Judgement is a heavily discussed topic regarding the Christian faith. As the consciences of men are pricked about sin, there are only two ways to go. One either repents, recognizing his need for a savior, or he convinces himself that there is no coming judgement.
Most say that nobody has a right to judge anyone else (which is self-defeating, as it takes judgement just to claim it is wrong for someone to practice judgement). However, among those who hope to win over those who know the God of scripture (who is a just judge), there is perhaps no more common argument than that the sacrifice of Christ changed that and now judgement has become wrong.
Jesus Did Not Come To Judge
If you want to prove that Jesus didn’t come to bring judgement you need look no further than John 12:47.
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
John 12:47
He didn’t come to judge the world, but to save it! This statement must be understood in the larger context, however. First, let’s turn to the immediate context:
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
John 12:48-49
Jesus did not come to judge. His mission was to redeem for himself all whom were given to him by the Father. However, the reason he gives for why he needn’t judge those who would reject his words is that the words he gave were the commands of the Father and they were already under judgement. Earlier in the same book another verse speaks to this topic which is often quoted without the following verses.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:16-18
Again, it is a mistake to take John 3:16 or even adding 17 and misunderstanding why Christ does not condemn. It is not that there ought to be no condemnation for sinners. Instead, it is because they are already under condemnation and only through Christ can a person be free from that condemnation.
Jesus Returns as Judge
There is another error which is common to hear, which attempts to separate the Father and the Son. The Father being the “Old Testament God” of wrath and Jesus being the “New Testament God” of mercy. For a more extensive treatment on this topic, I have previously posted about how God has always been merciful and how punishment was fulfilled rather than abolished by the cross.
However, it is important here to point out that while Jesus’s mission of redemption has been completed, he will return and when he comes he comes in judgement. The same author who recorded the statements of Christ that he hadn’t come to judge recorded the vision he received in the book of Revelation.
Taken together, it becomes easier to understand the significance of Jesus’s statements that he hadn’t come to judge. Had he come to judge immediately, all would be destroyed! He had come to make a way for his people to be saved, because when he does come in judgement only those who have the righteousness of God will escape that judgement.
In our own nature, none of us would have survived such a judgement. Thankfully, in his mercy, God first became incarnate to redeem all who would believe. He took the penalty of death for those who believe in him. However, the wages of sin remain for those who remain in unbelief.
Can Christian’s Judge?
We are in no position to judge fellow men. Like all men, we have an obligation to acknowledge and tell of the judgement of God. If we judge according to our own standards, we do so wrongly. However, the judgement of God already rests on all who do not have Christ. His commands are made clear in scripture and his judgement is promised on the world. The condemnation is already there.
Following Christ’s example, we should acknowledge the judgement of the Father rather than spend our time sitting in judgement ourselves. People are already guilty of every sin against the commands of the Father. Only the righteousness of Christ can save.
So the next time someone says “judge not or you will be judged” or “only God can judge me” respond with “God has already found you guilty but if you turn from your sin to Christ you can be saved”.
