Tag Archives: Judgment

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Righteous Wrath

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 76
Focus: Psalm 76:10

Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

Ask most people and they will tell you they prefer a God of love, not wrath. They like the Jesus who is “full of grace,” but they are not so sure about the Christ whose grace is perfectly balanced with “truth.” People get very uncomfortable with a Deity who actually punishes sin, preferring a world where “all dogs go to heaven,” as do all people. All of which would render judgment, punishment and hell entirely irrelevant.

Yet throughout the Bible we find in the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—a capacity for righteous wrath: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire, moneychangers are given the bum’s rush right out of the temple, greedy Ananias and Sapphira drop dead in church, and at the proper time, the living and the dead will face the final judgment. Though perfectly loving, resplendent with grace, unequaled in patience, a place of safety for his children, God is also a bit dangerous because he is organically just.

“Behold then the kindness and severity of God.” (Romans 11:22, NASB)

I prefer a God like that. I don’t won’t the syrupy, doting eternal Santa Claus who does nothing but dispense goodies to one and all—even the bad ones. I want a God who is fair and true and just…and dangerous.

However, what I prefer, what anyone prefers, matters little. Like it or not, the kind of God we get is a God of love—and of justice! Likewise, the kind of Savior we get wasn’t the sugary sweet version so many in our culture have made him to be—a sanitized, tame, Mr. Rogers version of Christ. Dorothy Sayers was right,

“To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies…To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.”

But the Bible is quite clear: Jesus is no pussycat—he is the Lion of Judah, and one day, as II Timothy 4:1 says, “Jesus Christ [will] judge the living and the dead.” And on that day, all of heaven will thunder, “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One…Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16: 5,7)

All of creation, including you and I, will be utterly amazed at the justice and fairness of God’s judgment, and we will stand in solidarity and declare in unison, “That’s exactly right—true and just are your judgments!”

Justice will finally be served by the only One who can be trusted to judge in righteousness and fairness. What a relief!

__________________

“When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right…something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise…it will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up.” (C.S. Lewis)

 

Making Life Work: Romans 2:4 says, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Think about God’s kindness in your life. One of the appropriate responses to that kindness is to humble yourself in repentance before your loving Father.

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Only God Is King Forever!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 10
Focus: Psalm 10:16

The LORD is King for ever and ever; nations will perish from his land.”

It may not be this week, it may not happen this year, it may not take place in your lifetime, but there will be a divine payday—judgment—someday for the wicked!

At the proper time, human sinfulness and institutional evil will be called to account before the righteous God who has watched over every square inch of the earth with penetrating moral clarity every second since time began. That proper time may come sooner, or it may come later, but it will come for sure.

This calls for patient endurance on the part of God’s people, who prayerfully long for his “justice to roll down like waters in a mighty stream,” as the prophet Amos said. Like David in Psalm 10, we too, witness the perpetration of evil by those who have no regard for God and live as if there is no God (v.4), and we cry out, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (v. 1) Perhaps even more frustrating, we are overwhelmed by the evil systems of the world—governments, financial institutions, business, unions, academic bodies, boards and various other seats of power that are ruled by unassailable philosophies rather than identifiable human beings—as they continue to harass, oppress, cheat and destroy the defenseless.

But James 5:7-9 reminds us, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

God RulesThink about this: What wicked nation has remained in power for more than 500 years? None! What evil institution has stayed in business for more than 200 years? I challenge you to name one! What vile person has lived more than 120 years? The last I checked, the death rate for the wicked is hovering around 100%

My point is, they have all been brought low and have perished from the earth. But God remains! So rather than keeping my eyes on that which will fade before the eternal God, I am casting my lot with him.

__________________

“That which a man spits against heaven, shall fall back on his own face.” (Thomas Adams)

 

Making Life Work: The next time you are frustrated by some current evil in your world—an abusive boss, a bully at school, corporate executives who rake in millions while laying off workers, poverty in Africa, pollution of God’s green earth—do what you can to address it. Don’t let evil overwhelm you, but overcome it with good, as Paul says in Romans 12:21.

And even though much of the evil in your world will still remain after you have done all that you can do, remember, this evil, too, will perish from the earth.

Posted on

Righteous Wrath—Oh What A Relief!

Read Psalm 76

Featured Verse: Psalm 76:10

“Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.”

Ask most people and they will tell you they prefer a God of love, not wrath. They like the Jesus who is “full of grace,” but they are not so sure about the Christ whose grace is perfectly balanced with “truth.” People get very uncomfortable with a Deity who actually punishes sin, preferring a world where “all dogs go to heaven,” as do all people. All of which would render judgment, punishment and hell entirely irrelevant.

Yet throughout the Bible we find in the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—a capacity for righteous wrath: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire, moneychangers are given the bum’s rush right out of the temple, greedy Ananias and Sapphira drop dead in church, and at the proper time, the living and the dead will face the final judgment. Though perfectly loving, resplendent with grace, unequaled in patience, a place of safety for his children, God is also a bit dangerous because he is organically just.

