Wanted: A Fair, Qualified Judge

Many people reacted with incredulity and anger at the pairs figures skating results in the 2002 Salt Lake City olympics. Their cynicism was only heightened upon hearing that some judges had made deals with each other.

This incident troubled us because we have a natural desire for justice. We want competitions judged fairly and accurately. We want to believe that each competitor has an equal chance of winning and that their placing will depend entirely on their performance.

Some events like hockey, soccer, and running is relatively easy to judge. Others like figure skating, diving and ski jumping is more difficult because subjective impressions enter into the equation. We would all agree that fair competitions require qualified judges and transparent, finite rules to judge the event.

In the Bible the question is asked,, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18:25) The phrase "of all the earth" tells us who will be judged. The Bible says it is appointed onto men once to die and after this the judgement (Heb 9:27). Every single person will be judged. Rich and poor, black and white, strong and weak; there will be no exceptions

The Bible also reveals to us the identity of this judge. It states very clearly that the Father has committed all judgement to His Son (John 5:22). The Lord Jesus Christ is the judge. He came the first time to save, but He will come a second time to judge (John 3:17; 12:47,48; Rev 19:11).

There are two characteristics about Christ that confirm His qualification to judge. The first one is that He is God. and this is affirmed all through scripture. The Father (Mt 3:17), Christ Himself (Mk 14:62; John 8:58), a Gentile centurion (Mk 15:39), Peter (Mt 16:16), angels (Mt 1:23), and others (John 1:1; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3) all bear witness to His deity.

All things were created by Jesus Christ (John 1:3; Col 1:15-17) and He is completely separate from His creation. As creator He has ownership of all things.

This concept is not an easy one for us to understand in the western world where we buy everything we need. In some countries it is taken for granted that the owner of a piece of merchandise is probably the one who made it.

The Lord Jesus Christ created us, the world we live in and all the natural laws, boundaries and principles which govern it. Consequently He has a claim on our life and a right to judge how we respond to that claim.

The second characteristic about the Lord Jesus is that He is a righteous man. Many times He referred to Himself as the Son of Man (Mt 12:40; 17:9). In a defining moment in history, the one who is God also became man (Gal 4:4). He who had no beginning came into time. The one who is omnipresent came into space. The God who is spirit (John 4:24) took on human flesh (Phil 2:7) and became one of us. Unlike any other person, He lived a holy and sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

As the perfect man He has the right to judge us. If I were to point out some of your faults, you might respond by telling me some of mine. When the Lord Jesus points out our sins, our only response should be silence and a sense of guilt (Rom 3:19). Someday, the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is perfect, will judge mankind.

Finally, what will be His standard for judging? Sinful men cannot fellowship with or even stand in the presence of God. That presents a problem for us because the Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Rom 3:23). We were born with an inherited sin nature (Ps 51:5) and that has been true of every generation since Adam, who sinned of his own volition. We are all guilty and in ourselves are helpless to do anything about it (Rom 5:6).

However, our loving God is a fair judge and did something about it. He became our substitute. The term substitution is a familiar one in sports. When a player becomes injured, a substitute will replace the fallen player. We were injured by sin and needed a substitute, one who was sinless. Jesus Christ was the only one who qualified (Acts 4:12). Our future judge became our substitute, taking upon Him all the sins of mankind and bearing the penalty for them on the cross (1 Pet 2:24).

He asks us to believe, by admitting our need and putting our faith and trust in Him. Rejecting his offer, we are guilty of unbelief and that is the one sin that will condemn us (John 16:9).

That will be His standard for judging. Unlike sports, there is only one rule. Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 14:1-6; Acts 16:31)? It is very clear and fair. If you reject Him, you will spend eternity in the lake of fire (Rev 20:15). If you believe, you will spend eternity with Him and you can have that assurance now (1 Thess 4:16-18; 1 John 5:13). Either way, the judge of all the earth will do right.

George Ferrier

May 2002