Luke 18:8
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
Leave Justice to God
In this chapter, and particularly in the first part of this chapter, Jesus gives us the Parable of the Persistent Widow. Apparently, there are some issues she wants addressed where she had been wronged and wants justice executed by the unrighteous judge. Jesus ends this parable by saying that He will avenge all that is wrong in this world and that everyone will be held accountable for what they’ve done in their lifetime, including everything they’ve said (Rom. 14:10-12; Matt. 12:36). Jesus is asking the rhetorical question, “Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them” (Luke 18:7)? The obvious answer is, of course, He will, and there will be no long delay when He returns.
Vengeance Is Not Mine
The church of God is not perfect, of course, and Paul may be addressing this when he tells the church at Rome to not judge our brothers and sisters for what they do and don’t do in areas where the Bible is silent or in nonessential areas. He wants them to trust that God will judge everyone for everything they’ve done and that He will judge rightly. Therefore, we should not be putting ourselves in the judgment seat, where God is the One Who deserves to sit. Each one of us will have to stand before God to give an account to Him. We are not to sit in God’s judgment seat and be the judge of others or take revenge on them when that’s not our job (Rom. 10:10-11).
Will Jesus Find Faith When He Returns?
This also is a rhetorical question where Jesus asks if He will find faith on the earth when He returns. The answer seems to be no, He won’t. This doesn’t mean that those who have repented and trusted in Christ won’t have saving faith, but looking at the context of Luke 18:1-8, it seems to be whether we will trust God to be the ultimate judge over all things. Even if we are troubled by what others are doing, will we have faith in God to make a perfect judgment on these things? Does He need our help? The faith that seems to be the subject of which Jesus speaks about is the faith that He will settle all accounts when He returns to the earth to judge both the lost and the saved. Do we trust Him to do that? Will we have the faith that He will eventually judge these things? The saved will be judged for their works, and their eternal rewards will be passed through the fire and either they will be burned up or the precious stones and gold will survive the fire (1 Cor. 3:12-15). For those who have never repented, justice will be executed perfectly according to what each one has done in their life (Rev. 20:12-15). God will “give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night” and “give justice to them speedily”; of that we can all be sure.
A Closing Prayer
Great God in heaven, I know that you look at the thoughts and intents of the heart and not only at the outward deeds and will execute perfect justice someday. Please help me to not judge others in areas that are not for me to judge and to accept others even when they do things differently than I, for I am not their judge, but You are. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
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