God's Righteous Judgment

Being on the "right side" of history is a claim made by some due to their acceptance of worldly wisdom.  Since there is an omnipotent, righteous God to whom all must one day give an account, the wise aim to align their conduct and morality with what pleases Him.  There is a lot of call for social justice today, and more important still is the recognision of the almighty God whose ways are righteousness and justice.  The justice of God is a divine attribute we ought to glory in, not shy away from.  By the work Jesus accomplished on Calvary, followers of Jesus are on the right side of God's justice.

Like the tides of the sea billow and swirl, trouble in this life is never far away.  Our own thoughts, emotions and feelings within us can resemble a stormy sea whilst we can experience the force of a tempest that has power to toss us like a cork on the ocean.  Living with the aim to honour and please God can result in additional trouble, but thankfully God provides consolation as an anchor for our souls.  Rather than bemoaning our troubles it is good to renew our minds concerning a godly and biblical perspective of them.  Our endurance through trials and tribulations is evidence of God's grace upon us and the genuine reality of our faith in Him, the comfort available to us by Jesus and our ultimate salvation.  He who glories, let us glory in the LORD who is just and the God of all comfort.

See what Paul wrote to believers in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-8:  "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, ⁴ so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, ⁵ which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; ⁶ since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁷ and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Faith in Jesus was the root and the love of believers to all others was the fruit.  Jesus suffered as our Saviour and King, and thus is is fitting believers ought to exhibit patience and faith in tribulation.  Disciples were tempted to avoid trials and to even part with Christ due to troubles they faced for His sake.

Paul explained the patient endurance in faith through tribulation was "manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God."  It was not that believers in themselves were worthy of God's kingdom, but their continuance in faith despite trials revealed the reality of God's sanctifying work in them.  God would be righteous to "repay with tribulation" those who troubled them and also to give Christians who are troubled rest.  Our boasting should not be in smug threats to the wicked, that they will get what's coming to them, but in the God who is just, righteous and in Him we trust.  A day will come when our lives on earth will be concluded and we do not need to wait for the consolation God provides today for all who rest in Christ.

Love, patience and faith are qualities that accompany salvation in the lives of believers.  Great encouragement is provided believers by our just God in Hebrews 6:9-10:  "But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister."  God is just to allow His people to suffer to reveal to them and others we are counted worthy (by His grace) of the kingdom of God.  The farmer who suffers the cold of the morning in plowing and endures the heat of the day to sow and harvest will also be a partaker of the crops.  Praise the LORD there is rest in Him for the troubled and justice for those made righteous by faith in Christ.

The Practical Walk

People have varying degrees of skill, aptitude and interest in athletics.  Some people who are fit, healthy specimens have no desire to play ball sports, and others who are not ideal pictures of fitness love to participate often.  We all have limitations when it comes to the fastest we can run, jump, lift and throw.  Even the best professional athletes who push themselves to a maximum far beyond other mortal men can only go so far.  The same is true for intellectual pursuits or physical work.  There are some things we will never understand and building skills we will never master.  No matter how hard we labour even maintaining the skills and fitness we once possessed can prove difficult.

The spiritual, inner man is in contrast to the outer man that is perishing because we are being renewed by faith in Jesus day by day.  Our understanding concerning God and His wisdom can expand after our minds and bodies are well past their prime.  By the power of God we are enabled to do things as we mature in faith in Jesus we could not do in our earlier days.  God does not teach "old dogs new tricks" but He makes old men new.  Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Contentment was something Paul needed to learn, and he did.  Experience coupled with conviction of sin through fellowship with God moved Paul to repentance and rest confidently in God's sovereignty.  This is not something only apostles or Paul could learn, but this is God's will for all believers.  Let us not imagine contentment is a hurdle only Paul could clear because he was a superhuman Jesus-freak, for the God who helped and taught Him is also our Helper and Teacher.

Another aspect of the Christian walk we are to embrace is that of sexual purity.  This purity of mind and body isn't just essential for pastors or those in ministry but for all believers.  Paul wrote this in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7:  "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; ² for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, ⁵ not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. ⁷ For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness."  Paul was not given special knowledge no one else could attain, for it is the will of God that all believers know how to abstain from sexual immortality and how to keep our bodies pure in sanctification and honour without falling prey to lust.  This requires faith and agreement with God's definition of sexual immorality, repenting of our sin and walking in union with the Holy Spirit.  Knowing how to control our minds and bodies in sanctification is an ability from God we learn to walk in.  Since the Holy Spirit is holy, He will always lead us to walk in holiness.

The Christian walk of faith is not theoretical but practical and supernatural empowerment from God we are called to labour to choose.  Like that long jump distance which surpassed our natural ability to leap or that maths equation we could never solve, contentment and sexual purity is always beyond our natural man.  But praise be to God Jesus Christ is able to make us new creations and renew our minds to believe He can do what we cannot.  May it sink into our minds and hearts we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, and this includes His will for us to live in purity and contentment.

When It Wasn't God

One of the challenges of our walk with God is knowing when He is speaking to us or not.  Being fallible people with limited understanding and knowledge we do not always discern God's voice clearly or correctly.  We can look for a big-picture answer when the LORD would have us deal with one decision to honour God or to forsake sin which prevents us from taking the first step to enter into His will.  It is a sobering reality many believers have laboured long under a misunderstanding of God's will for them that has hamstrung their perspective and possibly kept them from obedience.  People have believed they received a sign or direction from God which they ultimately decided was misguided, and this ought to be a warning to keep us from leaning on our own understanding.

