But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
To be contentious is to fight against the truth, stir up strife and feed on faults and rivalry for place and self-exaltation instead of kindness and love, and to disobey the truth and obey unrighteousness is to refuse God's goodness and forbearance that leads to repentance and to reject the invitation that would graft the life into Christ to bear fruit. Upon all such will come indignation and wrath with tribulation, anguish and suffering, upon every soul that does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. This stands opposite patient continuance in well-doing that seeks glory, honor and immortality, which receives eternal life, a life measuring with the life of God, with glory, honor and peace to every worker of good. God renders to every person individually according to deeds with no respect of persons in the day of wrath and revelation of His righteous judgment, while hardness and impenitent heart despises the riches of His goodness and treasures up wrath against that day. His judgment is according to truth and formed character, taking in the whole life, with no favoritism for nation, position, color or advantage, and with punishment proportioned to misused light and opportunity.
Words and Immediate Context
To be contentious is to contend against the truth, to stir up strife, and to fail to cultivate kindness, sympathy, compassion, goodness and love. Contentiousness is selfishness, pride, ambition and strife, especially striving about places and position and self-exaltation from not comprehending the nature of Christ's kingdom, so that the very spirit that seeks the highest place reveals a character that will make a person the lowest. Becoming quarrelsome and disobedient to truth by fixing on defective fellow members and feeding on their real or supposed faults, and by cherishing envy and strife for supremacy, is to follow unrighteousness and to rank oneself among the tares.
Not obeying the truth but obeying unrighteousness means educating oneself to wage controversy with God and refusing to respond to His love, goodness, forbearance and leading to repentance. It means refusing the gospel invitation, neglecting to know God, missing light, losing Jesus, and throwing away being grafted into the living vine, sharing the divine nature, and bearing fruit. Remaining united by faith, partaking of the divine nature, escaping worldly corruption through lust, and persevering in doing good belong to the opposite course.
Indignation and wrath come with tribulation, trouble, anguish, distress and suffering upon every soul that does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. Those who resist the truth and follow unrighteousness receive this portion. The verse stands opposite patient continuance in well-doing that seeks glory, honor and immortality and works good, which receives eternal life. That eternal life is a life running parallel with and measuring with the life of God, with glory, honor and peace to every worker of good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.
God renders individually, person by person, to every man according to his deeds, with no respect of persons, in the day of wrath and revelation of His righteous judgment. His teaching is individual and His judgment is according to truth and according to deeds. Hardness and impenitent heart despises the riches of God's goodness, forbearance and long-suffering that leads to repentance and treasures up wrath against the day of wrath. Not the hearers of the law are just, but the doers of the law shall be justified, so those who sinned without law perish without law and those who sinned in the law are judged by the law.
Impartial Judgment According to Deeds
God judges according to truth and according to deeds and formed character, taking cognizance of the whole life, so that conduct in this world decides eternal destiny. A person who judges and unsparingly condemns another for wrongdoing while doing the same condemns himself and will not escape judgment, despising the riches of goodness and long-suffering that leads to repentance and through hardness and impenitence treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. Outward nearness does not shield lawbreakers, for not hearers of the law are just but doers shall be justified, and those who have had truth laid before them yet continue what the record condemns fall under condemnation. This applied to the Jewish people who betrayed sacred trust and to unfaithful rulers whose selfishness, self-exaltation, and oppressive power misrepresented God and caused others to lose the true sense of Him and His commandments.
Judgment is pronounced by Christ alone, who lived humanity and alone understands weakness and striving for perfection, seeing purposes and thoughts and fixing each soul's final destiny as written in the books of heaven. No person has the right to measure fellow church members, for the present church is militant not triumphant, wheat and tares growing together until harvest, and those who fix on defective members and feed on real or supposed faults become quarrelsome and disobedient to truth and are ranked among the tares. He comes quickly with reward in hand to render to every person according to deeds, eternal life with glory, honor, and peace to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek glory, honor, and immortality and work good, and indignation and wrath with tribulation and anguish upon every soul that does evil. Character and morals cultivated in this life, the spirit cherished in home life with neighbors and family, determines the tone each soul has in judgment, and the end when this judgment comes is near.
