Judgement Day

Be sure to first read The Errant Bible, I Disagree With John, and Scapegoat.

Jesus preached that we would be judged by our hearts and actions, not our beliefs. The common retort is that we can never be good "enough," and, while probably true, that doesn't mean that our righteousness is worth nothing. Often misquoted is the phrase, "Our righteousness is filthy rags," and it's often pointed out that these rags are literally menstrual cloths. This quote comes from the Old Testament and was actually a lamentation that it was true--not merely announcing it as a fact of life. He was condemning the people of the day because they were not at all looking after true righteousness. This wasn't a conclusive state of humanity, but rather something to lament and to correct.

Perhaps you're wondering then, just how righteous do we need to become? That's actually a terrible way to look at it. There is not a special line that we cross and suddenly we're good enough. Righteous judgement doesn't base its decisions on one-size-fits-all laws. It takes all things into account and judges accordingly. We're quite capable of it ourselves and we are quite capable of forgiving minor grievances. Our children make mistakes all the time as they are most certainly not perfect, but we continue to love them, cherish them, instruct them, guide them, and forgive them. All this without even needing to sacrifice our house cat. What we are really concerned with is our children's path. If they stay on the path and if they're trying to remain on the path, then we are proud of them. If they stray from the path then we worry for them and hope they find their way back. At any point in time, the only thing we are concerned with is whether or not they're trying to find and walk the path of righteousness. And as Jesus pointed out, that path is narrow and few people follow it. It's this path that is truly important and I believe we're all capable of truly knowing whether or not we love it and seek after it. It's not a secret to ourselves.

If indeed we are to be judged by a righteous God, then surely he will know best and judge us righteously. Righteous judgement would not be a simple manner of "You go to Heaven," and "You go to Hell" any more than it is in our own courts. A righteous God would reward accordingly and punish accordingly as each has earned. So, while we may not have reached perfection, we may very well still be quite deserving of reward. And while we may have done nothing worthwhile in our lives, we wouldn't suddenly be deserving of pain and torment for all eternity. Anyone can see that it's perfectly unrighteous of a judge to send people to eternal torment or eternal bliss for minor crimes and let alone based upon a particular connection of neurons in a person's brain that indicates they "believe" one thing over another. Belief will never make a person righteous, but being righteous obviously will. And thus, a righteous judge judges by the true character of a person and not by his or her beliefs. I fear no righteous judge sending me to hell for eternity because that is not what a righteous judge would do. I would only fear an unrighteous judge, and if that is indeed who God is, then I guess he'll just have to bake me. I will not serve evil to avoid torment and I will gladly choose true righteousness over God himself if he were not righteous. I suppose it would be a rather scary event though!

These concepts are all throughout the Bible. Jesus preached them as well. Of course, there are indeed verses that contradict them and one can skew and mold them to fit whichever doctrine they like. As for me and my household, we will continue to serve righteousness. And if there be some judgement in the future, I believe my efforts will serve me well before a righteous judge. Let's just hope he's righteous!