The Courtroom (8)

Judgment… the word invokes many thoughts and emotional reactions.  Sometimes it is thought of as the undue, non-constructive criticism people tend to hand out without any guidelines or biblical principles in place.  Unfortunately, the church has its share of this kind of activity and mentality.  But that is not the judgement we are considering.

The judgment to be considered is that of God toward the people who desire to be saved from the terror of the final “great white throne judgment”.  We are specifically looking for the judgment that places our name in the book of life.  We want to be saved… and that takes judgment.  We can actually use the visualization of a courtroom setting to help understand this process… especially in understanding how to prepare for this divine salvation encounter.

Within the setting of the courtroom there are a number of people who fulfill specific roles.  The judge who renders the verdict.  In God’s court He is the judge and there is no jury of our peers in as much as all are guilty.  We are not qualified to make eternal judgments.  There is the prosecuting attorney who is looking to get you convicted… he is the accuser… the devil (devil literally means: accuser).  There is the defense attorney who is wanting to see you acquitted… so much so that he is willing to take your sentence.  This is Jesus and he has paid the price of your redemption.  There is the accused who is you (and I)… and we are guilty as charged (For all have sinned).  In the courtroom there are witnesses who will testify… either against you or on your behalf.   

Then there are the books.  The books are the written authority by which you are judged.  Your life will be compared to what the books have declared to be the laws of God… they are the books of the bible.  Not only do they declare that which must be obeyed and followed… to a “t”… but they also teach the principles of salvation.  Living perfectly by the laws of God has only been done once… and that was by the defense attorney who wants your pardon!  Your hope then is not in living absolutely perfectly, but in finding the principles of the provided salvation and applying them to your life. 

And then there is the book of life, into which everyone who is pardoned will have their name placed.  But who will write your name in the “Lamb’s Book of Life”?  There is one more courtroom position that we have not mentioned and the one in that position will place your name it the book of life.  It is the position of the recorder!  Someone will record your name in the book of salvation.

Let us consider these position from the courtroom.  God is the judge… He will judge righteously.  The prosecuting attorney can already prove your guilt, now he wants you to keep from getting a pardon, which is available by the salvation God has put in place.  The defense attorney is actually the sacrificial lamb… Jesus.  He wants you to be pardoned… He wants your name in His book… He wants you saved, and has done all He can to make that a reality.  The rest is up to the choices you make.  You are being judged and you are guilty.  The prosecuting attorney has brought forth witnesses proving your guilt.  It is your turn to take the stand.  What will you say?

Your defense attorney has witnesses ready to testify on your behalf… but it seems too good to be true.  Will you trust and believe in Him?  You will need to do something that goes directly against your nature to survive… you must not defend yourself!  You are going, at your attorney’s advice, to confess your sin.  You must admit you are a sinner.

Upon your confession the Lamb “attorney” will allow the witnesses to take the stand.  There are three witness and they all agree in the Lamb.  Each takes the stand and utters one single word.  The first simply says “water”.  The recorder in heaven (for the record keeping is done in the spirit world) writes down “water” in his records.  The recorder is the “Word”.  The second witness takes the stand and speaks the word “Spirit”.  The recorder, which is the Holy Ghost, writes down “Spirit” in the records.  The third witness takes the stand and speaks the word “blood”.  The “Word” again writes, this time he writes the word “blood”.  The third manifestation of the recorder steps up in the halls of heaven and looks at what has been written.  “Water, Spirit, and blood”…  He then opens the book of life and writes your name in it!

Does it really happen that way?  Well… parts of it.  This is not a story from the bible… but something along these lines does happen.  There are a couple things we need to know about this.

First, it is not said that this particular courtroom scene actually takes place.  However, it does say that there is a litmus test to your salvation… your belief in Christ.  I John 5: 10 declares “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself…”  And… “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”  (I John 5:1)

 There are witnesses to your belief and there is a recorder in heaven… a recorder manifested three ways. 

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and The Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”  (I John 5: 6-8)

It is seen then, that our three-fold template seems to have a chance at being part of this test of belief as laid out by the Apostle John.  There are three elements to the witness in earth of one’s belief.  We will consider them as aligned with our template, but first one thing needs to be pointed out.

The three-fold witness of one’s belief is in the earth… that is, they must agree in our earthly life.  We cannot wait to be in the courtroom (heaven) to appropriate the three witnesses, this is accomplished in earth… while we are living!

Now, can we match the template to our scriptures from I John?  The template’s elements are:  death, burial, and resurrection.  The witnesses are: water, Spirit, and blood.

It is relatively easy to see that death from our template and blood from the scripture in I John align.  Blood often represents death.  We have seen before that it takes the Spirit to bring forth resurrection.  Romans 8:11 states “… if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make alive) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”  It is clear then, the resurrection and the Spirit align.  Two out of three isn’t bad… but it is not good enough… all three must be in agreement if we are to conclude that these are the three witnesses of belief in Jesus. 

So… does the water and burial have any connection?  There is an old Hebrew word that means “think about it”.  I want to use it here… “Selah”.

Colossians 2:12 tells us that we are “buried with him in baptism”.  Obviously, baptism takes place in water.  We have a connection with scriptural verification!  It is exciting to know that your salvation can be verified and that there are witnesses to its placement in your life!  As we progress the template will continue to hold true… over and over again.  

Water, Spirit, and blood… death, burial and resurrection… there is definite agreement here, but how to we appropriate them into our life on earth.  We have seen that it must happen during our lifetime. 

“Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”  (I Timothy 5:24) 

If we are to be saved, we must have our sins sent ahead to judgment and the water Spirit and the blood have to do with that.  We will begin to search out the process of attaining those elements when we next consider the “new birth”.