There is no respect of persons with God, no favoritism to Jew or Gentile, to position, color, poverty, nationality, white or black, most favored or lower grade. All of whatever nationality are amenable to the same law and judged according to deeds, with the same offer of salvation through faith in Jesus, forgiveness upon belief, reception as sons and daughters, the same heaven on the same terms, and a place in the redeemed family when the righteous dead rise to meet Him in the clouds. Outward nearness does not shield lawbreakers, and punishment is proportionate to misused opportunities, light, advantages, and gifts. God calls to account for misused opportunities and for all the good that might have been done and was not done, and for leading others astray.
Disregard of warning and reproof and sin in defiance of the kingdom's law is punished and not helped in transgression. Those who in blindness contend against God, His truth, and His messengers, doing what they know to be contrary to truth, turn from His way to their own, turn truth into a lie, walk contrary to its principles, become fools in His sight, and greatly dishonor Him. Because they were distinguished by mercy and grace, their punishment is made conspicuous, that all may see He is a God of justice and His ways are equal.
When the test is over, sides taken for or against the law, and mercy and probation ended, God moves in the straight line of uncompromising justice to give every man as his works have been. Judgment is held back only while the final warning and message of mercy are given, after which those who rejected light have no further pardon. That penalty for those who do not obey truth but obey unrighteousness and make void His law is the second death, death without hope of resurrection, inflicted in love and justice combined for the good of the universe and of the rebellious sinner, while those who do well receive the reward of well-doing. It is the day burning as an oven that burns the proud and wicked as stubble leaving neither root nor branch, set opposite being made up as jewels, spared as a serving son, with the Sun of righteousness arising with healing.
At the last great day all are rewarded or punished according to obedience or disobedience, standing before the Judge of all the earth to receive sentence for eternity. The cross plainly appears before them, and abundance of evidence of desire to save all condemns refusal. They are made capable of comprehending something of love expressed for fallen humanity, see how greatly He was dishonored by continuance in transgression, siding with Satan, and contempt for law, and see that obedience would have brought life, health, prosperity, and eternal good. There is a marked, decided difference between serving God and not serving Him, and the teaching that there is no difference has no foundation. God is love but will not excuse willful disregard of definite requirements, and as a man sows so he reaps good or evil according to deeds even in this life, cause followed by effect, until at the great day every case is forever decided, justice so presented that false theories are seen as nothing, men judged according to light and privileges and rewarded or punished according to works as written in the books, which no reasoning can change.
Warning and Present Application
Indignation and wrath stand opposite patient continuance in well doing that seeks glory and honor and immortality and receives eternal life, a life running parallel with and measuring with the life of God, and the verse is placed before people now as present warning and decision. Tribulation and anguish come upon every evildoer, Jew first and also Gentile, for there is no respect of persons, while glory, honor, and peace come to every worker of good, and hardness and impenitent heart treasures up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment. Because the whole world will not turn from light and truth and the invitations of a patient, forbearing Saviour, this warning and this promise require earnest work for souls in the highways as well as the byways, giving rich and poor alike the call and by persevering, determined effort compelling them to come in. Every effort should be made to save men of wealth and those honored by the world who are entrusted with goods, so that instead of receiving wrath they may accept Christ and receive the highest honor which the world can neither give nor take away. That honor is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory and a life which measures with the life of God, and in keeping the commandments there is exceeding great reward.
No person has the right to measure the character of fellow church members, because the work of judgment has not been committed to humans but to Christ alone, who lived humanity and alone understands human weakness and striving for perfection. The present church is militant, not triumphant, made up of wheat and tares with counterfeit Christians in every church, and both must be left to grow together until the harvest. Those who fix on defective members and feed on their real or supposed faults refuse truth and become quarrelsome and disobedient to truth, following unrighteousness, and will themselves be ranked among the tares. A person who judges and unsparingly condemns another for wrongdoing while doing the same things condemns himself and will not escape judgment, despising the riches of goodness and long-suffering that leads to repentance and through hardness treasuring up wrath in contrast to eternal life given to those who by patient continuance seek glory and honor and immortality.
Those bought by the blood of Christ and purchased as sons and daughters of the heavenly King for the royal family cannot be excused from working faithfully in His service. Crippling or abusing the gifts lent for His service is offensive to God, whose price paid for the soul measures its value. Persistent rebellion against truth and refusal to obey while serving unrighteousness ends in loss and divine anger and punishment, bringing tribulation and anguish on every soul that does evil, Jew first and Gentile. In contrast, remaining united with Christ by faith, partaking of the divine nature, escaping the corruption in the world through lust, and persevering in doing good seeks glory and honor and immortality and eternal life, with glory, honor, and peace to every worker of good.
