Jesus, our judge
Readings: Isaiah 11. 1-5, Revelation 20. 11-15, John 5. 19-27
If God is just why is there so much injustice in our world? If God is good, why is there so much evil in our world? These are questions we are often faced with, and as we come to this next part of the Creed we come to at least something of an answer.
We’re on the fifth part of our series on the Nicene Creed and the final of four parts looking at the person and works of Jesus. And here we look forwards, look ahead with hope; ‘He (Jesus) will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end’. The same Jesus who came the first time 2000 years ago will come a second time, will come back, come as judge, come as everlasting king.
We probably quite like the sound of the latter part, Jesus coming to bring in a Kingdom where all is made right, a kingdom without end and we’ll come to that at the end of our series. But we are perhaps more uncomfortable with the middle part ‘to judge the living and the dead’. We in our day are often uncomfortable with that theme of judgement. Perhaps that passage from Revelation made you uncomfortable, we prefer what happens immediately after in chapters 21 & 22. But for 2000 years judgement and eternal life have been held together, just as you have to read chapter 20 of Revelation to reach those final chapters which we’ll come to in a few weeks, so we pass through judgement to reach eternal life.
At the time the Creed was written this part wasn’t particularly controversial, but nevertheless it was deemed a vital part of our faith, one we could not do without. And part of the reason for this is because it deals with questions of justice, mercy and righteousness, themes that go to the heart of our faith. So we’re going to think about it, not skip past it, partly because of all I’ve said so far, but partly because Jesus never shied away from this topic, in ranking topics Jesus taught on most frequently this comes 6th, ahead of things like loving others, the Holy Spirit and even prayer, which we much more often focus on. So let’s dive in.
God we believe is a God who is perfectly just, who desires justice, perfect justice. So much of the Old Testament, and even the new, is tied up in themes of justice; caring for those in need, not lying or stealing or cheating, protecting the vulnerable. God cares deeply about justice, things being right. And yet we look around at our world and see lots of injustice. Innocent people suffering whether in wars and terrorism or abusive relationships. People not being paid enough to live. The vulnerable taken advantage of by the powerful. Wherever we look we see injustice. And so naturally the question for us who believe that God is just is this; why doesn’t God act? Why doesn’t he do something about it?
The answer is that God loves us. Which seems an odd answer, but that’s where we must start, God loves us, wants us to have life and have it to the full. And yet all have sinned, all have fallen short of God’s glory. We often think of the things that need God’s judgement as big things out there; terrorists, murderers, abusers, corporations that leave workers to starve, and you’d be right, those things deserve God’s judgement, him to act against them and bring justice. But our bar for sin is far too low. We’d be fairly happy to see God act in judgement against them, they deserve it, justice must be done. But we’re sinful too. Sin in its purest essence is a rebellion against and rejection of God. That’s it. To reject his ways, rebel against him, that’s sin. And all of us have done that, in ways both small and huge. All have sinned, even us, even the best person you can imagine, the people who do so much good, they too sin.
And our good deeds don’t balance out the sin, the sin outweighs the good. And in fact we know as a matter of basic justice that when people commit crimes, even if they do lots of good things, they still deserve some sort of sentence for the crime. There must be consequences. And the simple fact is that the consequences of sin, all sin, is death. The result of rebellion against and rejection of God is death. That’s not to say that all sin is equal. Me swearing is not the same as me robbing a bank or lying the same as murder, that would be ridiculous. But the consequences are the same. As James writes in his letter, to break one part of the law is to be liable for it all. God’s righteousness demands perfection; be perfect just as he is. Yet we all sin, again and again.
So what is God to do? He is a God of perfect justice, sin cannot be left unchecked. But he is also a God of perfect love, wanting all to know the fulness of life. I say ‘but’ as though those two were opposed, but love demands justice. You’ll sometimes find the Bible talking about God’s wrath. And if there’s a topic we like less than judgement it’s wrath. But that’s partly because we misunderstand what is meant by it. We hear it as God losing his temper, flying off the handle, looking for someone or something to punch, and we go ‘I don’t want to believe in a God like that’. And rightly so. It’s not that every time we sin God goes into a fit of rage at us, has an emotional outburst as we might. Rather when the Bible talks about wrath we’re talking about God’s settled opposition to whatever is not good or holy or just. God’s wrath is part of his love, part of his desire for justice. His settled opposition to all that harms us and our world, all that goes against true love and justice. Think about it, it’s not loving to allow the one you love to do as they please and cause all sorts of harm, nor is it loving to stand by as the one you love is subject to all sorts of harm by others. If you were doing either of those things we’d naturally question whether you loved them at all. And God is witnessing both, simultaneously in all of us. And so it means in his love he is angered, in his love he desires justice.
So what do you do? What does God do? God acts to bring justice coupled with mercy.
