TruthLikeaDiamond
CHAPTER 2
(2) Judgment by works, a part of the gospel!
I explained in the previous section that the principle of God’s judgment in Romans 2:6-11—the judgment by works—is the foundation for the expounding of justification that starts from the latter half of chapter 3 (verses 21-31). There is an even more crucial and important truth that further confirms this for us. It is the concept that judgment by works is not only the foundation for justification but also a segment of the gospel. Some of you may be doubting your eyes as you read this. Judgment by works is a part of the gospel? Yes indeed! It is a part of the gospel.
… on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:16)
Dr. Yon-gyong Kwon wrote the following about this verse in his book, A Walk Through Romans.
The weapon Paul used to destroy that empty sense of elitism of the Jews was not the so-called logic of faith and grace but the Old Testament belief of judgment by works. Paul makes certain that this judgment by works is a part of ‘my gospel’, namely the gospel that he had preached (2:16).
Dr. In-gyu Hong also wrote the following in his book, How Will You Read the Book of Romans?
We must here focus on the phrase “according to my gospel”. “My gospel” is referring to the gospel that had been given to Paul for proclamation. Paul did not convey a gospel of cheap grace for the Gentiles, as some of his enemies had claimed (cf. 3:8). According to his gospel, God will judge all of the Jews and Gentiles through Jesus Christ, and He will do so by the righteous demands of the Law.
When people think of the ‘gospel’, they generally think of believing in Jesus and being justified at the moment of judgment. They believe that this ‘judgment’ entails that one who believes in Jesus would go to heaven and one who does not would go to hell. But this is not the ‘judgment’ spoken about by Paul’s gospel. Paul’s gospel speaks of the judgment that will judge the hidden sins as mentioned in Ecclesiastes.
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Like so, one who does not resolve the issue of such hidden sins, regardless of whether or not they believe, will face the judgment of being thrown into hell. This is the judgment that can be seen in Paul’s gospel. This is ‘judgment by works’. To confirm just once more, here are verses 6-16 of chapter 2.
[God] will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
The ASV and the Korean translation both have verses 14-15 in parentheses. If we read the passage without the parenthetical segment, the meaning becomes even clearer.
[God] will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indigna- tion. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hear- ers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified … on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.(NASB)
The fact that everyone will be judged at the seat of judgment based on his or her own works is a part of the gospel. This is the crucial truth that will put an end to and finalize the fideistic controversy on the gospel, as it completely blocks off all exit routes for any fideistic argument. It is an endlessly precious truth that can bring to an end this heretical Salvation-Sect-based notion of fideism.
Judgment by works is not just the foundation for the gospel; it is a part of it. This is a matter of course, for the final judgment is done according to works. Justification is the rescuing from the wrath of God on the judgment day, so how can one explain or preach the gospel without speaking about judgment by works? Hence, this judgment by works has no choice but to be a part of the gospel. When Paul was preaching the gospel, he first spoke about this judgment by works. Here is one piece of evidence.
But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.” (Acts 24:24-25)
Paul was not conducting a Bible study with Felix and Drusilla; he was preaching the gospel. If it were a Bible study, there would be nothing
wrong with discussing other subjects. But Felix and his wife were not believers, and Paul was thus conveying the message “about faith in Christ Jesus”, namely the gospel. Interestingly, what Paul preached about were “righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come”. Just as Romans 2:6-11 introduces the concept of judgment by works before expounding on the gospel of justification in Romans, Paul too first spoke on the judgment by works as he preached the gospel. More specifically, before covering the ‘judgment to come’, Paul discussed ‘righteousness’ and ‘self- control’. What is this if not judgment by works? Paul did not teach as most pastors do today, that one is bound to go to heaven regardless of sin as long as one believes in Jesus. The gospel preached by Paul includes the judgment by works, which will judge the secret things at the final judgment. He preached that those who hide their sins and do not repent will see ruin at the final judgment, and only those who turn from those sins will receive salvation. This is the true content of the gospel preached by Paul. I am not sure if such a gospel that entails this notion of judgment by works is the gospel that belongs to the many theologians and ministers of this generation. But one thing for sure is that this gospel does belong to Paul. This is an indisputable and clear fact, for Paul wrote like so in many places.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. (Ephesians 5:5-7)
These were all written by Paul. Paul firmly believed in this judgment by works, and he included it in the gospel that he preached. We can also see in the Scripture that Paul was not the only one who preached like so. Peter, the apostle to the Jews, also onveyed the same message.
