Only God Can Judge Me

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth. –Psalm 96:13

“Only God can judge me”. That is what the tattoo said across the chest of a guy who I recently observed was slandering and bashing Christians on a Facebook post. Being the curious fellow that I am, I jumped over to his Facebook wall and as expected, saw tons of worldly pictures, language, and such…none of which were God-honoring in the least. Now, I am not judging this guy by any means, I’m just using him as an example.

I brought this up in conversation with my accountability partner this morning. Our conclusion was that the phrase about God judging someone really has nothing to do with God at all. It’s basically just passing the buck as an excuse to do whatever you want. Anyone who TRULY believes that God is the ultimate Judge should in fact take their actions and lifestyle very seriously. Jesus tells us in Luke 12:4-5, “And I say to you, My friends do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has the power to cast into hell, yes, I say to you, fear Him!” So is that to say that we need to walk on eggshells, constantly afraid as to whether we will be struck down by the Lord’s wrath? No, we as believers do understand that we are under the gift of grace─ but that comes with great responsibility too. Fearing God is a healthy respect for who He really is─ the One who spoke creation into existence and gave you and I life in the first place. He is the only one who deserves all of the glory and praise (Psalm 96:4).

The cross and grace should never be used by Christians as a crutch or excuse. It should never be used as a weapon or in a condemning manner towards unbelievers either. Is it true that only God can judge us? Absolutely. Every single one of us one day will stand before Christ and give an account for our lives (2Cor 5:10); but this should be even more motivation for us to seek Him now while He may be found and share it with the spiritually lost. Today, instead of engaging in long and drawn-out online disputes that rarely ever have a positive outcome, stay grounded in the Word, live it out in your own life, and take hold of the witnessing opportunities when they arise. When we do, we will have reason to celebrate rather fear when we stand before our eternal Judge…and Father, with a clean slate.

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. –John 14:6