We cannot understand the ways of God without understanding His judgments, yet this may be the most neglected of biblical teachings in modern times. This is because many think of the judgments of God as condemnation and/or destruction. These are actually very rare consequences of His judgments, but the un-regenerated do tend to think in extremes. It is not possible to understand the coming of God’s kingdom without understanding His judgments because Scripture is clear that He is coming to judge the earth. As the Scriptures also make clear, this is a good thing, not something to be afraid of, unless we are evil. Consider this first mention of God’s judgments in Scripture in Exodus 6:6:

 

      The redemption of Israel was the result of God’s judgments, and so is ours. The judgments that set God’s people free from Egypt were on the gods of Egypt, and the judgments that will set God’s people free at the end of this age will likewise be on the gods of this world. A false god is anything that we give our affection to that eclipses our affection for God, or that we put our trust in instead of God. We are told in Hebrews 12 that the great shaking which is coming upon the earth will be so “everything that can be shaken will be shaken.” We are also told that this is so what cannot be shaken will remain (see Hebrews 12:26-28). The shaking that is coming, and is even now upon us, is to reveal that which alone is a solid foundation that we can stand on—trust in God, His kingdom, and His authority. If this is what we have built our lives on, we will not be shaken when everything else is. 

      Justice does demand punishment for transgressions. Even so, God’s mercy toward us is not the result of Jesus pleading with the Father to not smite us, but it is the result of the justice of God which acknowledges that Jesus was punished for our transgressions. Therefore, it would not be just for us to be punished too or it would mean that Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough. The cross is the ultimate place of justice, where God’s ultimate justice for transgression is revealed, and when we see it and the terrible consequences of sin and trust that the sacrifice of the Son was enough for our transgressions, it translates justice into mercy.

      We do deserve the punishment for our transgressions, but Jesus took our punishment. This is why we stand, and will always stand, on His righteousness and the sacrifice that He made, and not our own. For all of eternity, we will honor Him as the Lamb that paid for our salvation. There could be no mercy without justice, but it would not be just for us to be punished for our transgressions when Jesus has already been punished for them. 

      Christians are often called arrogant because we claim that the cross is the only way to God. However, for God to have sent His Son to do this for us—to suffer the sacrifice that He made for our redemption, and then to say that we don’t need this and can attain our own righteousness some other way, is in fact the ultimate arrogance of fallen man. Pride caused the fall of Satan and almost every fall since. Pride will keep man in his fallen state, and only the humility of embracing what Jesus did for us can deliver us from our fallen state and reconcile us to God.

      Jesus paid the price for the sins of the whole world, and anyone can be completely redeemed from the consequences of their transgressions by simply trusting the cross of Jesus as the basis of their acceptance with God. Those who reject His sacrifice will bear the consequences of their transgressions, which many choose to do. Call it whatever they will, but it is an ultimate pride that causes anyone to refuse the redemption provided by God. 

      The Lord does not want any to suffer the consequences of their sins, but there has to be a choice. There can be no true obedience unless there is the freedom to disobey. There can be no true worship unless there is the freedom not to worship. Otherwise, the Lord would have done better to just create the computer to worship Him, program it to do so, and there would never have been a transgression, but how real would this devotion be? 

      For this reason, freedom is the foundation of the true worship of God. He is looking for those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth, not under compulsion. This is why the gospel has to come in weakness, carried by earthen vessels who themselves are in need of the redemption they preach. The power that the gospel comes with is to deliver us from the consequences of the Fall, sickness, and disease, but if it came with too much power, people would have to submit to it and would not have the choice that proves true devotion. 

      It was the power of God that stretched out the heavens like a tent curtain. When the Lord divided the Red Sea for Moses, the angels were bored—they had seen much greater things than this. If God wanted to reveal His power to compel men to serve Him, He could write His name in the heavens with the stars. The power that He has given His people to walk in is not to prove His power but to prove His love—that He cares for us and does not want us to suffer. In fact, He loves us so much He came to bear our suffering so that we would not have to. Even so, we must choose to trust Him and obey Him or we will bear the consequences of our pride and transgressions.

      Let us resolve to celebrate every day with the great love that He has for us and the great price that He paid for our transgressions. It is justice that He who paid such a price should have our ultimate devotion. It is just for the gospel, the story of such love, to be shared by us every day and in every way so that He might receive the reward of His sacrifice—the people He loved so much that He would pay such a price for them. Justice demands that we freely share what we have so freely received.

      Let us resolve that this year will be the year when we share with all that we can this greatest of treasures we’ve been entrusted with—the gospel.