Judge Righteous Judgment III

(Day 6—FOT)

Fred R. Coulter—October 5, 2023

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Greetings, brethren. Welcome to Day 6 of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Judgment is so important. The whole reason that God has called us, so we can:

• learn His ways
• learn His laws
• learn His statutes
• learn His judgments
• learn the teachings of Jesus Christ
• understand what we need to do
• understand how we need to do it

We're going to be given the greatest responsibility ever given to any group of people—that is all of those in the first resurrection—to be given:

• judgment for the world
• judgment over the people
• teaching the Truth of God all during the thousand year period
• bringing multiple millions, probably, into the Kingdom of God

God's Plan is greater than anything that any man has ever thought of. Remember the night that God promised Abraham, which was the night of the 14th at the Passover time, before the Passover was instituted with the children of Israel.

God took Abraham outside the tent after He had told him that he would have a son. When they got outside the tent, God said, 'Look now to the heavens, and if you can number the stars, count them.'

Well, from Abraham's point of view, he could see so many. From God's point of view, that's the whole expanse of the universe! So, the whole promise that God gave when He says, 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall never pass away' He's talking about all of the universe. So this is really quite a tremendous thing!

Now, there are a lot of people who say you shouldn't judge because 'Jesus came to save the world, not judge the world.'

We need to understand that that's only partially true. So, let's come to the verses that are well-worn by the Protestants, but they don't understand them. They repeat them from rote. Some people are really sincere in it, but they really don't understand, because they always say that the Law is done away when Jesus said, 'Heaven and earth shall pass away.' But 'the Law will never pass away. My words will never pass away.' So, they misinterpret the Bible and only cherry pick what they want, which makes them feel good.

So, they read John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him [His name]…"

This 'believe' is a participle, and a participle means believe and keep on believing!

• What does believe mean?
• Does it merely mean to believe that He came?

or

• Does it mean to believe not only that, but everything He said?

Remember what He said in Luke 6? 'Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say?'

So, believing is far more than anything that they want to admit, because they want to have a simple gospel with a simple understanding, which means that they will be among those when they say, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we do many powerful works in Your name? And didn't we cast out demons in Your name?'

Jesus will say to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, get away from Me You who work lawlessness.'—anti-law!  Anti-law is sin!

Sins are not forgiven unless you believe, and keep on believing in everything about Jesus:

• everything He said
• everything He preached
• what He did
• what He told us to do

"…so that everyone who believes in Him may not… [a subjunctive meaning! An if clause!] …may not perish… [meaning there are conditionsto what He has said] …but may have…" (v 16) again conditions! What are those?

• be faithful unto death
• keep his commandments
• love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being

Is that true? Yes!

Let's read on a couple more verses here and come to the verse that they like to read.

Verse 17: For God sent not His Son into the world that He might judge the world… [What does that mean?] …but that the world might be saved through Him."

Let's come to John 9 and see what Jesus said.

• Is he contradicting himself?
• Is God two-faced in it?

This is directly on the surface contradicting what is in John 3.

So, we have to understand that both are true! You cannot have eternal life unless you meet the conditions of loving God and keeping His commandments.

That is the judgment for eternal life! So, listen to what he says:

John 9:39: "And Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world…'" The very fact that He came is:

• judgment against the world
• judgment against their sins
• judgment against their religions
• judgment against the way that they do things

Because

• they're rejecting God
• they're rejecting Jesus Christ
• they're rejecting His laws and commandments

 while at the same time professing His name, but not believing Him!

"…'For judgment I have come into this world so that those who do not see might see…'" (v 39)—lift the veil of Satan's blindness IF they repent!

Those who see, like the Pharisees of old, the Protestants and Catholics say they see, but they don't!

"…and those who see might become blind" (v 39). There's no contradiction at all!

Let's continue on because we have quite a bit to cover here. Let's understand one of the very basics for judging. Judgment should never be given to a novice.

