“It’s like eating your vegetables.”
One of my training partners at the gym and I have been using this phrase a lot lately. It’s our way of talking about the stuff we don’t want to do, but we do it anyway because we know it’s good for us. Life is full of those, isn’t it? The stuff we want to do is easy. But the stuff we don’t want to do? That’s harder.
Talking about judgment is like eating my vegetables. I’d much rather talk about God’s love and grace than to discuss his judgment on sin. But, like vegetables, judgment is an essential part of what we believe. Our God is a just and holy God, which means he cannot tolerate evil.
Thankfully, the Apostles’ Creed doesn’t share our squeamishness on this point. As the ancient creed wraps up its confessions about Jesus Christ, it ends with a word about judgment.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Jesus Christ will return again at the end of time and bring judgment on sin. If you’re like me, your immediate response to the word judgment is negative. “This is bad news.” However, stew on it for just a bit. God’s judgment on sin is actually good news. We want a God who will one day judge evil. Here are three reasons why:
Future judgment means God can be trusted – Would you trust someone if you knew they had Mafia connections? What about someone who knew that evil things were happening and was indifferent to them? I wouldn’t…and I don’t think you would either. The fact that God doesn’t wink at evil tells us that his character is impeccable. A god who ultimately tolerates evil isn’t worth your worship. But the God of the Bible can be trusted to do what is right.
Future judgment means God cares – Have you ever read the news after a horrible tragedy and thought, “Who’s going to do anything about this?” Have you ever experienced something truly awful and wondered, “Does anybody even care?” Judgment says that God does. He cares and he’s going to do something about it. The judgment seat of Jesus tells us that God won’t sweep a single evil thing under his heavenly rug. There will be justice for all of it. If you’ve ever experienced injustice and have yet to get satisfaction, know this: God cares and he will make it right. Whatever it is, he will make all things right.
Future judgment means there’s still time – If God’s judgment came right now, that would be bad news for lots of people. It would be bad news for some of our friends and family. It might even be bad news for you. The final judgment will be bad news for anyone who hasn’t received forgiveness for their sins through faith in Jesus. But (and this is an important “but”), notice the tense. “He will come to judge.” This judgment is still in the future – and that means there’s still time. There’s still time for even the hardest heart to soften and find new life in Jesus. God’s future judgment gives us urgency in the present and hope that lives can change. There’s still time for things to play out.
Spend a little time eating your vegetables today. You might not be enthusiastic about the concept of God’s judgment, but the holiness of our God is good for us. It makes him worthy of our worship and our life.