GOD QUIZ
JUDGE (CRITICAL)
DR. JIM DIXON
REVELATION 20:11-21:8
FEBRUARY 10, 2013
One of the most adventuresome eras in United States history was the time of Western Expansion—the Old West It was a time of lawlessness. There were not enough marshals; there were not enough sheriffs. Some of the marshals and the sheriffs that wore the star were corrupt. There were not enough judges. There were very few judges in the western United States. Those judges that existed tended to be very colorful and very controversial. One of those judges was a man named Roy Bean, Judge Roy Bean. He was born in 1825 and he died in 1903 at the age of 78. He held court in a saloon near the Rio Grande River in the little town of Langtry on the edge of the Chihuahua dessert in what is now the province of Val Verde, Texas. He was called the “Only Law West of the Pecos.” Many movies were made about him. Many books were written about him. Some had portrayed him as a hanging judge. Historians tell us that in the course of his career he only sentenced two people to death by hanging. One of them actually escaped.
In the history of Israel there was a period of judges. Those judges were colorful and they were controversial. If you want to read about this period in the history of Israel, go to the Old Testament book called Judges. In that book you can read about some of the colorful and controversial judges that ruled Israel. One of them was Samson. You have all heard of him. There was also Jephthah and Gideon. You might notice that many of these judges spent more time in combat, more time as military leaders, than they did in arbitration. Samson spent a lot of time growing his hair and a lot of time killing people. He didn’t spend a lot of time making judgment or rendering decisions.
There was a judge in the book of Judges who was truly a judge, who made arbitration, who rendered verdicts, who guided relationships and transformed lives and determined futures. Her name was Deborah. You can read about Deborah in Judges chapters four and five. By the will of God, she was raised up to be judge over Israel. The scriptures tell us that she stood under the palm of Deborah in the hill country of Ephraim between the towns of Ramah and Bethel and there the people of Israel came up to her. Men, women, and children came up to her for judgment. She would arbitrate their disputes; she would render decisions and affect their futures. She was judge in Israel.
Ultimately, all earthly judges are flawed. There is only one true and perfect judge, and that one is God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God is judge. For many of you as you took the God Quiz, this was your primary view of God—as the judge. This means that you viewed God as watching and observing, not necessarily doing anything, but watching and keeping a list. Then on the last day everyone is going to have to give an account. This is the view of God as judge. Today I would like us to examine what the Bible has to say about this view. I want us to look at two teachings.
The first concerns personal justice. God will judge us individually. God will judge me personally and God will judge you personally. Personal judgment. He is watching. Before him no creature is hidden, the Bible says, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him.
In 1933, the phone rang at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University in the state of New Jersey. As it was answered, a voice said, “May I speak with Dr. Eisenhardt, please?” A woman said, “Dr. Eisenhardt is not here, but I am his personal secretary. May I help you?” The voice said, “Well, yes, perhaps you can. I was wondering if you could give me the address of Albert Einstein.” The woman said, “Well, I am sorry, sir, but here at Princeton University at the Institute of Advanced Studies, all of our scientists are protected. Personal information about them is never given out.” He said, “Well, perhaps you could make an exception for me and give me the address of Albert Einstein. You see, I am Albert Einstein, and I am not able to find my house.”
That really happened in 1933. Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity transformed the whole word of physics. His view of time, space, and mass, and motion transformed the world of the physical sciences. He was brilliant, perhaps one of the most brilliant people in the history of the human race. In 1933, when that phone call took place he was at the zenith of his mental faculties, he was at the zenith of his intellectual powers. Yet, he was new to the state of New Jersey, new to Princeton, and he had only lived at his house for a very short period of time and he couldn’t remember how to get there. He was the smartest man in the world and he couldn’t find his house.
That is how it is in this world. No matter how smart you are, your memory is not perfect. There are a lot of smart people in this room, but not perfect memory in this room. Yet, there are some things you remember better than others, right? Perhaps you remember wrongs. Perhaps you remember people who have committed some offense against you. Maybe you have even intentionally, or unintentionally kept a list of wrongs, grievances, wounds that people have afflicted upon you. You remember them. How about God? Does God remember stuff like that? Does God remember wounds? People who have offended him? People who have committed offenses against him? Does God keep a list? What is God like?
There have been many teachings all over the world saying when we forgive, we forget. When God forgives, God forgets. This teaching needs to be understood biblically. You see, the Bible tells us that God is omniscient. God is all knowing. God never forgets. He cannot forget because he is all knowing. He is omniscient. There are no gaps in his memory. He has no cognitive dissonance. He remembers everything. But when you come to him in repentance and confession, he does forgive and forgets the wound, the grievance, and the hurt. He lets the hurt go and it is gone. He remembers the event, but it is no longer painful. He has released it.
