Judgment

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

JUDGMENT. —The Synoptic Gospels differ from the Gospel of John in their view of a judgment. The former set forth a multitude of external tests which furnish ground for continuous judgment in this life. The ‘deeds’ or ‘works’ of a man are a measure of his attitude toward Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John is more especially concerned with the inner and hidden judgment which is being pronounced continually in man’s soul. The sensuous and external aspects are little emphasized. All the Gospels hint unmistakably at a final crisis or judgment.

Mt. is pre-eminently the Gospel of judgment, for, throughout, Jesus appears as the Judge of men, and is always discriminating and separating the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the grain from the chaff, the sincere man from the hypocrite ( Matthew 13:38;  Matthew 25:33;  Matthew 13:25-30;  Matthew 3:12;  Matthew 6:5-6). The predominance of this special aspect of Jesus’ teaching, selected from among His varied utterances, in this Gospel, may arise from Matthew’s Hebrew predisposition to consider Israel as a people separated from the Gentile world. Almost every utterance carries within it an unmistakable voice of judgment which separates men into two classes. The judgment which eventuates in blessedness, as in the Beatitudes ( Matthew 5:3-10), or as ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father’ ( Matthew 25:34), is as notable as that which leads to separation from Christ and to eternal wretchedness ( Matthew 25:46).

1 . Jesus is the Judge .—This is the view of all the Gospels. The Father gives all judgment to the Son ( John 5:22-27). Jesus came into the world for judgment ( John 9:39). He separates men under moral tests ( Matthew 25:31-46; cf.  Matthew 7:23). He pronounces judgment on the Pharisees ( Matthew 22:15-46). He judges Satan ( Matthew 16:23). He imparts the authority for judgment to men ( Matthew 16:19). (Cf.  Acts 10:42,  Romans 14:10,  2 Corinthians 5:10,  2 Timothy 4:1). His judgment-seat is at the same time the throne of His glory ( Matthew 25:31), as it marks the culmination of the work which He has mediated in creation and in redemption. The judgment will be glorious, because then will be the final enthronement of holiness among men, and the deposition of evil. It is to be noted that He associates with Himself the twelve disciples (like the Roman assessors of judgment) who are to judge the twelve tribes of Israel ( Matthew 19:28,  Luke 22:30; cf.  1 Corinthians 6:2-3). This exhibits the vital union of righteous souls with Christ, for the new life which His disciples obtain through Him would dispose them to pronounce judgment upon the same principles of justice as does their Lord. It is fitting that He who has mediated creation, maintenance, and redemption, should pronounce judgment upon man with regard to his attitude and responsibility toward each of these sovereign acts and relations. All judgment is determined by the attitude which men hold towards Christ. He is set forth as a perpetual challenge to men to live a right thinking and right acting life.

2 . The Judgment .—Jesus in the Gospels presents an almost numberless series of tests by which men may judge themselves in this present age. Their ‘works’ or ‘deeds’ are reviewed ( Matthew 16:27;  Matthew 25:31; cf.  Romans 2:6,  Revelation 20:12). Every kindness to a disciple will be rewarded ( Mark 9:41,  Matthew 10:42). Every cause of stumbling to one of these little ones ( Luke 17:2) will be punished. Jesus presents Himself as the supreme and personal test. What is man’s attitude towards Him as proved by ‘his deeds and works’? This kind of judgment is continuous and cumulative here, and comes to a conclusion at the final crisis or judgment. These are some of the tests:

Following Him ( Matthew 4:18-22;  Matthew 10:38;  Matthew 19:28,  Mark 8:34); confessing Him ( Matthew 10:32,  Luke 12:8); failure to appreciate His presence and work ( Matthew 11:21); failure to come to Him ( John 5:40); failure to believe Him ( John 3:18); failure to obey Him ( John 3:36); failure to honour Him ( John 5:23); failure to stand with Him ( Matthew 12:30); failure of right fruitage ( Matthew 21:31-42;  Matthew 7:16,  Luke 6:44); failure in outward conduct ( Matthew 22:11-13); failure to help men ( Matthew 25:31-46); failure to repent ( John 5:40); failure to use the gifts of God ( Matthew 25:14-30); making light of His personal invitations ( Matthew 22:1-7); unwillingness to hear His words ( Matthew 12:41-42); unwillingness to forgive an injury ( Matthew 6:15;  Matthew 18:28-30); being ashamed of Him ( Mark 8:38); breaking a commandment ( Matthew 5:19); the spirit of our judgment on others ( Matthew 7:2); faith or lack of it ( Matthew 8:10;  Matthew 9:22;  Matthew 9:29;  Matthew 15:28,  Mark 5:34); heart unreceptive to His words ( Matthew 10:14-15); hypocrisy ( Matthew 23:13-36); idle words ( Matthew 12:36); lip service without the heart ( Matthew 15:7); selfish conceit ( Matthew 6:2); wicked pride ( Mark 12:38); love of darkness ( John 3:19); rejection of His disciples ( Luke 10:10); adultery ( Matthew 19:9); commercialism in worship ( Matthew 21:13); blasphemy against the Spirit ( Matthew 12:31-32); loving others more than God ( Matthew 10:37); hearing, seeing the Son, with belief or with failure to believe ( Matthew 7:24;  Matthew 13:23,  John 5:24;  John 6:40); the cup of cold water given to a disciple ( Matthew 10:42); mercifulness ( Luke 6:36); love to Christ ( Luke 7:47,  John 21:16); love to enemies ( Luke 6:27); humble-mindedness as a child ( Matthew 18:4); fidelity of service ( Matthew 20:14;  Matthew 24:45-51); endurance in well-doing ( Matthew 24:13); doing will of God ( Matthew 12:50); deeds in general ( Matthew 16:27); inward thoughts and motives ( Mark 7:21,  Luke 5:22-23).

