"...the judgment of God is according to truth." Romans 2:2
God is the only One in the universe who is
perfectly qualified to judge. We can be everlastingly thankful that He
has not entrusted the final judgment to us. Think of some of the
disabilities under which an earthly judge works. It is impossible for
him to be completely objective. He may be influenced by the prominence
of the defendant or by his appearance. He may be influenced by bribes
or by other more subtle considerations. He cannot always know if a
witness is lying. Or if not lying, the witness may be withholding the
truth. Or again, he may be shading the truth. Or finally, he may be
sincere but inaccurate.
The judge cannot always know the motives of those
with whom he deals - and it is important to establish motives in many
legal cases.
Even the polygraph or lie detector can be fooled.
Hardened criminals can sometimes control their physiological reactions
to guilt.
But God is the perfect Judge. He has absolute
knowledge of all acts, thoughts and motives. He can judge the secrets
of men's hearts. He knows all the truth; nothing can be withheld from
Him. He is not a respecter of persons but treats each one impartially.
He knows the mental ability with which each one is endowed; an imbecile
may not be as responsible as others for his actions. He knows the
differing moral strengths of His subjects; some may resist temptation
more easily than others. He knows the differing privileges and
opportunities each one has, and the extent to which a person sins
against light. He detects sins of omission as easily as sins of
commission, secret sins as easily as public scandal.
Therefore we need not fear that the heathen who
has never heard the Gospel will be treated unjustly. Or that those who
have suffered wrongfully through life will be unavenged. Or that wicked
tyrants who have escaped in this life will go unpunished.
The Judge on the bench is a perfect Judge, and
His justice will be according to truth and therefore absolutely perfect.