Reflection: Judgement

When I was younger (and possibly even still now, but you can’t prove it) I was an avid listener of ‘Gangsta Rap’. A famous line from the artist 2Pac was “only God can judge me.” He was right.

In John 3:18 it states that the world stands condemned ALREADY. However, the preceding verse states that the Son of Man DID NOT come into the world to condemn the world. So which is it? The interplay is of a broken house already facing condemnation and of a Saviour who seeks to remove his loved ones before the demolition.

John 16 tells us the Holy Spirit came to bring a new conviction regarding Judgement. The prevalent view is of a God hyper focused on Judgement – actually, our Father is the opposite, he is hyper focused on pulling us out of Judgement and of pulling Judgement out of us.

Our salvation, identity, redemption and sanctification are through the work of Jesus on the Cross: it’s gifted. A radical act of love which demonstrates our worth and affirms that we are no longer under judgement. The revelation of this releases us to live lives that honour God and bless others!

Author: Daniel Sheikh is the Senior Pastor of Heart for the City Church in Perth, Western Australia.  He also is currently the Youth Alive WA Director.

Prayer:

Father, I thank you that you came for the sick, not the healthy, and I recognise that everyone has fallen short of your glory. I thank you that there is now no condemnation upon my life as my righteousness is found in Christ Jesus. From that revelation of the freedom I now have in Christ, help me to live up to what I have already obtained!