The Unyielding Judge

For Reading: Matthew 5:21-26

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court." (5:25)

"God's wrath," said George MacDonald, "is always judicial. It is always the wrath of the Judge administering justice. Cruelty is always immoral, but true justice - never." Those who experience the fullness of God's wrath get precisely what they deserve. This may sound hard, but it is true.

There is great wisdom in the words of our Lord in the passage before us today. Settle matters with an adversary, He says, before he drags you to court. Do at once what you must one day do anyway. There may be no escape from payment, but why not escape at least from the prison sentence that will enforce it?

The point our Lord is making is that we ought not to drive justice to extremities. God requires righteousness of us, does He not? It is utterly useless to think, then, that we can escape the eternal law. So yield yourself rather than be compelled.

To those whose hearts are true, the idea of judgment is right; to those whose hearts are untrue, the idea of judgment is wrong. Many people live under the illusion that perhaps it might be possible to find a way of escaping all that is required of us in the world. But there is no escape. A way to avoid the demands of righteousness, apart from the righteousness which God accounts to us at the cross, would not be moral. When a man or woman accepts the payment God has made for them in Christ, the whole wealth of heaven is theirs; their debt is cleared. Those who deny that debt or who, acknowledging it, do nothing to avail themselves of the payment made for them on Calvary, face an unyielding Judge and an everlasting prison.

Prayer:

O Father, how serious and solemn is all this, but yet how true. Sin must ultimately be punished. I am so grateful that in Christ my debt has been paid, and availing myself of your offer I am eternally free. Blessed be Your name forever. Amen.

Further Study:

Zeph. 3:1-5; Psa. 103:6; John 5:30; Rom. 2:2

What does God do morning by morning?

What is God's judgment based on?

Friday Night Teaching

Hey everyone! Just transcribing the notes that I took last night during Gary's teaching. I didn't get to write anything down toward the end, though, so I'm hoping everyone else can help fill in the gaps. Also, I used this online source of The Scriptures (find it here), which is the translation of the Bible that Nate and I use.

*When you have a foundational issue that's off, everything you build on top of that is off.

Thomas Payne: "The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any other book in history."
     - There are over 30,000 different Christian denominations, all of them use the same Bible, so who do you go to for truth?

Romans 8:6 - "For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace."
     - You can't be carnally minded to find truth
     - You must be Biblically spiritually minded

The language of the Bible - context is the most important thing
     - The Bible is an Eastern document with an Eastern mindset
     - The Bible was written by Hebrews
     - It is important to know where the author was and what he was writing about

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work."

     - This verse is used to say that the Scripture is valid (meaning the Torah, Prophets, Psalms)
     - Only the Old Testament was around when this verse was written!

*You are adopted into the family of Israel, so start learning about the family into which you were adopted!

Where do we find the truth?

Isaiah 46:9-10 - "Remember the former events of old, for I am El, and there is no one else – Elohim, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from of old that which has not yet been done, saying, ‘My counsel does stand, and all My delight I do,"
     - Yahweh told you everything from the beginning to the end
     - You can find the entire story of mankind in Genesis

***Once you understand who Yahweh is and who his people are, you can understand the other books in context***

Hosea 4:6 - "My people have perished for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest for Me. Since you have forgotten the Torah of your Elohim, I also forget your children."
     - Torah means instruction as a parent to a child
     - Torah does not mean law 

Righteous Indignation

For Reading: Romans 1:8-25

"The wrath of God is being revealed... against all the godlessness and wickedness of men." (1:18)

For many of us, "wrath" conjures up the idea of being out of control, an outburst of "seeing red," a sense of wounded pride or just downright petulance. But it is quite wrong to take these ideas or feelings and impose them on God. God's wrath is never out of control, never capricious, never self-indulgent, never irritable, and never ignoble. These may be indicative of human anger but never of the divine. God is angry only when anger is called for.

Even among men and women, there is such a thing as righteous indignation, though (in my opinion) it is more rare than we think.

I used to believe the difference between righteous indignation and carnal hostility was this: when someone was angry with me, that was carnal hostility; when I was angry with someone else, that was righteous indignation! I have "grown out" of that opinion now, I hasten to add.

All God's indignation is righteous. It is grief at what is happening to others, not a grudge because of what is happening to Him. Would a God who took as much pleasure in evil as He did in good be a God we could love? Would a God who did not react adversely to evil be morally perfect? Of course not. It is precisely this adverse reaction to evil that the Bible has in mind when it talks about God's wrath. God cannot treat good and evil alike. He can look over it - look over it to the cross where it can be forgiven - but he cannot overlook it.

Prayer:

O God, the more I see the reason behind Your wrath and the more I consider the purity of its motive, the more praise and adoration I want to give. What a great and wonderful God You are. And how glad I am You looked over my sin. Amen.

Further Study:

Isa. 13:1-22; Psa. 78:40-55; Isa. 30:27

How does the psalmist describe God's wrath?

How did Isaiah depict God's anger toward Babylon?