Prov. 2 will give us the foundation of what is necessary for judgment,  what is necessary to make right decisions.

God gave us a mind to think. God gave us free moral agency as we covered yesterday, and we must choose! Everything about life is choosing, is it not?

Whenever you make a decision, that's a choice. Whenever you make a decision, that is what you believe.

• that's why you need to be well grounded in the Bible
• that's why judgment is never given to a novice

Let's read what we have to do here. These are the conditions that we have to have automatically in our mind, so that WHEN we have the Scriptures and look at those and understand what God says, THEN we can make a judgment. We can make a right choice.

Furthermore, during the Millennium, we're going to be able to read the minds of people just like Jesus did. We have to know:

• everything of God's Word
• everything of God's judgment
• everything of God's purpose

so that we can judge righteous judgment for the people. That's why we're being called!

Proverbs 2:1: "My son…"—we're all to be the sons and daughters of God!

Notice the conditions. Here are the conditions that lead up to how we become educated enough with God's ways to make righteous judgment!

Verse 1: "My son, [#1]if you will receive My words and treasure up My commandments within you"—have to be within us!

Hebrews 10:16: "…I will give My Laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds…"

This helps us understand what we need to do because the laws and words of God are spiritual and they always apply all the time. IF we treasure it up within us:

Proverbs 2:2: "So that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding."

This means there never comes a time that we understand everything. We have to keep learning every day. I'm still learning!You're still learning!  All the brethren are learning!

As we go over the Scriptures, and go over them time and time again in personal study, and for all of the elders in studying, preaching and teaching that we understand the knowledge. So here's how it works again. Another IF!

Verse 3: "Yea, [#2]if you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding." So we have knowledge and understanding.

• knowledge is what you can perceive
• knowledge is what you can look at: read

But knowledge must lead to understanding!

So not only do you have the knowledge of it. There are a lot of people who have the knowledge of the Sabbath.

Bill Wax—one of our elders—asked one of his friends, 'What day does the Bible teach us is the Sabbath? Oh Saturday, of course!

Bill looked at him and said, 'Then why do you keep Sunday?' His friend was astonished and said, 'Well, I just haven't found a way to keep the Sabbath.'

So, knowledge must be accompanied with what the next one is:

"…lift up your voice for understanding" (v 3).

You understand why God gave the Sabbath; Why God gave all of his commandments. Notice how conditional all of this is.

Verse 4: "[#3]If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures."

Now, you would waste no time looking for that! Whatever you might do, look at what men do; chasing after treasure, silver and gold, pearls and precious jewels; all of those expensive things. Look at what happens when there's a gold rush. People come rushing in so that they can find their gold and hit it and be rich.

Notice that there are three Ifs :

•  [#1]if you will receive My words
• [#2]if you cry after knowledge
• [#3]If you seek her as silver….for hidden treasures.

Verse 5: "Then…"

So, you see it's a progression of learning. It's a progression of coming to understanding.

Verse 5: "Then you shall understand the fear of the LORD…

There's a reason to fear God because He holds life and death at His Word. Even though we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and being, that should give us a true fear of God that we won't go out and transgress and think, 'Oh well, God will forgive me.' Well, He may or may not depending on your attitude!

"…and find the knowledge of God" (v 5)—which tells you this: IFyou don't have the love and fear of God, you're not going to find the knowledge of God!  Isn't that true?

Look at all the Christianity of this world. They have the knowledge of God right in the palm of their hand, but:

• Do they know it? No!
• Do they understand it? No!

This is why we have to apply ourselves so we know in preparation for judging the world. The next thing that happens is this:

Verse 6: "For the LORD gives wisdom…"

Wisdom comes from God! Wisdom does not come from philosophy of men. Philosophy means the lover of wisdom.  But the wisdom of this world is going to perish, for you need the wisdom of God!

"…out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous…" (vs 6-7)—not to anybody else!