Judgment is according to truth and according to deeds with no respect of persons, punishing disregard of warning and reproof and sin in defiance of the law of the kingdom and not helping transgression, while giving eternal life to those who by patient continuance seek glory and honor and immortality. The verse condemns all who have had the truth laid before them yet continue the things condemned by the inspired record, for not the hearers of the law are just but the doers of the law shall be justified. It applies to the Jewish people who betrayed their sacred trust and to unfaithful rulers whose selfishness, self-exaltation, and oppressive power misrepresented God and caused others to lose the true sense of God and His commandments. Tribulation and wrath will surely come in the great day upon those who profess to be Christians yet accept the principles of Satan, departing from the commandments and in daily life living a lie, continuing to act like the wicked and cherishing their principles, betraying truth and making messages uncertain, and they will be punished with the wicked and will not be shielded from disasters by sea and by land. To stand with Christ as refuge requires putting away all envy and all strife for supremacy, utterly destroying their roots so they do not spring up again, placing oneself wholly on the Lord's side, and seeking righteousness with humility of heart under the broad shield of Omnipotence.
There is a marked, decided difference between the one who serves God and the one who serves Him not, and God, though love, will not excuse willful disregard of definite requirements, with disloyalty bringing consequences not escaped even in this life. As a man sows so he reaps good or evil according to deeds even in this life with cause followed by effect, God takes cognizance of the whole life, conduct in this world decides eternal destiny, and at the great day every case will be forever decided as written in the books of heaven according to light and privileges, which no reasoning can change. Widespread neglect does not excuse the individual, and each person is accountable for personal choices and for care of those entrusted, including neglect of the laws of physical life, which brings punishment rather than the reward promised to the righteous. Indifference to requirements in present and future character building brings judgment, for the Lord judges every soul according to obedience or disobedience, by obedience or disobedience to truth the case of every one is decided with grand and solemn and decisive results, and there will be no vindication for any soul who continues in transgression and sin but indignation and wrath. All commandments are to be strictly obeyed, truth practiced in life in words and in actions is the test by which every person is judged, those who honor God by faithful observance of the day He set apart as holy He will honor, and in these last days this should arouse the churches to do a work that arouses the world by giving members of the different churches opportunity to know they are not walking in the truth, bearing a message with no mingling of truth and error.
To be contentious is to fight against the truth, stir up strife and feed on faults and rivalry for place and self-exaltation instead of kindness and love, and to disobey the truth and obey unrighteousness is to refuse God's goodness and forbearance that leads to repentance and to reject the invitation that would graft the life into Christ to bear fruit. Upon all such will come indignation and wrath with tribulation, anguish and suffering, upon every soul that does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. This stands opposite patient continuance in well-doing that seeks glory, honor and immortality, which receives eternal life, a life measuring with the life of God, with glory, honor and peace to every worker of good. God renders to every person individually according to deeds with no respect of persons in the day of wrath and revelation of His righteous judgment, while hardness and impenitent heart despises the riches of His goodness and treasures up wrath against that day. His judgment is according to truth and formed character, taking in the whole life, with no favoritism for nation, position, color or advantage, and with punishment proportioned to misused light and opportunity.
Words and Immediate Context
To be contentious is to contend against the truth, to stir up strife, and to fail to cultivate kindness, sympathy, compassion, goodness and love. Contentiousness is selfishness, pride, ambition and strife, especially striving about places and position and self-exaltation from not comprehending the nature of Christ's kingdom, so that the very spirit that seeks the highest place reveals a character that will make a person the lowest. Becoming quarrelsome and disobedient to truth by fixing on defective fellow members and feeding on their real or supposed faults, and by cherishing envy and strife for supremacy, is to follow unrighteousness and to rank oneself among the tares.
Not obeying the truth but obeying unrighteousness means educating oneself to wage controversy with God and refusing to respond to His love, goodness, forbearance and leading to repentance. It means refusing the gospel invitation, neglecting to know God, missing light, losing Jesus, and throwing away being grafted into the living vine, sharing the divine nature, and bearing fruit. Remaining united by faith, partaking of the divine nature, escaping worldly corruption through lust, and persevering in doing good belong to the opposite course.
Indignation and wrath come with tribulation, trouble, anguish, distress and suffering upon every soul that does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. Those who resist the truth and follow unrighteousness receive this portion. The verse stands opposite patient continuance in well-doing that seeks glory, honor and immortality and works good, which receives eternal life. That eternal life is a life running parallel with and measuring with the life of God, with glory, honor and peace to every worker of good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.