God's Great Intolerance

For Reading: Isaiah 5:18-25

"They have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty... Therefore the Lord's anger burns." (5:24-25)

Wrath is not a defect in the divine character; rather, it would be a defect if wrath were absent from Him. Those who see God's wrath as petulance or retaliation, inflicting punishment just for the sake of it or in return for some injury received, do not really understand it. Divine wrath is not vindictiveness; it is divine perfection, issuing forth from God because it is right.

Human beings tend to make God in our own image. He made us in His image, but we want to return the compliment, and it is there that so often we go wrong. Instead of reasoning from the divine down to the human, recognizing that sin has marred the divine image within us, we reason from our fallen condition and project our own feelings and ideas onto God.

Thus, when thinking of the wrath of God, we tend to look at what happens in our own hearts when we get angry, and we imagine God to be the same. But divine anger must never be confused with human anger. Most of what goes on in our hearts whenever we are angry is a mixture of unpredictable petulance, retaliation, hostility, and self-concern. God's anger is always predictable, always steadfast, and always set against sin. We must never forget that God's nature is uncompromisingly set against sin. We may tolerate it; He never.

Sin has been defined as "God's one great intolerance," and for that we ought to be eternally grateful. As His children we ought to rejoice that He will not tolerate anything that is harmful to us.

Prayer:

O Father, what a change comes over me when I realize that Your wrath is not so much directed at persons but at the sin that demeans and destroys them. You are not against me for my sin, but for me against my sin. I am deeply, deeply grateful. Amen.

Further Study:

Psa. 5:1-6; Psa. 11:5; Hab. 1:12-13; Zech. 8:16-17

How did the psalmist express God's great intolerance?

What does the Lord hate?

No Blemish in God

For Reading: Deuteronomy 32:36-47

"I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me." (32:41)

We turn now to focus on an aspect of God's character which for some reason many see as a blotch or blemish in the divine nature. I refer to the matter of God's wrath. Though the subject may be missing from many modern-day pulpits, it is not missing from the Bible. If you look up in a Bible concordance all the texts that refer to the wrath, anger, or the severity of God, you will find that there are more references to these than there are to His love, graciousness, or tenderness. A proper study of God can never be complete unless consideration is given to the fact that God is not only a God of love but a God of wrath and anger also.

I remember in the early days of my Christian experience that whenever I heard any reference to the wrath of God, I would feel a deep resentment arise within me, and instead of regarding this aspect of God's nature with delight, I looked upon it with disdain. Later, however, when I came to understand it and saw it in its proper light - as something to rejoice in rather than to be resented - I found my love for God and my awe of God swell to new proportions.

Arthur W. Pink describes the wrath of God as the "eternal detestation of all unrighteousness... the displeasure and indignation of divine equity against evil... the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin." Never view the wrath of God as a moral blemish or a blotch on His character. It would be a blemish if wrath were absent from Him.

Prayer:

Father, I would face all reality - even those aspects that do not fit into my preconceived ideas. Help me not to balk at the idea that You are a God of wrath as well as a God of wonder. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Further Study:

2 Kings 22:1-13; Psa. 90:11

Why did God's anger burn?

What did the psalmist say about God's wrath?

He Can't Forget!

For Reading: John 6:25-33

"Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'" (6:29)

In the passage before us today, our Lord is asked: "What must we do to do the works God requires?" (v.28). His answer was entirely different from that which you would receive if you posed the question to adherents of different religious systems today. A Buddhist would answer: "We must follow the eight-fold path of Buddhism." A Muslim would answer: "We must fast and pray and make a trip to Mecca." Some followers of the Christian way might answer, "We must engage in regular Bible study, prayer, tithing, and Christian fellowship." But the answer Jesus gave was this: "The work of God is this: to believe..."

George Watson, a devotional writer, said: "To trust the Origin of our existence is the fundamental grace of life. There is one virtue [in God] that stands out forever more conspicuously than friendship, or love, or knowledge, or wisdom. It is fidelity. God's fidelity is in Him what trust is in us." Understanding that God is utterly trustworthy will deliver us from such incapacitating emotions as worry, anxiety, and fear. To be overwhelmed by the concerns of this life reflects poorly upon the faithfulness of God.

An old saint who was dying became concerned that he couldn't remember any of God's promises. His pastor said: "Do you think God will forget any of them?" A smile came over the face of the dying Christian as he exclaimed joyfully: "No, no, He won't." This, too, is our confidence. He won't forget, because being God, He can't forget. 

Prayer:

O God my Father, if fidelity in You is what trust is in us, then help us come to a place where our trust matches Your fidelity. We confess we are not there yet, but we long to arrive. Help us, dear Father. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Further Study:

2 Tim. 2:1-13; Heb. 2:17; Heb. 10:23

What did Paul assure Timothy?

Why was Jesus made like His brothers?

Standing on Promises

For Reading: 2 Peter 1:1-11

"He has given us his very great and precious promises." (1:4)

It is one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as a clear biblical truth; it is quite another to act upon it. God has given us many great and precious promises, as our text for today puts it, but do we actually count on them being fulfilled?

We have to be careful that we do not hold God to promises he has not given. I have seen a good deal of heartache suffered by Christians because someone encouraged them to take a statement from the Word of God, turn it into a "promise," and urged them to believe for it to come to pass. Then when nothing happened, they became deeply discouraged.

