A Time for Judgment and Peace

Sermon on 2 Corinthians 13

Brothers and sisters, look at the hall. Notice anything different? (talk about the colors) We are now in the season of Advent. It is a time of expectant waiting. It is also a time of preparation of the heart. Advent has two significances. One, it serves as a reminder of the original waiting by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah. They await the birth of Christ. Two, Advent is also the waiting of Christians for Christ's return, his second coming. Now, the mood of our waiting and preparation has very much to do with our understanding of the events of Christmas and second coming. When we think about Christmas, we often have the warm fuzzy feeling of a harmless baby resting serenely in a cozy manger. Christmas is about a cute baby Jesus, here to charm the entire world, especially the ladies with their maternal instincts. When we think about the second coming, we dream of a glorious heavenly palace in the clouds. Angels and saints are tidily dressed in their white robes, singing in harmony and playing their harps softly. In both of these images, we have glamorized these two events, Christmas and the second coming, into such tranquil occasions. On one hand, it is good. Christmas and the second coming are events we should eagerly anticipate, and a beautiful picture helps in our waiting. On the other hand, I am a little concerned. This is because such an impression of these events conveys only the message of peace; and that is only half the truth. The complete picture is that bound with the message of peace is the message of judgment. When Jesus comes, whether it is in the past event of Christmas or the future event of second coming, he brings not only peace, but also judgment.

We know that Jesus brings peace in his coming. He is the prince of peace. He brings reconciliation between God and man. This peace is also between fellow men because we are now united as the body of Christ. Jesus is our peace. But in what sense is the coming of Jesus also a message of judgment? This is because Jesus is the Judge when he returns. In 2 Corinthians (5:10) it says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” This is what Paul tells Timothy as well, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1). When Christ returns, he will be the judge, sitting on the judgment seat. Clearly, though the second coming is a message of peace, it is also a message of judgment.

What about Christmas? How does it carry a message of judgment as well? Jesus' ministry on earth, meaning his life and his words, is presenting the gospel to us. The acceptance or rejection of this gospel will have full bearings on the final judgment for us. This is why Jesus says, “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.” (John 12:48) Similarly, Paul made this point clear to the Athenians. “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31) The coming of Jesus, which begins with Christmas, presents to us what is true humanity. That is the gospel. We now stand in judgment because of our awareness of Jesus Christ. We can no longer claim ignorance, because Jesus has come to manifest the gospel to us. This is why Christmas, like his second coming, is both a message of peace and also a message of judgment.

Even though we now understand that peace and judgment are linked, some of us may puzzle over their relationship. The concepts of peace and judgment seemed like polar opposites. One is restful and calm while the other is serious and terrifying. Yet, such simplistic perspectives of these concepts are unhelpful. Thankfully, in today's passage, we have Paul planning a third visit to Corinth. In this visit, it is a time for judgment, but it is also a time for peace. I believe this passage will be useful in explaining to us the intricate relationship between peace and judgment.

2 Corinthians 13: 1 This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

What is the relationship between peace and judgment? Well, the aim of judgment is peace. The reason we have judgment is so that we may have peace. In today’s passage, Paul makes it clear that when he comes for a third visit, there will be a time of judgment against his opponents. However, it is not judgment for judgment’s sake. Paul is not doing this because he likes punishing his enemies. After all, he is used to all kinds of insults and abuses thrown on him because of all the difficult mission work that he has to do. Judgment is not an end in itself. What is the end then? What is the main objective of his visit? His wish for them is peace. We can deduce this from his final verses of his letter. He says “Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace” (v.11). These seem like four separate commands, but they mean the same thing. They must now work towards peace and encourage one another. Paul’s opponents have torn the church apart with their falsehood. But Paul wants this unity to be restored. He then reminds them of the presence of “God of love and peace” (v.11). They must also “greet one another with a holy kiss” (v.12). This is a gesture of mutual acceptance. They are one body with “all God’s people” (v.13). This fellowship is also found in the “fellowship of Holy Spirit” (v.14) which is given in the Blessing. In short, the final verses repeatedly make it clear that Paul’s ultimate aim is peace. In Paul’s third visit, his third coming to Corinth, he will go for a final showdown with his opponents. It is a time for judgment. But from Paul’s final verses we now know the aim of judgment is for peace.

So there is this causal relationship between judgment and peace. Judgment is exercised so that peace may be achieved. But how is this accomplished? My second point is that judgment leads to peace because justice is restored and evil removed. Why is there no peace in the first place? It is because of falsehood. These false teachers delivered false teachings and slandered Paul’s character for their own gains. It is evil because falsehood breaks apart the fabric of trust and faithfulness within a community. Judgment can therefore lead to peace because these deceits and dishonesty are confronted. In doing so, judgment brings justice. This is why judgment cannot be about vengeance. It is not self-righteousness. The cornerstone of judgment is justice. This is why everything must be done in legal order so that the truth can be brought to light.