That is what the Bible is teaching. It is not as if Peter went up to the Lord today and said, “Remember those three times I denied you?” It is not like Jesus would say, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” That is not the way it is, because Jesus would remember the events, but he would have released the hurt. God is omniscient, he is all knowing, and he knows everything you have done. He knows everything I have done. He doesn’t even need a list because it is all in his mind. He remembers perfectly.
The issue is: Can you trust him in judgment? Can you trust him to judge your life? He knows not only every action, every word you have spoken, but also every thought that you have contemplated. He knows every motive that has compelled you or driven you. He knows every attitude that you have lived out in your lifetime and in your relationships. He knows it all. Can you trust him to be your judge? We live in a world where judges are scary and courtrooms are kind of scary. I think you feel like you don’t really want to find yourself in a courtroom or before a judge. You don’t know how that is going to turn out.
I remember some years ago when our son Drew was in high school. He went to Heritage High School. There was a short period of time when he received three traffic tickets within one block of the school. Within one block of the school at a stop sign he had three different tickets. A police officer pulled him over the first time because he stopped ten feet beyond the line. He was written up for a ticket. I thought it was kind of petty. I thought it was kind of picky, but I also thought it might be good for Drew. Maybe he will be more careful.
Then within this short time frame Drew gets another ticket at the same stop sign. This one was for stopping ten feet behind the line. I thought that is really picky. I don’t think I have ever heard of a ticket like that. Then Drew, within a very short period of days, got a third ticket at the same stop sign for making what the police officer called a California stop. He didn’t come to a full and complete stop; he just slowed down and moved slowly over the line. It was the third ticket. Drew was in danger of losing his license.
We wound up going to court. I went to court with Drew. I brought an attorney friend here at the church; I actually have a number of attorney friends here at the church. He sent one of his assistants, a young attorney to go with us. We went to court in Littleton. The young attorney said to my son, “Now Drew, you need to know that the judge we are going to appear before is not always reasonable. He has a horrible reputation. I want to warn you. I can’t guarantee how this is going to turn out.” We got there and went into the courtroom. When it was our turn, it was my worst nightmare. There was a chance for me to speak as his dad, and the attorney to speak, and for Drew to say some words. I am telling you that this judge treated us like dirt. He treated each of us as if we were less than dirt, lower than dirt. What he said to us was humiliating. He was very harsh towards Drew. As we left there and got in the car the young attorney turned to my son and he said, “Drew, I don’t want this to affect your view of our judicial system. I don’t want this to affect your view of our country. I don’t want you to think all judges are like this judge. I don’t want you to view our judicial system through the lens of what you just saw today in that courtroom. This was unusual and this man is just not reasonable. He has no mercy and he has no grace. He never tempers justice with grace.” I thought that is a good word for my son.
I think whether you came out of the God Quiz with God as judge, or whether you came out with some other primary view, that we all would acknowledge God is judge. None of us are going to deny that he is judge and can you trust him. God does have grace. I think for some of us, that is the problem with this view of God as judge. God is judge, but in the Bible we are told other things about God as well. It is too simplistic to sum God up simply as judge. Understand God’s judgment is very much tempered with mercy and grace. That is why God has offered to let people off the hook all over the world through the gospel. People come to him in faith and accept his son Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. That is why he died on the cross. That we might repent, come in faith, and receive salvation as a free gift. This is not simply a judge. This is a God who loves us. And so, he offers grace.
I want you to understand, though, that there are many who will be judged with regard to heaven and hell. In Revelation chapters 20 and 21, the whole picture of the Great White Throne judgment and the lake of fire, the first death, and the second death is what it is about. People throughout history will be judged with regard to heaven and hell. God will do the right thing. People need not fear the first death. Did you notice that in the passage of scripture we had for today? We need not fear the first death. The first death is simply physical death. That death rate is 100%. We are all going to experience physical death. Don’t fear it. The problem is what is called the second death. The second death is separation from God. It is what is called the lake of fire. As Christians we already know, as those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we already know we are heaven bound. The ticket has been punched. We are bound for heaven.
Our souls are secure. We know that. Yet, we need to approach God as judge. We need to come to him with reverence. There needs to be a holy fear. I worry sometimes about the church of Jesus Christ and our flippant attitude towards sin and towards our lack of righteousness. We are all going to be judged, even those of us who are heaven bound. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 says to us as Christians, for this reason we make it our aim, whether at home or away to please him, for we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive good or evil according to what we have done in the body. As Christians, we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive good or evil according to what we have done in the body.
1 Corinthians chapter 3 it says, “In that day, many will be saved. They will suffer loss of reward though they themselves will be saved but only as through fire.” Kind of scary passages. I want you to understand that as followers of Jesus Christ, yes you are heaven bound, but hunger and thirst for righteousness, for much is at stake. Judgment is coming. Heavenly rewards are going to vary. There are consequences for lives lived flippantly.