When someone says they have prayed and believe they have heard and received an answer from God, it typically works to prevent any further discussion of the subject.  They have "felt a peace" with an idea or a decision; it was not their preference and thus it must have been of God--making how we think or feel a primary determination of God's will.  Making our feelings a guide is a snare we do well to avoid.  With a desire to honour and glorify God, those closeted from fellowship and convinced of a spiritual or personal truth can close themselves off of input from people who love God and them.  This desire to follow God at all costs is admirable, yet what may pass for honouring God can at the same time disregard the revelation of the scripture and the wise counsel of other Spirit-led believers.

One major hindrance to hearing the LORD clearly is the presence of besetting sin in our lives we have refused to forsake.  Galatians 5:13-16 reads, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! ¹⁶ I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  Paul reminded believers of their freedom from keeping the letter of the Law of Moses and it was fulfilled in their love one for another.  Denial of the lusts of the flesh was borne from walking in the Spirit.  If they walked in the Spirit, they would not fulfill the lust of the flesh because the Spirit of God is pure and holy.  Should the sinful lust of the flesh be evident in their lives, what would this show?  They were not walking in the Spirit or following His leading.  How can those who walk in the flesh be an trustworthy authority of God's wisdom and guidance?

When a person is unrepentant in sin before the LORD, they are made spiritually insensible and deluded because their relationship with God has been severed.  This does not mean their salvation is in doubt, but their sinful posture absolutely hinders their communication with God though they may continue spiritual disciplines like prayer, reading the Bible, fasting and going to church.  Like Samson with his locks shorn, they lack the spiritual power and discernment they possessed even earlier that day.  If we are walking in the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life, how can we claim to be led by the Holy Spirit?  Humble repentance for sin is a necessity for us to return to the LORD in fellowship.  In sin we are in a fog:  confused, bumbling around, circling back to sin, imagining we are making progress by efforts of the flesh to avoid sin when we are blind and miserable.  When God seems silent it is not always due to our sin, but given the foolish human precedent it would be silly to rule it out.

To have a healthy relationship with the LORD we must first respond to His initial call to salvation to repent of sin and trust in Him.  We must also continue walking in humility, repentance and faith after trusting in Jesus, for the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.  If we are walking according to the flesh, leaning on our own understanding, following signs, dreams, feelings or what we think God said, we will be led astray.  There are times people think God has spoken when it wasn't God, and praise God He has given us the Bible so we can be assured of the truth.  Thank the LORD He has placed us in a body of loving believers who truly love God and us, who care enough to walk alongside to encourage, strengthen and edify.  Glory to God for being our Redeemer, for even when we have gone astray He has graciously come to us to reveal He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

God Looks at the Heart

Being a prophet doesn't make someone perfect.  God corrected the prophet Samuel's assumptions concerning Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse who had a "royal bearing."  He looked at Eliab and thought, "This must be the LORD's anointed!"  1 Samuel 16:7 says, "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  Physical height was no qualification to be king when the heart of a man disqualifies him.  It is good for us to realise that we, like Samuel, can be led astray by first impressions and what can be seen.

What is true for individuals rings true for the Body of Christ, the church.  As long as I have been a part of the church there have always been people who come and go.  It is interesting to hear their perspective and how it impacts their decision to return or look elsewhere.  Some see a young pastor as one lacking necessary wisdom, and an older one as out of touch.  A large congregation is overwhelming to some, while a small congregation can be met with curious suspicion:  if it was a good church, why is it still small?  I am convinced any church you decide to regularly attend will have it faults and flaws because it if filled with people, and we all make our contributions.  But praise the LORD His grace, love and mercy is sufficient for us, and His strength is made perfect in weakness. :)

Trees provide a fitting illustration of how we cannot base our judgments primarily on what we see with our eyes.  Growing up we had a massive evergreen pine tree in the back yard which became infested with borers.  We were shocked to see grubs carving out paths under the bark which killed the tree in a season:  height provided no protection.  Fruitfulness is not always a sign of health either, for we had a peach tree heavily loaded with fruit which fell during the night.  The weight of the ripening peaches revealed the trunk had been eaten by termites.  Years ago I had a lemon tree that produced many green leaves but no lemons because the wild root stock had been allowed to flourish from under the graft.  Height, fruit and green leaves does not mean a tree is healthy, and I was surprised on all three occasions I based my judgment on sight alone.

Jeremiah 17:7-10 states, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. ⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. ⁹ "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? ¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."  Only God can know the hearts of men, so let us not be presumptuous to think we can know the hearts of others.  Based upon God's promise the spiritual health of God's people is not dependent upon the age of their pastor or the size of a congregation, but is assured for those who trust in the LORD.  Those who look to Jesus Christ are made spiritually healthy because they are connected to the vitality of Jesus Christ.  Such will remain fruitful in heat and drought because of the Living Water of the Holy Spirit who empowers us.  Times of pruning comes for the fruitful which temporarily ceases production, but in time will flourish again.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD and hopes in Him!  This is the one whose heart is pure before the Father by grace through faith in Jesus.  Our eyes and heart can deceive us, but the LORD will give us the insight, strength and vitality to be fruitful wherever He plants us.  We use our eyes to observe others, and the LORD searches our hearts and tests our minds:  will the good fruit of the Spirit be found in us?  Great reward is ours, not primarily due to the church we attend, but when we are personally fruitful for His glory by His grace.