ODJ: No Judgement

July 17, 2017 

READ: John 3:1-21 

There is no judgement against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son (v.18).

Like many people with a guilt-inclined personality, accepting that the gospel is good news for me hasn’t come easy. Having grown up in the church, I knew the story, but could always think of why I might be exempt from sharing the joy of the gospel. I would worry about Jesus’ future separation between true and false believers (Matthew 25:31-46), troubled by the thought that even people who profess faith can be lost. I was haunted by the passage about the unforgivable sin (12:30-32), wondering if perhaps I could push God too far away to return to Him. Christ coming again is supposed to be the best kind of news, but I sometimes wondered for how many people it would feel that way.

Those emotions are difficult to be rid of, and there are still days I feel them return. On those discouraging days, John 3 is one of those passages through which God gently stops my tide of fear and shame and draws me to rest in Him. Jesus said, “God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world” (v.17). To a world already in a state of judgement and brokenness, Jesus was entirely a gift, sent from a God who loves His creation and longs for all to share in His eternal, abundant, overflowing life (3:15, 4:14). Although God must someday judge to restore justice in His world, this judgement is a consequence of rejecting the only solution: seeing the pure, self-giving love of Jesus and still turning away (3:18).

So on those days when the voices of guilt and shame keep you from believing in God’s love for you, come back to the solid foundation—that He is good, that He is love and that in Christ life abundant and unending is freely available to all who are hungry for it (6:35)—even you.

—Monica Brands

365-day plan: Matthew 14:13-36