Yes, God is judge. Sometimes he doesn’t wait for the last judgment. Sometimes he intervenes now. Sometimes he disciplines us now because he loves us. This view of God is inadequate. God doesn’t just wait until the final courtroom. He is involved in our lives, he is working in our lives, he shows mercy to us now, he gives good gifts to us now, he brings consequences our way—sometimes natural consequences and sometimes something he has chosen as appropriate for us because he loves us and is seeking to shape us. This view of God as simply a judge is inadequate.
There is a second subject I wanted us to take a brief look at before we close today. That is world justice. God is judge. He won’t simply judge us individually. It is not just a matter of personal, individual judgment, but he will judge the world. He will bring justice to the earth. He will bring justice to this world. That day will come. He is judge of judges. Jesus is Lord of Lords, and he is King of Kings and there will come an account for the world.
I know we all familiar with American history at least on a surface level. We know of many presidents who have served our country over the years. There are some presidents I am particularly fond of in history, and some I most admire. In more recent history a president I very much admired, a man I very much admired was Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was a Christian; particularly in his later years he was a Christ follower. He was a member of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church in California. His first pastor there was Louie Evans Jr., whom I knew. His second pastor there was Donald Moomaw, whom I knew. Don Moomaw had had a huge influence on my life. He was one of the founders of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and an All-American linebacker at UCLA three times over. Don Moomaw was an evangelical pastor.
Then the last pastor that Ronald Reagan had at Bel Air Presbyterian Church was Mark Brewer, who is one of my best friends. When Ronald Reagan died, Bel Air Presbyterian Church put on his funeral service. They put together a series of clips, a series of little videos to summarize Ronald Reagan’s faith. Certainly, God used Ronald Reagan to change our world in many ways. God was at work in Ronald Reagan’s life. I think that is part of the reason why Ronald Reagan understood the evils of totalitarian communism. He understood the evils that were perpetrated by the Soviet Union, the millions of lives that had been snuffed out by communism, and the millions more that have been oppressed. I really believe that by the grace of God, and through people like Ronald Reagan, the Soviet Union was dissolved. The Iron Curtain fell. The Cold War ended. Sometimes, by the grace of God, you see even in this life and in this world that justice comes. Sometimes it does.
You all know that on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The bombs fell that morning at 7:55 a.m. and the United State Pacific fleet was virtually destroyed. But our nation rose up and we were mobilized to fight evil on the earth. On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord and D-Day and the storming of the beaches at Normandy occurred—what incomprehensible sacrifice and what incomprehensible courage as American soldiers and Allied soldiers put their lives in harm’s way in order to confront this evil. Less than a year later on April 29, 1945, Germany surrendered. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered. On September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri all of the documents were signed, and World War II officially came to an end. The Nuremberg Trials took place and justice began to be served. We live in a world where, yes, justice is served and we have the grace of God, if the people of God would just mobilize and do something about it.
We also live in a world where oftentimes evil seems to be going on without being checked. Evil is perpetrated, seemingly without consequences. Drug lords make billions of dollars and live in lavish estates without consequences. Steve mentioned that this Friday night we have an event right here at the church, sponsored by Cherry Hills Community Church and by one of our ministry partners, Streets Hope. They work giving transitional housing and care to women who have come out of sex trafficking and the tragedy of that. This movie will focus on human trafficking and all of the kids and people who have basically been kidnapped and enslaved and forced into sexual prostitution. All over the world there are millions of people impacted by this, by these horrible people perpetrating these horrible acts on young people. Nobody is doing much about it.
This Friday night we have a wonderful movie called The Trade of Innocence. We encourage only people fourteen years of age and older to come out. It is hard subject. We are going to have a panel discussion, as Steve said, at 6:30 in the commons in the atrium. We need to serve justice. Come out and discover what you can do to help. I promise you that there is a dark corner of hell reserved for those who are leading these kind of atrocities in this world. Find out what we who love goodness can do to light a candle—not just curse the darkness, but actually light a candle.
Know that God is judge. One day Christ will come again a second time. In Revelation 19:11 we see a picture of the second coming of Christ and it is very different than the first when he will come to judge this world. Here is what the Bible says in Revelation 19:11, “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but he himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. The armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; he shall tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
That’s a little different description of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will bring justice to the earth. The kingdoms of this world, the Bible says, will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. Even nature will be restored as described in Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65, Isaiah 66, and Romans 8. Even the world of nature will receive justice. We are promised that he will beat our swords into plowshares, our spears into pruning hooks, and nation will not lift up sword against nation. Isaiah chapter 2, Micah 4, and Joel 3. The Bible is clear. God is judge. It is not a full picture of him, but it is part of who he is. We live for him. We thank God that in our lives he has tempered justice with mercy. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.