text: why does 'judgment' sound so legalistic? modern christianity promotes itself as being all about love, tolerance, forgiveness, etc... and don't worry yourself about legalism like the law of god, god's ordinances, the "old" testament, etc... but, why does divine 'judgment' still sound so legalistic? clueless_clown,  the old testament law was easier to follow than the new testament. those who paint christianity as easy very often do a disservice to those who listen. in the new testament, we will be judged for our words and actions and our motivation and our endurance. we will be held accountable for what we did with what we received. we have been given much and much is required.  the new testament gospel teaches righteousness that is a gift. we are given the freedom of innocence whether we understand it or not. we can respond to god with obedience and fulfill the law. jesus said that if we love god with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves, then we have kept the law. we are not immune from the law, but are responsible for keeping a higher law that takes into account our motivation. we are expected to love. we are given everything that we need to succeed, and we will be judged accordingly. jesus said that he can tell who is going to heaven and who is not by whether we love our neighbor. let’s read his words:  "when the son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.   then the king will say to those on his right, 'come, you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. for i was hungry and you gave me something to eat, i was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, i was a stranger and you invited me in, i needed clothes and you clothed me, i was sick and you looked after me, i was in prison and you came to visit me.'   then the righteous will answer him, 'lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? when did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'   the king will reply, 'i tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'   then he will say to those on his left, 'depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. for i was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, i was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, i was a stranger and you did not invite me in, i needed clothes and you did not clothe me, i was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'   they also will answer, 'lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'     he will reply, 'i tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." matthew 25:31-46  god bless.