These are clear, varied, and concrete tests which men may apply daily to conduct and character, and which bring them into continual judgment. They cover almost every phase of human life, both inward and outward. The great first and second commandments in the law which our Lord enunciated to the lawyer ( Matthew 22:37-39) are in the nature of a judgment, for men know whether or not they have been kept. Judgments are continuous in the sphere of moral life, as conscience persistently affirms. They are continuous in the religious life, and the principles upon which they are based are found in these teachings and in the character of Jesus. No man can plead ignorance of the grounds on which judgment is pronounced on him, because these varied tests cover clearly and openly so much of his life. Jesus always holds Himself forth (‘I am the way and the truth and the life,’  John 14:6) as the supreme standard of life; and the invitation to come to Him leads to a comparison and judgment of likeness or unlikeness. The work of the Holy Spirit (whom Jesus sends,  John 16:7) is to convict men of sin, righteousness, and judgment ( John 16:9), and He accomplishes this by showing men their unlikeness to Christ. The character of Jesus is thus continually a challenge to men, and the measure of the judgment which they must pass on themselves. In all the Gospels, judgment is determined by the relation which a man holds to Jesus Christ. But the Gospels also teach that this continuous judgment will culminate in a crisis or Final Judgment. The inadequacy and inequalities of punishment here seem to demand a final adjusting of the accounts of all men on principles of eternal equity. The parable of Dives and Lazarus ( Luke 16:20-25) exhibits this final accounting and the equitable readjustment of their respective conditions. Lazarus had wretchedness. Dives had luxury. The continuous judgment in this life did not result in the proper rewards and penalties, hence the balances are struck after death. Final judgment and penalty are then reached.

3 . The time of this Final Judgment is set forth in the Synoptics as at ‘the end of the world’ ( Matthew 13:39). Some have held that this means at the end of each man’s life, but the more obvious meaning is the end of this time-order of race, life, and things (cf.  Hebrews 9:27). The words ‘the time’ ( Matthew 8:29), and ‘then’ ( Matthew 16:27,  Matthew 25:1), point to a time which follows the Lord’s appearing in glory with His angels after the resurrection from the dead. ‘That day and hour’ ( Matthew 24:36), ‘the resurrection of life’ and ‘the resurrection of judgment’ ( John 5:29), are the antithetical statements of what takes place after the resurrection, which to one class of men is entrance into life, and to the other entrance into judgment followed by spiritual death. The Gospels do not give information as to whether or not the Final Judgment follows immediately on the general resurrection. The weight of impression is that judgment does follow immediately, but it would be by no means an entire misinterpretation of the sayings of Jesus if one held that there was a considerable period of intervening time.

4 . All mankind and all evil spirits are to be judged .—‘All nations’ ( Matthew 25:32) and all men ( Matthew 12:36,  John 5:29) shall be judged (cf.  Romans 14:10,  2 Corinthians 5:10,  Revelation 20:12-15). It is implied in  Matthew 8:29 that evil spirits also are to stand in the judgment. But it is clear that the holy angels do not come into judgment, for they accompany and serve the holy Judge ( Matthew 16:27;  Matthew 25:31). Judgment would not be necessary for men if it were not for their sin. Wherever there has been need of a redemption, there will be need of a Final Judgment.

5 . Some characteristics .—Jesus Christ the Judge in His glory ( Matthew 16:27;  Matthew 19:28,  Mark 8:38,  Luke 9:26) [the glory of Jesus will be as manifest in His judgments as in His forgiveness]; ‘the throne of his glory’ ( Matthew 25:31); the surrounding holy angels as His servitors (cf.  Matthew 13:41); mankind gathered before Him; evil spirits awaiting their final doom; the sharp separations; the openness of the facts upon which judgment proceeds; the uncovered moral life of every man; the irrevocableness of the decision ( Matthew 25:46),—all these, together with the manifestly diverse feelings of the righteous and the wicked, present a scene of surpassing grandeur, extent, and interest. Judgment stands in the Gospels as the natural terminus of an aeon in the life of the race which began with Creation, was continued under a purpose and revelation of Redemption, and demands a Judgment as its proper culmination.

Nathan E. Wood.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Judgment has many aspects. It may concern legal procedures and announcements, or it may concern private acts of examining, discerning or criticizing. It is something that people do and something that God does. It takes place in the lives of people now and will take place in their encounter with God at the end of the age.

God the judge

As creator of the human race and ruler of the universe, God is the supreme judge ( Genesis 18:25;  Psalms 67:4;  Psalms 94:2;  Psalms 96:13;  John 8:50;  Hebrews 12:23). His judgment is always just because it is according to his own perfect standards, but it is also mixed with mercy ( Psalms 9:8;  Psalms 36:5-6;  Psalms 89:14;  Romans 2:12-16;  2 Timothy 4:8;  James 2:13;  Revelation 16:5; see Mercy ).

