Two Ways to LiveSample

The Condemnation of the Wicked

In the Nuremberg Trials, where senior Nazi officials were tried for war crimes, the prosecution played a documentary on the Jewish holocaust as evidence. When the film was played, a young prosecuting lawyer named Henry J. Kellerman, observed the reactions of some of the worst criminals in humanity’s history. He noted, “(Hermann) Goering never looked at it, neither did (Rudolf) Hess. (Hjalmar) Schacht turned his back to the screen and crossed his arms in front of him...(Hans) Frank, the "Butcher of Poland," broke into tears. So did (Fritz) Sauckel, who was the Labor Tsar.” None of these men could stand to watch the horrors of their wickedness for their own acts condemned them. Likewise, no wicked sinner will ever stand before the tribunal of a holy God and plead their case. Their sins will condemn them such that they can only weep and look away in shameful guilt. Such is the judgment of the wicked that they will not stand in the judgment. 

Men who cannot stand the judgment of God can neither find consolation in the congregation of the godly. The wicked have no place among the righteous covenant community of God. They are banished away for eternity. The God who exiled Adam and Eve when they sinned so that His Garden of Eden would not be tainted, will not tolerate any sinners in His holy presence. Heaven is reserved for the saints of God. Only the righteous who are pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).

 This poses a tremendous predicament for scripture reveals that “none is righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10), for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” There is no one in Adam’s race who may stand in the judgment or be worthy to be in the congregation of the righteous. We stand condemned before the Law of God. But thanks be to God that by faith we are justified by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Jesus who alone could stand in the judgment of God was cut down on the cross and was numbered among the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12) so that we might stand in the judgment justified as saints in God’s sight. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).