Who Passes Judgement on Whom?

[LearningToLetGo]

I had always thought that God passes judgement on men (mankind) but recently I've changed my mind. I believe that we pass judgement on ourselves. We accept God's invitation to heaven or condemn ourselves to hell. It it God who shines his light upon us and enables us to see ourselves fully. For some, what we see is too horrible to accept. As a result some flee from the light of God, which is truth. Hence we condemn ourselves.

 

John 3:17-21 NKJV

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

 

To be fair, few living people have seen themselves in the light of God's truth. I haven't, although I have had hints. Until we die and stand before heaven we don't know what we'll see. You may think you now know and love yourself only to discover you are really a monster, or you may know you are a monster but accept God's mercy and forgiveness. It's for this reason we need to pray as often as possible. Every day. We need God to show us who we are now so we don't learn that answer the hard way.

Edited December 27, 2021 by LearningToLetGo

[branchesofHim]

13 minutes ago, LearningToLetGo said:

I had always thought that God passes judgement on men (mankind) but recently I've changed my mind. I believe that we pass judgement on ourselves.

Good point. There's some profound truth in your statement. Shalom

Matthew 7:[2] For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

1 Corinthians 11:[31] For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
[32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

[Riverwalker]

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

We bring the judgement on to ourselves by what we choose to do.  But God balances the book.

[LearningToLetGo]

I bring this up because "judgement" is a harsh word, especially in light of hell. The whole concept seems to make God into some kind of a tyrant, dispensing pleasure or pain upon his hapless subjects as he sees fit. Not only is that wrong, but it's a terrible shame that any would feel that way. Yet here we are.

The truth is God loves us dearly. That any of us would turn from him and refuse his presence is horrible and painful to both us and him alike. But many of us do turn from him because to be in God's presence is to see truthfully as he sees. His light shines upon us and reveals who we are entirely. Not only does this revelation show us ourselves, but it also shows us that God sees us. It brings our shame, if we have any, front and center. It is this revelation that drives some from the light. It is this revelation that causes some to flee to the safety of the shadows. And it is this revelation that drives some from God and ultimately to damnation. Hence I say we judge ourselves.

[missmuffet]

God forgives us but it is sometimes more difficult for us to forgive ourselves.