Grace…and Judgment

Much has been written about God’s grace and mercy, and rightfully so, for they are endless. However, when we focus entirely on these attributes we neglect the fact that there will be judgment.

It’s important we strike a balance, because when we focus primarily on grace and mercy but ignore judgment we are only giving people a half-truth, and this is dangerous. We are doing people a disservice when we don’t warn them about judgment. People need to understand that there will be punishment, and that God’s grace doesn’t give them a free ride. It’s true that God is love, and He is full of grace and mercy, but it is equally true that He is a just God.

God’s justness requires judgment, and with judgment comes punishment. It’s this idea that bothers so many people today when they start reading the Bible–especially the Old Testament. People don’t like to hear about judgment, and God seems so violent.

Is God a Vindictive Bully?

Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, called God a “vindictive bully” and a “moral monster.” He feels this way about God because he feels God’s judgment is too harsh. In fact, Dawkins doesn’t like the idea of divine judgment at all.

Dawkins isn’t alone. In today’s world of subjective morality many people cringe at the concepts of sin and judgment. When they look at the Old Testament they are shocked to see how God handles judgment and punishment, and they end up falling in line with Dawkins.

But then they look at Jesus and they see a man full of love and compassion and they feel as if there is a disconnect there. They think, how can Jesus be the same God? He seems so different from the “vindictive bully” in the Old Testament. Jesus was a man of peace, not violence. If God was more like Jesus I could follow Him.

God is Not a Pushover

God is neither a “vindictive bully” nor a “moral monster,” however God is not a pushover either. He will punish the wicked, but He will reward the faithful.

While Dawkins and other skeptics ignore God’s grace and dwell on His punishment, some Christians only focus on His grace and ignore God’s punishment. God’s grace and judgment cannot be separated.

When we feel that our faith gives us license to act however we want because God will forgive us anyway, we are acting as if God is a pushover, and we are abusing Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Paul had to confront this mentality in the Book of Romans (6:1), so this is nothing new.

This happens today when we only teach people about God’s grace while ignoring His judgment. We need to make sure people understand they will be held accountable.

But what about this disconnect people see between God and Jesus? How do we rectify the apparent change from the God of the Old Testament to the compassion of Jesus?

Is it true God changed between the Old and New Testaments?

Jesus Versus the Old Testament God

Jesus talked a lot about loving our neighbors and about how we are supposed to treat others. He taught us to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-44). It is also true that He called believers His friends.

It sounds so nice to call Jesus our friend, but many people overlook that Jesus defined His friends as those who follow His commandments (John 15:14).

One of Jesus’ contemporaries, John the Baptist, warned the people that Jesus was on the threshing floor and will separate the chaff from the wheat (Matthew 3:12). John was talking about Jesus as a judge.

But Jesus also talked about the coming judgment quite a bit Himself.

In the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus gives us an illustration of God’s judgment. In this parable both men die; the rich man is tormented in Hades, while Lazarus is at Abraham’s side.

The rich man was suffering so badly that he asked Abraham to let Lazarus bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue. The request was denied and the rich man continued to suffer. The chasm between the righteous and unrighteous is too wide to cross in the afterlife, it must be done while we are alive.

At other times Jesus even made the radical statement that if your hand caused you to sin to cut it off, or if your eye caused you to sin to pluck it out (Matthew 5:29-30). Why? So you could avoid eternal punishment.

Jesus expected people to give up their sinful ways, and He also warned us about hell many times. He talked about a place of eternal sorrow where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. A lot.

Jesus believed in eternal judgment, but He came to earth to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). His forgiveness was not acceptance of their sin, but a chance at redemption before judgment.

Just as God’s grace and judgment cannot be separated, neither can the Father and the Son. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus didn’t come to replace the Father, but to fully show Him to us. In His first incarnation Jesus showed us God’s love, but when He returns, it will be in a different role.

Jesus Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead

Jesus promised us that He would be coming again, and Revelation paints a picture of Him coming as a judge. Jesus also talked about His role as judge at the parousia: All will appear before Jesus on His throne to be judged. He will separate people on the right and on the left. “Then He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 ESV).

So yes, God is full of grace and mercy, yet He will also judge those who do not obey His commands. The questions then become: If God is so loving and so merciful, how can He judge so violently? Where does His grace come in?

His grace comes in at the cross. Grace met judgment on the cross head-on and conquered the grave. God suffered violence at the hands of man on the cross at Calvary. He took the punishment that we deserved.

Because of His grace and His love, we can now be judged through Christ’s righteousness. His desire is that none of us should perish (1 Peter 3:9).

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