Let God do the judging

We will all stand before God’s judgment seat... Each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:10-12

Do you really believe in this statement by Paul? Do you ever think about the day, which must come, when you will stand before God and “give an account” of the life you have lived, the things you have done, and the person you have been?

I find the prospect quite frightening. 

Don’t get me wrong. I know that in Christ my eternal destiny is secure: I am saved through my faith in his death on the cross. I take great comfort from Paul’s earlier statement that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:1). No condemnation! - how liberating is that wonderful expression!

But still... “frightening” fits pretty well how I feel about standing before God on judgment day. 

Put it like this. In most of the trials of life we are accompanied by others: people to visit us when we are sick; a lawyer to represent us if we have done wrong; a friend to help and advise if we are confused or unhappy. But on the day of judgment we will be as alone as we have ever been or ever can be. It will be just... me and God. And God (in case we need the reminder) is holy, utterly perfect.

Yes, we need to take final judgment seriously!

While all this is true, we need to notice that Paul’s main purpose in teaching his readers these things is not, in fact, to “put the frighteners” on them. As with every Bible passage, we need to notice the context in which he is writing. So if you have your Bible to hand take a moment, please, to read Romans 14 in full...

Paul is talking about areas of the Christian life where equally sincere Christians may disagree with one another. Two examples seem to have been hot topics in the church in Rome: vegetarianism (is it all right for Christians to eat meat? - verses 1-4); and the observing of particular days as special (are certain days to be set apart as “holy”? - verses 5-6).

And the reason Paul says what he says in verses 10-12 is this: because you are ultimately accountable to God, you are not accountable to a fellow-Christian who may see fit to criticise you.

Take drink as an example. I grew up in a church where it was simply taken for granted that, if you were a Christian, you wouldn’t ever drink alcohol. Most of us accepted that without raising an eyebrow: you could say, if you like, that we toed the party-line. 

But of course there were some - just a few - who saw things differently. “What’s wrong with responsible drinking?” they would say. Isn’t wine given by God “to gladden the heart of man” (Psalm 104)? Didn’t Jesus himself turn water into wine?

The tragedy was that such a difference of opinion could never remain purely hypothetical. Inevitably, it raised strong feelings; it gave rise to opposing “camps”, with people in both camps pointing an accusing finger at the other. “Oh, they’re just legalistic, petty and immature!” said the yes-to-alcohol camp. “What a terrible witness! How worldly!” said the no-to-alcohol camp.

Not good. Not good at all...

This is the kind of situation Paul is pleading with the Roman Christians to avoid. “On matters like these,” he is saying, “just respect and live with one another. If you’re in the yes-to-alcohol camp, don’t despise the other camp. And if you’re in the no-to-alcohol camp, don’t condemn the other camp.”

Why? Well, this brings us right back to our verses - it is to God that we are accountable, not to any other human being.

Of course, there are some things which are just plain right or wrong, end of story. I was once asked to prepare a young man for baptism. On our first chat I discovered that he saw nothing wrong with sex outside marriage (the photos adorning the walls of his flat suggested his very liberal view). As far as I was concerned his attitude was simply wrong, so, in as sensitive a way as I could, I told him so. No room for compromise there.

And there are plenty of other instances where God’s word is perfectly clear. Can you imagine somebody saying “Well, all right, you think murder is wrong, but personally I’m ok with it”? Of course not.

No, it’s those “grey” areas which, sadly, give rise to so much trouble - and they are a challenge to all of us.

So, here’s a question to finish with: Do you take a strong view in any area that doesn’t call for it? And another question: Do you take a weak view in any area that does?

Time for some rethinking perhaps...

Lord God, help me to be immovable on the things that really matter, but flexible on those that don’t - and the wisdom to know the difference! Amen.