If your god doesn’t judge, they are gods of imagination. Our very real God does judge, and He doesn’t sugarcoat any of it, nor does He water it down. We, as imperfect humans who often want our own way, (we are all guilty of it, myself included) try to water His Word down, to make it seem better and easier to understand but this is WRONG! God’s Word is clear and straightforward; it is stated in black and white, with some red words when our God is speaking directly, and it should not be twisted or watered down. If you can’t understand it, ask Him; BUT, be prepared for any possible response.
“I am the Lord; that is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” –Isaiah 42:8
His love and His judgement do coincide with each other; you have to remember, He is still our parent after all and He will discipline us when we do wrong because He LOVES US! Parental guidance and love can come off as hurtful, but you have to realize that they are helping you grow and mature BECAUSE they love you, BECAUSE they want to see you succeed and become the person God created you to be. God’s judgement is perfect, impartial, firm, righteous and complete.
We’re in Ukraine officially now! This is part of our walk to the church my team is partnered with this month! We will be in Dnipro, Ukraine until December 14th.
“For God does not show favoritism.” –Romans 2:11
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” –Psalm 19:7
Sin begins (becomes an existing error) because we decide that we want to be like God; Jesus’ sacrifice was the lightning rod that showed how wrong this attitude is, that shows that we don’t HAVE to choose sin; choose God because that is the best decision we can make! The cross has no meaning without Him changing our course of life as we knew it. We should definitely do our best to change our hearts in order to be ready to choose into receiving His judgement in the way He wants us to receive it.
Judgements:
1) The judge of the cross itself. No one condemns us because of Jesus’ sacrifice; He is at God’s right hand, and therefore, will vouch for us (He is literally the example to follow, so we need to follow Him).
2) The judgement of angels. Why would he not hold angels to the same accountability? They may be in heaven, but keep in mind: Satan was an angel before he fell; they have the same free will, and God holds all sin to the same standards!
3) The judgement of the church. We are all His church and we are all humans, therefore, we have the temptations of sin; however, He wants us to hold ourselves to Christ-like standards and that requires us NOT to sin, or at least, strive not to. All sin is held in equality; there is no sin greater than another.
4) The judgement seat of Christ. Do not treat each other, your brothers and sisters, with contempt and anger; you will ALL stand before Christ’s judgement seat one day, so be aware of judgement and your self-control fruit.
5) The sheep and goat judgement. The sheep represent those who have truly accepted Him and have a personal relationship with Him, they (we/I) will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven with eternal life and joy. The goats are the people who don’t know Him, and they will inherit eternal death and pain.
6) The great white throne judgement. Anyone who isn’t written in the book of life was/will be thrown into the lake of fire; that should be a scarily convicting moment in itself! This should cause you to ask Him for a heart check so that you can be assured that won’t be you (and you should do this daily).
I know I don’t want to live in eternal death and pain; and by God’s grace, I won’t be! Eternal life and joy is in my future, what about you?
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.’” –Jeremiah 29:11
Below is a catholic church not to far from where we’re staying. The church buildings are stunning here, all with different colors adorning the outside and the inside.
Wow Taylor, I have never seen all the different judgements in one place so they could be compared to each other (for similarities and differences). It is certainly sobering. Thankfully, we have a Savior who has made a way for us to have forgiveness of our sins if we confess those to Him and are truly repentant. I don’t ever want to take Him or His work at the cross for granted.