The good news of the judgment is that Christ has taken our place. He was judged a sinner on the cross. There, He paid the price for all sin-yours, mine, past, present, future-once and for all! There at the cross a gracious transfer took place that has forever changed the relationship between man and God. Our sins were laid upon Christ and forever judged. His righteousness was accredited to our account. This is the gospel which gripped and transformed the lives of the apostles. This is the gospel that is to be proclaimed to all the world.
There are three aspects of judgment. First, there is the cross—the Christ event-the historical occurrence of the righteous life of Jesus, His death, His burial, His glorious resurrection, and His ascension to God’s right hand Second, there is our response to the Christ event. When the gospel is proclaimed to us, we must respond. We are truly judged by the gospel. Third, when Christ comes the second time He will reveal the results of His choosing us and of our choosing Him. Those who respond to His gracious offer of salvation, the ones chosen “in Christ” before the foundation of the world, will be ushered into the blessings of eternity with God. Those who have rejected the free gift of salvation will be assigned to the lake of fire. Let us consider each of these three aspects of judgment.
Judgment in Christ
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed (Isa. 53:4-5).
Isaiah has been called “the gospel prophet,” and for good reason. Matthew could direct His Jewish readers to the Old Testament and there find many types and shadows of the coming Messiah which found their complete fulfillment in the Christ event.
Shortly before Christ became man, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and concerning Mary he said:
And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins (Mt. 1:21).
When John the Baptist introduced Jesus at the Jordan he said:
Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29).
Throughout the ministry of Jesus we see Him steadily, with determination and forethought, moving toward the cross— the judgment of the world.
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mt. 20:28).
From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day (Mt. 16:21).
Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out (In. 12:31).
Jesus, knowing full well what lay ahead of Him and the full meaning of His sacrificial death, on the night before He was betrayed, said:
“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”…And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves.”…And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Lk. 22:15-22).
Later that same night, Jesus, looking forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit, said these insightful words about judgment and righteousness:
And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged (Jn. 16:8–11).
These are highly significant words in connection with our study. Notice that after the death of Christ, sin is defined as not believing in Jesus. Righteousness is in the person of Jesus Christ who is at the Father’s right hand. Judgment deals with Satan who has been judged.
The message of the early church was:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Judged by the gospel
The Bible teaches that:
…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:4-7).
Scripture also teaches that we must respond to God’s gracious offer in Christ.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (Jn. 1:12).
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil (Jn. 3:16–19).
Notice that believing and judgment are related. He who believes is not judged. Judgment is set forth in the context of one’s choice when confronted with the light of the gospel of Christ. This, too, is of vital importance to our study. We begin to see that the biblical concept of judgment is diametrically opposed to the traditional SDA investigative judgment.
A little later in John’s gospel Jesus says:
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life (Jn. 5:24).
This is the judgment of justification. It takes the reality. of the past historical event of Christ’s subsitutionary life and death, which provides the righteousness needed for us to pass in the coming future judgment day of God, and applies complete forgiveness of sin and imputed righteousness to the present experience of the believer. Therefore, Paul could say that we died with Christ.1 We were raised with him to newness of life and we are already seated with Christ in heavenly places.2
In other words, the truth of justification by faith is that the verdict of “not guilty” has already been given to those who believe! And that is the good news of the gospel! And that is why true believers do not “come into judgment,” because they have already been judged “in Christ.”
Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:12-14).
The focus of the investigative judgment is on personal deeds in order that one might be found worthy of eternal life. The good news of the gospel is that the Father has already qualified us, who believe in Christ, to share in the eternal inheritance in Christ. We have already been delivered from the domain of darkness. We now have redemption.
The vindication of God’s justice in the way he saves helpless, ungodly sinners who were enemies of God3 has already been settled.
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:21-26).
Adventists look to the future for the vindication of God when the “remnant” will fully reflect the image of Jesus. The Bible, however, states that the blood of Christ vindicated God’s character, and this was done by Christ without any help from some last-day remnant people.
Notice that all this takes place “apart from law” or outside the realm of old covenant law.4 In the new covenant, the focus is not on law, but on belief in Christ. Our complete justification is apart from works of the law.5 Our salvation is not dependent upon our good works, but upon God’s mercy.
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Ti. 3:4–7).
Those who hear and then reject the gospel are judged as unworthy of eternal life.
You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life (Jn. 5:39-40).
And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, “We see,” your sin remains” (Jn. 9.39–41).
We see, then, that men are judged by their response to the good news of the gospel. The light of the mercy of God has been brightly revealed in Christ. Now, the darkness of sin has no excuse.
The second coming6 of Christ reveals God’s judgment
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5).
The above text implies that the verdict of judgment has already been given. In that sense, it could be said to be a pre-advent judgment. However, this pre-advent judgment is not some investigative judgment where Jesus and the onlooking universe are pouring over the record books of heaven, measuring character to see who is worthy of eternal life. Rather, this judgment results from one’s response to the gospel when it is has been proclaimed, understood, and received or rejected. This last judgment simply reveals who by faith accepted God’s free gift of eternal life and who did not.
That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:7).
Chapter Summary
- Jesus, as our substitute, was judged in our place on the cross. He has paid the price for all sin for all time. He has also provided perfect righteousness which can be credited to our account. By His death on the cross, Jesus judged Satan and demonstrated God’s justice in the way God saves sinners.
- The good news of the judgment is that all who believe and trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ can say with assurance, “I’ve been acquitted!” We have already been judged in Christ. Those who reject the gospel, judge themselves unworthy of eternal life.
- The second coming of Christ will be a revelation of how men responded to God’s gracious gift of salvation.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life (Jn. 5:24).
Endnotes
- “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Rom. 6:2). “For he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” (Rom. 6:7-8). “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in old-ness of the letter.” (Rom. 7:6). “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees….” (Col. 2:20). “Foryou have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3). “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.” (2 Tim. 2:11).
- “And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:6). “Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” (Col. 2:12). “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:1).
- “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Rom. 5:6-11). 4
- See Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Christ, pp. 293-300 for a more complete discussion of this topic.
- “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Rom. 3:28).
- It is not my intent to be any more precise about the revelation of God’s judgment than just “the second coming.” This may be interpreted differently by different people. I choose to not be too dogmatic regarding last day-events.
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- 16. Tampering With the Word—Additions to Scripture - January 8, 2026
- 15. The Central Pillar: The Heart of SDA Theology - January 2, 2026