In the early years of my pastorate I had a good friend, LaMar Carlson, who pastored a neighboring church in the Western Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church. He was a gentle soul with strong evangelical convictions. I vividly remember standing in the kitchen of his parsonage and placing before him a troubling question. “How can a loving God judge His children?” With equal lucidity I have always remembered his answer. LaMar replied, “In my heart I cannot believe it; in my head I know it to be true,” as he pointed to each part of his body respectively. So, what prevailed in his response – gentleness or evangelical fervor? I suspect it was both.
Two theologians I have extensively read in my quest to understand Christological titles and their interpretation are Vincent Taylor and his book The Names of Jesus, and William Barclay and his book Jesus As They Saw Him. Both concluded that we live in a paradox that Jesus came into the world both to judge and to save. It is an enigma that all thinking Christians have been forced to ponder – a benevolent Jesus who is also a condemning Jesus. It is an anomaly that eclipses any certitude of an answer.
It is the quagmire of my previous question. The heart affirms a loving God; but cognitively and sound exegetical study cannot arbitrarily dismiss judgment sayings.
Barclay noted recognizing Jesus as a judge would stand prominently today if we believed in the immediacy of the Second Coming, as did the first century Christians. Though, as time has distanced us from the first century, little thought is given to the angels of heaven sounding forth trumpets as Christ triumphantly descends on the clouds of heaven.
The early church held fast to this doctrine, unfaltering in its conviction. This is reflected in the Apostles’ Creed, which tradition holds the twelve apostles wrote on the Day of Pentecost. It clearly states that Jesus “sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” This affirmation was confirmed in the Nicene Creed, approved at the Council of Constantinople in 381, which pronounces that Jesus “shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end.” The theological doctrine of Jesus as Judge was firmly attested to by the early church fathers and was prominently reiterated in the liturgy used in worship.
A study of world history will demonstrate how far removed we have this day placed ourselves from the Second Coming. When the second millennium approached people were so certain of the return of Jesus that the economy faltered. Most workers failed to produce a sufficient amount of goods to sustain businesses and households. Others obtained exorbitant loans, certain there would be no need for repayment. When the year 1000 came and went (though the millennium technically began on 1001), the world economy thundered forth into a major depression that did not stabilize for decades. This is a far cry from the encroachment of the third millennium, when the only major concern was Y2K, absent of any thought, by most people, of the Second Coming.
We need, as a starting point, a rediscovery of the meaning of sin. Karl Menninger in his book that was published in 1973, titled Whatever Became of Sin? wrote: The very word ‘sin,’ which seems to have disappeared, was a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word. It described a central point in every civilized human being’s life plan and life style. But the word went away. It has almost disappeared – the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn’t anyone sin anymore? Doesn’t anyone believe in sin?
Though one should avoid self- flagellation, I truly believe that most of us are so self-righteous that when pressed would have a difficult time articulating a personal sin of commission or omission of substance that was committed.
Jesus recognized sin, and one need not venture further than the parables to read his litany of offenses. The parable of the unforgiving debtor shows that an unforgiving spirit brings condemnation. (Mt 18:21-35) The parable of the wedding feast shows what happens when an individual rejects the invitation of God. (Mt 22:1-14) The parable of the wicked husbandman shows the consequences rejecting Jesus. (Mt 21: 33-46) The parable of the talents shows what happens to the person who refuses to use the gifts that God has entrusted to his care. (Mt 25: 14-30) The parable of the barren fig tree shows that uselessness invites disaster. (Lk 13: 6-9) The parable of the rich fool shows what lies in store for the man whose priorities are focused on materialism. (Lk 12: 16-20) The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector shows that self-righteousness is in itself separation from God. (Lk 18: 10-14) The parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows the fate of the man or woman who is impervious to the claims of human need. (Lk 16: 19-31) A review of this list would find each one of us standing central stage in the parable’s enactment. You and I are sinners. Let us make no apologies; but do let us confess.
Returning to the paradox of Jesus as Savior and Judge, a new dimension is now added. It is our response to Jesus that becomes a moment of salvation or condemnation. Jesus came into this world to bring men and women into the fellowship of God’s love. Jesus came in order that all persons might be saved. Encountering Jesus, if an individual sees in him nothing lovely, nothing great, nothing splendid, nothing to be worshipped and adored, then that person has judged himself. If in Jesus a person sees the beauty of a life and the promise of eternity, then joy will abound.
I have always said heaven and hell is something we experience this day. If you know Jesus, you have already experienced heaven, however imperfectly amidst our daily tribulations. If you have rejected Jesus and the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the guidance of the Scriptures, and the fellowship of the community of believers, then hell is a very real and present experience.
The Washington Post posed the question, “Do you believe in heaven or hell? If not, why not? If so, who’s going there and how do you know?” The newspaper has a panel of fifty journalists, theologians, pastors, and leaders from most of the world’s religions who had an open forum to respond. Christopher Dickey, who is the Middle East Regional director of Newsweek magazine, gave this response. He attended a police seminar on suicide bombers. Afterwards, Dickey wrote: Among the Power Point slides presented were mug shots of suicide bombers taken after the fact. Their explosive belts destroyed their bodies but left their heads intact, and the face of each was frozen at the moment of death with an expression of surprise, as if they had just seen or experienced something that really was quite unexpected. Did they behold the gates of Paradise, as they were taught by the people who recruited and instructed them in an aberrant vision of Islam? Or did they glimpse the depths of hell as they stole away the lives of innocents in their campaign of horror? Where are the souls of those bombers now? He continued to explore this thought in his article, and then ended with this poignant sentence: But as I look at the faces of the murders, I feel certain that the death their souls tasted was the nightmare that became their eternity.
William Barclay concludes the chapter in his book on the Christological title of Judge with this admission: We do well to remember that in Jesus God offers us the wonder of His love and that our reaction to that offer is a judgment. That is why Jesus is for ever Savior and Judge.