Ludwig Wittgenstein and the Reality of Judgement

Some wanting to soften the more unseemly edges of Christianity have sought to downplay the reality of final judgment. These folks argue that the notion that we will be held accountable, as the Bible plainly teaches, for every thought, word and deed, is an impossible road block for people seeking to come to faith in Christ.

However, I would beg to differ. Not only is downplaying the reality of final judgment a distortion of the teaching of Jesus Himself—Jesus spoke of the reality of final judgment more than anyone else in the Bible; and not only is it patently unfaithful to the teaching of the apostles—Paul, for example, preached that God has “set a day in which he will judge the world with justice” (Acts 17:31). All these things are true and are reason enough to reject the notion of downplaying the reality of judgment. However, perhaps most interestingly such a soft-peddled message is ultimately dehumanizing. It leaves its hearers with the notion that in the end their lives really don’t matter—that their choices and actions account for nothing at all. Listen to the words of the non-Christian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: “If what we do now is to make no difference in the end, then all the seriousness of life is done away with.” Do you think your thoughts, beliefs, words and actions are going to count in the end? Then, it makes all the difference how you live now.

Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective”.

“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

~Ecclesiastes 12:13-14