:1-13)

Read Matthew 22:1-13. Then an-swer the following questions:

1.What does the wedding symbolize?(Isaiah 62:5; Hosea 2:19; Matthew9:15; Revelation 21:2).

2. What does it mean that a personwho accepted the invitation had toface judgment?

3. What happened to the man whowas found without a garment (robe)?

This parable also teaches thatthere is some kind of judgment before

WEDNESDAY—JULY 5

THURSDAY—JULY 6

Lesson 2 Judgment Must Begin

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sentencing is given. Even in humancourts, whoever heard of a sentencebeing given before questioning thatled to judgment? In Revelation 22:12,Jesus says that when He returns, His“reward is with me.” This also sug-gests that there has been a judgmentbeforehand. (Why would the rewardbe with Jesus if there were not a judg-ment beforehand that decided whoshould get the reward?) SecondCorinthians 5:10 suggests a judgmentbefore a final reward or punishment.In this way, “each of us will receivewhat we are supposed to get” (NIrV).This idea is also shown in Daniel 12:1.In this verse, people found in the bookof life are rescued (freed).

Any judgment of works suggests ajudgment of those works before thereward or punishment is given. Itdoes not matter if that judgment is ahundred years or a hundred secondsbefore a person receives punishmentor reward. Many of this week’s verseshave told us that the reward or punishment comes at the SecondComing. Because of this, there mustbe some kind of judgment before theSecond Coming.

How would you like to be judged,even punished, before a trial or afair inspection of facts? Then, whydoes the idea of a prior (earlier)judgment make so much sense?Think about the question of theod-icy. Theodicy means that God iscleared in His dealing with Satan,sin, and evil. How does the idea of

theodicy help us understand theneed for an inspection before asentence is given?

ADDITIONAL STUDY: “Judgmentdeserves careful attention. It isinvolved in the issues of (1) divine8

justice (fairness) in an unjust (unfair)world (theodicy), (2) punishment forwrong done, (3) the suffering of theinnocent, (4) the answer to the strug-gle of good and evil, and (5) the endof sin and suffering. But most impor-tant of all, final (last) judgment clearsGod. Final judgment clears His char-acter, law, and ability to rule—in theminds of all created people. In thisway, He can guarantee safety andpeace for the universe. So, judgmentis pictured in the Bible as a veryimportant part of the ‘eternal gospel’(Revelation 14:6, 7).”—Adapted fromHandbook of Seventh-day AdventistTheology, vol. 12, p. 815.

This week, we have seen that theBible teaches the following pointsabout judgment: (1) Judgment andthe gospel are closely connected. (2)There is some kind of final judgmentor judgments near the end of time. (3)Among those judged are the peoplewho claim to follow Christ. (4) Worksclearly are part of this judgment. (5)Only two final results are available:eternal life or eternal destruction.And (6) some kind of judgment takesplace before the sentence is given.

FRIDAY—JULY 7

8divine—of God; belonging to God; godly.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:1. As a class, study your answers to

the question at the end ofWednesday’s lesson. What canyou learn from one another? Howdoes the question of theodicy fit inwith your answers?

2. Go around the class and ask eachperson to answer this question:How do you feel about beingjudged by your works?

3. Ask different people in the class ifthey have ever had to place judg-ment upon another person. Whatwas it like to judge a person step bystep? How important was it to befair? How seriously did they taketheir responsibility? Why was itimportant to get all the facts beforemaking a judgment? What can theclass learn from this week’s lessonthat could help us better under-stand the idea of God’s judgment?

Lesson 2 Judgment Must Begin