One woman told me that many years ago she had taken the words found in Acts 16:31 - "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household" - and claimed them as a promise. When her husband and son died unrepentant, she was devastated. I pointed out to her that even God cannot save those who don't want to be saved, and that the promise given by Paul and Silas was for the Philippian jailer, not anyone else.

There are hundreds of promises that God has given in His Word that we can claim without equivocation. Someone who has counted all God's promises in the Bible numbers them as being over 3,000. That ought to be enough to keep you going if you lived to be a hundred. Be careful, however, that it is a general promise you are banking on, not a specific one.

Prayer:

Father, I have Your promise that You will guide me into all truth, so my trust is in You that You will give me the wisdom to discern between a promise which is general and one that is specific. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Further Study:

Heb. 1:1-12; Heb. 13:8; 2 Cor. 4:18

Why is Jesus so dependable?

Where do we fix our eyes?

The Need to Know

For Reading: Hebrews 10:19-31

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (10:23)

The Bible is a veritable mine of information on the fact of God's faithfulness. More than 4,000 years ago He said: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Gen. 8:22). Every year furnishes us with fresh evidence that He has not gone back on His Word.

In Genesis 15:13-14, God declared to Abraham: "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and ill-treated four hundred years. But... afterwards they will come out with great possessions." Did that happen? Exodus 12:41 says: "At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord's divisions left Egypt."

The prophet Isaiah predicted that a virgin would conceive and bear a son whose name would be Immanuel (Isa. 7:14). Centuries later the prediction came to pass. In Galatians 4:4 we read: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman."

I wish I had the space to take you through the pages of Scripture and show you how faithful God has been to His Word. But you have a Bible for yourself; study it. Read it to know God. This is the basis of our confidence in Him. And this is why the Bible fairly bulges with this great and gripping truth. The more of God's truth we pack into our souls, the better equipped we are for the road that lies ahead.

Prayer:

Gracious and loving Father, the more I learn about Your nature and character, the more I want to know. Just these glimpses I am getting set my soul on fire to know You more intimately. Take me deeper, dear Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Further Study:

Mal. 3:7; Psa. 102:27; Psa. 103:17; James 1:1-17

What did the Lord declare to Israel?

How did James put it?

Great Faithfulness

For Reading: Psalm 36:1-12

"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies." (36:5)

How wonderful it is, in an age where unfaithfulness abounds, to focus our gaze on those Scriptures that point to the trustworthiness of our God. The one before us today is quite wonderful, but consider also these:
"O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you" (Psa. 89:8).
"Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist" (Isa. 11:5).
"If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

Can't you just feel the energy flowing from these Scriptures, buttressing your confidence in God? For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to His nature, and if He ever was (we are only speculating because He could never do so) then He would cease to be God. Focus again with me on the text at the top of the page. We are told God's faithfulness extends to the skies. This is the psalmist's picturesque way of expressing the fact that far above all finite comprehension is the unchanging faithfulness of God. Everything about God is vast and incomparable, including his faithfulness. He never forgets a thing, never makes a mistake, never fails to keep a promise, never falters over a decision, never retracts a statement He has made, and has never breached a contract. Every declaration He has made, every promise He has given, every covenant He has struck is vouchsafed by His faithful character.

Prayer:

O God, how great Thou art. Great in power, great in majesty, great in love, great in mercy - great in so many things. But above all You are great in faithfulness. How I rejoice in that. Amen.

Further Study:

I Cor. 1:1-9; Heb. 6:18; I Pet. 4:19

What did Paul assure the Corinthians?

What is it impossible for God to do?

Our Trustworthy God

Deuteronomy 7:7-20
"He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations." (7:9)

God is utterly trustworthy in all He says and does, and this is the rock-bottom reality on which everything in the universe depends. In an age when so much unfaithfulness abounds, how good it is to realize that we have One who will never let us down, never have to apologize for failing us, and never go back on His Word.

Am I speaking to someone who has just discovered unfaithfulness in a marriage partner, or experienced the break-up of a relationship because a person you trusted did not keep their word? It's a sad moment when we get a revelation of the inconsistency of the human heart. But we need to look into our own hearts also, for none of us can claim complete immunity to the sin of unfaithfulness. We may not have broken a contract or violated the marriage covenant, but we have been unfaithful to Christ in other ways - to the light and privileges which God has entrusted to us, perhaps.

How refreshing it is, then, to read today's text and focus our gaze on the One who is faithful at all times and in all things. We may let Him down, but He will never let us down.

A chorus I learned as a young Christian comes back to me when I am tempted to doubt the faithfulness of God:
He cannot fail for He is God,
He cannot fail, He pledged His Word,
He cannot fail, He'll see you through,
He cannot fail, He'll answer you.

Prayer:

Gracious and loving God, what inspiration it brings to my soul to realize that of all the things You can do, the one thing You can't do is fail. May the reality of this be the pavement on which I tread this day and every day. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Further Study:

I Kings 8:54-61; Psalm 89:1-8

What did Solomon testify?

What did the psalmist promise to do?