Throne of Grace part 2
Here's the thing--the throne IS a judgment seat. But you have to understand what that really means. Four times in the book of John Jesus spoke of the judgment of the world. "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind" (John 9:39). "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). And, "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:11). Did you see a theme there? The prince of the world is the one who was judged. Not us. The pirice of the world was cast out. Not us. God's judgment--which took place in fullness on the cross, or if you want to be pedantic, three days after--was not a death sentence. WE sentenced His Son to die. God's judgment was to raise Jesus (and us in Him) back from the dead. Part of Jesus's death was HIS judgment. Reproving the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment. First He took away the sin of the world. Became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And then came the judgment. Which is pretty much what Hebrews 9:27 says: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Think about that. You can't punish a dead man for the crimes he commited when he was alive. Dying wipes the slate clean. If our judgment comes after our death (which was Jesus's death on the cross... the death OF death) what else could it possibly be but life? This isn't God judging whether we'll go up or down on that cosmic elevator. This is God fulfilling His gift to us of eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life! You can't have resurrection life until you've died and been, you know, resurrected. Otherwise it would have to be called something else, right? So the judgment seat is not something scary. It's not where we go to find out what our punishment is. God is not in the punishing business. God is in the blessing business. The mercy and grace business. The forgivness business. So Jesus judged and cast out the prince of the world. Took away the sin of the world. Wrapped us up in Himself and died--so that we could die. And then the judgment came. From the judgment seat. The mercy seat. The throne of grace. God judged His son (and all of humanity in Him) and raised us back to life. There is nothing scary about the throne. Look at Hebrews 10:12, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." That's the power seat. Son of my right hand. Son of strength and authority. That's where Jesus is, which means that's where we are. As He is, so are we in this world. He is seated in power and authority. We are kings and priests equipped and empowered to rule and reign on this earth. His throne is OUR throne. That's why we can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace in time of need. We don't ahve to come grovelling, or begging. We don't have to come hat in hand. We can come boldly. We can sit down. Isaiah 66:1 identifies the heaven as God's throne and the earth as His footstool. So if we are experiencing and enjoying the days of heaven on earth... we are seated in the throne and everything is under our feet. WE don't need to overcome because have already overcame! Because HE already overcame! He did what needed to be done and now we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Love!