• wisdom to see
• wisdom to perceive
• wisdom to understand righteous judgment, and all the requirements for righteous judgment.

Because God has made it very clear. It's not like today. In the world, there is political protection for those who are in high places. But that can never be! You can never have an idea, or a proposition, or a plan that goes against God, and ever make a righteous decision. Notice, when you do that:

Verse 7: "He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly." What does that mean?

• keeping His commandment
• loving God
• loving your neighbor
• loving the brethren

Verse 8: "He keeps the paths of right judgment and preserves the way of His saints."

Notice what all of that does. This is the educational package that comes with the Bible. We have to put it together so that it works rightly. Notice everything leading up to v 9:

Verse 9: "Then you shall understand righteousness and judgment and equity, every good path. Wisdom shall enter into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul" (vs 9-10). Isn't that something?

Verse 11: "Discretion shall preserve you and, understanding shall keep you." You will be able to discern:

• right/wrong
• good attitude/bad attitude
• duplicity of statements
• righteousness of thought

You'll be able to discern all of that! "Discretion shall preserve you… [that discretion is discerning] …and understanding shall keep you"

What is that going to do? Deliver us from Satan! Deliver us from evil people!

That's quite a thing that God has laid out for us here.

Psa. 1—this is talking about us. This short Psalm is the introduction, and actually a summary of the whole book of Psalms

Psalm 1:1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.

That's exactly what the whole world is doing today with all of its 'wokeness' and all of its political treachery that's going on.

Verse 2: "But his delight is in the Law of the LORD…"—we delight in it!

When people don't delight in the laws and commandments of God they'll never understand. It'll always be:

• What if this?
• What if that?
• What if the other thing?

Verse 2: "But his delight is in the Law of the LORD; and in His Law does he meditate day and night."

How is that done? With God's Spirit! This is how you make, even today, righteous judgments day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, year-by-year; all in preparation for the resurrection!

Verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not wither, and all that he does shall prosper."

If you plant a tree, what does it do? It grows, and it bears fruit!

• Didn't Jesus tell the disciples that 'they were to bear fruit'?
• Didn't he say that 'He is the vine, and we are the branches'?

We are to bear the fruit, and if we bear fruit, God trims us so that we can bear more fruit!

Those that don't bear fruit, that are cut off and cast into the fire (John 15).

Verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water…"—the Holy Spirit!

The growing and everything is how we progress in our spiritual understanding, wisdom and knowledge!

Verse 4—here's the world: "The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff, which the wind drives away"—just like so much dust!

That's what it's going to be with the way of the world and their judgments and what they are doing.

Verse 5: "Therefore, the wicked shall not stand in the judgment…"—because the judgment is going to come, the judgment is going to sit, the judgment is going to be made!

Then when you get to the end of the Millennium and the second resurrection, there is the judgment for them. Then when you get to the end of that there is the judgment for all of the wicked.

So, the whole Bible is built on the thoughts and love of God. But to teach us wisdom and what we need to do and how we need to make righteous judgments!

Verse 5: "Therefore, the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous…" (ca 5-6),

• we're to walk in the paths of God
• we're to walk in the ways of God
• we're to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ

All of those apply to the way of the Lord!

"…but the way of the wicked shall perish" (6). Quite an amazing thing! Think about it.

Now let's see some of the wicked during Jesus' day in Matt. 23. We find that those who sat in the seat of Moses were the ones who were to give judgment from the Scriptures.

Now then, IF they gave the right judgment from the Scriptures, the people were to do them. But WHEN they started interjecting their own judgments, and when they overlooked mercy, faith and judgment, as Jesus said, then they were hypocrites to the highest standard.

Matthew 23:1: "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down on Moses' seat as judges; : therefore, every judgment that they tell you to observe, observe and do….'" (vs 1-3).

That means the judgment from the Word of God, because the Word of God is always true, even though they may be in error in many more things…."—but here's their error:

"…But do not do according to their works; for they say and do not" (v 3).

