I get emails from subscribers to this devotional with really insightful questions and comments from time to time. Most of them are thankful for how this devotional has blessed them. I am so appreciative of those who take the time to do so. Others send questions that the morning devotional spurred in them and want further clarification. One question last week stemmed from the fear of the Lord and led to a discussion about the judgment of God. Today’s passage shows us that believers will not come into judgment.
John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Jesus’s Authority
Jesus is sharing about the power and authority given to Him because the religious elite opposes Him. He tells his listeners that those who “hear His words and believe them has eternal life and does not come into judgment.” Let’s unpack that for a second. First, this is directed at the Pharisees and Scribes who hear Jesus preach and don’t believe Him. They won’t have eternal life but will stand before Him on Judgment day. Second, it is directed at us because if we have the faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we are given eternal life, victory over death, and don’t have to go through Judgment day.
Stand Before the Lord
Does this mean that Christians aren’t judged by God or have to answer for the life we have lived? No. While on earth, God still chastens those He loves when they get out of line. When we are in heaven, we will have to stand before Jesus and give an account of the life that we have lived. We will be rewarded based on that. So there is judgment in that sense, but we cannot be damned to hell. If that were the case, it would make Jesus’ death on the cross null and void because grace would lose its power.
The Judgment of God
The important point to focus on is that we are given eternal life in Jesus when we put our faith in Him. Nothing can take that away from you. The judgment of Christ is reserved for those who have rejected Him. Walk in the assurance of your salvation today as you revel in the fact that you have been plucked from death.