#STRask - Why Is It Okay for God to Keep a Record of Wrongs?

Episode Date: August 31, 2026

Questions about how to reconcile 1 Corinthians 13:5, which says that love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, with God keeping a record of everything we have done and judging us by it, and how the idea that people are condemned for their sin, not for lack of belief in Jesus, squares with John 3:18.   How do we reconcile 1 Corinthians 13:5, which says that love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, with Revelation 20, which says that God keeps a record of everything we have done and will judge us by it? How does your idea that people who haven’t heard of Jesus are condemned for their sin rather than for not believing in Jesus square with John 3:18, which says that anyone who does not believe in him is already condemned?

Okay, Greg, in the last episode, we were talking about judgment. And so this... You mean here on Estiera, hashtag SDRA? Yes. Okay. Yeah, let's check you. So we're going to continue on that topic here, and this question comes from Mike. First Corinthians 13-5 says that love does not keep a record of wrongs.

However, we are told in Revelation 20 that we are judged by everything we have done that is written in the book. How is this resolved that we are not to keep a record? of wrongs, but God keeps a record of everything we have done. Well, that's a really fair question, and I actually never thought about this one, but partly because I'm thinking in terms of what Paul is enjoining people to be like in relationship with each other. So that's what the chapter is all about, 1 Corinthians 13, and Paul is saying, look, with regards a Christian virtue, you could have faith, you could have hope, you could have lots of different

gifts and capabilities, but if you don't have this quality as a human virtue, then you're just like a clanging symbol. This is the one that holds it all together. I do not think that what he's doing is describing the love of God, because God has different obligations. And, And the way I put it in the story of reality is that God is loving because he's good, but he also punishes criminals justice because he's also good. In other words, God's goodness underlays both his love and his justice. And when it comes to justice, we are told directly not to take our own revenge, but leave room for the revenge of God, and the justice of God, that is, and this is in Romans 12,

among other places. So Jesus makes this point as well in the sermon in the Mount, though in somewhat oblique fashion. Turning the other cheek is a point there. He's also commissioned government in the temporal sphere to be the hand of judgment. So government keeps a record of wrongs because that's what justice requires. Justice requires that you are punished for the wrongs that you did, and not for the wrongs you didn't do. But I only know that if there is a record of it, and in fact, I think that's part of the point of the Great White Throne Judgment, that's making, I think, being made reference to here, because what God is demonstrating at that judgment when the books are open is you are guilty. Everyone will be judged from,

from the books according to their works. And each who is so judged will end up in the lake of fire. So the whole point of keeping a list there is in keeping with justice, that people who are punished or punished appropriately. Well, what about 1 Corinthians 13? That's the application of love to us in our relationships. Now, that doesn't mean there isn't some features there in that description of love that are true of God's love towards us, but not all. And you pointed, Mike, you pointed one out, that, well, God keeps a record or wrong's right.

That's because he's God, and he's got to execute final justice. And he's the judge. But we are not to do that. Now, I also think it's a generalization because there are, there are, I'm just thinking in relational instances as you are resolving problems with other people. If you're going to resolve a problem, you have to make reference to the problem. And you make reference to the problem because you remember what was done that needs to be resolved. Now, one could characterize that as a record of the wrongs. But the activity of trying to resolve an issue, and we see elements of that different epistles, going to the brother and resolving it.

If Jesus says you go to the altar, and your brother has something against you, go and resolve that first before you come to me. Well, all of that entails an awareness of the wrongs that have committed against somebody. So I don't think this, I don't think this means that in an absolute sense, we, every harm that is done to us, we are wiping from our mind, and that's what's required of genuine love. Okay. Does that make sense to you? Mm-hmm. You're looking at it like, what's he talking about? No, no, no, I'm just thinking ahead. Okay. That's my thinking face, great.