God the Son comes to bear our guilt, bear our sin. On the cross Jesus shouldered all our guilt and sin and shame, all that deserves God’s judgement against us. Jesus became sin for us, and in Jesus God judges our sin. Jesus bears the punishment, receives the death that we deserve, even down into the very depths of hell. And partly as proof that Jesus was successful in his mission, that he truly has bourn our sin and shame, that it really has been dealt with forever, he is raised to life again. The resurrection is the seal on the cross, the proof that when the Bible testifies that our sins are paid for in full, it really is true.
We have such a light view of our sin but the reality is that it cost Jesus his life. The wages of our sin, the debt to be repaid was so great that it could only be repaid through the death of the God-man. We assume our sins are small mistakes, little messes, but when we look at the cross we see the true scale of them. And in some ways that should fill us with horror, that we are so blind to our sin. And yet fill us with hope, that the God who sees our sin perfectly in a way we never could has chosen to act in mercy, so that we can go free. Our sins separate us from God because God is holy, perfect and just, he cannot be united with anything that is not. And so God acts to make us holy and perfect and just.
And yet judgement is still coming. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, we say it every week in the Nicene and Apostle’s Creeds. If God has acted in perfect judgement already, if our sins have been paid for, why is Jesus coming in judgement?
Because there is still something we need to do. Repent and believe in Jesus. To turn from our sin and trust in what Jesus has done, in his death and resurrection for us. And if we haven’t, we still await judgement. Jesus himself says in our Gospel reading today ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life’. For us who believe we have passed through judgement, but the flip side is true for those who haven’t. That might seem unfair, unjust to us, why is this the way God has acted?
Well on the one hand sin is the rebellion against and rejection of God, how can he forgive you if you go on rejecting him? And again as Jesus says in that passage ‘Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him’. If you’re not following Jesus, loving and honouring him then you’re not with the Father either. To reject Jesus is to reject God, and to reject God is to stubbornly stay in your sins. The door is locked from the inside, we have the key.
And on the other hand God demands repentance for our sake. Repentance is turning from sin and coming to God, turning away from what is wrong, and towards the Saviour who leads us into all that is right. It’s why our lives are changed by the working of the Spirit to live more and more as God commands, it’s testament that our repentance, our turning, is real. It’s not that we’ll be perfect in this life or not struggle with sins, but rather a gradual transformation until we are perfected in the next. Repentance changes us, but it is also an acknowledgement that we have done wrong. That there is something we need to turn from.
Let’s imagine, and I’m going for something extreme to draw out the point, that there’s a Christian who has been sexually assaulted. Awful. And they get to heaven, and at last all the pain and the trauma and suffering is healed, God brings balm and renewal and peace. And as they wander through the new creation they bump into their abuser, and this person hasn’t repented, see’s nothing wrong with what they have done, would even do it again. I’d propose that heaven is no longer heaven for that person, their abuser is there, unchanged, unrepentant, we’d rightly accuse God of a gross injustice.
Forgiveness demands repentance, not so much a listing of every sin, but rather a posture of our lives and heart, turned from sin towards God. If we do not repent, God cannot forgive, and so we will face his judgement, and justice will find against us.
And yet, let’s imagine that scenario again in a different way. This same person reaches eternal life and their abuser is there but they have repented, and through God’s grace they have been changed and transformed. Perhaps they may go to Jesus and ask why, why is this person here, don’t you know what they’ve done, the pain and suffering they’ve caused, doesn’t that matter? And Jesus would respond that of course it matters, it mattered so much that I had to die so that it could be forgiven, to make it right. It matters so much that only I could pay that price. And when they turned to me I poured out my forgiveness and mercy and transforming grace just as I do for every other person. As we sing in that great hymn ‘the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives’.
God in his love desires true justice. And on the last day that is what we will see. He does not act now for he longs that all come to repentance, turn to Jesus. In his mercy he is patient, giving time. But at last judgement will come, as the books are opened and all are judged according to what they have done. And, as we heard in Revelation another book is opened, the book of life, those who are trusting in Jesus, who have crossed over from death to life. And as we are judged by our actions we find that all stand condemned, and yet those whose names are written in the book of life pass through to everlasting life. Our actions condemn us, and yet in Jesus, in turning from our sin in repentance and turning to him, we can know the forgiveness and mercy and transforming grace of God.
One last thing before I finish. And it is this that brings me such hope in the face of the judgement of God. It is Jesus who judges. As Jesus tells us in that passage ‘the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son’. The one we will see on the judgement throne is the one we call our Saviour and Lord and friend. What awaits us is not an angry God flying into a rage, but the face of our redeemer. And so we can trust him to do what is truly right and just, for we know him and love him. As Isaiah writes ‘He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth’. True and eternal justice granted by the one who has died for our forgiveness.
My brothers and sisters, don’t let judgement be to you a dirty word. It speaks of God’s love for us, his longing for true justice, and his desire that all should come to repentance and know him for themselves. This God is for us, for our good, working to bring about a new heavens and earth that is utterly perfect. And our judge is our Saviour, it is the one who has died for us, who will act for us in perfect justice. In judgement there is hope, and what a God we have who makes that possible. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be forever.
Amen.