When God judges the world…

There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.” Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders. (Isaiah 24:11–23)

A book in the nearby library is written by an ‘expert’ outlining how to make it through the tough times that are coming upon us. I’ve not read it, only the jacket cover, but this author speaks of investing and other strategies to combat inflation. There seems to be no mention of the emotional strain people experience over increasing atrocities.

The above passage from Isaiah could be describing the brokenness in the universe, not just in economic matters, far worse that what that author thinks will need fixing. It seems a prophetic description of what will occur just before the Lord brings judgment. However, the fascinating part is this section:

They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. . . .” (Isaiah 24:14–16)

Those who did not stray from their covenant with Him will be anticipating this event, wanting justice in a messed up world. When it happens, joy will fill their hearts and God will be praised. 

Reading the news and seeing the progress of evil makes joy and praise look impossible yet those who know the grace of God also know the power of His Spirit to bring peace to our hearts. He says to His people:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance. (Isaiah 26:12–13)
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5–7)

Those who trust God know that peace. It isn’t about all being right in the world, but about knowing Him, His goodness and His protection. I am safe in the hands of God. He knows how to judge sinful people but because His NT Lamb died for my sins, I am not condemned with them, but at peace.

Jesus, salvation is like this promise of judgment in that it will happen, yet not to those who know You. Instead of getting what sin deserves, faith in Your death and resurrection grants me eternal life and deep inner peace. For that, I rejoice and praise You — no matter what is making headlines or who is frantically trying to avoid the judgment that You promise will happen.

 

The only remedy for Guilt . . .

 

Occasionally I see condemned buildings. Usually they are not safe, made so by neglect or abuse. When selecting today’s word that describes God, I wanted to skip this negative one, CONDEMN, yet God does condemn. Interesting though, this word in its various forms occurs far less than the wonderful word, REDEEM which is used at least two times as much. This is hopeful!

The positives are in the words of Jesus and the NT. Jesus makes it clear the criteria for both redemption and condemnation . . .

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved (redeemed) through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:17–18)

Condemnation is about unbelief, about rejecting God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It includes sin, yet if sin were the only criteria, no one could be saved “for all sin and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is why the Word of God says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) He is our only escape.

The reason sin is not in this equation is that everyone sins and no one can stop it without a drastic change of heart and mind. God tells us to obey Him but takes into consideration our inability to do so. We need His help.

Another factor is also in play with the human issue of sin. Sin is driven by Satan’s activity of lies, false signs and wonders, and wicked deception in the lives of those who “refuse to love the truth and so be saved.” God reveals Himself in creation and is refused, or God reveals Himself through His Word and is rejected, or God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ and He is crucified. “ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9–12)

Persisting in unbelief at any level leads to condemnation and condemnation makes a person much like those old, boarded up buildings. We were created in the image of God to glorify Him. Sin marred that image. If anyone persists in sin, they are abusing and neglecting that for which they were created. Their lives become useless to their original purpose and therefore are boarded up, eventually falling apart for that lack of being meaningful.

The Bible defines sin as going our own way, doing our own thing, saying NO to the Owner and the Owner’s manual. Condemnation, like that of a building, happens through an authority who declares guilt. The Hebrew word means “to declare guilty of wickedness or immorality” like an inspector who checks out the building to see if it is fit for what it was created for. The Greek word means, “to be or become subject to a pronouncement of guilt and a punitive sentence in a legal context.”

We all fall short and deserve the “CONDEMNED” sign over our heads yet the good news is that Jesus took our condemnation and bore its penalty and, in the sacrifice and rising from death to life, He offers us new life — a reconstruction job. This is like those TV shows where a crew comes in and totally rebuilds a rundown house and makes it new.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The remake is both instant and takes a while, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ!

Why would anyone not want this? Is it because of the difficulty of looking in the mirror and both realizing and admitting the reflection is not like the image of God —  that it has flaws and imperfections, also evil in varying degrees? Human pride also likes to be in charge, to think we can do it right without help, or at least do it our way without correction. Any rejection says very simply that “I don’t believe what God says” and therein calling God a liar and condemning ourselves.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. This next verse fills me with joy and tears: “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:34) Jesus died for me, lives for me, prays all the time for me. His incredible love puts me on my face before Him, glad that He convicted me of sin and unbelief, and glad that He gave me new life in His Son. Sometimes I feel like an old, abandoned building, but that is not what God says about me; I am a new creation and I belong to Him; He can use my life as He wishes because the condemned sign that should have been nailed on me was nailed to the cross and He was condemned for my sake. Hallelujah, what a Savior!