God’s judgment is not merely another word for his condemnation and punishment. True judgment involves both discernment and action, and the two are inseparable. First the judge makes a distinction between what is right and what is wrong, then on the basis of his findings he takes action. The purpose of that action is to condemn the person who is wrong and vindicate the person who is right ( Deuteronomy 1:16-17;  Deuteronomy 16:18-20;  1 Kings 3:9;  1 Kings 3:28;  Jeremiah 5:28;  Ezekiel 7:27).

For this reason persecuted believers in Old Testament days often looked forward to God’s judgment. Though downtrodden, they knew they were in the right, but because of the corruption of the courts they had no way of gaining a hearing and therefore no chance of getting justice. They longed for the day when God would act in true judgment, righting the wrongs, declaring them to be right, and sentencing their opponents to punishment ( Psalms 7:6-8;  Psalms 9:8;  Psalms 9:12;  Psalms 10:2;  Psalms 10:12;  Psalms 10:17-18;  Psalms 82:1-4; see Justice ).

Persecuted believers in the New Testament era could likewise long for the day when God would intervene in judgment, bringing relief to them and punishment to their persecutors ( 2 Thessalonians 1:4-8;  Revelation 6:10;  Revelation 11:18). Christ’s death makes the judgment and condemnation of evildoers certain, because by that death Satan himself was judged and condemned ( John 12:31-33;  John 16:8-11).

Everyday judgments

Making judgments between right and wrong is part of the process of living ( Luke 7:43;  Luke 12:57). This is particularly so in the case of Christians who, having an understanding of the mind of God, are better able to judge between the good and the evil ( John 7:24;  1 Corinthians 2:15-16;  Hebrews 5:14). In the church they must make judgments concerning what is said ( 1 Corinthians 10:15;  1 Corinthians 14:29;  1 Thessalonians 5:20-21) and what is done ( Acts 15:19;  1 Corinthians 5:3;  1 Corinthians 5:12;  1 Corinthians 6:1-3).

When exercising this judgment, Christians must first of all judge themselves, to make sure they are not guilty of the things concerning which they accuse others. God will judge them according to the standard they use to judge others ( Matthew 7:1-5;  Romans 2:1-3). Therefore, they must exercise strict self-examination and self-correction, otherwise they may experience God’s judgment upon them in the form of various sufferings ( 1 Corinthians 11:28-32;  Hebrews 12:6; see Chastisement ).

There are some things, particularly in the lives of others, concerning which Christians should not make judgments at all. In such cases God is the only one capable of making right judgments ( 1 Corinthians 4:3-5;  James 4:11-12). They should not be harshly critical of those of weaker faith, but should concentrate on strengthening them ( Romans 14:3-4;  Romans 14:13).

Jesus Christ the judge

The purpose of Jesus’ first coming was not to be a judge but to be a saviour; not to condemn sinners but to save sinners ( John 3:17;  John 12:47). It is at his second coming that Jesus will carry out God’s work of judgment ( Matthew 25:36-41;  John 5:22;  John 5:26-30;  2 Corinthians 5:10;  2 Thessalonians 1:7-8;  2 Timothy 4:1).

Although Jesus’ first coming was not for the purpose of judgment, it did, in a sense, result in judgment. When people faced him they had to make a decision either to accept him or reject him; and the decision they made was their own judgment on themselves. It determined whether they would be saved or condemned ( John 3:19;  John 9:39; cf.  Romans 1:24;  Romans 1:26;  Romans 1:28).

People who considered themselves good, who heard Jesus’ teachings and saw his mighty works yet deliberately rejected him, condemned themselves. They would suffer greater punishment than those whom they considered wicked but who had never heard of Jesus ( Matthew 11:20-24;  Mark 12:40;  Luke 12:47-48;  John 9:39-41).

Final judgment

All people will one day stand before Christ, the supreme judge. This includes those who are living at Christ’s return and those who have died throughout the thousands of years of the world’s history ( Matthew 10:15;  Matthew 25:31-32;  Acts 10:42;  Acts 17:31;  Romans 14:10;  Hebrews 9:27;  1 Peter 4:5). Because no one knows when that judgment will be, people should live in a state of constant readiness for it ( Matthew 24:36;  Matthew 24:42-44). At that judgment each person’s behaviour will be judged, even hidden actions and secret thoughts, because such works are evidence of what a person really is ( Matthew 12:33-37;  Matthew 16:27;  Romans 2:6;  Romans 2:16;  1 Corinthians 4:5;  2 Corinthians 5:10;  Revelation 22:12).

Being perfect in holiness, God cannot treat evil as if it does not matter. His love for all that is right is so strong that he reacts against all that is wrong in righteous anger and holy wrath ( Romans 1:18;  Romans 2:5;  Ephesians 5:6;  Revelation 6:17; see Hell ; Punishment ).

As far as believers are concerned, this wrath has fallen on Jesus Christ. Through him believers have the forgiveness of their sins and so escape the wrath that is to fall on sinners at the final judgment ( Romans 3:24-26;  Romans 5:9;  2 Corinthians 5:21;  Ephesians 1:7;  1 Thessalonians 1:10;  1 Thessalonians 5:9; see Forgiveness ; Justification ; Propitiation ).

