Concern for some sort of a future judgment grips the human race. The five major religions of the world [1], and their variations, all think about this time when every soul will give an account for good or evil. Even those with no religion who hold to the doctrine of atheism, as promoted by Marxian Communism, have feared that religion would be a danger to the state and in this sense would ultimately bring judgment upon society. Like it or hate it the truth of a judgment faces every person alive in the 21st century and the human race from Adam to our day is confronted with God’s plan of salvation for all people. In the human heart, there is a hidden longing for something better. This void in the human soul senses that justice demands that there must be a judgment eventually.
Many people have the idea that God is a vengeful Deity just waiting for a chance to strike them with His lightning bolts of retribution for their sins. And if God is indeed like this, a judgment with Him on the bench would certainly be a fearful prospect. The Bible, however, describes a God and a judgment that differs startlingly from this common misconception.
God is not looking for an excuse to punish us. We sometimes picture a loving Jesus who stands between us and a harsh Father. But according to the Bible, the Father loves us and is just as anxious for our eternal salvation as is the Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing [counting] their trespasses to them” (2 Cor. 5:19).
God never planned for any of us to face the terror of being found guilty in the judgment. Jesus declared that the condemnation of the judgment—“eternal fire”—was specifically “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). If any human being finds himself sharing Satan’s fate, it will not be because God has willed it. Those who are destroyed along with the devil and his angels will have spurned and beaten back repeated efforts by God to save them.
In what appears to be a happy exception to Paul’s statement about “all” appearing in judgment (2 Cor. 5:10), Jesus declares good news: “In very truth, anyone who gives heed to what I say and puts his trust in Him who sent Me has hold of eternal life, and does not come up for judgment, but has already passed from death to life” (John 5:24, New English Bible). The word judgment here means the condemnation of the judgment; the point is that God wants to exempt us from the terrible experience of facing judgment and being condemned.
The Father has turned over to Christ the task of judging men. “The Father judges no one, but has committed [entrusted] all judgment to the Son.” “… and has given Him authority to execute judgment, … because He is the Son of Man” (John 5:22, 27).
Our judge, then, is Jesus Himself. No one more friendly to us could be found! If in a human court, the judge and all the jury members are warm personal friends; you could hardly wish for a more favorable chance of acquittal. Yet the Son of man will do for us what no earthly friend can do when we are in trouble. John says, “I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. And He is the propitiation [atoning sacrifice] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world!” (1 John 2:1, 2).
How can Jesus be our Advocate in a law case if He is also our Judge? God puts all the odds in our favor. Jesus is both Judge and defense Attorney. He can defend us because He has already suffered the condemnation we deserve in the judgment. The death that Jesus died on the cross was the condemnation sin requires carried to its ultimate degree. “[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus died as the eternally lost sinner will die—“forsaken” by His Father—because “[He] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes [wounds] you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).