judgement

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No Judgement For Those Who Believe

5th December

“There is no judgement against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgement is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”

John 3:18-19

For those who believe, there is no judgement from God. If you like, we are let off the hook. We are free from the wrath of God because we believe and accept that Jesus was and is God’s one and only Son, the light of the world, that revealed our sinful condition, forgave us, restored us, renewed us and made us whole in Him by taking our place. It is like a court case, with God being the Great Judge, when the evidence is presented, our record of wrongdoing is empty because Jesus cancelled all our debt and wiped away the evidence. Because our records are empty, there is nothing to judge us on. We are free. We are made righteous (right before God). We are made innocent. Of course this does mean that we can live reckless sinful lives because we can always run back to Jesus’ grace as a get out clause. Rather it is because we are made right before God, because we have been greatly forgiven, that we want to live lives worthy of God’s holy standards. It is because we love God that we don’t want to sin and because we are loved by God, we can daily ask Him to cleanse us from all our mistakes.

The only judgement we will receive, is how well we have served God and what we have done for Him to extend His Kingdom (otherwise known as our ‘good works’). Our salvation, or our position in Him is not determined by what ‘good works’ we have done. God loves us regardless of our ‘good works’. But one day we will stand before God and give an account of how we have served God with the gifts He has given us. We will be judged according to our good deeds1.

Friends, may we rejoice in the free gift of salvation we have received and pray that others too may not reject the light and carry on walking in darkness, but rather walk in the truth and in light. May we serve God with the gifts He has given us and rejoice daily in His grace.

1cf. Romans 2:6/2 Corinthians 5:10/Matthew 16:27

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“Revenge Is Mine” Says The Lord

14th July

“The the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulphur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.”

Revelation 20:10

Do you get fed up with the daily battle against sin? The constant temptation to dishonour God, the sinful emotions that sometimes rear their ugly head, and the desires to live a lifestyle contrary to God’s best for you? You are not alone. Even the great apostle Paul had areas of weakness (although it doesn’t clearly state that it was sin he struggled with!). Yet we can be greatly encouraged that one day it will end!

There is a reason that God said that vengeance is His. It is because His judgements are always perfect and always in line with His divine will. He is the only One that can pronounce correct judgement on someone else because He is 100% perfect all the time. The greatest of these judgements is when the enemy will finally get defeated once and for all.

His dirty tactics will no longer be able to cause us to stumble. His native language of lies and slander will be silenced. His deceptive and divisive thoughts will no longer we able to tempt us. Pain, sorrow and death will burn with him and all those who have chosen to give themselves to him. There is no fairy tale story for those who want to say yes to the enemy and no to God, who choose to live self satisfying lifestyles here on earth. There is a judgement at the end and the enemy knows his fate already.

Yet for those who believe, for those who give themselves wholly to Jesus, who submit to His ways and commands, there is eternal life. A life without being an enemy of God, without facing His vengeance. An eternal, everlasting life of abiding in the very presence and love of Almighty God. We know how it ends. We are on the winning side. Which side to do you choose?