Since Christ has borne their sin and brought them into a right relationship with God, believers can face God’s judgment with confidence ( Romans 8:33;  1 John 4:17). They do not fear condemnation, because once they are ‘in Christ’ there can be no condemnation ( John 3:18;  John 5:24;  Romans 8:11). Since their names are in the book of life, they have no fear of the judgment of death ( Revelation 20:11-15; cf.  Luke 10:20;  Philippians 4:3;  Revelation 21:27).

This confidence does not mean that believers will escape all judgment. There will be an examination of their lives and works that will reveal whether they have lived for God or for themselves; whether they have followed God’s standards or the standards of the world. That examination will determine the reward or rebuke they will receive ( Romans 14:10;  1 Corinthians 3:8-15;  2 Corinthians 5:10; see Heaven ; Reward ).

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

DAY OF, is that important period which shall terminate the present dispensation of grace toward the fallen race of Adam, put an end to time, and introduce the eternal destinies of men and angels,  Acts 16:31;  1 Corinthians 15:24-26;  1 Thessalonians 4:14-17;  Matthew 25:31-46 . It is in reference to this solemn period that the Apostle Peter says, "The heavens and the earth which now exist are by the word of God reserved in store unto fire, against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men,"  2 Peter 3:7 . Several eminent commentators understand this prophecy as a prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem. In support of their interpretation, they appeal to the ancient Jewish prophecies, where, as they contend, the revolutions in the political state of empires and nations are foretold in the same forms of expression with those introduced in Peter's prediction. The following are the prophecies to which they appeal:—  Isaiah 34:4 , where the destruction of Idumea is foretold under the figures of dissolving the host of heaven, and of rolling the heaven together as a scroll, and of the falling down of all their host as the leaf falleth off from the vine.  Ezekiel 32:7 , where the destruction of Egypt is described by the figures of covering the heaven, and making the stars thereof dark; and of covering the sun with a cloud, and of hindering the moon from giving her light. In  Joel 2:10 , the invasion of Judea by foreign armies is thus foretold: "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." And in  Joel 2:30-31 , the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is thus predicted: "I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." God, threatening the Jews, is introduced saying, "In that day I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day,"  Amos 8:9 . The overthrow of Judaism and Heathenism is thus foretold: "Yet once and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land,"  Haggai 2:6 . Lastly: our Lord, in his prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, has the following expressions: "After the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken,"  Matthew 24:29 .

Now it is remarkable that, in these prophecies, none of the prophets have spoken, as Peter has done, of the entire destruction of this mundane system, nor of the destruction of any part thereof. They mention only the rolling of the heavens together as a scroll the obscuring of the light of the sun and of the moon, the shaking of the heavens and the earth, and the falling down of the stars: whereas Peter speaks of the utter destruction of all the parts of this mundane system by fire. This difference affords room for believing that the events foretold by the prophets are different in their nature from those foretold by the Apostle; and that they are to be figuratively understood, while those predicted by the Apostle are to be understood literally. To this conclusion, likewise, the phraseology of the prophets, compared with that of the Apostle, evidently leads: for the prophetic phraseology, literally interpreted, exhibits impossibilities; such as the rolling of the heavens together as a scroll; the turning of the moon into blood, and the falling down of the stars from heaven as the leaf of a tree.

Not so the apostolic phraseology: for the burning of the heavens, or atmosphere, and its passing away with a great noise; and the burning of the earth and the works thereon, together with the burning and melting of the elements, that is, the constituent parts of which this terraqueous globe is composed; are all things possible, and therefore may be literally understood; while the things mentioned by the prophets can only be taken figuratively. This, however, is not all. There are things in the Apostle's prophecy which show that he intended it to be taken literally. As,

1. He begins with an account of the perishing of the old world, to demonstrate against the scoffers the possibility of the perishing of the present heavens and earth. But that example would not have suited his purpose; unless, by the burning of the present heavens and earth, he had meant the destruction of the material fabric. Wherefore, the opposition stated in this prophecy between the perishing of the old world by water, and the perishing of the present world by fire, shows that the latter is to be as real a destruction of the material fabric as the former was.

2. The circumstance of the present heavens and earth being treasured up and kept, ever since the first deluge, from all after deluges, in order to their being destroyed by fire at the day of judgment, shows, we think, that the Apostle is speaking of a real, and not of a metaphorical, destruction of the heavens and earth.

3. This appears, likewise, from the Apostle's foretelling that, after the present heavens and earth are burned, new heavens and a new earth are to appear, in which the righteous are forever to dwell.

4. The time fixed by the Apostle for the burning of the heavens and the earth, namely, the day of judgment and punishment of ungodly men, shows that the Apostle is speaking, not of the destruction of a single city or nation during the subsistence of the world, but of the earth itself, with all the wicked who have dwelt thereon. These circumstances persuade us that this prophecy, as well as the one recorded,   2 Thessalonians 1:9 , is not to be interpreted metaphorically of the destruction of Jerusalem; but should be understood literally of the general judgment, and of the destruction of our mundane system.

