by Robert Burk

Created on: June 09, 2009   Last Updated: June 10, 2009

How Will God Judge Us

The popular image is of God on His throne and a mass of humans before Him as He looks into our hearts and views our sins, but there are a couple of reasons why this view may not tell the true extent of God's judgment.

God gave us the freedom to choose. This tells us that there is a right and wrong or there would not be much to judge men on. This also tells us that we are able to choose, not just as moral beings but also as sentient ones. There is an observable difference between what is right and what is wrong.

If there is a right way and a wrong way to live then living the right way will have its own rewards. If we are meant to make choices based upon our free will then the choices we make we reflect our hearts, since a good person is in conformity to the will of God, doing evil creates a life distant from God and full of trial and trouble.

We are judged on the basis of our hearts and our hearts determine the choices we make and our choices determine the sort of life we will live, so we are judged by the results of our choices.

Not every good person lives a good life and not every evil person has a terrible life but there is a close correlation and not everything is visible to the naked eye. How many people, who seem to be doing great kill himself or herself or take drugs, this is not a sign of a life that was going well for the person. The trappings of worldly success do not make for a successful life.

I think this sort of situation is indicated when God tells us that it is by the treasure of our hearts that we will be known. What we love and desire condemns us if it is not God.

The other point is that God's rules are not for Him but for us. There is nothing anyone can do for or against God. He sets forth rules to guide us and if we are wise we will follow these guidelines. But we are not breaking God's rules when we sin not in the sense that they have infringed upon His rights. So His judgments are not the human kind where the aggrieved party is looking for recompense from the defendant. We are condemned when we lift up wrong living and we pour punishment down upon ourselves when we desire something more than we desire God.

God gave us choice. Most people do not comprehend the full implications of this. This is a great blessing but it is also the source of all sin and condemnation. A choice is always between competing values. We want a newspaper but it will cost a dollar. Some people solve this dilemma

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