Inside God's Courtroom

In a harsh and unforgiving world, where can you find grace?

Not in sports. If you're not strong and quick, you won't make the team.

Not in business. In a dog-eat-dog world, you have to perform or you're gone.

Most of the time, you won't find grace at school. Good grades and big scholarships go to those who study well and work hard, and some students never make the Dean's List even though they work harder for their Cs than others work for their As. Where is grace for them?

You won't find grace in most of the world's religions. They're based on human effort—what you do for God, instead of what God has done for you.

Seldom do we find grace in the legal system; nor should we expect to. Its God-given task is to dispense justice, "punish those who do wrong," and "commend those who do right" (1 Peter 2:14).

Meanwhile, though, a broken world cries out for grace. We deserve punishment, but we desire mercy.

Romans 8:1 brings to mind a unique kind of courtroom scene. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation . . ." but there used to be! All of us have to plead "guilty." We deserve harsh judgment. We have strayed from God when we should have stayed with God.

But "there is now no condemnation . . . for those who are in Christ Jesus." The apostle Paul doesn't attribute our salvation to an unnamed spiritual force. He doesn't say, "There's no condemnation in Mohammed or Buddha." He doesn't say, "All paths lead to God," or "It makes no difference what you believe as long as you're sincere." The "not guilty" verdict we desire can only be ours through Christ Jesus. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name . . . by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

If you're drowning, you need a lifeguard. If you're a slave, you need a liberator. If you're lost, you need a compass, a map, and a guide. Christ is your lifeguard, your liberator, your guide. His Word is your compass and map. If you're on trial for grievous offenses, you need a defense attorney. Christ is your advocate and defender.

In 1985 my wife and I appeared in a courtroom in Mineola, New York. Earlier our fingerprints were taken in a police station. Courtrooms and police stations are intimidating places, but this was a happy occasion. We had gone to court to finalize the adoption of our daughter Melinda. The Immigration and Naturalization Service needed our fingerprints because Melinda was born in Korea. Inside the courtroom an attendant escorted us into the judge's chambers, where the judge greeted us warmly. He signed some papers, congratulated us, and even let us take pictures of him with Melinda on his lap. Instead of punishing us for a crime, the judge treated us like family friends.

We're sinners. How can you and I march into God's courtroom and expect to experience anything other than condemnation? There's only one way. "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus . . . is also interceding for us" (Romans 8:33, 34).

For those who belong to Jesus, God's judgment seat becomes a throne of grace. Because of Jesus, we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). There in his majestic courtroom, the Judge treats us like family friends.