But "it is appointed unto men once to die, and after death the judgment." These two events are inseparably linked together in the divine decree, and they reciprocally reflect importance on each other. Death is, indeed, the terror of our nature. Men may contrive to keep it from their thoughts, but they cannot think of it without fearful apprehensions of its consequences. It was justly to be dreaded by man in his state of innocence; and to the unrenewed man it ever was, and ever will be, a just object of abhorrence. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has brought life and immortality to light, is the only sovereign antidote against this universal evil. To the believer in Christ, its rough aspect is smoothed, and its terrors cease to be alarming.

To him it is the messenger of peace; its sting is plucked out; its dark valley is the road to perfect bliss and life immortal. To him, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain," Php_1:21 . To die! speaking properly, he cannot die. He has already died in Christ, and with him: his "life is hid with Christ in God,"  Romans 6:8;  Colossians 3:3 .

With this conquest of the fear of death is nearly allied another glorious privilege resulting from union with the Redeemer; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and "not be ashamed before him at his coming,"  1 John 2:28 . Were death all that we have to dread, death might be braved. But after death there is a judgment; a judgment attended with circumstances so tremendous as to shake the hearts of the boldest of the sons of nature. Then "men shall seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them,"  Revelation 9:6 .

Then shall come indeed an awful day; a day to which all that have preceded it are intended to be subservient; when the Lord shall appear in the united splendour of creating, of governing, and of judicial majesty, to finish his purposes respecting man and earth, and to pronounce the final, irreversible sentence, "It is done!"  Revelation 21:6 . Nothing of terror or magnificence hitherto beheld,—no glory of the rising sun after a night of darkness and of storm,—no convulsions of the earth,—no wide irruption of waters,—no flaming comet dragging its burning train over half the heaven, can convey to us an adequate conception of that day of terrible brightness and irresistible devastation. Creation then shall be uncreated. "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up,"  2 Peter 3:10 . The Lord shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire,  2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 , arrayed in all the glory of his Godhead, and attended by his mighty angels,  Matthew 16:27;  Matthew 25:31 .

All that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth,  John 5:28-29 . Earth and sea shall give up the dead which are in them. All that ever lived shall appear before him,  Revelation 20:12-13 . The judgment shall sit; and the books shall be opened,  Daniel 7:10 . The eye of Omniscience detects every concealment by which they would screen from observation themselves, or their iniquity. The last reluctant sinner is finally separated from the congregation of the righteous,  Psalms 1:5; and inflexible justice, so often disregarded, derided, and defied, gives forth their eternal doom! But to the saints this shall be a day of glory and honour.

They shall be publicly acknowledged by God as his people; publicly justified from the slanders of the world; invested with immortal bodies; presented by Christ to the Father; and admitted into the highest felicity in the immediate presence of God for ever. These are the elevating, the transporting views, which made the Apostle Paul speak with so much desire and earnest expectation of the "day of Christ."

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Κρίσις (Strong'S #2920 — Noun Feminine — krisis — kree'-sis )

primarily denotes "a separating," then, "a decision, judgment," most frequently in a forensic sense, and especially of Divine "judgment." For the variety of its meanings, with references, see Condemnation , B, No. 3.

 John 16:8,11 2—Thessalonians 1:5 Romans 2:5  2—Thessalonians 1:5

2: Κρίμα (Strong'S #2917 — Noun Neuter — krima — kree'-mah )

denotes the result of the action signified by the verb krino, "to judge;" for its general significance see Condemnation , B, No. 1: it is used (a) of a decision passed on the faults of others,  Matthew 7:2; (b) of "judgment" by man upon Christ,  Luke 24:20; (c) of God's "judgment" upon men, e.g.,  Romans 2:2,3;  3:8;  5:16;  11:33;  13:2;  1—Corinthians 11:29;  Galatians 5:10;  Hebrews 6:2;  James 3:1; through Christ, e.g.,  John 9:39; (d) of the right of "judgment,"  Revelation 20:4; (e) of a lawsuit,  1—Corinthians 6:7 .

3: Ἡμέρα (Strong'S #2250 — Noun Feminine — hemera — hay-mer'-ah )

"a day," is translated "judgment" in  1—Corinthians 4:3 , where "man's judgment" (lit., "man's day," marg.) is used of the present period in which man's mere "judgment" is exercised, a period of human rebellion against God. The adjective anthropinos, "human, belonging to man" (anthropos), is doubtless set in contrast here to kuriakos, "belonging to the Lord" (kurios, "a lord"), which is used in the phrase "the Day of the Lord," in  Revelation 1:10 , "The Lord's Day," a period of Divine judgments. See Day.

4: Γνώμη (Strong'S #1106 — — gnome — gno'-may )

primarily "a means of knowing" (akin to ginosko, "to know"), came to denote "a mind, understanding;" hence (a) "a purpose,"  Acts 20:3 , lit., "(it was his) purpose;" (b) "a royal purpose, a decree,"  Revelation 17:17 , RV, "mind" (AV, "will"); (c) "judgment, opinion,"  1—Corinthians 1:10 , "(in the same) judgment;"  Revelation 17:13 , "mind;" (d) "counsel, advice,"  1—Corinthians 7:25 , "(I give my) judgment;"  1—Corinthians 7:40 , "(after my) judgment;"  Philemon 1:14 , mind. See Mind , Purpose , Will.

