Only God Can Judge Me!

 Another popular response to challenges of visible unrepentant sin in someone's life or expressions of concern over someone's salvation is this,

 "Only God can judge me!"

This is one of the most frightening statements that I hear people make today.  I have actually seen t-shirts with the statement printed on them.  I have also seen tattooed on people's bodies.  

Here is the reality.  If you wait for God to judge you, you have waited to long.  

The bible says that the day will come when God will judge the living and the dead(1Peter 4:5, 2 Timothy 4:1).  Hebrews 9:27 says, "it is appointed to man once to die, after that the judgement."   In Matthew 10:28 Jesus states, "and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Well, in relation to that last scripture you might ask, if I will be destroyed, what difference does it make?  I won't suffer once I am gone.  On the contrary, Titus 1:8-9 says this, "in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might".

Certainly, we are not to judge hypocritically according to Matthew 7.  This means that I should not look down upon sin in the life of someone else if I myself am regularly committing that same sin without a repentant heart.  If one has a repentant heart regarding a certain sin, they will not blatantly continue in it.  If they do, with no regard for it's offense against God's holiness, that is evidence that they likely do not have a heart surrendered to Jesus.  If this is true and they die in that state, they will most certainly face eternal destruction.

Make no mistake.  You will face judgement.  We all will.  The only defense we will have is the blood bought atonement that is ours if Jesus was Lord of our lives.  If this has been the case, your name is in the book of life and you are eternally safe.  If not, you are eternally damned(Revelation 20:11-15).

Wouldn't you rather that someone in this life challenged you and held you accountable, and possibly created this concern now, rather than later.  It may be that you have not understood with your heart as your mind thought you did.(2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

I plead with you not to harden your heart to anyone who brings concerns about sin in your life.  Humbly and gratefully receive their thoughts and bring them before the Lord in prayer.  Don't reject them without at least asking the Lord to reveal to you any way in which you may be blind to this sin.  Ask him to open your heart and enable change in a given area if you become aware that sin exists there.

Pride can certainly cause an initial negative response in your flesh to the challenge.  However, if you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit will soften your heart and lead you to repentance.  Repentance leads to holiness which is what God is calling us to as believers.  There is no greater goal than Christ-likeness.

Rather than righteous judgement that leads to eternal destruction, the fruit of repentance is ultimately an eternity spent in the presence of Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Love in Christ,

Josh