Deuteronomy 19: 15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Brothers and sister, truth is what destroys falsehood. With a thorough investigation reinforced by credible witnesses, everybody can now separate the false accusations from the truth about Paul. What is the truth? This is the most fundamental theology about Christ. “He was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power” (v.4) God’s power lies not in successes or personal accomplishments; rather it is manifested in suffering and weakness. This is true for Jesus Christ; it is also true for Paul. Witnesses from the Corinthians and Macedonians will testify their experience of God’s grace through the hardships of Paul. Paul's opponents want proof? This is the proof! At Judgment time, Paul’s reputation and apostleship will be vindicated, and justice will be established. Truth overcomes falsehood.

But for peace to happen, not only justice be served, the evil must also be purged during judgment time. During the time of Deuteronomy, the law is to “do to the false witness what that witness intended to do to the other party”. This is the background for the phrase “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” I stress again that this is not revenge. This is done so that evil is purged when justice is established. We do not know the eventual actions of Paul, but he did say firmly that “On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others (v.2)”. Evil cannot be spared. They must be removed for peace to occur. Lies must be expelled so that the community can live in peace with one another. My second point is that judgment leads to peace because justice is restored and evil removed.

I wish to do a little reflection about the first two points before moving on to the final point. As humans, we are sometimes afraid of the idea of judgment. We are afraid of punishment. What if we fail the test? Based on what we have learnt from the first two points, I believe our fears are unjustified. The aim of judgment is peace. Judgment can bring about peace because justice is restored and evil removed. These two points tell us that Judgment is something we should eagerly anticipate as well. Because without judgment, there is no peace. Lies and slanders stay unopposed. Evil is not confronted. There is a Chinese saying “不怕货比货, 就怕不识货”. I believe that’s true. If you have the truth, you should not be afraid of a proper comparison. Paul is not afraid of a showdown because he knows he has the truth.

Think about a time in which you have been wronged. Nobody knows the truth because the reality has been twisted by lies and misinformation. You try to convince others of the truth. But your enemies are also spreading their so-called truths as well. You may have convinced some. But there are others persuaded otherwise. In the end, the community is divided. There is no peace because there is a camp on your side. There is a camp against you. There is a camp on the fence. I think this is the pain experienced by Paul. The church that he has painstakingly built has been destroyed by falsehood. In times like this, judgment is a necessity and a relief. You eagerly wait and prepare for judgment because that is when peace is restored. Advent is meaningful for us not only because we await peace, but also because we await judgment. That is the time where the truth is upheld. That is the time where the righteous is vindicated.

I have a final point to make about the relationship between judgment and peace. My point is that for peace to happen, the proper intentions for judgment are very important. Paul’s intention for the Corinthian church is that they would all pass the test. Some people like to use the law to prove they are right and others are wrong. Some people like to use tests to fail others to prove what a hard examiner they are. These are not Paul’s intentions. Paul needs to bring this time of judgment so that they will have peace. But his wish for them is to all pass the judgment than to fail it. He is not going to manipulate the test scores or lower the testing standard for this judgment. “For he cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (v.8). But the intention is important, and his hope is that they will pass.

So he ask them to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (v.5). This is like a mock test before the real exam. They should know if Christ is in them before the actual showdown. If Christ is in them, then they should respond positively to Paul. Paul's wish is that his opponents will realise their error upon self examination. Paul also says “now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong, so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed” (v.7). Here we see the real intention of Paul even further. He admits that he may look silly for bringing the showdown and the judgment when in the end, everybody passes the test. On hindsight, the test may appear unnecessary when everybody passes it. But to Paul, he would rather look to have failed with his judgment time, when they all eventually pass. As their pastor, he is always more concerned about their status than his own. This is why he says “we are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored” (v.9). We know his intentions because he even confesses why he is warning them early. He says “this is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down” (v.10). He may need to bring judgment to restore peace. But it is better to pass them than to fail them.

Brothers and sisters, I believe the intentions of God are just like the intentions of Paul. This time of Advent is a time of preparation for the events of Christmas and the second coming of Christ. It is a time of peace, but it is also a time of judgment. This judgment must happen so that peace may happen. But God did not bring judgment to fail us or to punish us. It is not a chance to show that he is right and we are wrong. God’s wish is that we all pass the test. The judgment may seem weak and lame if everybody is able to pass it. But God, just like Paul would rather we be strong at his expense. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). So brothers and sisters, the judgment is not to be feared, but to be eagerly anticipated. We prepare ourselves well in this time of Advent knowing that when judgment comes, we will all pass the test. God’s intention is for us to pass the test. So take this time of Advent to do a self-examination. Check that indeed Christ is in you. Reject the falsehood of prosperity and wealth as a sign of spiritual maturity. Instead, embrace the spirit of ministry demonstrated by Paul. God’s strength in completed in our weaknesses. Immanuel, God is with us.