 1—Corinthians 6:4Judge Romans 1:32 Revelation 15:4 Acts 25:15Sentence.  Philippians 1:9 Acts 21:25Judge

5: Ὑπόδικος (Strong'S #5267 — Adjective — hupodikos — hoop-od'-ee-kos )

"brought to trial, answerable to" (hupo, "under," dike, "justice"),  Romans 3:19 , is translated "under the judgment," RV (AV, "guilty").

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

The Hebrew term mispat [   Genesis 18:25 ); it is fundamental that God engages in judgment. Indeed, God is the God of mispat [   Isaiah 40:14 ), and "all his ways are just" ( Deuteronomy 32:4 ). Judgment is linked with righteousness as the foundation of his throne ( Psalm 97:2 ). Judgment is as natural to God as the movements of the birds are to them ( Jeremiah 8:7 ).

We should be clear that judgment is of great importance for biblical religion. The gods of the heathen were capricious and unpredictable; their worshipers could never know what they would do next, nor whether what they themselves did would be pleasing to their deities or not. The Hebrews knew that God is righteous and that he demands righteousness of his people.

Sometimes God's judgments are seen in the present life, but often it is the future judgment that is in mind. "For he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth" ( Psalm 96:13 ). This tells us something important about God. All people, and not only Israel, will answer to him. And it tells us something important about the way people live. Somewhere among the many gods he acknowledged the polytheist would come across a deity who was not too demanding and he could live his life accordingly. But the pious Hebrew knew that in the end every human work would be judged by the all-holy and all-powerful God. There was no escape. And while he had opportunity it was important that the Hebrew should right wrongs, overthrow the oppressor, and deliver the oppressed.

In the New Testament the Old Testament thoughts about judgment, both present and future, are continued. But there is a striking new thought, namely, that judgment is connected with the cross of Christ. As he drew near to his death Jesus said, "Now is the time for judgment on this world, now the prince of this world will be driven out" ( John 12:31 ). And in the upper room as he spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit, he said that the Spirit would convict the world of judgment, "because the prince of this world now stands condemned (lit. is judged)" ( John 16:11 ). The use of the judgment terminology in connection with the defeat of Satan is important, for it shows that this was no arbitrary happening. Nor did it mean simply that God is stronger than Satan. That is true, but the manner in which Satan was defeated was righteous.

God's present judgment of people is forcefully brought out in  Romans 1 with its threefold "God gave them over" (vv. 24,26, 28). God is hostile to every evil and this is made manifest in his judgments here and now. An interesting aspect of present judgment is brought out in the words of Jesus: "This is the verdict ( krisis [   John 3:19 ). The love of darkness is itself judgment (cf. the words of a poet, "For thirty pieces Judas sold himself, not Christ"). Paul sees a present judgment in the punishment of the Corinthian church ( 1 Corinthians 11:29-32 ).

That there will be a final judgment is regarded as axiomatic ( Romans 3:5-6 ). "Eternal judgment" is one of the "elementary teachings about Christ" ( Hebrews 6:1-2 ), and all face it ( Hebrews 12:23 ). It is as inescapable as death ( Hebrews 9:27 ). Even "the family of God" is included and indeed judgment begins with them ( 1 Peter 4:17 ). Sinners may not trust that somehow their worst failings may be hid for God will judge our secrets ( Romans 2:16 ). All evil will be reckoned with for on the day of judgment "every careless word" will be called to account ( Matthew 12:36 ). Judgment will be on the basis of works ( Matthew 16:27 ). An important passage is that in which Paul makes it clear that salvation is on the basis of Christ's saving work and that alone, but what we build on that foundation will be tested "with fire" ( 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 ). Believers will be saved by Christ, but their work will be judged on judgment day.

Leon Morris

See also Judgment, Day of; Judgment Seat of Christ.

Bibliography . H. Butterfield, Christianity and History  ; L. Morris, The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment .

King James Dictionary

JUDG'MENT, n. The act of judging the act or process of the mind in comparing its ideas, to find their agreement or disagreement, and to ascertain truth or the process of examining facts and arguments, to ascertain propriety and justice or the process of examining the relations between one proposition and another.

1. The faculty of the mind by which man is enabled to compare ideas and ascertain the relations of terms and propositions as a man of clear judgment or sound judgment. The judgment may be biased by prejudice. Judgment supplies the want of certain knowledge. 2. The determination of the mind, formed from comparing the relations of ideas, or the comparison of facts and arguments. In the formation of our judgments, we should be careful to weigh and compare all the facts connected with the subject. 3. In law, the sentence of doom pronounced in any cause, or criminal, by the judge or court by which it is tried. Judgment may be rendered on demurrer, on a verdict, on a confession or default, or on a non-suit. Judgment, though pronounced by the judge or court, is properly the determination or sentence of the law. A pardon may be pleaded in arrest of judgment. 4. The right or power of passing sentence. 5. Determination decision.

Let reason govern us in the formation of our judgment of things proposed to our inquiry.

6. Opinion notion.

She, in my judgment, was as fair as you.