God renders individually, person by person, to every man according to his deeds, with no respect of persons, in the day of wrath and revelation of His righteous judgment. His teaching is individual and His judgment is according to truth and according to deeds. Hardness and impenitent heart despises the riches of God's goodness, forbearance and long-suffering that leads to repentance and treasures up wrath against the day of wrath. Not the hearers of the law are just, but the doers of the law shall be justified, so those who sinned without law perish without law and those who sinned in the law are judged by the law.
Impartial Judgment According to Deeds
God judges according to truth and according to deeds and formed character, taking cognizance of the whole life, so that conduct in this world decides eternal destiny. A person who judges and unsparingly condemns another for wrongdoing while doing the same condemns himself and will not escape judgment, despising the riches of goodness and long-suffering that leads to repentance and through hardness and impenitence treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. Outward nearness does not shield lawbreakers, for not hearers of the law are just but doers shall be justified, and those who have had truth laid before them yet continue what the record condemns fall under condemnation. This applied to the Jewish people who betrayed sacred trust and to unfaithful rulers whose selfishness, self-exaltation, and oppressive power misrepresented God and caused others to lose the true sense of Him and His commandments.
Judgment is pronounced by Christ alone, who lived humanity and alone understands weakness and striving for perfection, seeing purposes and thoughts and fixing each soul's final destiny as written in the books of heaven. No person has the right to measure fellow church members, for the present church is militant not triumphant, wheat and tares growing together until harvest, and those who fix on defective members and feed on real or supposed faults become quarrelsome and disobedient to truth and are ranked among the tares. He comes quickly with reward in hand to render to every person according to deeds, eternal life with glory, honor, and peace to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek glory, honor, and immortality and work good, and indignation and wrath with tribulation and anguish upon every soul that does evil. Character and morals cultivated in this life, the spirit cherished in home life with neighbors and family, determines the tone each soul has in judgment, and the end when this judgment comes is near.
There is no respect of persons with God, no favoritism to Jew or Gentile, to position, color, poverty, nationality, white or black, most favored or lower grade. All of whatever nationality are amenable to the same law and judged according to deeds, with the same offer of salvation through faith in Jesus, forgiveness upon belief, reception as sons and daughters, the same heaven on the same terms, and a place in the redeemed family when the righteous dead rise to meet Him in the clouds. Outward nearness does not shield lawbreakers, and punishment is proportionate to misused opportunities, light, advantages, and gifts. God calls to account for misused opportunities and for all the good that might have been done and was not done, and for leading others astray.
Disregard of warning and reproof and sin in defiance of the kingdom's law is punished and not helped in transgression. Those who in blindness contend against God, His truth, and His messengers, doing what they know to be contrary to truth, turn from His way to their own, turn truth into a lie, walk contrary to its principles, become fools in His sight, and greatly dishonor Him. Because they were distinguished by mercy and grace, their punishment is made conspicuous, that all may see He is a God of justice and His ways are equal.
When the test is over, sides taken for or against the law, and mercy and probation ended, God moves in the straight line of uncompromising justice to give every man as his works have been. Judgment is held back only while the final warning and message of mercy are given, after which those who rejected light have no further pardon. That penalty for those who do not obey truth but obey unrighteousness and make void His law is the second death, death without hope of resurrection, inflicted in love and justice combined for the good of the universe and of the rebellious sinner, while those who do well receive the reward of well-doing. It is the day burning as an oven that burns the proud and wicked as stubble leaving neither root nor branch, set opposite being made up as jewels, spared as a serving son, with the Sun of righteousness arising with healing.
At the last great day all are rewarded or punished according to obedience or disobedience, standing before the Judge of all the earth to receive sentence for eternity. The cross plainly appears before them, and abundance of evidence of desire to save all condemns refusal. They are made capable of comprehending something of love expressed for fallen humanity, see how greatly He was dishonored by continuance in transgression, siding with Satan, and contempt for law, and see that obedience would have brought life, health, prosperity, and eternal good. There is a marked, decided difference between serving God and not serving Him, and the teaching that there is no difference has no foundation. God is love but will not excuse willful disregard of definite requirements, and as a man sows so he reaps good or evil according to deeds even in this life, cause followed by effect, until at the great day every case is forever decided, justice so presented that false theories are seen as nothing, men judged according to light and privileges and rewarded or punished according to works as written in the books, which no reasoning can change.
