10.22.24

This week we are looking at the attribute of God’s judgment. And our passage shows us that this isn’t just an Old Testament-God kind of harshness. But we see Jesus himself here, the teacher of love, who explodes with both a deep harsh judgment and a sweet loving forgiveness (Matthew 11.20-30).

And as much as we hate the idea of judgment - the idea that God is watching our every move and every thought - and that they will all come under the scrutiny of his critical eyes, the idea of judgement is something we simply cannot escape.

Deep in our hearts, what we all want is the freedom to live as we please. Our world has made it not only comfortable, but the norm for us to view our actions through the ultimate judge of our own hearts. The modern mantra that “nobody has the right to tell me what to do or how to live” is the default assumption of the world in which we now live.

And yet, this way of thinking is not sustainable - nor is it possible. The very concept of marriage assumes that two people must compromise on the needs of the other in order for the relationship to work. Kids who are given the freedom to live as they please and ignore their parents is a chaos none of us can endure. Even society itself cannot function if every person simply does as they please and ignores the laws or the norms of that society. Simply put, though it’s a mantra our hearts love to hear, it is impossible for us to live as the ultimate judge of our own hearts.

Deep in the heart of mankind is the innate assumption that some things are just right - and some things are just wrong. Despite the freedom given to individuals to live as they please, we all know it’s wrong to oppress others - we know that racism and sexism is wrong - we understand that murder and theft are not acceptable ways of behaving. In fact, it’s the very same people claiming the freedom to live as they please when it comes to sex, who tell others that they don’t have the freedom to abuse others or assert their cultural dominance. But where do these deeper assumptions come from? Certainly not from the heart, or we would allow people to simply act on their own passions. Clearly everybody believes in a deeper judgement for wrong - no matter how inconsistent it might be with their other life choices.

All this comes because the Bible tells us that God has placed his truth within our hearts. We all know that we live under the watchful eyes of our Creator. And we all live under a deep sense of judgment for our actions - and guilt for the ways we fall short of them.

What all this means is that judgement is inescapable. We will all have to give an account for our actions. And as much as we hate the idea of being under such scrutiny, deep down everybody believes that it’s inevitable. And so the question become, what do we do with that deep sense of judgment that hangs over us?