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How to avoid being judged

The law of God demands equal justice for all. More specifically, the law of equal weights and measures demands that justice is weighted equally, irrespective of the poor and the rich, foreigner and homeborn, male and female, etc. Jesus commented on this law in Matthew 7:2,

² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

God judges all men and nations by the same weight and measure. We are not allowed to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.

Yet there is also a mercy factor built into the law as an added feature. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). This is not a negation of the law of equal weights and measures, but is rather an added feature that is rooted in that law. It is not a command given to judges but to victims of crime. If a sinner is guilty of some sin, but yet he is able to forgive another man who has sinned against him, judgement is mitigated by this mercy factor. How? Because sinners are judged according to their own standard of measure.

We see a prime example of this in the story of King David, who commanded his military general to kill a soldier so that he could steal the man’s wife (2 Samuel 11). The prophet Nathan confronted David by presenting to him a hypothetical situation that would allow David to judge himself (2 Samuel 12:1-6).

This should not be looked at as an example of entrapment. In fact, it gave David opportunity to show mercy so that God could lawfully show him mercy in return. But David was like most people—blind to his own faults but zealous in judging other sinners by the righteous standard. After David passed judgment on the hypothetical sinner, Nathan told him, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).

Though David then repented, the damage was already done. David’s repentance spared him the death penalty, but he lost four sons as a result. Why? Because part of his judgment was that the hypothetical sinner ought to repay his victim fourfold (2 Samuel 12:6). David’s repentance after the fact benefited him partially, but not fully.

Why am I writing this? Because President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, recently passed judgment on Iran. He declared that Iran would be held accountable for supporting the Houthis of Yemen in their support of the Palestinians in Gaza.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/03/16/national_security_advisor_waltz_we_will_hold_iran_responsible_for_houthis_actions.html

I believe that Waltz’s judgment (on behalf of Trump and the US government as a whole) was similar to David’s judgment upon the hypothetical sinner in 2 Samuel 12. If Iran is to be held accountable for supporting the Houthis in Yemen, then the US will also be held accountable for supporting the Ukrainians in their persecution of its Russian citizens and their proxy war against Russia itself. Likewise, the US will also be held accountable for supporting the Israelis in their genocidal policy against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Let us hope that the Holy Spirit will be poured out soon to convict us of our sin of genocide, so that we may receive some measure of mercy, as David did. Yet even with this, the US will no longer be able to avoid some measure of divine judgment, even as David himself could not avoid it in his day. We have already squandered our opportunity for full mercy; let us pray that we will repent before we see total disaster.