Judge Finds Boston Bomber Not Guilty

The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works…The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. (Psalm 145:17, Isaiah 3:13)

Relax

The title of the blog is a hoax, but let me ask you — what if it were true? Would you have an opinion regarding this judge? What if somebody brutally attacked and killed your loved one, and wound up before this same judge, and what if in his ruling he said,

Because the defendant has done a lot of good things in his life, and he said he was really sorry for killing an innocent person, and because I am a loving and forgiving person myself, I find him not guilty.”

We would never condone this behavior from our judiciary, so why do so many of us believe that our Heavenly Judge rules in this manner? Why are there so many people who believe a ‘loving and forgiving’ God would never send anyone to hell. Why do we believe that if we do enough good, we can tip the scales of justice in our favor when we would never stand for it in our society?

Right-ness

If God is perfectly righteous (and He is), He must find every offender guilty. If God makes any exceptions, His perfection goes right out the window. Either our LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works, or He is not. In God’s courtroom, sin is always ruled sin and the verdict is “Guilty!” a million times out of a million times.

But Wait!

The same God who stands to judge the people is the same God who stands to plead our case. How can our Judge and our Defender be one and the same? It’s at times like these, when our very lives hang in the balance, we should not ask too many questions or perhaps more accurately, not allow our lack of perception stand in the way of redemption. If there is an opportunity to appear guiltless before the Creator of the universe and sidestep the penalty of sin, than we should lunge towards it and grasp at it with both hands! This is not the time to hold onto the false notion that our good deeds will get us out of this jam or hope the judge is inconsistent.

Jesus stands before the Father and pleads the case for His brothers and sisters, essentially saying, “Your Honor, I have taken their guilt upon My shoulders, I bore it to the cross, and I paid the penalty.” If justice has been served; if there was a guilty plea and the punishment was paid, and if the defendant believes in his Advocate, then the Judge must dismiss the case.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

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So What’s Your Sign?

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20

Recently I had a discussion with a person and was able to share the Good News. Much to my delight she agreed to attend church the following Sunday with me and my family where the pastor confirmed and elaborated upon many of the things we had previously discussed. The pastor gave the invitation to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior, but she did not respond to the offer. Later on I asked her why.

One of her reasons was, “Because I am already a good person.”

“No you’re not,” I wanted to say, “you’re a rotten person,” but I bit my tongue. As true as it is, there was no love to be found in that response.

The fact of the matter is that we spent a lot of time talking about the very false doctrine of universalism (her other issue) and never really brought the conversation back around to her (our) perceived goodness.

There is none who does good, no, not one. Romans 3:12b

How to Tell a Nonbeliever That They Are No Good

It’s hard to tell someone they are no good and sound loving at the same time. You can say, “I love you,” all you want, but all they’re going to hear is that you just insulted them. From where they stand, they (and perhaps the world) see themselves as good people heading in the right direction. We on the other hand see them lost and heading in the wrong direction. What’s needed here is a road sign. What will a road sign do? Two things actually—it tells you where you are and it tells you the direction you need to go. The Law is that road sign.

You can easily show a nonbeliever the Ten Commandments and demonstrate how they have broken every single one. From there it is easy to point out that no one can be justified by the deeds of the law (Romans 3:20) because no one aside from Jesus has ever been able to keep the Law. So what’s the Law’s purpose? To show you where you are (in sin) and to point you in the direction you need to go (to Jesus). It really is just that simple.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Here’s the solution. Say, “Jesus, I was just at the road sign and it showed me I was a lost sinner. Thankfully, it pointed me in Your direction. Please cleanse me.” That’s all there is to it.

Remember, the Law was written on tablets of stone, not bars of soap–it cannot clean you.

 

These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson and with my pastor at my home church, Calvary Chapel Coastlands

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