How to Teach About God’s Judgment
In this series, How to Teach Difficult Doctrines, we’ll be offering reflections about how youth workers can teach and talk about difficult doctrines and issues. Some are challenging because they’re confusing, others because they’re controversial, and some because they’re simply difficult for youth to accept.
If there’s one truth about God that our teens will surely cringe at, it might be that God is Judge. In a culture that values “do what’s right for you” and “don’t judge others,” the idea of a God that judges our every action based on His standards—and sends people to Hell for failing to measure up—can sound harsh. It might be tempting for us to gloss over this teaching of Scripture so that we don’t turn students away.
Oddly enough, God as Judge is not only a clear teaching of Scripture, but it’s also something that’s celebrated by God’s people in His Word. God’s justice is good news. As we faithfully teach students this truth, let’s help them to see why it’s good news that God judges evil, as well as how that truth helps us make sense of our own sin and the ultimate hope we can have in Christ: that He took our condemnation.
The Good News: God Judges Evil
Have you ever noticed people’s reactions when the evil villain in a movie is finally defeated? I’ve never heard someone feel bad for them. There’s rather a sense of joy and relief when we watch Scar fall to the same death he caused Mufasa, Lord Voldemort get killed by his own curse, or Thanos erased from existence by the infinity gauntlet that he had wielded. We rejoice when justice is served.
We’re born knowing that it’s wrong for people to hurt us and that those who do should be punished. We learn early on that we hate it when people do something awful and get away with it. Just think about your reaction when you get cut off in traffic, much less when you hear about school shooters or pedophiles.
Our students need to hear that it’s good news that God will judge evil. He is kind to take a stand on the side of the oppressed and victimized and bring the perpetrators to justice. We can rejoice that evil and injustice will not go on forever. One day everything wrong will be made right. The people who seem like they’re getting away with murder—sometimes literally— will not get away with it forever. Evil will be punished.
We want our students to feel the joy and peace that this news is meant to bring! Evil is not going to have the final say. Those who have lived pretty easy lives may think judgment on evil isn’t a big deal, but if you’ve had awful things done to you or those you love, you see things differently. In Scripture, those who had been wronged frequently called on God to be the Judge (e.g., 1 Samuel 24:15, 2 Chronicles 20:12, Psalm 7:8). Psalm 96:13 gives God’s judgment as a reason for celebration:
“Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.”
Those who have suffered abuse and mistreatment need to know that God hates those things, and He will someday make it right.
The Bad News: We Are Also Evil
It’s good news that God will judge evil. The bad news, though, is that we also are evil and deserve God’s judgment. This is where our students sometimes get hung up. They might agree that child abusers and school shooters should be judged, but many don’t think of themselves in the same category. Our students likely think that they’re “doing their best,” so can’t God give them a pass?
That’s why Jesus said these words when commenting on God’s law: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment... And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:21-22).
Jesus takes the command, “You shall not murder,” which our students would agree with, and He connects it to the heart, saying that at the heart of external acts like murder is internal hatred for another human being. That hits much closer to home. I’ve never murdered anybody, but I’ve said pretty cruel things to people out of anger that I’m not proud of. Jesus says that we’ll be judged not just by outward deeds but by the thoughts and motives of our hearts, and in our hearts, all of us have the “seeds” of murder toward another person.
That’s why Paul can say that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We’ve all fallen short of God’s standards, and often, our own standards as well. Romans 2:1 says, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” We might judge the girl who’s “always gossiping,” but when we hear some really crazy news, we can’t help but tell someone. We judge those on the news who are “clearly racist,” but then find ourselves pre-judging someone because of how they look or speak. In condemning others, we condemn ourselves.
God will eliminate all evil from the perfect new creation He’s bringing. That’s good news for how wonderful His kingdom will be, and bad news for those of us that aren’t perfect enough to be there. Unfortunately, that’s all of us. Paul says, “Do you suppose that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience?” (Romans 2:3b-4, CSB). Many of our students do exactly that! They assume that their sin just doesn’t matter that much; that God will just forgive it.
God is kind, patient, loving, and just, and it’s precisely because He is all of these things that He will call wickedness to account, including the wickedness in all of us. God’s kindness, contrary to many people think, does not mean “just keep on doing what you’re doing; no big deal.” God’s kindness means, “The direction you’re headed will be the death of you; let me help.”
The Best News: Jesus Took Our Condemnation
There’s a weight to realizing that, when we look at our hearts, all our good deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and all that they’ve earned us is death (Romans 6:23). The good news of Jesus dying in our place to offering us eternal life and freedom from condemnation is not really good news if our students haven’t first understood the bad news. We can’t appreciate the gospel without understanding sin and judgment. We need to help students feel the weight of their sin and see their need for a rescuer to appreciate the hope that Jesus offers. That’s what Jesus meant when He said that “whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). When we know we stand condemned, we can feel the relief of knowing that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
If we want our students to rejoice in the gospel, to love their Savior, and to be excited to share the good news with others, we need to teach them about judgment. They need to both see its beauty and feel its weight before they’ll rejoice in the hope of Jesus.