Our Judge
““He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.” — NCAT 9.
WE must not dare to pick and choose in
the Bible (Rev. xxii. Yen Lisa?
true, and will all come true; not liking to
think about any part of it does not make it
any the less true. Then is it not better to know the whole truth?
So, in thinking of the names of Christ, we must not leave out what seems at first sight a terrible name, for it is a great truth that He will certainly come to be our Judge. And God wishes us all to know it, for He commanded the apostles to preach it, and so His ministers would be doing wrong if they never preached about it, whether people like it or not!
‘“‘ He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead.” Whether we are “quick,” that is “alive,” when the Lord Jesus comes, or dead, will make no difference. ‘For we shall ai stand before the judgment-seat of Christ”? (Rom. xiv. ). There is no possibility of not having to stand there, for it says in another place “we must all appear” before it (2 Cor. v. ). “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory” (Matt. xxv. ). And then He will divide the sheep from the goats, and He will make no mistake. And then, surely and really, you and I will be there, standing before Him where He puts us, on the right hand or the left, and none between. And then we shall be judged out of the things that are written in the books (Rev. xxi. ‘ And nothing can possibly be hidden or forgotten then, for God says He wili bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing (Eccles, xii. ).
Oh, how terrible, if we had never met our Judge before! No wonder that some will say to the rocks, “Fall on us!” (Rev. vi. ). How shall we be able to stand in the judgment?
Stay, look at the Judge! Who is it? ““Who is He that condemneth?” (that is the same word as “judgeth”).
Oh, what a blessed answer! “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen.again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. vill. ). Now do not you see how thankful and glad we should be that Christ is our Judge, Christ Jesus, who came /irst¢ to save us!
But even this would not be enough to give us confidence at His coming (1 Johnii. ). For He is “the righteous Judge” (2 Tim iv.
), and “will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum i. ). A righteous judge can not let people off merely because they know him, or even because he Joves them. Ah! but see what the Love has done! The Judge Himself has been judged in our stead, and has borne the punishment in our stead! And His righteousness is reckoned to us (Rom. ). Therefore we may say:
‘*Bold shall I stand in that great day, For who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through these I am, From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.’