If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth. (1 Peter 1:17)
Peter also knew that God was “One who impartially judges according to each one’s work”. It’s as if this verse is a summary of Romans 2:6-11! It is undeniably a depiction of judgment by works. Peter had written, “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work,” indicating that even the believers who are children of God are not exempt from this judgment by works.
Hence, he advised them to “conduct [them]selves in fear during the time of [their] stay on earth.” 16 It is therefore not in biblical accordance with the gospel to say that regardless of whether or not one lives by the Word, one could go to heaven by simply believing. Such a “gospel” is completely different from the one preached by Paul and Peter. About ten years ago, Dr. Seyoon Kim boldly wrote in his book, What Is the \Gospel?, about the distorted theory of justification that had spread in the Church.
The descendants of Luther and the other religious reformers who agreed with him understood the picture of being ‘justified’ only in a forensic sense. Some of them—based on the narrow mindset that the death of Christ was a mere penal substitution—have created the problem of causing the complete separation of ethics from soteriology. As a result, they believe that since one is ‘justified’ and saved ‘only by faith’ and ‘only by grace’, a moral life is not important as long as they possess this faith. This belief has spread amongst casual Protestant believers. There are Christian sects that have driven many people to difficulty through extreme cases of such misinterpretation. Such extreme examples aside, however, despite its incredible number of Protestant believers and passionate demonstrations of “faith”, Korea today has fallen into the lamentable situation where Christian morality is only faintly apparent in the realm of personal and social ethics. It can be said that the fundamental cause of such a situation is the misinterpretation of the gospel, especially the gospel that is described as “justification”.
Ten years later (in 2013), Dr. Kim upped his level and gave an even more solid critique on the matter in his book, Justification and Sanctifi- cation.
The serious Christians in Korea may emphasize the need for sanctification, but the majority of believers hold pride in the notion that they have already been justified by grace and faith alone. Some even use the doctrines of Predestination and the Perseverance of the Saints to support their claims as they fall into the Salvation-Sect-like complacency. This is how such people think: “The Scripture shows that God had chosen from the beginning those that would be saved, and He predestined to give them salvation. According to that predestination, it is said that He will protect the saved ones until the end. Since I have already been justified by the grace of God, I am one that had been predestined for salvation, and God will therefore protect me until the final judgment. All I need to do now is to be certain of my salvation, regardless of the situation.” (These words silently include the thought, ‘I can thus live my life however I want.’) Those of the Salvation Sect are certain that this is the truth of the gospel as they claim it boldly. However, many orthodox pastors who condemn the Salvation Sect for heresy are also teaching like so in reality. The only difference is that they do it stealthily.
This is a truly gratifying critique! Furthermore, Dr. Kim went on to write the following conclusive words toward the end of the same book.
Whether we view it from the perspective of grace (of God) or faith (of man), the gospel of “justification by grace/faith alone” is structurally requiring us to live a righteous life. Therefore, anyone that describes this as a license for self-indulgence, regardless of who he or she may be, is a heretic preaching a false gospel.
It is such preachers, and not those from Beloved Church, that should be labeled as heretics. There is a phrase in the Scripture, “destructive heresies” (2 Pet. 2:1), but it is not only the heretics that are bringing souls to destruction; there are those that pose as orthodox who are also dragging a great number of believers to hell through this distorted Salvation-Sect-like gospel. Lloyd-Jones had written that “there is nothing more dangerous to the soul than just to be shouting, ‘Lord, Lord’, or to be making use of the doctrine of justification by faith as if it put everything right once and for ever.” Think about this. Who are the heretics? Is it Beloved Church that has persevered through all sorts of slander and persecution as we uncompromisingly preached the gospel conveyed by Paul and Peter? Or is it those who are preaching the gospel of the Salvation Sect as pointed out by Dr. Kim, those who are rather accusing Beloved Church of being heretics of ‘legalism’ or ‘new legalism’? While we are on the subject of determining who the true heretic is, let us take a look at Galatians, the book that was cherished and loved like a wife by Luther.
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:6-9)
There are four instances in these verses that mention a “different gospel” or one that is distorted or contrary to the truth. Who is preaching this different gospel? Who is the true heretic deserving to be accursed? Most pastors generally believe that the gospel preached by Paul is a gospel of ‘only the cross’ and ‘only faith’. If one preaches the gospel with terms other than ‘only the cross’ and ‘only faith’, then they consider him a heretic. There are even ridiculous pastors, such as this one pastor emeritus of a church belonging to the main Presbyterian denomination in Korea, who consider those who preach the need to repent as heretics who go against this ‘only faith’. But even a brief glance at Galatians shows us that the gospel preached by Paul was not this false Salvation-Sect-like gospel. I will provide concrete evidence to support this point.
