The Cutting Word
/God’s children regularly face opposition from both worldly unbelievers and self-proclaimed Christians. Today I would like to specifically examine the seemingly widespread resistance to any type of judgment. A common argument against judging (that I have both observed and personally encountered) is based upon the following verse
“Judge not, that you be not judged. ”
Many that oppose judgment simply say “do not judge, period”, but this line of thinking fails to consider both the remainder of this passage and other scriptures that help us to better understand Jesus’ words in the early portion of Matthew 7. To these ‘anti-judgers’ I pose the question “Is this verse saying that as long as I don’t judge others than I myself will not be judged?” Based on a more thorough examination of The Scriptures, the answer to my question is an emphatic “NO”. This verse cannot be saying that those who do not judge will not be judged. Consider 2 Corinthians 5:10 and John 5:28-29
“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” and “The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
These complimentary passages are both crystal clear there will be a judgment for all people, both those who have done evil and those who have done good (I’ll come back to good and evil in a moment). Today judgment may seem far away, but in the end, not so much as one person who has lived, is living, or ever will live, can avoid judgment. Every single person will be judged and rewarded according to his or her works. Do you believe this truth? I believe it and you should too!
Those who truly believe that God will judge, prove their genuine belief by putting aside their old man and his works and bringing their deeds in line with God’s definition of good and evil (see Colossians 3:4-10 and Ephesians 4:20-32). Today there is much resistance against defining actions or words that are right and wrong, but do not be deceived, right and wrong are very real! Because good and evil exist, and God is The Just Judge (Psalm 7:11), we can be certain that His final judgment cannot be avoided.
Let’s go back and reexamine the saints who are transformed because they believe The Lord will judge. First of all, are they afraid of judgment? And secondly, do they desire that there be no judgment? Again, the answer to both of these questions is an emphatic “NO”. 1 John 2:28-29 speaks of God’s children who have confidence before Him while passages such as Psalm 68:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:8 and Hebrews 9:28 say some eagerly await with anticipation His presence and coming (to be clear His future coming relates to His final judgment). The righteous are not afraid of judgment because they know their Heavenly Father declares them innocent through His Son’s blood and that their good works prove His judgment to be perfect. Furthermore, these righteous children even desire judgment because God’s judgment will result in eternal peace, safety and unity in The Kingdom of God. Revelation 21:8 and 22:14-15 are clear that people who participate in sin will be judged and kept outside of perfection. This is consistent with God's expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden as soon as He judged them to have committed evil.
To succinctly recap:
- Good and evil exist.
- Good and evil are defined by God's Word.
- All will be judged and judgment cannot be avoided.
- God The Just Judge will punish evil doers and reward the righteous.
- Those who believe judgment is coming are transformed, become like God and even anticipate and desire judgment.
- Those who do not believe judgment is coming live selfishly, resist judgment and scoff at the idea of judgment. These people do not want to be judged because their works are evil and because they want to live as they please.