Judgement Is Not Ours

As a former atheist, I never deliberately surrounded myself with like-minded people, nor did I avoid those who had a relationship with God or considered themselves people of faith. It simply happened naturally that many of the people in my life were atheists too.

So, when I was saved by God and later baptised, some of those who remained in atheism understandably struggled a little with what had happened to me. Our relationships didn’t change. I wasn’t judged, and nobody resented me. But I did – and still do – encounter resistance.

In my own experience, there is perhaps no greater objection to Christianity, and particularly to the idea of a loving God, than the existence of evil and suffering. One question I’m often asked is: “If God exists, how can so many people get away with evil?”

I think Revelation 22:11–12 gives us part of the answer – though perhaps not in the way we might expect. Verse 11 reads: “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

We needn’t be too jarred by the wording of what might appear to be ‘let them crack on’ – after all, why would Scripture tell the evildoer to continue doing evil? It doesn’t, of course.

I don’t read this as God approving of evil or suggesting that wrongdoing doesn’t matter. Instead, there is a sobering recognition that people will choose the path they wish to follow. Those determined to reject God may continue to do so; those seeking righteousness are called to continue pursuing it.

And crucially, verse 11 doesn’t stand alone because immediately afterwards, Jesus says: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done” (Revelation 22:12).

That changes how I understand the question of people “getting away with” evil. Scripture does not promise that every act of cruelty will receive the justice I think it deserves, at the time I think it deserves it. It tells me something much bigger: ultimate judgement belongs to God.

Those who choose wrongdoing are free to make that choice, just as we are free to make ours. But we can rest – relatively – assured: freedom from immediate judgement is not freedom from judgement altogether. It just means we aren’t the ones controlling it.

When I see evil, my responsibility is not to appoint myself as the final judge of the person responsible. Romans 12:19 puts it plainly: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”

That doesn’t mean ignoring evil, excusing wrongdoing or pretending injustice doesn’t matter. Christians should oppose cruelty and seek justice. But there is a difference between confronting what is wrong and believing that ultimate judgement belongs to us.

And while that can be difficult – particularly when we see cruelty and suffering around us, and goodness me, don’t we just – we must also resist allowing evil to become the only thing we see, because God created a good world.

Throughout the Genesis creation account, God repeatedly sees what He has made and calls it ‘good’. Then humanity arrives and, created in God’s own image, mankind brought something new and distinctive to creation. Until this point, God had repeatedly called what He made ‘good’. Now, looking upon everything He had made, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). We had upped the ante.

Yet almost immediately, humanity chose another path. Adam and Eve were given freedom, and they used it to turn away from God. That same capacity to choose remains with us. We can choose selfishness, cruelty and wrongdoing – or we can choose to seek God and His way.

Our responsibility, then, is not to spend our lives passing final judgement on everybody else and wondering why evil exists and when it will be stopped. Instead, though it may be hard, we’re called to examine only our own path, and while challenging injustice is right, passing final judgement on others is not.

As I understand Revelation 22 here: let them choose their path. Make sure you choose yours. And trust God with the judgement neither you nor I are qualified to give.

Evil is real. Wrongdoing is real. Judgement is real. But none of those things gives us permission to become the judge. We are never promised that living among suffering, injustice and cruelty will be easy or simple. The Christian life is a battle in many ways – and this is just one of them.

But our responsibility is clear and, I think, screams at me from this passage: judgement isn’t ours – that task belongs to the Lord.

Questions for Reflection

1. When we see wrongdoing, do we trust God with ultimate judgement, or do we find ourselves wanting to take His place as judge?
2. Does focusing on the evil in the world ever prevent us from recognising the goodness God created – and the good that still exists around us?
3. If our responsibility is ultimately for the path we choose, rather than passing final judgement on somebody else’s, what might God be asking us to examine in our own lives today?