I prefer a God like that. I don’t want the syrupy, doting eternal Santa Claus who does nothing but dispense goodies to one and all—even the bad ones. I want a God who is fair and true and just…and dangerous.

However, what I prefer, what anyone prefers, matters little. Like it or not, the kind of God we get is a God of love—and of justice! Likewise, the kind of Savior we get wasn’t the sugary sweet version so many in our culture have made him to be—a sanitized, tame, Mr. Rogers version of Christ. Dorothy Sayers was right,

“To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies…“To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies… To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.”

But the Bible is quite clear: Jesus is no pussycat—he is the Lion of Judah, and one day, as II Timothy 4:1 says, “Jesus Christ [will] judge the living and the dead.” And on that day, all of heaven will thunder, “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One…Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16: 5,7)

All of creation, including you and I, will be utterly amazed at the justice and fairness of God’s judgment, and we will stand in solidarity and declare in unison, “That’s exactly right—true and just are your judgments!”

Justice will finally be served by the only One who can be trusted to judge in righteousness and fairness. What a relief!

“When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right … something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise … it will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up.”
— C.S. Lewis

Posted on

Psalm 76: Righteous Wrath

Read Psalm 76:1-12

Righteous Wrath—Oh What A Relief!

Surely your wrath against men brings you praise,
and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.
(Psalm 76:10)

Ask most people and they will tell you they prefer a God of love, not wrath. They like the Jesus who is “full of grace,” but they are not so sure about the Christ whose grace is perfectly balanced with “truth.” People get very uncomfortable with a Deity who actually punishes sin, preferring a world where “all dogs go to heaven,” as do all people. All of which would render judgment, punishment and hell entirely irrelevant.

Yet throughout the Bible we find in the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—a capacity for righteous wrath: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire, moneychangers are given the bum’s rush right out of the temple, greedy Ananias and Sapphira drop dead in church, and at the proper time, the living and the dead will face the final judgment. Though perfectly loving, resplendent with grace, unequaled in patience, a place of safety for his children, God is also a bit dangerous because he is organically just.

I prefer a God like that. I don’t won’t the syrupy, doting eternal Santa Claus who does nothing but dispense goodies to one and all—even the bad ones. I want a God who is fair and true and just…and dangerous.

However, what I prefer, what anyone prefers, matters little. Like it or not, the kind of God we get is a God of love—and of justice! Likewise, the kind of Savior we get wasn’t the sugary sweet version so many in our culture have made him to be—a sanitized, tame, Mr. Rogers version of Christ. Dorothy Sayers was right,

“To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies…“To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies… To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.”

But the Bible is quite clear: Jesus is no pussycat—he is the Lion of Judah, and one day, as II Timothy 4:1 says, “Jesus Christ [will] judge the living and the dead.” And on that day, all of heaven will thunder, “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One…Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16: 5,7)

All of creation, including you and I, will be utterly amazed at the justice and fairness of God’s judgment, and we will stand in solidarity and declare in unison, “That’s exactly right—true and just are your judgments!”

Justice will finally be served by the only One who can be trusted to judge in righteousness and fairness. What a relief!

“When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to
invade, all right…something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible
to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it
will be God without disguise…it will be too late then to choose
your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down
when it has become impossible to stand up.”
— C.S. Lewis

Posted on

Psalm 10: Payday—Someday!

Read Psalm 10

Payday—Someday!

“The LORD is King for ever and ever; nations will perish from his land.”
Psalm 10:16

It may not be this week, it may not happen this year, it may not take place in your lifetime, but there will be a divine payday—judgment—someday for the wicked!

At the proper time, human sinfulness and institutional evil will be called to account before the righteous God who has watched over every square inch of the earth with penetrating moral clarity every second since creation. That proper time may come sooner, or it may come later, but it will come for sure.

This calls for patient endurance on the part of God’s people, who prayerfully long for his “justice to roll down like waters in a mighty stream,” as the prophet Amos said. Like David in Psalm 10, we too, witness the perpetration of evil by those who have no regard for God and live as if there is no God (v.4), and we cry out, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (v. 1)

But James 5:7-9 reminds us, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

Think about this: What wicked nation has remained in power for more than 500 years? None! What evil institution has stayed in business for more than 200 years? I challenge you to name one! What vile person has lived more than 120 years? The last I checked, the death rate for the wicked is hovering around 100%

My point is, they have all been brought low and have perished from the earth. But God remains! So rather than keeping my eyes on that which will fade before the eternal God, I am casting my lot with him.

The next time you are frustrated by some current evil in your world—an abusive boss, a bully at school, corporate executives who rake in millions while laying off workers, poverty in Africa, pollution of God’s green earth—do what you can to address it. Don’t let evil overwhelm you, but overcome it with good, as Paul says in Romans 12:21.

And even though much of the evil in your world will still remain after you have done all that you can do, remember, this evil, too, will perish from the earth.

“That which a man spits against heaven, shall fall back on his own face.”
—Thomas Adams