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Who is the judge in God’s court?

Published:Thursday | April 8, 2021 | 12:10 AM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

From time to time, my friend and colleague Dr Michael Abrahams holds court in his columns. Sitting on the bench, he brings for trial, verdict, and sentencing questions about God (His existence, or His justice or His love), and of the Bible (its false, warped views and dangerous dogmas).

With all due respect, I disagree with Dr Mike in relation both to his arguments and his conclusions. If God is real, supreme and sovereign, it is a reckless man who calls Him into court to judge Him. If He is only a myth, such effort is an unnecessary waste of time.

The Christian faith, centred on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, is rooted in documented realities in the past, relevant to experienced realities in the present, and riveted to God-promised (and therefore certain) realities in the future.

One of these future realities is another courtroom scene spoken of in this way:

“For God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man (Jesus) he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Jesus spoke of this day: “the Father ... has given the Son authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out...”

When Jesus, the Judge, enters His court, there will be the call “All rise!” – and we will stand before Him. That is the verdict that will count – His, not ours.

Jesus has already made clear: “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Unfortunately, many do not believe. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God ... For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

Through the grace of God, the ‘wisdom’ of human intellect is invited and enabled to bow to the ‘foolishness’ of faith in the truth of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.

DR CHARLES ROYES