That's exactly what we have today. There is the law today in the land, but the judges throw it out. And look at the mess that it has caused with the people. Look at the mess it caused with those back there in Jesus' day.

Now, let's look at a couple more Proverbs, and we will see that in the book of Proverbs there's a lot to say about judgment, right and wrong, and good and evil.

That's why a good thorough study of the book of Proverbs is one of the best things you can do to help you think, to help you get all your priorities right. Then you add to it other studies from the Bible.

(break@28:57)

We're going to spend quite a bit of time in the book of Proverbs for this last half of the message, because there are so many things in Proverbs that apply to judgment and righteousness, and knowledge and everything.

Just like we covered at the beginning; Proverbs 21:2: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD ponders the hearts."

Then the next verse tells us what this is all about.

Verse 3: "To do righteousness and justice… [meaning judgment] …is more pleasing to the LORD than sacrifice."

That's quite a thing! More pleasing than sacrifice! It gets down to the whole thing that God wants us to do!

Verse 15: "It is joy to the righteous to do justice… [do judgment] …but ruinto the workers of iniquity."

Notice how Prov. 20:8 can be applied to Rev. 20 where it says we will be kings and priests, and judgment will be committed to us.

Proverbs 20:8: "A king who sits in the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes."

Notice the next verse, because this shows a lack of judgment.

Verse 9: Who can say, 'I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin'?"

God is the only One Who can take that away. That's not something that we can do. So, all of this judgment, and all of these things to judge righteous judgment have to do with everything that we're doing as Christians today.

Now, since we're here in the book of Proverbs, let's look at some other things.

Isn't it interesting? You can turn a page here, and turn a page there, in a book of Proverbs, and you have things pertaining to judgment.

Now, here's one of the things that's important. Never be hasty in rendering a judgment.

Now we will see what we are to do. We are to get all of the facts; we are to get everything that we need to.

Proverbs 18:13: He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him."

Isn't that what happens? Yes! How many times have you made a judgment concerning someone? First impression! Then you found out later you were wrong!

Imagine that; making the wrong judgment. What happens when you do that? You impute in your own mind evil thoughts toward that person! You don't know what they're thinking, because no one can read the minds of others even in spite of what wives may think about their husbands! They may come close a lot of times, but other times they may be totally wrong.

Let's see what Prov. 14 tells us. Notice why this is important.

Proverbs 14:29: "He who is slow to wrath is of great understanding…"

So, you never make a hasty judgment in anger. If you're angry back off, take some time, get some space to think it over.

• think about everything,
• think about your own feelings

ask yourself

• Am I reading myself into the situation here?
• What are the true facts?

That's very important to understand!

Proverbs 14:29 again: "He who is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he who is hasty of spirit exalts folly"—meaning:

• if you rush into it
• if you rush into judgment
• if you rush to conclusions
• if you don't have all the facts

You're going to be wrong! So, the questions become:

• Are you willing to admit it and repent? Because that's always true, too.
• Will you make the right judgment to correct your wrong?
• Will you admit that you are wrong?

That's also important, because:

• How can you judge others unless you first judge yourself?

Now let's look at some other things in the book of Exodus that goes along with what we've been reading here in Proverbs.

Exo. 23—God has instructions here, because what He was doing in preparing the people going into the Holy Land, He was preparing them to follow the judges that He would set up. He gives specific instructions concerning that.

Think about this today. Think how far away that the politicians, that the media, that education, that people are today. Especially, they get hasty. What's a riot all about? Hasty decision to try and do something! Here's one for all the mass media:

Exodus 23:1: "You shall not raise a false report…." Isn't that what they're doing on almost everyone?

• a false report
• insinuations
• twisting the words
• making it appear that things are not right

"…Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness" (v 1).

Remember one of the commandments says: 'You shall not bear false witness.' That means in a case of judgment;  it also means you're not to lie!

Verse 2: "You shall not follow a multitude to do evil…."