She's thinking ahead to explain why she thinks I'm wrong. So the, so the, but so I guess the point I'm making is that, as with a lot of things, there are going to be kind of practical exceptions to certain rules that find support for those exceptions in other passages of scripture, okay? But the, this whole characterization believes all things, hope all things, love never fails, is some, at some point of of idealistic characterization of what love does, and it's never fulfilled perfectly, but it's a goal, I guess, that we shoot for. And of course, God's love never fails either, because God never fails. So what does that mean that his love never fails? Well, that's more complicated. His purposes are ultimately fulfilled, even though not all the things he wants of people to do, like obey, are fulfilled. There's lots of things that God says, this is my will, and you better do it, and then we don't do it.

Okay. So those things aren't fulfilled completely either, the things that He wants us to do. So those are God's moral commands, et cetera. So anyway, I guess I added more stuff looking at that larger picture and helping to understand that. These aren't always applied, even in a human way, in an absolute sense. sometimes there are other things that are factors that are important. But according to Paul in the context, this is the kind of love humans are to be expressing towards each other so that they're not clanging gongs and clashing symbols or whatever.

I think remembering the difference in role and authority can help make sense of all of this. because God, if he's the judge, it was great that you pointed out, Greg, that his goodness, his justice comes out of his goodness. And he can't be just if he doesn't know what people have done. And he can't punish wrongdoing if he doesn't know what people have done. So this is actually, this isn't an example of holding a grudge. This is an example of keeping records so that one can be just. Yeah, this is a good, I'm glad Jesus at work because I think it's appropriate. the way people often keep track of wrongs that are done to them.

It's really holding a grudge. And that's very different from God keeping a record for justice. And the reason why is because he is the judge. And so this comes back to role in authority. And we see this all the time. You pointed out the government has a different role than we do. So I cannot put someone and prison someone in my basement. That's wrong.

But the government can't imprison someone in jail, and that's right. So you can see that having that role given by God and that authority, it makes it right because they're doing something for the sake of justice. Whereas if I were doing it, I don't have that authority. I don't have that role, and I would get in trouble for that. So what's really interesting is that you can see this happening in Romans 12. Right at the end of Romans 12, going into Romans 13, you can see this shift in role. because at the very end of 12, Paul says, you know, never take your own revenge because

vengeance is mine, because it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So the reason why we don't hold grudges and we don't repay evil for evil is because we trust in God to bring about justice, and he will bring about justice. And holding a grudge is a, is a, is kind of a posture towards another person where you're punishing them for something they've done by withholding your goodwill to them. I think that's a way to look at holding a grudge. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that jerk. Yeah, what do you want? You know, that's acting out unforgiveness. And that, I think, is exactly what he's talking about, bringing about punishment for something that we feel that we've been wronged in.

And I like what you say withholding your goodwill because how does he say we're supposed to express that goodwill, if they're hungry, we're supposed to feed them, if they're thirsty, we're supposed to give them a drink. And he's quoting the Old Testament here. So this isn't just Paul. So he says, you know, you trust in God to bring about justice. And then this goes directly into the passage about the government and how the government is a minister of God there to punish the wrongdoer. So we can see there's no contradiction between that. As individuals, we're not supposed to do that, but God himself and those who he's put in authority in order to punish those who do evil, they have the right to do that. They have the authority to do that, and that's a good thing that

God has given them to do. Delegated that to them. So you can see them right there, and you can see both together, and there's no contradiction there. All right, let's go to a question from Dan. Greg has given a really helpful explanation of how people are condemned for their sin, not for not believing in Jesus when they haven't heard of him. How does that square with John 318, but, quote, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned? Well, I'm not sure what the conflict is here.

If I understood the way he characterized my view, just a few moments ago, I'm saying whoever has not believed is condemned. Could you read that what Greg said? Okay. So your view that people are condemned for their sin, they're not condemned for not believing in Jesus. But then John 318 says, but anyone who does not believe is condemned already. Oh, okay.

Yes, I see. This is good. Well, we're going to read a little bit more there in that passage to make clear what's going on. But I guess you could say that if somebody dies of... a disease that was a condition that was preventable or curable if they went to the doctor. There's a sense in which you could say they died because they didn't go to the doctor. But it wasn't the doctor that killed them. It wasn't even their lack of action that killed them.

