XVIII. It seems doubtful that the sins of Christians
will be revealed at the Final Judgment.
(1) The Judge is Christ. He paid in full for our
sins. Now He prays for us continually. He
will come as our Savior, not to shame us
but to fulfill His promises and to show us
His wonderful grace.
Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities.
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he
bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.
1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in
him; that, when he shall appear, we may have
confidence, and not be ashamed before him at
his coming.
Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly:
blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the
prophecy of this book.
(2) Christ foretells that He will announce the
good works of the righteous and the
rewards for them, without any mention
whatever of our sins.
Matthew 25:31–40 31 When the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of
his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered
all nations: and he shall separate them one
from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: 35 For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was
sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye
came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee
an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave
thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and
came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer
and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me.
(3) God graciously forgives and forgets our
sins in this life. Would it be consistent for
Him to raise them again?
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out
thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will
not remember thy sins.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that
pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage?
he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he
delighteth in mercy.
Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have
compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into
the depths of the sea.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more.
(4) Publishing our sins would lead to our
disgrace and confusion, but we should be
free from this. Christ is coming to be
glorified and admired in us.
Philippians 1:20 According to my earnest
expectation and my hope, that in nothing I
shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness,
as always, so now also Christ shall be
magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or
by death.
Psalm 71:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust:
let me never be put to confusion.
2 Thessalonians 1:10 When he shall come to be
glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all
them that believe (because our testimony
among you was believed) in that day.
XIX. Universal judgment does not imply comparable
judgments. Only some will be positively rewarded (without any punishment) while
others will be punished (without any positive
reward). God’s justice is not properly
manifested in believers there, but in Christ
crucified for them, who is a propitiation for
their sins. Neither does His mercy glorified
require their sins to be published, for they
boast not in themselves, but alone in God and
in Christ their Savior.
Psalm 1:5-6 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not
stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the
congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD
knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way
of the ungodly shall perish.
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment
without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy;
and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of
God;
Psalm 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy,
and for thy truth’s sake.
XX. Scripture insists that in the Final Judgment
each one will be repaid “according to his
works” as to the quality of them. The
consequence of this is that it will go well for
the good and be a catastrophe for the wicked.
There is a correspondence between good
works and reward, as well as between sins and
punishment, but the relationship is not the
same. Sins fully deserve their punishment, but
good works are rewarded graciously and not
from any inherent merit in them or those that
do them. Their good works are only the fruit of
previous blessings of grace that they have
unworthily enjoyed in Christ. Christ’s
commendation of them, therefore, does not
identify the cause of their eternal life (which
is the grace of God alone), but the quality of
the workers and their works (all by grace
alone). Therefore, God will render to believers
according to their works, and not on account
of them. The true cause of their inheriting the
kingdom of God is found in the mercy of their
heavenly Father. He gives to His elect ones the
kingdom prepared for them from eternity as
an inheritance to Christ and all those in Him
for His sake, since He purchased it for them.
Their justification at the Final Judgment has
the nature of a recognition due to them after
the fact from the evidences of their works as
proof of their sincere and living faith, through
which faith alone they were already justified.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come
in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to
his works.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which
is the book of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they
were judged every man according to their
works.
Ecclesiastes 8:12 Though a sinner do evil an
hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet
surely I know that it shall be well with them
that fear God, which fear before him:
Ecclesiastes 8:13 But it shall not be well with
the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days,
which are as a shadow; because he feareth not
before God.
Luke 17:10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have
done all those things which are commanded
you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we
have done that which was our duty to do.
Isaiah 26:12 LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for
us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in
us.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye
can do nothing.
Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world:
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will:
----------------------------------------------------
Jude 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Matthew Henry’s commentary on Jude 24:
[At Christ’s return and the Final Judgment] when
believers shall be presented faultless, it will be with
exceeding joy. Alas! now our faults fill us with fears,
doubts, and sorrows. But be of good cheer; if we be
sincere, we shall be, our dear Redeemer has
undertaken for it, we shall be presented faultless;
where there is no sin there will be no sorrow; where
there is the perfection of holiness, there will be the
perfection of joy. Ω
1Francis Turretin (1623-87) was a leading spokesman of the Evangelical Reformed tradition in Switzerland during the 1
period of Reformed Scholasticism known as “High Orthodoxy” (1620–1700). This was the time that produced the
greatest Reformed confessions and catechisms (e.g., Canons of Dort, Westminster Confession of Faith, Savoy
Declaration, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689). “Elenctic”
means “serving to refute—used of indirect modes of proof” (MW Dict.). Turretin’s IET is a masterpiece of Reformed
apologetics against all sorts of opponents, especially Roman Catholic.
Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Topic 20, Question 6,
XVII–XX, by Francis Turretin1
Abridged, paraphrased, annotated, elaborated by D.
Scott Meadows
https://www.monergism.com/
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