Judgment is needed for justice. When we think of justice, we think about things that are unfair or untruthful being made fair and right. We think about a criminal being held accountable, but we also think about the poor being fed. There is also a sense of personal justice in which we will try to justify ourselves. We will gauge our productivity or morality and assume we deserve something because of it. We will then judge or measure others behaviors and attempt to defend ourselves. In all cases, a judge must determine that something unfair has taken place and then rectify it.

Paul is making the point that as a Christian there is no need to play judge because we have a judge that will reveal every hidden motive and purpose of the heart. When Jesus appears for that final time, so will truth and fairness. This means criminals will be prosecuted, the poor will feast, and every person will see that they were completely unable to earn any standing with God. No amount of goodness, status, success, or money garnered favor with him. Those who stand before him will only be those who have believed that the blood of Jesus covers them completely.

This means that although there is every reason for the justice of God to destroy us, it instead has destroyed Jesus. We now walk free not because of our own record of obedience, but because we have inherited his. When Jesus comes he will bring justice, and we will celebrate him as the only one worthy of administering it. How can I be an aid to justice until God brings it completely?