How Do Some Say Jesus Doesn’t Judge?

The first half of 1 Peter 4:17 says: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:”

The word in the Greek text here for “judgment” is krima (the sentence of a judge or the punishment with which one is sentenced). The word in the Greek text here for “begin” is archomai (to begin to do or to make a beginning). The word in the Greek text here for “house” is oikos (a household; an inhabited place).

Ezekiel chapters 8 and 9 illustrate judgment beginning at the house of God. Ezekiel sees a vision where the wicked in Jerusalem are killed for all the abominations which are happening there. The slaughter begins right inside the house built for the true God’s name by His own appointment (the Temple).

The Lord brought an end to the Temple system associated with the Jewish nation. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians while the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Now, there is not an exact, unchanging physical location where the Lord has appointed His prescribed worship to center around. His prescribed worship is rather now where two or more are gathered in Jesus Christ’s name (i.e. two or more are gathered together in subjection to His authority). There is not a more dangerous place on earth than where that is occurring.

If someone really wants to challenge the true God to go out of His way to kill or severely harm them, they should not try to command Him to strike them dead with lightning. He is not going to let anyone command Him what to do. Yet your chances of experiencing a direct and severe judgment from the living God on earth go up by a lot if you go and corrupt where His true people are gathered by immorality and/or false doctrine.

Though the house of God is the most dangerous place on earth, and those who corrupt it are the most eligible for swift judgment in this life, to avoid it and the righteous ways which are supposed to accompany it is to ultimately invite eternal judgment anyways.

The rest of 1 Peter 4:17 and 1 Peter 4:18 go on to say: “and if it (i.e. judgment) first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely (or, with much difficulty) be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

Associating Pacifism with Jesus Christ and proper Christian doctrine is evil. Pacifism is “the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means.” War and violence are indeed unjustifiable when realistic means to righteously solve a conflict otherwise have not been exercised. Rebuking Pacifism here is not denying that settling disputes by peaceful means often is righteously possible.

Pacifism promotes idolatry. The false “hippie Jesus” which many believe in is intrinsically linked to the lie that Jesus is a pacifist. Pacifism vilifies God’s own judgments in the Bible. Pacifism also endangers those who are abiding by the law and rather takes sides with predatory criminals against those whom they seek to victimize. It also justifies wicked criminals who get arrested and judged for their crime. If Jesus is a pacifist, there would be no need to seek peace with Him. Nothing could be further from the truth than that.

Jesus in His incarnation directly taught about the eternal lake of fire for transgressors against God more than any of the Old Testament Prophets did. But does the Old Testament even speak of such a concept at all? Many, including many Jewish people, would say that it does not. However, that is only proof they do not really take heed to and regard the things taught in the Old Testament (aka: The Tanakh). Just because Jesus in His incarnation spoke more about eternal torment directly than the Old Testament writers spoke of it doesn’t mean that the truth wasn’t clear before.

Isaiah 66:22-24: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain (note that this is speaking directly to Jews before the first coming of Christ who were judged to be righteous). And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”

It is obvious, even right from the Old Testament, that the judgment of the wicked is not simply temporary destruction nor merely shame in terms of their remembrance.

Daniel 12:2: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Some shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt. They will not rather continue to sleep in the dust of the earth. What Jesus taught about eternal condemnation in the Gospel accounts was only echoing what was already taught in the Old Testament.

Mark 9:43-48: “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

With these things accounted for, it is reasonable to conclude then that the Lord intended the vast multitude of threats of His judgment right in the Law of Moses, and throughout the Old Testament, to be taken as solid implications of eternal judgment on His enemies.

Psalm 73:18-20: “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.”

We are told in Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

When the Bible talks about the fear of God it literally means “the fear of God.” There is no warrant for watering this term down like many try to do. A word that is often used in the New Testament to refer to the fear of God is “phobeo” in the original Greek text of the Bible (this is obviously the source of the English word “phobia”).

The proper fear of God is an intense dread of displeasing and offending Him. It is not talking about the unreasonable fears of some who believe that God is arbitrary, capricious, or something along those lines. Any who doubt whether He should really be feared only need to look at the drastic, dreadful things He did in the Bible to make an example of those who turned from Him and did wickedly.

Christ offers people peace and reconciliation with the Father to people on the condition that they turn from all sin and love of darkness to be faithful subjects of His under the righteous authority of His Word. When people despise this merciful and reasonable offer, then there is nothing left for them besides His wrath.

Proverbs 19:12: “The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favor is as dew upon the grass.”

Don’t be surprised then to read about the wrath of the Lamb being poured out upon the wicked of the world at the end of this age.

Revelation 6:14-16: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”

These people in utter terror of the Lamb could have found His mercy and been spared from this irremediable terror. He died to deliver them from condemnation. However, when He rises to judgment He yet pronounces a verdict of condemnation upon them because they would not really seek Him and turn from their wicked ways to steadfastly walk in His ways.

Proverbs 29:1: “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

The Israelites rightly compared the Lord to a man of war in Exodus 15:3. This was after they had been delivered from Egypt through the dividing of the Red Sea and the deadly overthrow of Pharaoh’s army. Yet the truth that the Lord can rightfully be compared to a man of war meant judgment and terror for Israel eventually.

Look at the commentary on this in Isaiah 63:7-10: “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”

Jesus is only the Prince of Peace in the context of righteousness. He has not promised His peace outside of subjection to His righteous authority. He has rather guaranteed war with those at enmity therewith.

He even said in Matthew 10:34: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”

The judgment and division caused by His sword in this life is both a precursor of Judgment Day and a merciful warning for people now to forsake all regard for sin and receive His righteous reign. Those who don’t take heed will lose all peace and experience His fierceness and wrath firsthand. Read the description of His second coming in Revelation chapter 19.

While it is true that God has demonstrated a benevolent heart towards sinners, and has especially commended His love for sinners through Christ’s death for them (as Romans 5:8 shows), it is also true that He hates the wicked way of the sinner.

Psalm 5:4-5: “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish (or, the boastful) shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”

Workers of iniquity are hated by God in the sense that they are not in His favor and are rather regarded as His enemies. This does not mean that His benevolent attitude towards them is not present now on this side of Judgment Day while they remain candidates for His mercy. However, it means that they must turn from the evil way which puts them in opposition to His righteous ways and be delivered from the guilt of their deeds by the blood of Christ in order to not be His enemy anymore.

To claim “God hates the sin but loves the sinner” is misleading due to how God is angry with sinners even now and demands that they turn to Him in separation from their sin. He is ready to slay them in His wrath if they don’t. To claim “God hates the sin but loves the sinner” is even worse yet because He will eventually rise to judgment against sinners if they do not turn. Sinners at that point will become the direct object of His hatred which will be expressed through their ruin.

Those destroyed by the flood in Noah’s time and the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are just two key examples of many judgments in the Bible where people found this out the hard way. As with all times when the Lord rises up to judgment in this life, these are strong foreshadowings of the ultimate condemnation which unrepentant sinners will face on the ultimate Day of Judgment.