Defraud Not Thy Brother
by David J. Stewart
These Scriptures speak of judgment for the born-again believer. The unsaved will be judged at The Great White Throne of Judgment; whereas, Christians will be judged at The Judgment Seat of Christ.
"That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified." —1st Thessalonians 4:6
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." —Romans 12:19
We are warned from God's Word about defrauding one another. The Greek meaning of the word "defraud" in 1st Thessalonians 4:6 is "to take advantage of; to make a gain." We are NOT to take advantage of anyone. Notice that God warns us not to defraud anyone "IN ANY MATTER." This includes ALL types of wrong doing.
"That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified." —1st Thessalonians 4:6
Notice the phrase, "...go beyond..." Certainly, there is always a high-road and a low-road one can take in any situation. What would God have us to do? Matthew 7:12 is the GOLDEN RULE... “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." —Romans 12:19
"...The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.—Hebrews 10:30-31
The word "repay" in the Greek literally means "to punish." God WILL punish those who fail to right their wrongs in this life. Vengeance belongs to God alone.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." —2nd Corinthians 5:10
Jeremiah 17:10, “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Everyone will give account to God on Judgment Day, especially those who have been given a position, money, influence, and the ability to do the most for God...
"...for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required..." —Luke 12:48
God will judge us as individuals on Judgment Day, for the GOOD and the BAD. The following Scripture speaks of judgment for all believers...
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." —2nd Corinthians 5:10
Listen to the Apostle John in Revelation concerning the death of the believer...
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." —Revelation 14:13
Yes friend, our works do FOLLOW us into eternity. We're not saved by those works, but those works still have to be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
"O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." —Psalm 6:1
Do you fear God? ...
"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences." —2nd Corinthians 5:11
This man's work will all be burned, and he won't have any rewards in Heaven because of his sinful life, but he himself will be saved, so as by fire (i.e., he barely escaped going to Hell). Carefully read 2nd Corinthians 5:9-11...
"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences." —2nd Corinthians 5:10-11
The Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 5:9 that he labored for the Lord that he might be ACCEPTED OF HIM on judgment Day. The Greek word for “accepted” in 2nd Corinthians 5:9 is euarestos and means “fully agreeable-acceptable, wellpleasing.” It will not go well for many believers who were choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this world; never having beared any fruit to the Lord (Luke 8:14-15; John 5:8). It will not go well for believers who cheated, defrauded and hurt others. God will chastise them as His children and they will be sorry, guaranteed. God knows how to effectively discipline His wayward children (Hebrews 12:6-8; Psalm 6:1).
2nd Corinthians 5:11 mentions the TERROR OF THE LORD for those believers who are disobedient and waste their life, talents, gifts, and resources; never doing anything to serve Christ here on earth. According to 1st Corinthians 3:15, many believers will suffer complete loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ, watching all their works of wood, hay and stubble burn up. Only that which is done for Christ's sake and the gospel's will last!
Therefore, knowing the "terror of the Lord," we persuade men. The Apostle Paul feared God. This particular word "terror" in Greek means "that which strikes terror, dread, fear." Friend, I fear the day when I must stand before God. I am not ashamed to admit that I fear God. I want to live for Jesus now because I know that someday I will have to stand before the Lord in judgment.
"That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified." —1st Thessalonians 4:6
The Bible plainly teaches that there will be 2 judgments: one for the saved (the Judgment Seat of Christ) and one for the unsaved (the Great White Throne of Judgment).
“Our salvation was settled by our acceptance of Jesus, but now we are to be judged for our works and service. Paul tells us that every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. No Christian will escape; therefore, the apostle reminds us that we are not to waste our time judging our brethren, for the time of their judgment is coming when they must stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
—Dr. Lee Roberson, Chapter 2, Some Golden Daybreak
Eternal life is a PROMISE from God. Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, PROMISED before the world began.” Eternal life is based upon the faithfulness of God, and not upon the faithfulness of the believer. The entire notion of living holy to keep one's salvation is rooted in wicked self-righteousness. Salvation is of the Lord, and not men. END
Don't Point Fingers (because there's 3 fingers pointing back at you)
Proverb 24:17-18, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth. Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.”
God ponders the thoughts of all estimated 6,800,000,000 people on the earth, as only God can do. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 12:36 that God will hold men accountable even for the very words they speak. No one is going to escape God's judgment. All evil and good will be accounted for. The best part is that no one will be able to deceive God, nor lie up a storm, for God knows all.
I've always thought of Proverb 24:16 as being directed to the righteous, but it's not. This is the Scripture that says a righteous man falleth seven times and riseth up again. Most people don't read the verse before... Proverb 24:15-16, “Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” That is very interesting. God is warning the unrighteous man not to condemn nor assassinate the character of an imperfect Christian, because even the best of Christians falter continually. The number 7 represents God's number for perfection. Thus, 7 here refers to a person who fails and fails and fails at living right; but they get back up and sincerely keep trying to get it right with God's help.
In other words, a righteous person falters while they're climbing up the ladder; but they keep climbing anyway. The wicked don't even get on the ladder because they don't care. All they do is criticize and condemn the man who keeps falling and slipping on the rungs of the ladder. God says in Proverb 24:15 to leave the man on the ladder alone, because at least he's trying to stay on the ladder.
Note that this has absolutely nothing to do with salvation. Eternal life is a free gift from God, paid in full by Jesus Christ with His precious literal blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). We live right because WE ARE saved; not to get saved. As Christians, all we can do is purpose in our heart to live right (Daniel 1:8), memorize Scriptures that we might not sin against God (Psalm 119:11), pray that we enter not into temptation (Matthew 26:41), and put on the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:13-18). If we do these things, then we can be victorious over sin at any given time; however, we won't always do these things because we are sinful by nature as human beings (Jeremiah 17:9).
Proverb 24:29, Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.” We must let God sort our enemies out. God will sort 'em out! God pondereth the hearts of all men and women, and knows every minute detail. If justice is due, then God will avenge us as He hath promised in 1st Thessalonians 4:6 (and vise versa). The important thing is to keep serving God and place our enemies into God's hands. This is what God wants us to do (Romans 14:10).
Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
What Happens to Believers Who Hurt Others?
