God Judges

 

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV)

This morning I read a very insightful blog by Phylicia Delta (@phyliciadelta). In part, she wrote:

"If I judged Christianity by its women’s conferences, I’d be led to believe that the Bible is no more than a series of compliments from God to man. Instead, the real story is far less complimentary and far more humiliating. Jesus didn’t come to earth because we were beautiful, special, or great. He came because we were too grossly sinful to bridge the gap between ourselves and God." (http://phyliciadelta.com/christian-womens-ministry/)


The fact is, the American Church, in an effort to ignore, cover up, and literally wipe out any idea that we should fear God, is offering a message to people that is less than the best, less than what we need to hear, and, frankly, when taken as a whole, less than the truth. God loves us. Yes, that is true. But His love caused Him a terrible price. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 NIV). I think perhaps our exposure to "death" through the fiction of media has dulled us to the truth of what this verse actually says . . . and means. And while we watch "death" (fictional) all the time in movies, television shows, videos, and games, as a culture we run from death as fast as we can through our medical and health practices. We know that death is awful, even when we refuse to face its reality. But it’s more than that; it’s more than just "Christ died." He died physically and spiritually in that terrible moment (Matthew 27:46). Our God, Who didn’t have to die, died for us. Suffered greatly—physically, emotionally, and spiritually—in order to pay the penalty for our sin. He died so that we could live with Him. He died to make it possible for us to be obedient to God’s laws established before the creation itself. He died in order to give us forgiveness from our sinfulness. 

All that we are unwilling to face about ourselves, God sees . . . and He still loves us. All that we have done in the darkness, in the shadows, He sees . . . and He still wants to forgive us. But there is a condition for our forgiveness, for His acceptance. We must give an account for our actions and that "account" isn’t an explanation. He will accept nothing less than either full payment for our sins or a full pardon through the death of our Savior. God is going to judge us and the only way we will avoid hell is to fully embrace the salvation offered to us through the death of our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is an urgency in the writing of Hebrews. At least three times (3:7-8, 3:15, 4:7), the writer quotes Psalm 95:7-8: "Today, if only you would hear His voice, ‘Do not harden your hearts’" (NIV). Our response to God’s unbelievable offer of mercy and grace should be to fall on our faces, speechless before a God Who would love as He loves us. He is going to judge us. He has provided a way of escape from the horrible penalty for our sinfulness. Why will we not hear His voice today and turn to Him in repentance?

© 2017 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.