1) The cross mentioned by Paul in Galatians is not merely a cross of atonement.
But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)
Many pastors cite only the first half—“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”—as they preach the importance of ‘only the cross’, as if doing so is the only way to be orthodox. The cross that Paul refers to here, however, is not the mere cross of atonement that they think it is. It is the cross that ‘crucifies me’. It is the cross that makes it so that “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” It is the cross that does not merely bring to us forgiveness of sins; it makes us into new creations. Hence, we can find
the following in the succeeding verse.
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (Galatians 6:15)
It is not only this verse that shows this. Galatians 3:13-14 holds the same message, but as we are not yet ready to fully comprehend these verses, I will refrain from citing them. By the end of this book, you will understand that these verses are in fact holding the same message.
2) The faith mentioned by Paul in Galatians is not merely a passive one.
Paul proves in Galatians that we are justified not by the works of the Law but by faith only. Some may say, “See? It is only by faith!” The faith that Paul portrays as the only method of being justified, however, is not the ‘passive faith’ that is separated from works as is asserted by Luther.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6)
As we can see here, the faith conveyed by Paul was “faith working through love”. Different versions have translated this verse as follows.
When someone belongs to Christ Jesus, it is not important if they are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love. (ERV)
For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. (NLT)
As such, the faith that Paul had emphasized in contrast with the works of the Law is faith that is expressed through love.
Then what does it mean by faith expressed through love? Love is what the Law depends on; it is the essence and the core of the Law (Matt. 22:37-40).
If we love God, then we can keep the first four commandments concerning our relation with God, and if we love our neighbors, we can keep the last six concerning our relation with others. Faith gives birth to obedience (Rom. 1:5; 16:26).
Therefore, faith that acts through love is exactly the same as the “living faith with works to follow” (Jas. 2:14-26) mentioned by the apostle James. We can hence conclude that we are justified not by the passive (speculative) faith proposed by Luther but by the true faith with works to follow. This can be confirmed once more by the preceding verse.
For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. (Galatians 5:5)
As it will be discussed later, the “hope of righteousness” is referring to the final justification that is to be received on the day of judgment. Paul is thus stating that the only thing that has any effect in rescuing us from the wrath of God on the day of judgment is the living faith with works, the faith that is expressed through love as mentioned in Galatians 5:6. Any other faith, no matter what it may be called, will not have any effect. I do not understand why Luther, one who mistook faith to be passive, cherished and loved the Book of Galatians like a wife. Paul is in fact emphasizing the very same faith that is asserted in James, which Luther regarded as the insignificant Epistle of Straw. It seems that Luther may have mistook the meanings of Galatians just as he had mistook the meaning of faith.
3) The judgment mentioned by Paul in Galatians is surprisingly
the judgment by works.
We touched on the ‘cross’ and ‘faith’ in the previous pages. There is no topic more important than these when discussing justification. I want to come to our conclusion as we expound on ‘judgment’. The judgment that Paul wrote of in Galatians is not the kind that sends people to heaven as long as they believe, even if they do not live according to the Word. It is ‘judgment by works’, which repays those who persevere and do good with eternal life, and those who do evil with wrath and indignation. This can be clearly seen in the following two passages.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
Both of these passages from Galatians are speaking of judgment by works. Dr. Yon-gyong Kwon wrote the following about the latter.
These verses can be seen as the passage that entails the integration of Paul’s theological beliefs passing through the whole Book of Galatians.
This is because it combines the belief that “because God judges according to works, man will reap what he sows” with the ‘contrast of the Holy Spirit and the flesh’ (3:3; 4:29; 5:16-26) that drove Paul’s discussion. It is possible for people to be enraptured by false hope, relying on vain conditions such as circumcision. It is possible to be deluded by this ‘cheap grace’, forgetting God’s principle of one reaping what one sows. This ‘delusion’ is one of the most difficult problems threatening the health of the Church.
As he concludes his argument, Paul makes it clear once again that the logic of faith and grace is not referring to a ‘lack of works’. The principle that one reaps what one sows, that God judges according to how we have lived, is a concept that can be seen consistently throughout the entire Old and New Testaments. It is one of the most fundamental principles of God. Therefore, ignoring such a principle is the same as disregarding the God who set those rules. Our delusions do not cause the principle to change, however. It is merely our future that becomes at risk.
This is very true. Ignorance of judgment by works, as well as the intentional neglecting of it, brings about great danger. We must make sure to teach about this judgment by works when we preach the gospel. When Paul wrote the Book of Romans, he included the principle of judgment by works in the beginning (Romans 2).
In Galatians, he wrote of the principle at the end (Galatians 5-6).
