NEXT BE AN EVALUATION OF ALL THE FACTS

THERE MUST NEXT BE AN EVALUATION OF ALL THE FACTS

 

Dan. 5:27 "thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting."
Rom. 2:6 "Who will render to every man according to his deeds."

As measured by the deeds.

• Evaluation will be Patterned over the Facts in each Case

Rom. 2:2 "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things."
This means that there will be every bit of truth brought to bear in the case. The evaluation will correspond to the facts.

• Evaluation will Give Consideration to the Amount of Knowledge Possessed by each man

Luke 12:47-48 "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
 cf. Matt. 10:15 "Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."

This does not mean that ignorance removes guilt. But the amount of knowledge does measure the degree of guilt.

• Evaluation will also Measure the Motives in the Heart of Men

1 Cor. 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."
Good motives reduce the measure of guilt.
Evil motives increase the measure of guilt.
Wicked men cannot have absolutely pure and good motives, but some motives are less wicked than others.
Evaluation will not be controlled by the mere externals of men
Rom. 2:11 "For there is no respect of persons with God."
No respect of persons.
Cf. James 2:1-5 "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"

• Evaluation will Measure the Secrets of men over the Pattern of the Gospel

Rev. 2:16 "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."
This strikes at the very root of all sin. That gospel tells the story of the death of Christ because men hated Him. The degree of hate will be revealed by that gospel and will help to fix the degree of guilt.