As we near the end of our theme about knowing God as He has made Himself known, Theology 101 this week reminds us that God — who is consummate love and full of mercy and grace, along with being compassionate and longsuffering — also has revealed Himself as God who judges.
Divine judgment is a logical and companion truth with God’s perfect holiness. Being absolutely just, God reacts against all violations of His holiness. He has manifested His holiness by establishing laws that are just and righteous, as well as establishing just rewards when His laws are obeyed and penalties when they are violated. We might say that His rewards are the positive expressions of His love, while punishments are just expressions of His wrath. Whatever falls short of God’s own perfections passes under His scrutiny and faces His judgment. His perfections both set the standard for judgment and demand it.
Psalm 19:9 puts it this way: “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” God desires His people to live with the awareness that He is the ultimate Judge who inhabits eternity.
Mirroring God’s judgment
The idea of a judge was introduced early in Israel’s experience as God’s covenant people. Human judges taken from among the people were given the assignment to discern fairly or impartially when confronted with conflicting claims. In this sense, they were to mirror God’s own uprightness as supreme Judge. These judges were to reject any attempt at bribery and to resist the influence of popular opinion. God’s instructions stipulated that they should judge the people justly, saying, “You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous” (Deut. 16:19).
Being human, some Old Testament judges were nobler than others. However, human judges at their very best and exercising their highest impartiality and fairness were but a pale reflection of God’s justice as the ultimate and perfect Judge. That God allowed for human judges was, and is, a reminder that He is the final Judge who judges righteously (1 Pet. 2:23).
Intentions behind actions
While human judges of necessity work from outward actions and, at best, can only deduce motivations of the heart, God knows the heart of every person. Being aware of the thoughts and intents of our hearts, God’s judgments take into account the intentions that lie behind outward actions. Like His penetrating and powerful Word, God is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:12–13).
Knowing that we will give an account of ourselves to Him at the last day can become a powerful incentive for seeking to please Him here and now. Jesus put it simply, “Each one shall give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken” (Matt. 12:36). The good news is that true Christians have no need to fear the last judgment. Our sins and their consequences were borne by Jesus in His saving death on the cross. While not fearing the final judgment as related to our eternal destiny, we should seek to live godly lives and devoted service in light of God’s judgment as to eternal rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10).
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