Ironically, the two epistles that Luther adored the most had judgment by works written in them, which was completely different from his claims. This is undeniably clear evidence that the currently trending “gospel”—that we go to heaven as long as we believe, regardless of our actions—is unbiblical and unrelated to the preaching of Paul.
Furthermore, there is another point we must consider. In Galatians 5:21, Paul made it certain that those who follow the works of the flesh will ultimately go to hell. But according to verse 17, these people are believers. It means that believers will eventually also be judged by works. Only those who have living faith with works to accompany will enter heaven. According to verses 17-20, a saved believer can act in accordance with the Spirit, but can also follow the deeds of the flesh. They cannot inherit the kingdom of God if they follow the clear deeds of the flesh (v. 21).
However, one who follows the Holy Spirit will bear His fruits (vv. 22-23), and it can thus be expected to be written that such people will be the ones to inherit the kingdom of God. Yet, the Scripture instead uses the vague expression, “against such things there is no law” (v. 23). Hence, many people think of this as referring to spiritual maturity rather than a requirement for salvation. They are mistaken.
The “such things” mentioned here is referring to the fruits of the Spirit. There is no existing law that can go against the fruits of the Spirit. Therefore, there is no law that can condemn a person who bears those fruits. Such people will surely be justified on the judgment day. This is what Paul is referring to. It means that only those that bear the fruits of the Spirit can be justified on the judgment day and inherit the kingdom of heaven.
But can it really be that those who do not bear the fruits of the Spirit cannot enter heaven? Most definitely. What is the focus of the parable of the sower? It is that only the good soil, those who bear fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold, will enter heaven. And the fruits signify holding fast to the Word in perseverance (Luke 8:15).
There are more verses that show that we must bear fruit to enter heaven without being forsaken.
And do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father”; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the
trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:9-10)
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20)
Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. (Matthew 21:43)
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2)
But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:21-22, ESV)
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. (Hebrews 6:7-8)
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted. (Jude 1:11-12)
Do we need more proof? I am sure this is more than enough. That’s why I have held \back from quoting the full list of supporting verses. As efficiently proven thus far, it is not our church, but the very pas- tors who accuse us of heresy that are preaching this “different gospel”. They who preach a false gospel are the heretics, or at least Christians with heretical aspects. Yet even though they are in the wrong, they accuse us of heretical legalism when we have been biblically preaching the gospel preached by Paul.
Lastly, if we observe all of the explanations that have been pre- sented thus far, there are some things that become more and more obvious. The gospel is not an indulgence (the remission of punishment) for the judgment by works, and the believer is not exempt from such a judgment. Through this, we can see just how foolish it is to say that we are saved according to faith and rewarded according to works, that we would go to heaven as long as we believe, even if we don’t live in accordance with the Word. And we can also see when Jesus stated that only “he who does the will of My Father” can enter heaven in Matthew 7:21, it was not a mere expression of emphasis but rather a description of reality. In chapter 1 of this book, I introduced you to an article about Dr. Seyoon Kim in regards to the Four Spiritual Laws. The following words can be seen in that same article.
Dr. Kim retorted back as he asked, “If we say that salvation is by faith without works, and that once salvation is received it is fixed, do you think members of the church would live a proper Christian life?” According to Kim, the three things the Korean Church requires of its members are observing the Lord ’s Day, offering, and evangelism. In order to impose these three, they made the doctrine of “post-death rewards”. He criticized, “The Church coerced on its members the notion that if they live a good Christian live, they will receive a great reward in heaven, and if they don’t, then nothing. This is exactly the same as the selling of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.
On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther criticized the selling of indul- gences by the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of Paul’s concept of justification (Rom. 1:17).
Though his understanding was not complete, it was the start of a religious reformation. However, a significant number of pastors in the Protestant Church are currently issuing such indulgences against the judgment by works through their preaching of a distorted view on the doctrine of justification. Though the situation is not as severe as the over-issuance of indulgences by the Catholics, these indulgences are something that should not be issued at all. I therefore believe that there is need for another religious reformation.
The Korean Church is under much criticism at the moment. Regardless of whether or not they believe, people are still unaware of just how corrupt the Korean Church has become. It is completely different from what one may see on the outside. Through the persecutions and accusations of heresy, I have thoroughly experienced the insides of the Korean Church, and it is seven times worse than it looks. It has fallen in depravity as far down as it can go, and it’s been long since it lost its ability to purify itself.
Hence, I firmly believe in the need for a religious reformation. A religious reformation is the hope and path to survival! I hope that this book, Truth Like a Diamond!, can be a spark for this reformation. And I hope that all of you can pray together with this same hope.