7. In Scripture, the spirit of wisdom and prudence, enabling a person to discern right and wrong, good and evil.

Give the king thy judgments, O God.  Psalms 72

8. A remarkable punishment an extraordinary calamity inflicted by God on sinners.

Judgments are prepared for scorners.  Proverbs 19;  Isaiah 26

9. The spiritual government of the world.

The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son.

 John 5 .

10. The righteous statutes and commandments of God are called his judgments.  Psalms 119 11. The doctrines of the gospel, or God's word.  Matthew 12 12. Justice and equity.  Luke 11 .  Isaiah 1 13. The decrees and purposes of God concerning nations.  Romans 11 14. A court or tribunal.  Matthew 5 15. Controversies, or decisions of controversies.  1 Corinthians 6 16. The gospel, or kingdom of grace.  Matthew 12 17. The final trial of the human race,when God will decide the fate of every individual, and award sentence according to justice.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.  Ecclesiastes 12

Judgment of God. Formerly this term was applied to extraordinary trials of secret crimes, as by arms and single combat, by ordeal, or hot plowshares, &c. it being imagined that God would work miracles to vindicate innocence.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Is put, in  Matthew 5:21,22 , for a court of judgment, a tribunal, namely, the tribunal of seven judges, which Josephus mentions as existing in every city, and which decided causes of minor importance. See under Synagogue .

For the expression, "judgment-hall," see Pretorium .

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, for which the word "judgment" alone is sometimes used, is that great day, at the end of the world and of time, when Christ shall sit as judge over all the universe, and when every individual of the human race will be judged and recompensed according to his works, whether they be good or evil. The time of its coming and its duration are known only to God. It will break upon the world suddenly, and with a glorious but awful majesty. It will witness the perfect vindication of all the ways of God. The revelation of his justice, appalling but unstained, will fill the universe with approving wonder; but the revelation of his yet more amazing goodness will crown him with unutterable glory. The Redeemer especially will then receive his reward, and be glorified in his saints, who shall be raised from the dead in his likeness. He will divide all mankind into tow classes: all the righteous will be in one, and all the wicked in the other; all that love God in the one, and all that hate him in the other; all that penitently believed in Christ while they lived in the one, and all that died impenitent and unbelieving in the other. And this judgement and separation will be eternal: the former will rise in holiness and joy, and the latter sink in sin and woe forever,  Ecclesiastes 11:9   Daniel 12:2   Matthew 10:15   12:36   25:31-46   26:64   John 5:22   Acts 17:31   Romans 14:10-12   2 Thessalonians 1:7-10   2 Peter 2:9   3:7   1 John 4:17   Revelation 20:12-15 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

JUDGMENT. Biblical eschatology centres about the Judgment to which all humanity is to be subjected at the end of this ‘age.’ As the introduction to the Messianic Age, it was expected to occur at a definite time in the future, and would take place in the heavens, to which all humanity, whether living or dead, would be raised from Sheol. The judge was sometimes said to be God (  Hebrews 12:23 ), sometimes His representative, the Christ, assisted by the angels (  Romans 2:16 ,   Matthew 13:24-30;   Matthew 13:37-43;   Matthew 13:47-50;   Matthew 24:31-45; Cf. Eth. Enoch 48). In   Luke 22:30 ,   1 Corinthians 6:2 , Christians are also said to be judges. At the Judgment, sentences would be pronounced determining the eternal states of individuals, both men and angels. Those who had done wrong would be doomed to punishment, and those who had accepted Jesus as Christ, either explicitly, as in the case of the Christians, or implicitly, as in the case of Abraham, would be acquitted and admitted to heaven. The question as to the basis of this acquittal gave rise to the great discussion between St. Paul and the Jewish Christians, and was developed in the doctrine of justification by faith.

By its very nature the thought of judgment is eschatological, and can be traced from the conception of the Day of Jehovah of the ancient Hebrews. While the Scripture writers sometimes conceived of disease and misery as the result of sin, such suffering was not identified by them with the penalties inflicted at the Judgment. These were strictly eschatological, and included non-participation in the resurrection of the body, and suffering in hell. (See Abyss, Day of the Lord, Book of Life, Gehenna.)

For ‘judgment’ in the sense of justice see art. Justice.

Shailer Mathews.

Charles Buck Theological Dictionary

Is that act of the mind whereby one thing is affirmed or denied of another; or that power of the soul which passes sentence on things proposed to its examination, and determines what is right or wrong: and thus it approves or disapproves of an action, or an object considered as true or false, fit or unfit, good or evil. Dr. Watts gives us the following directions to assist us in judging right.

1. We should examine all our old opinions afresh, and enquire what was the ground of them, and whether our assent were built on just evidence; and then we should cast off all those judgments which were formed heretofore without due examination.

2. All our ideas of objects, concerning which we pass judgment, should be clear, distinct, complete, comprehensive, extensive, and orderly.

3. When we have obtained as clear ideas as we can, both of the subject and predicate of a proposition, then we must compare those ideas of the subject and predicate together with the utmost attention, and observe how far they agree, and wherein they differ.

4. We must search for evidence of truth, with diligence and honesty, and be heartily ready to receive evidence, whether for the agreement or disagreement of ideas.

