So You Think God Won't Judge You?

In Matthew 18:6-9, Jesus issues a warning of punishment to all those who would lead his disciples astray – a punishment so severe it would better to have a millstone tied around one’s neck and to be tossed into the sea. Likewise, he tells his disciples they must cut sin out of their life, indicating the risks are so dire that it would be better to have an offending body part cut off than to have their whole bodies consumed by hellfire.

This threat of final judgment smacks against our sensibilities as 21st century Americans. In fact, given the choice between a God who judges or no God at all, we can imagine many selecting the second of these options. Some would concede satisfaction in the notion that really evil people will be punished (Hitler, Bin Laden, school shooters, etc.), but their list would come up short of including people like themselves. In fact, the idea that their run-of-the-mill sins warrant judgment seems rather unjust. Surely a just God would not quibble over their “little” vices.

While considering this perspective, I was reminded of a comment offered by C.S. Lewis. Before becoming a famous Christian author, Lewis had been an atheist. One of his principal objections against God’s existence was the presence of injustice in the world. While the concern below is different than what has been described above, they share the impulse to appeal to standards that are impossible to ground apart from God. Lewis writes:

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such a violent reaction against it?[...] Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus, in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist - in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless - I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality - namely my idea of justice - was full of sense. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never have known it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.”
- p.38, Mere Christianity

Perhaps the person who objects to God’s judgment of our “little” sins does not deny God’s existence as Lewis did at the time. Perhaps he merely rejects what the Bible says about God’s judgment. Even so, such a person find himself in the same place as Lewis – he must be able to explain the origin and authority of his measure of justice. The Christian account of God’s justice grounds itself in the divinely inspired words of Scripture. What is the source of authority for the person who disagrees with the biblical account?

If this person is a typical American, he will have no source beyond his mere opinion. If he digs deeper, he will discover that he has inherited much of his sense of justice from the Judeo-Christian tradition and that he is now only picking and choosing what he will listen to and what he will ignore when it comes to God’s final judgment. On what basis does he have the authority to pick and choose? If the Bible is not all-authoritative, then he must appeal to some authority greater than the Bible which would tell him what he should pick and choose. If he clings to his mere opinion as that authority, he will hardly be able to say anything when others disagree and do the same. He must accept the measures of divine judgment as they have been revealed or be left with no judgment at all. He can submit to God’s Word or give himself over to the endless chaos of competing opinions. 

The impulse to overlook “little” sins signals our desire for mercy. God does offer us mercy, but not by ignoring our sins. He offers us mercy by offering his Son to stand in the gap for us.  

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
- Romans 5:8-9 [ESV] 

Jesus is the manifestation of both God’s mercy and justice – he is our way back to God as he make things right through his death on the cross. Jesus says this himself in the Gospel of John:

"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. - John 3:16-17 [ESV]

Now is the time of mercy, the season to cut off sin and believe in Jesus for our redemption. The time of judgment is coming and our opinions won’t matter a lick on that day. Acknowledge this reality, turn from sin, and believe in Christ.

Rev. Tom Loghry

Tom Loghry is the senior pastor of Rockland Community Church in North, Scituate, RI. He is a graduate of the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, Toccoa Falls College (B.S. Pastoral Ministry), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.A. Theology). He is continuing his graduate studies in the area of “Ethics & Society” at GCTS.

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.