Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. Psalm 43:1 

2002 was a big year for many people. For my family it was the year that marked our introduction along with the rest of America to the singing competition American Idol. I was only 4 when the show started but you can bet your bottom dollar that when I was old enough to care I was watching. My family and I would sit down and watch the judges as they judged hundreds of candidates in each city they went to. Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell were funny, brutal and downright rude, all things that I began to  think a judge was supposed to be like. As I got older I realized how wrong this was and brave some of these people were. They willingly subjected themselves to pretty harsh judgment. Not only did they go before this panel of judges they did it in front of a TV audience that at its peak averaged 30 million viewers. I couldn’t handle this kind of judgment. What made it worse was that as I went to Sabbath schools and read my bible I was learning about God’s final judgment over humanity and all I could think of was, “what if I didn’t perform well”. Today I have come to a different conclusion on what that judgment will be like, praise God that through a spirit led reading of His word we can discover hope in judgment. Do you want to see what the Bible has to say about judgment? Keep reading, I promise I won’t judge. 

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son John 5:22

I said I wouldn’t judge you for joining me in this discovery. That wasn’t just some cheeky play on words. The fact of the matter is that our judgment isn’t going to be by some panel of judges that are people like you and me. American Idol set up the model that we see on earth today. Someone who is learned in the law or field in which the judgment is taking place, presides over the subject at hand. This is the way our government works, how our competitions work, it's how we judge, The problem is that we are not perfect, the system is flawed. Harvard School of Public Health published an article in which it stated that “many experts think the percentage is realistically more like 2.5 to 5 percent—meaning that some 55,000 to 110,000 wrongfully convicted people are serving time.” Wow am I grateful that our judge isn’t a human like us. Instead the Bible tells us that God the father has given all judgment over to His Son. What qualifies Jesus to judge us? 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15

Jesus as judge has quite the ring to it. But why is this good for us? Well the Bible outlines for us in Hebrews that Jesus knows what it’s like for us. He has been “tempted in every way”, and even through this He did not sin. Now does this mean that since He did it He will look down on us and say “I did it so you can do it”? No! The verse following this statement in Hebrews tell us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Did you catch the language of leniency? We are to come to throne of “grace” to find mercy and grace there. When we pair mercy and grace together in judgment, beauty can be found. 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 

When God acts He does so with a sense of justice that is beyond our reach. The Bible is full of God’s justice and we at times are stretched to understand it. “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4 We cannot fathom how perfect His justice is, and yet it is not left to work alone. God’s justice is paired with His mercy. In Exodus 34 when God is revealing His character to Moses He tells him that he is “compassionate and gracious” and in the same breath tells Moses that He will pass judgment on those who are guilty. How does that work for our judgement? 

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 4:7

We stand before the throne of Mercy and Grace and we are cleansed from all sin, that is how we stand in judgement. If you read your bible and you are honest with yourself you will know that we do nothing to deserve this. The human condition is one of sin and guilt, and yet when the judge comes to us He looks upon us with compassion and grace. He is offering you a clean slate, a new life as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Will you take it? Christ will not force this upon you, it’s your choice.  I will not judge you, the world will try but in the end it is the Son who is our judge and He wants to give you everything possible, will you accept Him?