The Righteous Judge
2Ti 4:8 Finally, [there] is laid up for me the victor's wreath [or, crown] of righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will give to me in that Day, but not only to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.
Christ is called “the Righteous Judge.” 2nd Cor. 5:10 tells us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
There is a line in Alice in Wonderland, “First the execution and then the trial.” Does that sound like a statement from a righteous judge? Yet that is just the judgment those, who claim that departed spirits go to heaven or hell when they die, believe Christ is issuing.
How many places in the Bible does it say Christ will judge the good and the bad when He returns?
I probably have missed a few:
Luk 14:14 ...for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Heb 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
And from the Old Testament, judgment at the end of the age:
Psa 75:2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.
Dan 7:9,10 … And the Ancient of Days took His seat;… The court sat, And the books were opened.
Isa 62:11 Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Mic 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
The Parables of Christ.
The entire parable is not quoted, just the verses that demonstrate that judgment will come when Christ returns:Tares Sown Among the Wheat:
And the servants said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?" But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn."'
The Seed Cast into the Ground:
This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.
The Good and Bad Fish:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
The Persistent Widow:
And the Lord said, 'You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
The Ten Minas:
"Do business with these" he told them "until I get back."
'Now on his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made.
Owner Of The Vineyard:
A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.
Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
Will Christ cast the wicked into hell or welcome the saved into His kingdom BEFORE He judges them?
I think not. Scripture tells us not. He is a Righteous Judge.