Recently I happened across an advertisement for a religious group inviting
readers to worship with them. The advertisement boasted that at their services,
"Jesus was your friend and not your judge." Implicit in that statement
is the idea that we can live our lives in contradiction to God's will and ultimately
Jesus is going to accept us. It lends itself to the belief that Jesus accepts
us unconditionally. While many may find comfort in this idea, it stands in conflict
with the Bible, and is therefore false.
Is Christ our friend? Indeed He is! Jesus came down from heaven, took on the
form of man, and laid down His life to atone for sins. This is certainly the
highest form of friendship (John 15:13). But if we are to possess any of the
blessing that Christ has made possible, we must do what he says. Jesus tells
us in John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who
loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him
and manifest Myself to him." The fact that one must obey Christ necessitates
a judgment as to whether we have obeyed him or disobeyed.
The one who will make this judgment is Christ. If this is misunderstood, one
will have a distorted and dangerous view of Jesus. Jesus said "..the Father
judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22).
In Acts 17:31 Paul said that God ".. has appointed a day on which He will
judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given
assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." These verses and
others are very clear that on the day of Judgment, God will judge the world
through Christ. Christ will judge the world by his word which is the gospel
(John 12:48, Romans 2:16). The first time Jesus came to earth was to atone for
sins; when he returns it will be in judgment. It is at this time that the Lord
will separate the faithful from the unfaithful each will enter into their eternal
destinies.
What kind of judge is Christ? He is a righteous and impartial judge. What one
has accomplished in this life or what one's social status is, will not influence
him. God is no respecter of persons. What matters is whether or not we have
obeyed from the heart the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:17-18). A most comforting
thought is that we have a Judge that is not removed from us. Jesus is indeed
one who has "walked a mile in our shoes," hence he can relate to us.
Our Judge is one who has lived as a man, who was tempted in all ways we have
been, and yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). The Lord understands what it means
to suffered as a man, to have dealt with all the hardships of living an earthly
life. He is therefore merciful. Christ, however, is also faithful. He is really
going to apply the standard of His word. Having lived as man, he is not going
accept our excuses. If we deny Him, He will deny us (2 Timothy 2:11-13).
What then is the conclusion of the matter? For those who have never obeyed the
gospel or for those who have fallen away, the judgment should be viewed with
fear (Hebrews 10:27, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 ). The faithful child of God however
longs for that day to come. What more could be said than what Paul said in 2
Timothy 7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I
have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to
me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."