Jesus Christ the Judge of the Living and the Dead

In the criminal justice system, one who is elected or appointed to be a judge is expected to be above reproach. He is to respect the law, understand it, and interpret it with no partiality. A judge with integrity cannot be bribed and is not intimidated by evil men who make threats.

God the Father has appointed God the Son to be the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5). Jesus Christ was born under the Law (Gal 4:4), and He kept the Law of God, fulfilling its requirements to perfection (Mt 5:17; Lk 24:44). He is the Son of God (Mt 27:54), who took on flesh (Jn 1:14), dwelt among us in our likeness, yet was without sin (Heb 4:15). In other words, Jesus understands the human condition, personally and intimately. He was a friend of sinners (Mt 11:19), during His earthly life and ministry.

With great precision, Jesus judged those who were brought to Him. He also judged the hearts of those who envied Him. He confronted sinners, and yet He showed great compassion on those who humbly confessed they were guilty of sin. Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4), and no one Jesus encountered was without sin (Rom 3:23). He garnered much love, from those to whom He showed mercy. He reaped scorn from the unrepentant.

When His accusers bore false witness against Him, He remained mute (Is 53:7). Because He was truth (Jn 14:5; Rom 3:4), He needed no defense. He was grossly mistreated, and He suffered under Pontius Pilate. Here was a man of sorrows (Is 53:3), acquainted with much grief, who experienced grave injustice at the hands of sinners (Mt 26:45).

It is customary for sinners to blaspheme God and take the name of the Lord in vain. They accuse the Holy One, of the sins they are guilty of committing. Even, today, sinners accuse God of injustice (Rom 9:19).

Jesus Christ is justified before God the Father (Rom 3:26), by His works done in righteousness. Everyone else is unjust before God (Rom 3:10–12). There is none righteous, not even one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23; 5:12). The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), and it is appointed once for a man to die, and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27).

Everyone conceived in the womb must appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10). This is the great white throne of judgment (Rev 20:11). Everyone must give an account of everything ever said or done (Mt 12:36; Rom 2:5), whether good or bad. They will be judged by the righteous Judge, Jesus Christ (Acts 17:31; 2 Tim 4:8; Rev 19:2, 11).

God’s Word teaches that Messiah will come a second time (Mt 24–25; Mk 13; Lk 21). At that point, the full number of His saints will have been gathered into the fold (Mt 24:14; 1 Thess 3:13). As He comes to gather the elect from the four winds (Mt 24:31; Mk 13:27), it will be the Day of Judgment (Mt 10:15; 2 Pet 3:7; Jude 1:6), when He will sit on His throne (Is 16:5; Mt 25:31). His saints now glorified, body and soul, for whom there is no condemnation (Rom 8:1), will join Him in judgment of men and angels (Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30).

Those who died through history, who did not belong to Christ (Jn 10:26), will be raised from the dead (Jn 5:29; Heb 6:2), body and soul, to hear their sentence of eternal punishment in fiery hell (Mt 25:46; Jude 1:7). These were vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (Rom 9:22), who loathed the Lord Jesus and shunned the prospect of His coming (Rev 6). These despised and rejected Jesus (Is 53), who commends them to the lake of fire (Rev 20:14–15).

The terrible nature of eternal hell, one would think, should be a terrifying deterrent. Men should be clutching to every Christian they meet, asking, “Sir, what must I do to be saved (Acts 16:30)?” They should be asking about the hope within us (Rom 5:5; Heb 6:19). They should be crying out to the Judge of the whole earth (Ps 58:11), “Have mercy on me a sinner (Mk 10:47)!” Instead, they continue in sin, until they die in their trespasses and sins.

O wretched man, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31). If today were the day of your salvation, you would be compelled to repent of your sins against God (Heb 3:15). You would confess your sin to Him (1 Jn 1:9). You would agree that you are ungodly (Rom 4:5; 5:6), unjust (Lk 18:11; 1 Pet 3:18), wicked (Gen 6:5), and that your heart is deceitful above all else (Jer 17:9). You would be humbled by the fact that you are hurtling toward an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 8:12; 13:42, 50; 24:51; 25:30).

God has not hidden from you the fact that there is only one Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:25). Jesus Christ has suffered and died, in the place of punishment (the cross) that His people deserved (Rom 5:8; 1 Pet 3:18). God raised Him from the dead (Acts 13:30; Rom 10:9; Gal 1:1; Col 2:12; 1 Pet 1:21), as proof that His sacrifice was acceptable (Acts 17:31). His righteousness was imputed, or credited to their account (Rom 4:5; 10:3; Phil 3:9).

What love? What mercy? What grace? The Judge of sinners has paid the required redemption price (Eph 1:7; Heb 9:12). He cancelled their entire debt of sin (Col 2:14). It is the Spirit of Christ who comes to notify an elect (Lk 4:18; 1 Cor 2:4; 1 Pet 1:12), redeemed sinner that his sins are forgiven (Mt 9:6; Acts 5:31; 26:18; Col 1:14), by the authority of the merciful Judge, who is justified in doing so, having Himself satisfied what the Law demanded.

This is the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:4; 1 Tim 1:11), which is good news for those who believe it. Those who do not believe God’s report have called God a liar (Rom 3:4; 1 Jn 4:20; 5:10). The truth is that God is true and communicates truth. It is man who is the liar (Rom 3:4).

Today, if you hear His voice, go to the Judge of the living and the dead, and trust in His perfect provision for your reconciliation with God (2 Cor 5:18–20). Your humble submission before the perfect Judge is expedient. Otherwise, you will meet this same Judge on the last day, and it will not go well for you. You have been warned and encouraged. Repent and believe.

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

December 14, 2022