That kind of action could have saved them. But it would be common to say, we told him, we told him, we told him, and he wouldn't go to the doctor, you know. You don't see this on a gravestone or an obit. Cause of death, stupidity, didn't go to the doctor or something like that. Instead, the cause of death is more organic. And if we were careful about speaking about it, we would say he could have survived had he gone to the doctor. But because he didn't go to the doctor, he died. That is, the disease killed him.

And that's the kind of thing that's going on here. So it becomes much more clear when we follow our principle. never read a Bible verse. Now, this is a passage that parts of it are very famous because it actually contains the most famous Bible verse in the world, and everyone knows this, John 316. So let's just read 16 and follow. Oh, no, I'm going to start before that with verse 14. But let me give, I have to give some historical background here because there's a reference

that Jesus makes to Moses, lifting up a serpent in the wilderness. God was bringing a judgment upon the nation of Israel through a fiery serpent, a poisonous snake, that bit them and they died. God brought judgment on Israel, lots of different ways. Sometimes it's storms and sometimes its locust, sometimes its, you know, plague, sometimes as foreign armies. In this case, it was snakes. Now, how could they escape the punishment that? they were facing. Well, they made a snake out of a, you know, a brazen snake, a bronze snake, I guess, and they put it on a stake so that if they looked at Moses after they had been bitten

and looked at that as they were commanded, then they would be saved from the snake. Okay. I think the imagery is starting to become obvious to people here. And this is why by the way, when you see a doctor's emblems, oftentimes there's a stake with a snake on it, in a medical emblem. Do you ever notice it? I'm not sure that comes from that. I think that might be a Greek thing, but I'm not sure. Go ahead. I'm not positive. Don't ruin my story. Anyway, what we do know for sure is what Jesus is referring to. Now, so that when he lifted up the stake in the wilderness, the people were instructed to look at the snake and that act of faith in looking at the snake rescued them from the poison of, that is the bronze snake,

rescued them from the poison of the real snake. Now remember, there was a snake in the garden, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, you know, here's what it says, verse 14. As Moses lifted up the serpent into wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. We know what lifted up means from chapter 12, the manner of his death. crucifixion. Jesus says that explicitly, so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life. So that's the doctor. That's the means of escape of the poison that's being killing them. But what about the poison? Keep reading. Now our famous verse, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Okay. He's the doctor.

He's the, if you don't go to the doctor, sorry, I keep banging. I'm sorry, keep banging the microphones because my hands are flying all around. And he's the doctor. He's the one that will rescue you from this poison. What poison? Keep reading. For God did not send the sun into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Oh, still more doctor still.

Got it. Next verse. He who believes in him is not what? Judged. But he who does not believe has been judged already. It's a done deal because he's not going to the only doctor that could save him. He's dead already. This is the walking dead man or dead man walking.

Keep reading. And this is the judgment that the light has come into the world. And men loved the darkness rather than the darkness. light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light. Who's the light? Jesus, this is John, after all, John 3. In John 1, John identifies Jesus as that light that's come into the world.

And men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light. I guess I repeated the line. does not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. So there you have, when you look at the entire what theologians call a pericope, you know, there's the whole chunk in the text. You see all of this is integrated together, that you have a powerful picture from the penititude of Moses that prefigures Christ where this serpent is impaled on the cross,

basically at the stake, and those who gaze upon it are rescued from the poison of the snake that bit them, and in similar fashion, those who would gaze upon Christ and put their faith in him will be rescued and forgiven, but they're not going to do that, because they're going to get judged. Why? Because they didn't believe? No, because their deeds were evil. In fact, it's so certain that, in fact, those who don't believe have been judged already. It's almost like what they call the prophetic perfect, where you look and you declare something that's going to happen in the future as if it's a past event. And it's just a means to emphasize the certainty of the outcome. And that's what's going on here. The certainty of the outcome. They will be judged.

In fact, it's a done deal already. And they won't turn to Jesus because their deeds are evil. they love the darkness rather than light, and therefore that is what will kill them in the final judgment. Right. I think the already actually explains all of this, because if they're judged already because it proves that they love their sin rather than Jesus, then the judgment comes previous to hearing anything about Jesus, or not hearing anything about Jesus.