Isn't that what happened back there in Exo. 31 and 32 when Aaron made the golden calf? Everyone said:

We don't know what happened to Moses. He may be dead. Let's make us gods. We need gods.

So Aaron formed the golden calf! He was following the mob in a riot to do wrong. He was a coward and placated them and made the golden calf; and they worshiped it  and had a big sexual rock party all around the golden calf.

 "…Neither shall you testify in a cause in order to side with many so as to pervert judgment" (v 2).

Talking right to the judge. You're not to be swayed by the mob or those who want action that is not right.

Verse 3: "Neither shall you be partial to a poor man in his cause."

Look at what happened. See what happens today, saying, 'We have to help the poor.' Really? How do you help them? Best way to help the poor is:

• not just give them cash and money.
• to get them educated.
• to show them how to live
• to teach them how to rule their own lives

But nevertheless, you're not to be partial!

Verse 6: "You shall not pervert the judgment due to your poor in his cause."

Now notice what else he says here. All of this has to do with judgment. All of this has to do with the attitude, with the judge, with those bringing information.

Verse 7: "Keep far from a false matter, and do not kill the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked."

Now think about that! we have so many bad judges. This summer we had some fairly good judgments come along. But how long will they last with the mob in control, and with unrighteous judgment sitting in the seats of judging?

Verse 8: "And you shall take no bribe…" Wonder how many people that catches them in?

"…For the bribe blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous" (v 8).

All of this has to do with judge righteous judgment vs sinful judgment. That's quite a thing.

Verse 9: "Also, you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger since you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

It's quite interesting how much there is! Since this is talking about what judges will do, in Deut. 17 we have explicit instructions. Here we have for when they wanted the king; but this also applies to every judge.

Deut. 17—notice how God does not play favorites. Look at the case of David. David was chosen over all of the other seven brethren. He was the one who was out tending the sheep.

God blessed him, chose him as king. But what did God do when David sinned? He punished him; exposed his sin! Set his whole household against him, and there was rebellion and overthrow of the kingship attempted by Absalom. All as punishment for what he did with Bathsheba.

The first part of it shows that if there is anyone who has done something worthy of death he shall not be stoned to death on the word of one person. One person. You need two or three witnesses.

Deuteronomy 17:6: "At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death."

Here's the explicit instructions of what to do when something is difficult:

Verse 8: "If a matter is too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of strife within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the LORD your God shall choose. And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge that shall be in those days, and ask. And they shall declare to you the sentence of judgment" (vs 8-9).

Now, they were to do like we saw back there in Matt. 23, according to the Word of God. That's the judgment. Whatever God says, because remember this:

When you study through the book of Chronicles you find that when Hezekiah set up judges he said to them the judgment is the Lord's. That's what it is. It can't be what we think or what the majority votes. It has to be what is God's judgment!

There are plenty of ways you can find out by looking into the Scriptures to get the right answer:

• you must take the time
• you must not be hasty
• you must not be partial

After they give the decision:

Verse 10: "…And you shall be careful to do according to all that they tell you… [v 11] According to the sentence of the Law… [God's Law] …which they shall teach you and according to the judgment, which they shall tell you, you shall do…."

You shall not turn aside from the sentence, which they shall show you to the right hand or to the left. How strict was this?

• you can't have lawlessness
• you can't have mob rule
• you can't have majority rule even though the majority claims they're right if they have an evil cause
• nor can you oppress the minority because you're the majority

If they have a good cause and it's right, you have to admit it is good.

Now the ultimate of all of this comes down to what we have already covered, which is this. That is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, self-control.

What does self-control mean? That means self-correction with the Spirit of God, and with the laws and commandments of God written in your heart and mind and loving God! You will correct yourself.

If that being the case, and this is what we're going to teach during the Millennium, this is going to bring peace, love and growth, and so many great and good things will happen. All the blessings of God will be poured out upon all of the people because of that. That's why God wants us to judge righteous judgment.

