What Happens To Believers Who Hurt Others?
by David J. Stewart
For many years I had believed that God would NOT bring up any negative issues
when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ. I had believed that since
Jesus paid for all our sins, God could not bring them up anymore. I simply
believed that God would reward us for the good and not mention anything bad.
I never really had second thoughts about this until I personally had suffered
evil at the hands of other Christians. Because of my sincere beliefs, I
became bitter because I believed that the perpetrators had gotten away with it.
I felt like they would NEVER have to answer to God for anything because their
sins were under the blood of Christ. I was very discouraged because I had
been deeply hurt by their words and actions--I WANTED THEM TO PAY. In my
heart I believed that they would never have to pay for anything. I felt it was
wrong for me to expect restitution since God had already forgiven their sins.
Yet, they had wronged me and I wanted justice. As you will see, I was
ignorant of the Scriptures back then and am so happy that God has opened my eyes
to the truth. The last thing God wants is for us to sulk and stew over the
hurtful things other Christians have done to us.
It's Often Harder to Forgive Fellow Christians
It has always been easier for me to forgive an unsaved person who wrongs me because I at least know that they don't know the Lord. I always stop and realize that hell is very likely going to be their future home. I am not happy about that fact, but it helps me to have compassion upon them and pray for their salvation. Christians who wrong me; on the other hand, are a different story. They're going to be in heaven walking streets of gold with me. They're going to enjoy the presence of the Lord and all the wonderful blessings of heaven, just like me. The mere thought of seeing those people in heaven made me angry. It just didn't seem fair. I knew that no one was deserving of heaven, but the fact still remained that they had wronged me! As I mentioned, I was able to let things go for the most part if an unsaved person wronged me; however, I had a difficult time when a believer did me wrong. So what was I to do? I had bitterness built up against other believers who had hurt me. I tried praying and finding Scriptures to help me but I was spinning in circles. It seemed like I would just have to live with those thorns in the flesh. I just couldn't put the puzzle together. I had a hand full of verses, but I also knew that God forgets when He forgives. The big questions loomed in my mind, "Will mean and crooked believers get away with their wrong doing?" "Does the fact that Jesus paid for their sins mean that they have a license to sin?" "Will I just have to accept injustices committed against me by other believers?" These were the questions circling in my mind. I was asking God daily to help remove the hurt feelings and bitterness from my heart and mind. They wouldn't go away. It seemed hopeless.
One man in particular (a minister) had really hurt me. He had broken a solemn financial promise to me (which he had made to me with his hand in the air as a pledge). I really put my trust in this man, but he soon broke his promise. This man also disrespected me and my family in many ways. He lied about several other matters as well. He even stole $1,000 from me (which had been entrusted to him to deliver to me). He slandered my name, etc. We read in Psalm 103:12, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." It was Scriptures such as this which caused me to boil in anger. Does this Scripture mean that the man I just mentioned won't have to give account to God? Does the fact that his sins are forgiven and forgotten mean that I will not be avenged? By the way, the man I just mentioned has still not repented of his ways. He never did pay me back or make good on his promises. His attitude is that he lives for the present, not the past. That's fine if you have righted ALL your wrongs in the past. If not, you need to back up a few steps, make restitution, and then move forward. This man refuses to make restitution; he is blinded to his sins. How sad! How wicked! I haven't seen the man for quite a while, and I doubt if I'll ever see him again. The bottom line is that he wronged me. Yet, I had never done him wrong in any way.
Now, I sincerely
believe the man is a born-again believer. He is definitely not a good
Christian. I am not allowed to hate him. We must not hate
anyone. Though the fleshly hatred may come upon us from time to time, we
must NOT make a decision to hate anyone. We cannot control our
natural feelings, but we surely can control what we decide to feel. I have
never decided to hate anyone. We must turn to the Lord
and His Word for strength when we experience painful memories and hate. I do not hate the man who wronged
me. I must pray for him that God will soften his hard heart.
Ephesians 4:30&31 remind me that I must be "tenderhearted" and
"forgiving." I am to forgive, just as Jesus forgave me.
However, I have a god-given RIGHT to expect justice in the matter.
Most Believers are Ignorant Concerning the Judgment Seat of Christ
I would like to share with you a few of the truths which I have learned that helped me let go of my bitterness and hatred. I began to read several books by men of God. I wanted to find out as much as I could about the "judgment seat of Christ" (a judgment for believers only). I continued to search my Bible for answers. Little by little, I began to see the big picture. Let me stop right here and quote to you Romans 12:19, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." We have a direct PROMISE from God that He WILL AVENGE US of those who have hurt and wronged us. This means that you have a god-given RIGHT to EXPECT to be avenged of your enemies (those who have hurt you). You have a PROMISE from God Almighty that He will PUNISH (repay) the evildoer. Likewise, we will give account to God for the wrongs we have committed against others throughout our life. God's judgment will be most severe for those who have not repented of their evil ways, but have continued hurting others.