And this is similar to what Paul says in chapter 3, three of Romans. Wait, you say the judgment comes before. You mean the reality of the future judgment is established before? Is that what you were that? I'm not sure. I'm not sure I think that as much as they're already, they're already under judgment because of their sin.

Not final judgment, but like they're already under the wrath of God before. In the category of the judge. Right, because before they hear anything about Jesus. Yeah, yeah. because of their sin because they love the darkness rather than light and the fact that they the fact that they don't come to Jesus proves that they love their darkness more than light. But we see in, it's probably Romans too, where he's talking about even the Gentiles who don't have the law, they're still rejecting God all the time.

So I think this is where it gets complicated for me because I do think rejecting God is sinful, but that's not all everyone is doing. And the fact that they're rejecting God is reflecting their heart and their love for sin as the John 3 passages saying. It's reflected in. In other words, they're rejected God. Their de facto rejection of God is reflected in these passages. No, I mean, when they're rejecting God because of their heart, because they're in rebellion against God. Right.

And that expresses itself in all sorts of sin. Right, right. So even without knowing the law or anything else, Paul says they're still condemned because their conscience is still intact and they know that they're— Right. So I want to make an observation of these two questions we dealt with, and they each have raised what seems like an apparent contradiction. One with Scripture, that was the first one, making a list of sins, and the second one.

at least with a contradiction in John 3, with the way I characterize something in the nature of the judgment. But it turns out John 3 does not work that way. The point that I want to make, the larger point, 30,000 feet is there are lots of places where it seems there are conflicts in Scripture if you isolate particular verses. Sometimes you have to go back and take a larger look, and then you see how these things actually dovetail together. If we are, if we're going to just sit there and not deal with them, then we are affirming, at least an apparent contradiction. And I think, of course, this is the reason that people call and ask the questions, like Mike did, because there can't be contradictory, so how do you fix the apparent contradiction if scripture

is reliable. And that's really the point I'm getting at here, that we do. the extra work with the confidence that scripture does tell the truth, and so maybe we're missing something, and so we draw back further to maybe 5,000 feet, then 10, then 20, then maybe 30. Another episode we talked about resolving a difficulty by understanding the big picture from Abraham to Jesus, and that's like, that's 60,000 feet, man. There's no air up there, but that's sometimes necessary. And so having a broad view is going to help people understand some of these things. And how do you get that?

You get that from staying with it for years and years and years as you grow in the Lord. I think of so many things. I read through scripture, right? I don't do it in a year. Usually it takes me three years, but I'm marking off the books and read it through, and then I'm done, and then I start all over again, you know. And it's so interesting for me, Amy, that things that come up on shows like these, something I read serendipitously, oh, just going through kings. You know, I'm not trying to be a smarty pants, but in fact, I was going through kings.

And there's that thing. And it applies in that circumstance. And last night I was reading, I was reading Psalm. And the last line of that particular Psalm, wherever it was, said something about the Lord. There was no unrighteousness in God. That was kind of the last line. And that came up in our conversation here. So if you make it a steady habit to feed on the word and seek to understand it in the big picture,

and the story of reality helps with that, the Bible fast forward helps with that, those are things that we could provide. But there are other people who have done the same thing. The more you understand that, over the years, as you're faithful to stay in play with, with that, the more you're going to see. And I don't read my Bible every day. I mean, I'm traveling sometimes, and there's crazy stuff, but I am working through it so that I get the full counsel of God, and that's what we encourage others to do as well. Well, thanks so much, Mike, and Dan. We always appreciate your questions, and we look forward to hearing from you if you have a

question. Don't put it off any longer. Just send us your question. We get a lot of good questions, So I just, I can't say enough how much we appreciate here. We get the best questions here. And so many of them are novel to me that I've not even thought about this before. And it's good to think about it and give our input best that we can, trusting it's helpful to you. Thank you so much for listening. This is Amy Hall and Greg Cookell for Stand to Reason.