Verse 12: "And the man that acts presumptuously and will not hearken to the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die. And you shall put away the evil from Israel."

Now you go through and read all of the statutes and all of the judgments and all of the precepts that God has there in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. You will see that if those things were followed the society would be far different from what it is today.

Verse 13: "And all the people shall hear and fear, and do no more presumptuously."

• Isn't that true?
• Haven't we seen that?
• How many times?

It even gets more explicit. We are to be kings and priests and judges! What is the king to do? So, God made a provision here about when they wanted a king.

Verse 14: "When you come to the land, which the LORD your God gives you, and shall possess it and shall live in it and shall say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me.'"

That happened to Samuel. They came to Samuel and said, 'We want a king.' Samuel got all upset and he came to God and said, 'What am I going to do?' And God said, 'Listen to the people. I'm going to give them a king, but you tell them what kind of king that they are going to get.'

Notice what the condition for the king is. He has the greatest responsibility, because he is the leader of all the people. Christ is going to be King all during the Millennium, yes indeed!

Now notice what the human king was to do, which we today need to do in preparation to become kings and priests during the Millennium.

Verse 15: "You shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God shall choose…."

Aren't we being chosen to do that? Yes! Christ is doing the choosing in that case.

You shall set a king over you from among your brethren. You may not set a stranger over you who is not your brother."

What happens? They bring in all kind of foreign and strange things that are not true and they reject God! So, he didn't want that.

Verse 16: "Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, so as to multiply horses because the LORD has said to you, 'You shall not return that way again.'" Don't go back to Egypt!

• What did they do?
• What are we doing today?
• Same thing!

Now he also says this. Notice Solomon after all the blessings that God gave him and chose him to succeed David. What was the first thing he did? He married an Egyptian wife!

• What was the next thing that he did? He multiplied horses to himself!
• What was the next thing that he did?

Verse 17: "Nor shall he multiply wives to himself, so that his heart does not turn away…." 

• Isn't that what happened?

It says that his wives turned away the heart of Solomon from God to themselves.

"…Nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold to himself. And it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this Law in a book from that which is in the custody of the priests the Levites" (vs 17-18).

Write it all down. Write down all the five books of Moses. Everything there. Now notice what he was to do.

Verse 19: "And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life…"—over and over and over again.

Isn't that what we're doing today? We're studying the words of God! We go over them and over them:

• so that it becomes part of us
• so that it becomes the part of the way that we think
• so that we have a righteous mind
• so that we can make right decisions
• so that we can be righteous judges
• so that we can prepare ourselves for the first resurrection and whatever assignment that God gives us

"…read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn…" (v 19). That is the lifelong thing! He may learn because:

• he had soul power
• he has soul discretion
• God's Word is the Law

If the king does evil what happens? The whole population does evil!

"…so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this Law and these statutes, to do them" (v 19).

Now, notice a warning, because God knows what human nature will do. When people are given authority, to some people, it goes to their heads and they just become dictators, tyrants, mean and oppressive.

That has happened too many times within the Churches of God.

• he's to study the Laws
• he's to study the Gospels
• he's to study the writings of the Apostle Paul today

Verse 20: "So that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren…"

Even though you're king you're not greater than other people. You may have greater authority but how do you use that authority?

• Do you use it righteously?
• Do you judge righteously?
• Do you think righteously?
• Do you act righteously?

That's why he's to study it all the days of his life!

"…and that he does not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel" (v 20).

Those are some pretty powerful words. Of course, those all apply to us today.

Now let's look at a few more Proverbs here because there's quite a bit that we can understand. You can see how the whole Bible is a plan of education by God to us on how we become the sons and daughters of God.

• what we are to do
• how we are to live
• how we are to think
• how we are to love
• how all of these things come about in our lives

Proverbs 11:14: "Where there is no wisdom, the people fall…"

Is that not true? Yes! Remember what we covered beginning in Prov. 2. When you come to wisdom:

• you have to have knowledge
• you have to have understanding
• you have to have wisdom

Verse 14: Where there is no wisdom, the people fall; but in the multitude of wise counselors there is safety." Quite a thing!

