The certainty of a future judgment for all is clear from the Bible. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). But that does not mean there will be one general judgment where all who have ever lived will be assembled to discover whether or not they will go to Heaven. The eternal destiny of each person is determined during this life solely by receiving or rejecting Christ.
Nor will all be judged at the same time or in the same manner. "That the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25). When one receives Christ, he accepts the payment that was made for his sins on Golgotha. And so Romans 8:1 tells us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."
But if there is no possibility of condemnation, then why will believers in Christ be judged at all? Dr. Hutson shows that the subject at the Judgment Seat of Christ is our service, not our sins. The outcome of this judgment will be rewards, not retribution. - Sword of the Lord
Curtis Hutson was an Independent Baptist pastor and editor of The Sword of the Lord (1980-1995). While working as a mail carrier, Hutson preached at church services and revivals in the Atlanta area. In 1956 he conducted a revival at the tiny Forrest Hills Baptist Church of Scottdale. By the end of the week, Hutson had filled the fifty seats in the church, the pastor had resigned, and Hutson was called to replace him. Although he had no formal training, Hutson served as pastor while continuing to work for the post office.
He began to preach about soul winning, and his congregation began to follow his example. In 1967 Hutson quit the post office to become a full-time pastor--at first for a salary of $75 a month. Between 1969 and 1972, the church grew from 350 to 2,300 members. In 1976, when Hutson resigned after 20 years of pastoring, church membership was 7,900. Entering full-time evangelism, Hutson held area-wide evangelistic meetings from 1977 to 1980. From 1974 to 1980, he also served as president of the now defunct Baptist University of America near Atlanta.
As a fundamentalist he held to the great cardinal doctrines of the Faith: the verbal inspiration of the Bible in its original autographs; the virgin birth and deity of Christ; His vicarious death for sin; His physical resurrection; salvation by grace through faith; and the visible second coming of Christ. He was a believer in ecclesiastical and personal separation.
... Show more