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| I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 3:17 |
I’ve mentioned recently in this blog that I have a number of dearly loved Christian friends across a fairly wide spectrum of the Christian church—from Fundamentalism, to Evangelicalism, to Liberal Mainline-ism, to Roman Catholic, to Eastern Orthodox, to those who have had a more traditional faith from their childhood, but who no longer attend church services regularly. In an increasingly growing number of these dear ones, they have begun to strongly emphasize a different interpretation of Scripture than the one that I believe is absolutely foundational to holding to solid Christian orthodoxy.
That last statement in itself would cause these dear ones to rise up with shouts that I am a prisoner of my own presuppositions. If that is the case, then I gladly and wholeheartedly embrace those presuppositions. These dear ones might also accuse me of clinging to outdated and obtuse positions regarding a whole host of theological “absolutes” because I am afraid of losing either my employment or my hard-fought position within my particular circle of Christian associates.
I confess that such charges make me smile. After all, my livelihood has not now, nor never has, depended on my theological beliefs. Furthermore, in my old age I am so isolated from anything resembling a “circle of Christian associates” that I am hardly afraid of losing something that I do not now have, nor ever have had.
Instead, I am saddened that what I observe in my dear friends is a seeking after a new god who is profoundly different from the God that I see throughout the totality of Scripture. Of course, I believe that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us—in the words of the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 13:12—as through a darkened mirror. God allows us to see Him in as much detail as He feels we can handle. But, as finite, sinful humans, we simply do not have the capacity to see the fullness of God and never will do so until we see Him in heaven. There, we will see Him in all His glory and we will all do the only thing we can do when we stand in His Presence: we will fall to our knees before Him and worship Him.
This new god that my dear friends have posited has arisen from very disappointing experiences in their lives when the God they had previously imagined did not respond as they felt He should. Some tragedy has befallen them. They expected God to act in a certain way and He failed to follow their expectations.
Now, I know that it is easy to sit on the sidelines of other people’s lives and “tsk-tsk” their failure to understand that no one can put God in a box. But, again, Scripture makes it plain that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Why in the world would we ever think that we could predict how God might act in any situation?
And, lest these dear ones accuse me of not being able to understand what they’ve been through, I am quick to acknowledge that this is so. I have not walked in their shoes. I have not had the same kind of trials that they have experienced. But, I have had my own trials and tribulations in life and those trials have been enormous for me!
When I first experienced a diabetic foot infection that became systemic and eventually caused me to have a partial amputation of my right foot in 1998, the spiritual leaders of my church prayed over me, anointed me with oil, and fervently asked God to totally heal me. But, He did not and never has—at least not in the way that I imagined. I continued to suffer from a chronic osteomyelitis of the right foot. That chronic infection flared up from time to time, as it did in November of 2016. I began yet another regimen of powerful antibiotics. Month after month the infection continued to rage. I could no longer drive. I had to walk with a surgical boot. Would this torture never end?
In fact, I had a continual series of issues with my right foot that plagued me for 19 years until, in November of 2017, I had my right leg amputated below the knee. Am I angry with God that He did not completely heal me and allowed me to keep my right leg? No, I am not. Am I disappointed that He did not act in the way that I might have hoped that He would act? No, I am not. While I am disappointed that I did not receive healing in exactly the way I hoped or prayed, I am not disappointed in God. Who am I to question Him? Who am I to dispute the plan that He has made. Why would I, when He does not meet my imagined expectations, discard my view of Him and seek some other god that would fit my preconceived notion of who God should be?
The simple truth is that God did, indeed, heal me. After all other medical interventions failed—and I had some of the best doctors, nurses, and technicians working in my behalf for all of those 19 years—God healed me from the chronic infection of my right foot by having an amazingly skillful surgeon amputate my right leg just in the nick of time. You see, gangrene had begun to form and spread upward from my foot, into my ankle, and it likely would have taken my life.
So, when my dear friends now speak of a god who is not one of judgment, but only one of love—a god for whom the gift of mercy and grace toward those he has created is no longer necessary—I say to them, “Dear friends, you are setting aside the whole counsel of God. The Bible clearly teaches that first and foremost God is a Holy God. Because He is a Holy God, He is a God of Judgment. He cannot tolerate sin. That’s why He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die in our place. His anger had to be propitiated. His judgment satisfied. His redemption obtained by a suitable sacrifice.
Teaching that God is One who only loves and accepts everyone is a distortion of the truth clearly shown in God’s Word. Yes, God is absolutely a God of Love. In fact, without God real love cannot and does not exist. He alone is Love. His very provision of a means to satisfy His judgment is, in itself, an act of supreme love.
But, God also is Holy. He wants those He loves to worship Him alone, to love Him back, to obediently follow His precepts. He wants those who love Him to embrace holiness, through the enabling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:1-2, and 1 Peter 1:14-16).
I understand that it is difficult to hold these two great truths in tension. To say that God is Holy and will judge sinners, while at the very same time declaring that God is Love, seems so very difficult. But, I submit to you that a real part of the absolute glory of the Christian faith is that these two truths about God must co-exist in the very tension that makes faith both necessary and possible.
To abandon the God of Judgment and only embrace the God of Love leaves us with a lopsided religion. It is every bit as much in error as my dear Fundamentalist friends who place a strong emphasis on outward behaviors, instead of focusing principally on inward life-change.
I also submit that only through surrender to the Holy Spirit’s patient guidance can we ever even hope to begin to experience wholeness in our lives—wholeness spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.
And this brings me to today’s passage from the pen of King Solomon. Notice what he writes in Ecclesiastes 3:17:
I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
If you have stayed with me so far in this blog post, let me ask a favor of you. Will you please pray with me for all those who once knew what I have described above as truth, but have now abandoned this sure foundation to run after another god? Pray that God will open their eyes to the error that has crept into their minds and hearts. Pray that they will accept God’s actions in their behalf.
My heart is broken that these dear ones have left the faith they once knew. While they believe they have seen a new and brighter light, I fear that what they see is a distortion created by the enemy to bring about their own downfall, insofar as having a positive influence for the sake of the Kingdom of God here on earth. I thank you for considering my request.
And, let’s pray for each other, too. We need help in holding the truth of who God is in proper tension. We need help in recognizing He is both a God of Judgment and a God of Love.
And, of course, we must fully recognize that we dare not become agents of judgment when we recognize that God is a God of Judgment. For judgment only belongs to Him. He has not given us a mandate of judgment. Rather, He has given us a mandate of love.
So, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to use us as instruments of God’s mercy, grace, and love. And, lest we become tempted to judge others, let’s remember that we too will one day stand before God, as Solomon has said. Yes, for those of us who follow Christ, our judgment will be one of an evaluation of how obedient we were to His will and His Word. And, that’s quite enough judgment for which any of us should be concerned.