Look at what's happening in Washington, D.C., and almost every other government on earth today. Those who are in charge are not wise. They have an agenda that is according to Satan the devil, not according to God!

• look at what is happening
• look how bad that is
• look how terrible that it is in America today and other nations of the world because of that

Like I said, in the book of Proverbs, we find more instruction on how to be kings and priests.

Proverbs 15:22: "Without counsel purposes are frustrated, but in the multitude of counselors they are established."

Proverbs 12:23[transcriber's correction]: "A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools pours out foolishness." As to always be in Truth!

Verse 17: "He who speaks truth shows forth righteousness… [we're to judge righteous judgment] …but a false witness deceit."

Verse 19: "The lips of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment."

Proverbs 8:14—this also tells us how we are to prepare: "Counsel and sound wisdom are mine…" All comes from God. Why?

• because He's Lawmaker
• because He's perfect
• because He is merciful
• because He is loving

"…I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign and princes decree justice" (v 14)—or judgment!

Now, isn't that kind of a description what we're going to be doing during the Millennium? Yes, indeed!

Verse 16: "Princes rule by me…"

That's how it's going to be. We're not going to rule over people our way. No! God's way!

"…by me, and nobles, and all the judges of the earth" (v 16).

That applies to all of us right now and in the Millennium!

Verse 17: "I love those who love me; and those who seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are with me; yea, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and what I give is better than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice" (vs 17-20).

Verse 20: "I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice… [judgment] …that I may cause those who love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasuries" (vs 20-21).

That's something! Isn't that the way it's going to be?

Let's summarize again what Jesus wants. What I'm going to do is quickly read:

17 Things We Need to Maintain
 Righteous Judgment

• Remember the Judgment is God's, Not Yours
• Know Yourself and Get Sin Out of Your Life
• Hear all the Facts
• Always be Open-Minded
• Never Render a Judgment Without Hearing the Entire Matter
• Never Look Only on Circumstances and Outward Appearances
• Discern the Attitudes and Motives of Those Involved
• Never Be a Respecter of Persons
• Never Accept a Gift
• Always be Totally Fair and Impartial
• Educate Yourself in God's Laws, Statutes and Judgments
• In Difficult Cases Seek Counsel
• Think of the Long-Term Consequences
• Always Make Your Decisions and Judgments Specific and Clear
• The Element of Timing in Judgment
• Mercy in Judgment
• You Must be Filled with God's Spirit and have the Mind of Christ

Don't forget to get the booklet, Judge Righteous Judgment. It's not the same as what has been presented here in these messages. There are other things in it as well. This is what you need. This is really one of the most excellent booklets that we have to help you understand: Judge Righteous Judgment.

This is the righteous judgment that we need. Remember what Jesus said during that Feast of Tabernacles in John 7: 'Judge Righteous Judgment.' Thank you, brethren. We'll see you tomorrow.

Scriptural References:

• John 3:16-17
• John 9:39
• Proverbs 2:7
• Hebrews 10:16
• Proverbs 2:2-11
• Psalm 1:1-6
• Matthew 23:2
• Proverbs 21:2-3, 15
• Proverbs 20:8-9
• Proverbs 18:13
• Proverbs 14:29
• Exodus 23:1-3, 6-9
• Deuteronomy 17:6, 8-20
• Proverbs 11:14
• Proverbs 15:22
• Proverbs 12:23, 17, 19
• Proverbs 8:14, 16-21

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• John 15
• Revelation 20
• Exodus 31; 32
• John 7

Also referenced: {truthofGod.org}

• Booklet: Judge Righteous Judgment by Fred R. Coulter
• Download: 17 Things We Need to Maintain Righteous Judgment

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/6/23

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