THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD

"This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares."(Rom 2:16)

The coming Judgement Day of God has inspired cartoonists the world over. The sandwich-board slogan: 'The End Is Nigh: Prepare To Meet Thy Doom' usually provokes ridicule rather than respect. And yet God's coming judgement is clearly taught in every part of the Bible. No Christian creed has ever omitted it. In Romans, Paul presents Judgement Day as the ultimate destiny-determining reality of all human history - an event at which everybody will be present. No-one will miss God's Judgement Day.

And it will be a searching judgement. The judging moralist (vv1-3) won't be exempted. God's judgement is based on truth (v2) and will measure reality - ie a person's deeds (vv1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10), not their high-flown aspirations. However lofty the moralist's standards are, his life will fall well short of perfect - and therefore be condemned by the very standards he advocates. The sentimentalist who believes that the kindness of God will exempt him from judgement (v4) has also missed the point. God's kindness is there to lead him to repentance, not excuse him from judgement. And the ignoramus, the one who has never heard? Well God's judgement will be fair for him too because it will be made according to his law, something he has written on every human heart and to which every human conscience testifies (v15).

There's no escaping God's coming Judgement Day - which means there's no escaping Jesus Christ since he is the one God has appointed to judge. On Judgement Day everyone will stand before Jesus and answer to him.

Given our lack of perfection, it sounds like bad news. But Paul tells us that this coming judgement is declared as part of his Gospel, his 'Good News'. How so? The answer is to be found in the Judge. The one who will judge on human history's last Day is also the one who, as Saviour, offers an out-of-court settlement now.

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