Liberty
5 min read
26 “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”
John 5:26-29
Verse 29 is one of those verses that should cause us to “quake in our boots.” Because by Jesus’s standards, we have all “done what is evil.” And there is no sense of the weighing of “good” versus “evil” here—meaning, there is no sense that as long as we do more “good” than “evil” according to God, then we will go to heaven, and if not, we will go to hell. We would have no way of understanding what God’s rubric is anyway. Taken literally, we would be compelled to obey the word of God perfectly—which is impossible on this side of eternity.
There are three implications that stand out to me, although there are many more. First, the judgment of our lives is based on the things that we “do,” which includes the things that we say. More specifically, our judgment is not based on things that we think or feel. However, the things that we think and feel are the fruit of our spirits. Sooner or later, the things that we think and feel bubble up to the things we do and say. And Jesus makes that very point in the Sermon on the Mount.
Second, God wants us to do good, according to His standards, which is found in the word of God. And so, we ought to strive to do good. But because of sin, our interpretations of His word cannot be perfect. And yet, the word of God still guides us toward what is “good.” The imperfection of our understanding ought to instill in us a deep humility, and with humility, grace toward our brothers and sisters in Christ who make a good-faith effort to be faithful to God’s word. When we consider the Ten Commandments, we cannot perfectly obey commandment one because we cannot perfectly obey commandment ten—or vice versa (who can say?).
Third, Christ died on the cross to give us an opportunity to be free from the condemnation and guilt of our sin. Through faith in Him, God considers all the evil that we have done in our lives, and maybe even continue to do, and deems us “not guilty.” And with that freedom, we must never grow comfortable and complacent in our sin, but resist and resist again, even when we stumble, and resist and resist again without the fear of judgment.
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[fn] free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2
Father, You alone are good. Your lovingkindness, faithfulness, and mercy endure forever, and by Your chesed and the blood of my Lord, I am saved. Thank You. Father, sanctify me from the inside out, and help me to live without fear of judgment but in the heart of Your grace. May Your chesed lead me to repentance, Lord. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