I would like to now quote to you a few statements by Dr. Lee Roberson:
"Our salvation was settled by our acceptance of Jesus, but now we are to be judged for our works and service. Paul tells us that every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. No Christian will escape; therefore, the apostle reminds us that we are not to waste our time judging our brethren, for the time of their judgment is coming when they must stand before the judgment seat of Christ." -Dr. Lee Roberson, Chapter 2, Some Golden Daybreak.
Very well put. You see friend, Just because you are a believer doesn't relieve you of your responsibility to live right and treat people right. Every believer who hurts other people will be punished in some way. The Greek word for "repay" in Romans 12:19 means "to punish." We will be awarded compensatory and punitive damages in heaven for the evils which have befallen us at the hands of other believers. They will lose rewards. I believe their rewards will be given to their victims. This is justice.
Now please don't misunderstand, there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Jesus Christ. Every believer, no matter how sinful he or she may live upon the earth, is forever safe and secure in the arms of Jesus. Their soul is not at stake. Jesus died to pay for their sins (and yours). However, their happiness in heaven is very much at stake. Why do you think there will be tears throughout the millennium (the 1,000 year reign of Christ upon the earth). Many believers will weep in bitter remorse and sadness over the abuses and injustices they've committed against others throughout their earthly life. Romans 12:19 makes clear that God will "repay." Though the offender himself may be safe and secure from hell, the sins in his life will be judged and he will have to give an answer to God for the things he has done. No Christian will escape. God's anger against the sin in our lives will be expressed, as well as his love for us as His child. It will be an emotional time for all. Listen to the powerful words of Dr. John R. Rice:
"At the judgment seat of Christ God's anger is not expressed against any individual who has thoroughly repented of his sins, confessed them and forsaken them. But God's judgment on the sin itself may continue where there is no judgment against the individual as such. It seems to me that we need to make a distinction between the proper anger and wrath of God against one who goes on unrepentant in sin, and God's proper wise judgment against the sin itself even when the sinner has been reconciled completely and forgiven." -Dr. John R. Rice, from the excellent book Dr. Rice, Here's My Question.
As
I've grown older in the Lord, I now realize that I was very wrong in my thinking
when I was a young believer. I thought that God would never bring up
anything bad when we get to heaven. On the contrary, God will bring up
EVERYTHING. We must give account for every idle word spoken, every
offense, every evil thought, every sin we've committed. No, we don't have
to pay for them in hell; however, we must give account. No one
will be on trial (as in a criminal court) at the judgment seat of Christ.
I believe it will be much like a civil court where God will be the judge.
When you enter into civil court, you are financially at risk. No one goes
to prison or the electric chair in civil court. Likewise, no one goes to
hell at the judgment seat of Christ. Your rewards and happiness will be at
risk. When O jay Simpson was acquitted of murder in criminal court,
he was soon found guilty of murder in civil court. Though he had been
found guilty in civil court, he could not go to prison because he had been
acquitted. Well, God went much further than just acquitting us, He also
justified us (just-if-I'd never sinned). But He went even further, He
placed the righteousness' of Jesus Christ upon our record. Wow! What
a great Savior! As far as our salvation is concerned, our sins are
forgotten. Howbeit, we will still stand in judgment in civil court at the
judgment seat of Christ. There we will stand to lose much, but not our
soul. O jay Simpson lost millions for being found guilty of one
crime...Is God less just? We will stand to lose much in heaven if we hurt
others during this life on earth. No Christian will escape.
All Wrongs Must Be Righted
You
see friend, All the scales of justice must be balanced. At salvation, the
scales of justice are balanced between us and God. At the judgment seat of
Christ, the scales of justice will be balanced between us and others who have
hurt and wronged us. I have learned and now realize that Christians WILL
give account for their sins. Though the individual will not be condemned,
the sins in his or her life surely will be. Tears will flow and hearts
will break. I do not need to waste my energy and time fuming over the
wrongs which other people have committed towards me--God has promised to avenge
me. This is exactly why I can let it go for now...because God has made me
a promise to repay. I no longer am upset when I read about God's
unlimited forgiveness. I now realize that in spite of God's wonderful
forgiveness, those who have wronged me will still have to give account to
God. They may be forgiven with God as far as salvation is concerned, but
they must still face those whom they have wronged and make restitution. I am trusting God upon His Word.