5. We must suspend our judgment, and neither affirm nor deny until this evidence appear.

6. We must judge of every proposition by those proper and peculiar means or mediums, whereby the evidence of it is to be obtained, whether it be sense, consciousness, intelligence, reason, or testimony.

7. It is very useful to have some general principles of truth settled in the mind, whose evidence is great and obvious, that they may be always ready at hand to assist us in judging of the great variety of things which occur.

8. Let the degrees of our assent to every proposition bear an exact proportion to the different degrees of evidence.

9. We should keep our minds always open to receive truth, and never set limits to our own improvements. Watts's Logic, ch. 4. p. 231; Locke on the Understanding, p. 222, 256, vol. 1: p. 271, 278. vol. 2:; Duncan's Logic, p. 145; Reid on the Intellectual Powers, p. 497, &c.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v. i.) A calamity regarded as sent by God, by way of recompense for wrong committed; a providential punishment.

(2): ( v. i.) The act of judging; the operation of the mind, involving comparison and discrimination, by which a knowledge of the values and relations of thins, whether of moral qualities, intellectual concepts, logical propositions, or material facts, is obtained; as, by careful judgment he avoided the peril; by a series of wrong judgments he forfeited confidence.

(3): ( v. i.) The power or faculty of performing such operations (see 1); esp., when unqualified, the faculty of judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely; good sense; as, a man of judgment; a politician without judgment.

(4): ( v. i.) The conclusion or result of judging; an opinion; a decision.

(5): ( v. i.) The act of determining, as in courts of law, what is conformable to law and justice; also, the determination, decision, or sentence of a court, or of a judge; the mandate or sentence of God as the judge of all.

(6): ( v. i.) That act of the mind by which two notions or ideas which are apprehended as distinct are compared for the purpose of ascertaining their agreement or disagreement. See 1. The comparison may be threefold: (1) Of individual objects forming a concept. (2) Of concepts giving what is technically called a judgment. (3) Of two judgments giving an inference. Judgments have been further classed as analytic, synthetic, and identical.

(7): ( v. i.) That power or faculty by which knowledge dependent upon comparison and discrimination is acquired. See 2.

(8): ( v. i.) The final award; the last sentence.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

See Judge

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Judgment

considered as a technical and scientific term of logic, is an act of the mind by which something is affirmed. In this restricted sense it is one of the simplest acts or operations of which we are conscious in the exercise of our rational powers. The intellectual faculty called judgment is the power of determining anything to be true or false. In every instance of memory or perception there is involved some judgment, some feeling of relationship, of space, or time, or similarity, or contrast. Consciousness necessarily involves a judgment; and, as every act of mind is an act of consciousness, every act of mind consequently involves a judgment. It is a process not only subsequent to the acquisition of knowledge, but "involved as a condition of the acquisitive process itself." There is not only included what is popularly understood as comparison (when the properties of bodies are compared), but that elementary faculty, that fundamental law or innate idea, which, in the first instance, makes us cognizant of the property. Hence Sir William Hamilton's division into derivative and primitive cognitions, the derivative being of our own fabrication, formed from certain rules, and being the tardy result of perception and memory, of attention, reflection, abstraction. These are derived from experience, and, as such, are contingent; and as all experience is contingent, all the knowledge derived from experience is contingent also. But, as there are conditions of the mind which are not contingent, which are necessary, which we cannot but think, which thought supposes as its fundamental condition, these are denominated primitive cognitions; these primitive and general notions being the root of all principles, the foundation of the whole edifice of science. For the discovery of this great truth we are indebted to Leibnitz, who, in controverting Locke's view of innate ideas, asserted the existence of a principle of human knowledge independent of and superior to that which is afforded by the senses. Kant, adopting Leibnitz' view, furnishes a test by which these two elements are distinguished from each other: the former, being contingent, are fluctuating and uncertain; they may be in the mind, or they may not. Every fresh scene in which we are placed completely alters the sensations, and the particular sensational judgments of which we are conscious. On the contrary, our primitive judgments are steady, abiding, unalterable. These primitive judgments, he asserts, are of two kinds, analytic and synthetic. An analytic judgment is simply a declaration of something necessarily belonging to a given notion, as that every triangle has three sides. A synthetic judgment may be a declaration of something which does not actually belong to a notion, but which our minds are led, by some kind of evidence or other, to attribute to it, as "Every event has an efficient cause." Here we do more than analyze the expression; we attribute altogether a fresh notion to it, and form a judgment by which our knowledge is extended. Both these judgments are found in the pure sciences, and form the very principles upon which they are pursued. It may be well to remark, however, that Comte, Herbert Spencer, Mill, etc., following Locke; deny the existence of these primitive judgments altogether, even the axioms which stand at the head of mathematical reasoning. So far from being mental and subjective, they are truly inductive, derived from observation; only that observation is so constant, and that induction is so easy and immediate, that we fall easily into an impression that these laws are intuitive, whereas they are, in fact, experimental. For instance, the axioms and postulates which are the basis of Euclid's Geometry are not metaphysical — written on the intellect, and, drawn out of the brain — they are only statements of laws observed and experienced. See Watts, Logic, ch. 4, p. 231; Locke, On the Understanding, 1, 222, 256; 2, 271, 278; Duncan, Logic, p. 145; Reid, On the Intellectual Powers, p. 497, etc. (E. de P.)