Grace and Judgment

Judgment and Grace

Over at Cerulean Sanctum, Dan Edelen, has a posting called “Two Paths Into a Ditch” [go to the link below]. One path is over-emphasizing grace, and the other is overemphasizing righteousness (judgement). He uses John 5:1-15 and John 8:2-11 as a springboard to talk about why we need both in our lives.

I am going to try to come to the same place using some other passages.

John 9:39 NASB95
39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."

John 16:8 NASB95
8 And He [the Helper, the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world [the Greek word is “kosmos”] concerning sin and righteousness and judgment....

Hebrews 9:27,28 NASB95
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Grace and judgment (or, should I say, conviction of sin) can be discussed as if they have nothing to do with one another. In practice, in believers, they cannot be separated.

We all face (or faced) judgment. The only way out of it is by grace. Every day. The Holy Spirit is in our lives every moment of every day bringing conviction of sin and judgment (John 16:8, and yes, I know this is out of context. But if this is what He does and I have Him in me, is anyone going to make the argument that He does not speak conviction of sin to me, a believer?).

Jesus is here, with His cross, everyday bringing repentance by grace, forgiveness by grace, and healing by grace.

If I emphasize grace at the expense of judgment, I am rejecting the on-going work of the Holy Spirit in my life. If I emphasize judgment (and conviction of sin) at the expense of grace, I am rejecting the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.

Every day, I need to see the cross of Jesus in my life. Each day there is conviction of sin and every day there is grace.

I need to open myself up everyday to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. And I need to open myself up everyday to His work of reminding me of grace.