Character the Basis of Judgment
By J. N. Anderson
The conviction that God exists, and that we as free moral beings must stand before Him in our true character, is both general and deep-seated; in other words, we feel in our inmost selves and in the very fitness of things, to say nothing of divine revelation, that a final, eternal judgment awaits us somehow and somewhere on the borders of this and the future world. In this matter we have no choice; as sure as time passes on, so sure it is that we are approaching that event. The whole human race is as it were one great stream ever flowing irresistibly onward, approaching slowly but surely that mighty rock against which it must inevitably strike and divide, each branch running to its own — its final destiny. In this life the good and the bad mingle and commingle, the wheat and the tares grow side by side in the same field; the two kingdoms of light and darkness seemingly run parallel and outwardly blend. This can not be so ever; a final separation must come. Some years ago Lincoln declared that the American nation could not exist half free and half slave; and he was right. It is if possible still more true that the universe of God can not remain half holy and half sin. Can any one conceive of such characters as Judas the traitor and John the beloved disciple, or Paul and Nero, sharing in common the future world? As well try to mix light and darkness; they are mutually exclusive. Each character is in itself a little world which reflects and determines the world to which it conforms and belongs. But in this judgment, this final, eternal separation, what is the test, the touchstone, by which such tremendous decisions are made? On what basis can the holy God fix upon His own created children destinies that are infinitely opposed to each other? In this there can be nothing artificial or arbitrary, since both the righteousness of God and the final destiny of man are involved. It must be in accordance with some principle that is as fixed as the very throne of God. With great boldness Jesus invites all the sin-sick and sorrowing ones of earth to come unto Him in the assurance that He is prepared to satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart; and with the very same boldness does He assert that in Him are vested the right and the authority to pass sentence of eternal judgment on every human soul. In His teaching and in His life He never failed to set forth the infinite love that God bears toward the sinner; but on the other hand He was no less explicit in making known the moral responsibility of every individual. He was unflinching in His condemnation of sin despite His tenderness for the lost sinner. “He did not come to reduce the moral order to an anarchy of grace, and to break the inevitable connection between sin and punishment.” He taught that the unprofitable servant will be cast into outer darkness; that the fruitless branches will be cast into the fire and be burned; that the selfish servants will be cast into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Jesus did not rest the judgment of mankind on the mere will of God, nor did He make it depend on the belief of man. With Him all will be judged by what they are in the sight of God. As their characters are, so will all be classed. On this point we never hear a protest from the enemies of our Lord, nor do we know of any recorded. The wheat is gathered into the garner. Is not this right and reasonable? The tares are consumed in the fire. What else could be done with tares? The good fish are taken out of the net and put into vessels, while the bad are cast away. Is not that the reasonable and only way to do? The five foolish virgins are refused entrance not because they are late, but for the very good reason that the bridegroom does not know them. Had they been friends, he could not well have refused to admit them; and they being strangers, what cause for complaint had they when he turned them away? Is not this reasonable and entirely right? Do we not thus deal with each other in this life? This is indeed the very essence of justice and mercy. In this there is nothing arbitrary, no display of authority, no fixing of destiny by a power outside of man. Viewed in this light, judgment is seen to be a mere disclosing of what actually is. It is not a pronouncing of sentence, but rather a manifestation of the character already fully developed. Once again, the wicked are bidden to depart, not because God exercises His infinite power of judgment against them, but because they in their inward state of mind and heart are accursed. God could not Himself change that fact. Nor is it different with those on the other side, since they are in their very natures in a state of blessedness. This is what they are, not what God makes them by pronouncing the word “blessed” in their hearing. The great Judge merely pronounces what is, and in no way alters the character concerned. The final judgment, then, that awaits us all is a mere classification according to our character; as a man is in his life, his heart, so will he be classed in that great day.