Warning and Present Application
Indignation and wrath stand opposite patient continuance in well doing that seeks glory and honor and immortality and receives eternal life, a life running parallel with and measuring with the life of God, and the verse is placed before people now as present warning and decision. Tribulation and anguish come upon every evildoer, Jew first and also Gentile, for there is no respect of persons, while glory, honor, and peace come to every worker of good, and hardness and impenitent heart treasures up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment. Because the whole world will not turn from light and truth and the invitations of a patient, forbearing Saviour, this warning and this promise require earnest work for souls in the highways as well as the byways, giving rich and poor alike the call and by persevering, determined effort compelling them to come in. Every effort should be made to save men of wealth and those honored by the world who are entrusted with goods, so that instead of receiving wrath they may accept Christ and receive the highest honor which the world can neither give nor take away. That honor is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory and a life which measures with the life of God, and in keeping the commandments there is exceeding great reward.
No person has the right to measure the character of fellow church members, because the work of judgment has not been committed to humans but to Christ alone, who lived humanity and alone understands human weakness and striving for perfection. The present church is militant, not triumphant, made up of wheat and tares with counterfeit Christians in every church, and both must be left to grow together until the harvest. Those who fix on defective members and feed on their real or supposed faults refuse truth and become quarrelsome and disobedient to truth, following unrighteousness, and will themselves be ranked among the tares. A person who judges and unsparingly condemns another for wrongdoing while doing the same things condemns himself and will not escape judgment, despising the riches of goodness and long-suffering that leads to repentance and through hardness treasuring up wrath in contrast to eternal life given to those who by patient continuance seek glory and honor and immortality.
Those bought by the blood of Christ and purchased as sons and daughters of the heavenly King for the royal family cannot be excused from working faithfully in His service. Crippling or abusing the gifts lent for His service is offensive to God, whose price paid for the soul measures its value. Persistent rebellion against truth and refusal to obey while serving unrighteousness ends in loss and divine anger and punishment, bringing tribulation and anguish on every soul that does evil, Jew first and Gentile. In contrast, remaining united with Christ by faith, partaking of the divine nature, escaping the corruption in the world through lust, and persevering in doing good seeks glory and honor and immortality and eternal life, with glory, honor, and peace to every worker of good.
Judgment is according to truth and according to deeds with no respect of persons, punishing disregard of warning and reproof and sin in defiance of the law of the kingdom and not helping transgression, while giving eternal life to those who by patient continuance seek glory and honor and immortality. The verse condemns all who have had the truth laid before them yet continue the things condemned by the inspired record, for not the hearers of the law are just but the doers of the law shall be justified. It applies to the Jewish people who betrayed their sacred trust and to unfaithful rulers whose selfishness, self-exaltation, and oppressive power misrepresented God and caused others to lose the true sense of God and His commandments. Tribulation and wrath will surely come in the great day upon those who profess to be Christians yet accept the principles of Satan, departing from the commandments and in daily life living a lie, continuing to act like the wicked and cherishing their principles, betraying truth and making messages uncertain, and they will be punished with the wicked and will not be shielded from disasters by sea and by land. To stand with Christ as refuge requires putting away all envy and all strife for supremacy, utterly destroying their roots so they do not spring up again, placing oneself wholly on the Lord's side, and seeking righteousness with humility of heart under the broad shield of Omnipotence.
There is a marked, decided difference between the one who serves God and the one who serves Him not, and God, though love, will not excuse willful disregard of definite requirements, with disloyalty bringing consequences not escaped even in this life. As a man sows so he reaps good or evil according to deeds even in this life with cause followed by effect, God takes cognizance of the whole life, conduct in this world decides eternal destiny, and at the great day every case will be forever decided as written in the books of heaven according to light and privileges, which no reasoning can change. Widespread neglect does not excuse the individual, and each person is accountable for personal choices and for care of those entrusted, including neglect of the laws of physical life, which brings punishment rather than the reward promised to the righteous. Indifference to requirements in present and future character building brings judgment, for the Lord judges every soul according to obedience or disobedience, by obedience or disobedience to truth the case of every one is decided with grand and solemn and decisive results, and there will be no vindication for any soul who continues in transgression and sin but indignation and wrath. All commandments are to be strictly obeyed, truth practiced in life in words and in actions is the test by which every person is judged, those who honor God by faithful observance of the day He set apart as holy He will honor, and in these last days this should arouse the churches to do a work that arouses the world by giving members of the different churches opportunity to know they are not walking in the truth, bearing a message with no mingling of truth and error.