The Spirit of Judgment
by Watchman Nee, 1984
- Part One: The Spirit of Judgment
- Known by His Judgment — Both God and we are revealed by His judgments. His character is
revealed by what He proclaims to be right and our characters are revealed by our inability to measure
up. His judgment puts an end to sin.
- Redeemed with Judgment — That which does away with sin redeems us. As long as we embrace
God’s judgment and allow it to destroy our sinful flesh, we shall be redeemed.
- Judgment unto Victory — Christ’s work on the cross fulfilled God’s judgment.
- Loving-kindness and Judgment — If you allow yourself to be judged today, you will not be
judged later. To be disciplined by the Lord is not the same as to be condemned by Him. It is only when
we refuse to accept the judgment of the cross that we are destroyed by God’s judgment.
- Judgment in the House of God — The closer one is to God, the more severe His discipline
will be. By undergoing the continual judgment of God, we are saved from His eternal judgment.
- Keep the Judgments of God — Judgment reveals the mind of God. If we would do His will, we
must abide by His judgments.
- Judge Them Who Are Within — As long as God forbears, we cannot judge another. But once
God has enlightened our hearts by His judgment, we may utter a word of rebuke to a brother.
- Part Two: Three Basic Lessons
- The Kingdom — A poorly argued attempt to advance the position which was quite prevalent in
the early portion of the 20th century that Christians should stay out of politics. A position more
consistent with Nee's other messages would be that as with any other aspect of life, Christians should
seek God's present guidance in each political situation. A blanket doctrine which prohibits that which is
not explicitly prohibited in the Bible cannot claim to be God's will.
- The Second Coming of the Lord — Nee believes that things such as injustice, hunger, war,
disease, cruelty, and politics shall be done away with at the second coming and that we ought not try to
change these things. He rather says that we are called out of this world unto the Lord, which sounds as
though he advocates turning our backs on being a moral influence in society. Perhaps such things will
continue until Christ returns and perhaps we ought to avoid frustration by maintaining realistic
expectations, but certainly we ought not stand idly by while those around us destroy themselves.
- Occupation — Some guidelines for Christians in choosing their occupations. Though not
exactly Biblical, these guidelines at least deserve some thought as to whether or not they violate
conscience.
- Part Three: The Fullness of God's Salvation — Much of this section is more thoroughly
presented in The Normal Christian Life.
- The Righteousness of God — We are saved, not by the individual righteousness of the man
Jesus, nor by the love of the Father, but by the Father’s righteousness.
- The Word “Sin” in Romans — The difference between “sin” and
“sins.”
- Original Sin — It is original sin that makes us sinners, not the sinful acts we perform.
Our sinful acts are the result of that original sin within us.
- The Battle between the Old and the New — The flesh wars against the Spirit. Only when the
flesh dies will it cease to fight against the new Spirit within us.
- The Reason for Believer's Defeats — How the law of sin, like the law of gravity, draws us
inexorably downward.
- Faith — The finest chapter in the book. An excellent study showing that faith consists of
stopping our own works, and waiting for God. Faith cannot be generated, it must be received from God.
- The Condition for Spiritual Growth — God can only fill what is empty. To be continually
filled, we must continually empty ourselves.
- The Condescension of the Lord Jesus — God loves to include people in accomplishing His
purpose, not because He has to, but because He wants to. Nothing we offer is essential to His work, but
He calls us to offer it that we may share in glorifying Him.
- The Helpmeet of Christ — A short discussion of how the Old Testament women Eve, Rebecca,
and Rachel can symbolize the Church and her relationship to Christ.