It is a shame when a believer becomes so stubborn and cold-hearted that God will
have to force them to make things right in heaven. This is a sin. We
should be humble and quick to right our wrongs. This is exactly what Jesus
meant when He said to "turn the other cheek." Some body doesn't just sue
you or punch you in the mouth for no reason. When we defraud someone, we
are commanded by the Lord to go out of our way to make restitution to resolve
the matter. Unfortunately, people are
often stubborn and unwilling to be honest about things. Be rest assured,
no one will get away with anything! We will all be held accountable by God
for even the smallest offenses against others.
The Sinister Minister
You'd be surprised how many people would knife you in the back for simply not returning an e-mail, like a Baptist pastor in Chicago did to me. I and my wife trusted him to watch our pets while we were relocating for several months. He originally agreed to accept $1,200. His exact words to us in his living room was, "You know, we were going to watch your animals for nothing anyway." After further thought, I and my wife decided on giving him our van that had just cost us $4,800. I still owed all the money on my VISA credit card when I gave him the van. It was a very nice van with no damage, tinted windows, a new stereo radio, air-conditioning, a very nice alarm system, and even a remote starter which I paid to have installed. After we moved, I didn't respond to his e-mail because he was a smart-Alec with his words and a bully at that. I thought he would get the message. My wife called his wife to give her information concerning our pets. I didn't want to have any dealings with the tyrant pastor for the sake of preventing an argument. He acted like a big baby and threw a tantrum. He then did something illegal and hurt my wife and children very horribly by going back on his word. He gave our animals away. My children loved those animals more than themselves. They cried for months. He stole over $4,800 from my family and cost us another $4,000 in legal fees and efforts to recoup the animals. I didn't want to take him to court, but I had to hire a lawyer to try to track down our animals. Our children loved their pets indescribably, but now they were gone forever. He gave my wife's dog away to a stranger on the street in his anger. That monster pastor even gave the four cats belonging to our children away. I can't comprehend a professed man of God being such a heartless and evil monster, cold-hearted enough to knife a family in the back who gave him so much. When we were members of his church, we gave cherry pie and Vanilla ice cream to the pastor's wife. We bought them a large Pizzeria Uno pizza from downtown and brought it to their front door. We even gave them our own deep dish pizza pan to cook the pizza in. We gave them several hundred dollars in tools and household items. We gave them all of the pet's water and food containers, with a carrier for each pet, and lots of food for the animals. We gave that pastor and his wife the works.
We went soul winning while we attended his church. We tithed faithfully. We came to church regularly. We could have gone elsewhere. We trusted him and he betrayed our trust woefully like a common criminal. We even had to have a police investigator to go to the church to interrogate him because he wouldn't tell us what he did with our pets. His exact words were, "I'm not at liberty to tell you that information." What a jerk! I feel sorry for his wife. When we were at his church, he got mad at her from the pulpit for coughing during his sermon. She wasn't even allowed to speak to us for more than 2 seconds. She was his slave. When he wasn't around she would talk to us, but the minute he came she had to immediately walk away. We never said or did anything unkind to him or anyone else in his church.
In addition, the day I handed over the title and the keys for the van, the pastor promised to destroy my license plates. I gave him the receipts for the van, the radio, the alarm, and the new $500 water pump I just had installed a week prior. The van was about 10 years old, but with no body damage and it ran nice. Six months later, I received over $200 in vehicle fines because he lied to me about the plates. One citation was for him not wearing a seat belt, another for being doubled parked, etc. I had to pay those fines, and I did. I said, "Lord, I know you'll take care of all this down the road." I don't like to see anything bad happen to anyone, but that pastor is one tough guy punk that needs to be humbled and taught a serious lesson that only the Holy Spirit can teach him (or someone that gets mad at him and cleans his clock one day). I still remember the first day we went to his church. He didn't say anything to us or talk to us when we were there. Then he found out we had put a $50 check in his offering plate. That fat slob literally came running down the street after the service to talk with us after he found out we had given $50. No wonder America is going to hell with brutish fools like this pastoring churches! "For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered." -Jeremiah 10:21
We fully expect God to deal with him accordingly.
We Must Live for God
I want to be happy in heaven. I am sincerely glad that the pastor mentioned above hurt us and not us him. I am going to be very careful not to hurt or wrong anyone in my own life. I want to love people and treat them as Jesus would treat them if He were in my shoes. I cannot control what other people do, but I can certainly control the things I say and do. Surely, we cannot grasp the intricacies of God's judgment simply because the Bible does not go into great detail. However, we have a direct statement (a promise) in Romans 12:19 telling us that God will avenge us. "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord."
"Why do we make so much of differences when the Lord is coming, and at His coming, every difference will be made straight and right? As a Christian looking for the Lord Jesus, pass by the slights and insults which are given you. Your attention is fastened on something a thousand times bigger. Don't try to get revenge against those who mistreat you. Leave it all in the hands of the Lord." -Dr. Lee Roberson, Chapter 17, Some Golden Daybreak.
In Jesus' name,
David J. Stewart
