Who Do We Answer To?

David W Palmer

(John 12:46–47 NKJV) “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. {47} And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”

Jesus is both amazing and absorbing; in this passage, he begins by saying that he came “as a light into the world.” He then says that if anyone believes in him, they will not live or walk in darkness. In the normal flow of logic, it seems that he should have followed this by saying, “If anyone hears My words and does not believe, he will remain in darkness.” And from what he taught us earlier in John, you’d think that he would then have said, “Consequently, they will stumble” (See: John 11:9–10).

However, although all of this is implied, he actually said, “If anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him.” By mixing the implied meaning into Jesus’s announcement, we see that failure to believe what he says to you leaves you in so much darkness that he wouldn’t have to judge you; your own lack of light will expose you to consequences so dark that the judgment you bring on yourself will be obvious: stumbling, falling, hurting, etc. Here’s how the psalmist put it:

(Psalm 107:17, 19–20 NKJV) “Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. ... {19} Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. {20} He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

The “fools” described in this psalm had obviously cut themselves off from God’s life, by rejecting the word he originally sent to them. Under the old covenant, this was the law. Because they continued in “transgression” and “iniquity,” we can clearly see that they didn’t put their trust in God or his word; otherwise, they would have obeyed it. As a result, they suffered terrible afflictions. God’s solution for them was again to send them his word to heal and deliver them. So, even under the old system, the word was the solution to darkness and suffering.

In John 12, Jesus followed up his statement about not judging those who disbelieved his word by adding:

(John 12:48–49 NKJV) “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. {49} For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.”

In an interesting twist from what we would expect him to say, Jesus said that the words he delivered to the unbelieving people from his Father would judge them. Yet, from what we read in Revelation; we certainly receive the impression that Jesus will not be passive in the time of bringing people to account:

(Revelation 6:15–17 NKJV) And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, {16} and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! {17} For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

And from what Paul implied in his writings, we see that Jesus himself will sit on “the judgment seat of Christ”:

(Romans 14:10 NKJV) But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

(2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Although Christ’s judgment seat is a place of receiving rewards for those who have done “good,” it seems from the very next verse that it is also a place to be feared by the unpersuaded:

(2 Corinthians 5:11 NKJV) “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”

Yet, despite his “wrath” on the “great day,” and despite his presence at his judgment seat, Jesus clearly said he did not come to judge the world. In truth, he said of those who hear him but who then reject his words: “The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” The Holy Spirit confirms that the word of God is the one who will judge us:

(Hebrews 4:12–13 NKJV) “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. {13} And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

A little grammar analysis will help make the meaning of this passage clearer. The words “His” and “Him” in verse 13 are pronouns. Their use implies that a [preceding or nearby] noun is the subject of this whole paragraph. The only preceding noun is “the word of God.” So, this passage says that God’s word is the one to whom we must give account. (Note: we could easily assume that the word “him” is simply a generic word for God, but this is because of accepted religious use, not Bible use.) To help us see the clear meaning of what’s being said, we could summarize the passage like this:

“For the word of God is living … and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him …”

Or even more concisely:

“The word of God … to whom we must give account.”

Yes, the Holy Spirit confirms and expands what Jesus said; the words that God initiates and that Jesus conveys to us are alive, active, and see us plainly. He—the Living Word—is the one who will judge us in the light of what he has said to us. In fact, each person’s judgment will be unique—depending on what God has said to them:

(James 4:17 NKJV) Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

So, how do we reconcile the “judgment seat of Christ” and the “wrath of the Lamb” with Jesus saying about the person who disbelieved what he said to them, “I do not judge him”? Especially in light of him also saying:

(John 5:22 NKJV) “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.”

Perhaps this may help:

(John 5:27, 30 NKJV) “And has given Him (Jesus, the Son) authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. ... {30} I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (Parenthesis added)

We can only conclude that the living words that God initiates and that Jesus enunciates are the focal point of all of these—seemingly contradictory—statements. Jesus said that he exclusively spoke words from his Father; that Living Word has all authority and his God-given role is to be Lord of our lives. Jesus not only issues instructions from God to us this way, but he also announces judgments as the “Son of Man.” When he sits on his judgment seat, all he needs is the words that were spoken to us from Father, and then whether or not we “believed” them will be obvious from our track-record on earth.

Irrespective of whether Jesus conveyed words of encouragement, promise, faith, correction, or instruction to us, our faith in those words will be evident by what we did with them.

For us, the takeaway is fairly obvious. When Jesus spoke to you, did you: receive the encouragement, believe the promise, grow and act on the faith, adjust to the correction, and obey the instruction?

Today, the Holy Spirit—wanting to help us avert disaster—is gently nudging us with the question: “What words has Jesus spoken to you? Are there any that you haven’t yet believed, received, obeyed, or put into practice?” If so, there is no time like the present to put this right: realign your thinking, ask for forgiveness where necessary, and then go to God’s throne of grace to obtain mercy and to find the grace you need so you can obey his life-giving, light-bringing word.

Note: If you think you cannot remember any unresolved words from God, ask the faithful Holy Spirit; he will know. Pray: “Holy Spirit, show me what words from God I have not believed?” Then open your heart and begin by believing what he says to you today.