Part 2: What the Bible Actually Says About Judgment
Well, simply put, it says that God is the Judge and we are the judged. There will be no avoiding this inevitable fact. Each and every one of us will personally face our imperfection. The Bible does not speak of God as Judge merely as a metaphor for our understanding, but because it presents judgment as reality. As certain as each of us is to die, we are to be judged.
Hebrews 9:27 states:
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
While Ecclesiastes 12:14 reads:
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Not only will God be the Judge, meaning He will judge our works and our public lives, but also what we do in secret. The hidden, messiest parts of ourselves will stand trial.
God’s judgment is not arbitrary, emotional, or reactionary like human judgment often is. Scripture presents God as perfectly just.
He does not forget good, ignore evil, play favorites, or judge from incomplete information. Unlike us, He sees motives, intentions, public actions, and private thoughts completely. That should humble us. The awareness of the reality that God judges should not only instill in us a sense of fear, but accountability.
God is the eternal Judge because He is perfectly just and perfectly true. Justice and truth are reflections of His holy goodness.
The reality that God is our Judge, and will in fact judge us, seems obvious to many Christians. But it creates a problem if “Only God Can Judge Me” is true in the way it is often used today.
Being invoked as what I referred to in Part 1 as “Correctional Kevlar,” the phrase is often used to deny others the authority to hold the speaker accountable. But you do not escape judgment by reserving it for God. It is guaranteed and that should humble you.
If the authority to judge belongs to God alone, does that mean nobody else may speak truth? Does that mean nobody may confront evil? Nobody may warn, correct, discipline, or discern?
If the Bible establishes God as the Judge and us as the judged, what does it say about us judging others? Is that a sin? Is it immoral?
In Romans chapter 14 verses 10–12, Paul writes:
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, And every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” — KJV
Now this quote seems to directly correlate to our exploration of the phrase “Only God Can Judge Me.”
Does that mean believers should not judge other believers? What about non-believers?
Many translations make the context clearer here: Paul is speaking primarily to fellow believers. He is giving a message about Christian unity and warning against criticism and contempt among believers.
And perhaps even more importantly, what does the context mean by the word judge? Does it mean to condemn, or something different?
The Bible cannot possibly be telling us that we cannot correct others.
If no one may confront or point out wrongdoing, then parents could not correct their children, friends could not warn one another of destructive behavior, and the prophets themselves should have remained silent.
That cannot be the type of judgment scripture warns against. A world without that kind of judgment does not become more loving. It becomes less honest.
But I am leaving out another important question here.
What does Jesus say?
There are still many more questions left to explore on this topic. In Part 3, I will search for answers to the questions above while also looking at one of the most quoted passages on the topic: Matthew chapter 7.
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