Does God really have the authority to judge sin? How can He even tell us something is a sin? This devotion looks at questions we may get when witnessing challenging God’s authority to judge us.
Nuggets
- Whether we are children of God or creations of God, He has the authority to rule over us as He is our Creator.
- Since He is our Creator, God can expect us to follow His laws and commandments.
- Some may think — wrongly — that, just because they have not submitted to Him, God does not rule them.
- God can judge because He judges in righteousness and with equity.
This year, we are looking at self-discipline. We are using Vincent’s The Lesson of Ripeness sermon to look at the need to grow in our relationship with God. We morphed learning enough to be a teacher into determining some areas we need to grow so we can be mature disciples.
Resource
We have been looking at solidifying what we believe. When we witness, we need to be prepared to explain what we believe and why we believe it. We looked at the Scriptures, the Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), and man. Now, we are going to look at salvation.
Salvation is the deliverance from the consequences of sin. If there are consequences, that means a judgment has been made. The problem we sometimes run up against when witnessing is people don’t recognize the significance of sin or concede God’s authority to judge sin.
We are going to make the case that God can and should judge sin. Luckily, He has grace that He extends to us in the form of salvation.
God’s Judgment of Sin
Belief: The First Step in Salvation
Love and Obedience: The Last Two Steps in Salvation
Let's Put It into Context
This devotion came about because of one sentence in a sermon. I don’t remember what devotion I was doing at the time, but this sentence about made me chase a rabbit. I threw it in the drafts folder to save it for when I could do it justice.
“The atonement is nothing else but the fearful statement of Divine holiness in relation to sin.”
Little was arguing that the cross was brought about by God’s necessary judgment on sin. He contended that moral law made right right and wrong wrong. Any deviation from that, he felt, validated God’s quick, severe judgment on sin.
All of that is predicated on the belief God has the authority to judge sin. Let’s see what the Scriptures say about that.
Sovereign God Has Authority to Judge
“The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure” (Ps. 93: 1 NIV)
I have always wondered what robed in majesty meant. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, majesty means “sovereign power, authority, or dignity.”
The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all (Ps. 103: 19 HCSB).
God is Sovereign Lord so He has the authority to judge and the power to do so. His sovereignty is well established.
- “Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God” (Ps. 90: 2 NLT).
- “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him” (Col. 1: 16 ESV).
- “Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all” (I Chron. 29: 11-12 NIV).
God created all things — that means He has been around longer than this universe. He had the power to create and has the power to maintain it. Everything comes from Him.
We are one of the things He created. Whether we are children of God or creations of God, He has the authority to rule over us as He is our Creator. Charnock reminded us that “He can never use His authority but for the good of the creatures. His wisdom can never be mistaken in the exercise of it; His power can accomplish the decrees that flow from His absolute authority.”
We just talked about being made in God’s image. God stamped us with a moral character. Ecclesiastes 7: 29 says, “But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path” (NLT).
It is Charock’s argument that God’s authority has also been stamped on us. Unfortunately, Satan has convinced some that He has no hold on us.
They would be wrong.
We have to recognize that God is judging us for the right reasons. His goal is preservation, not destruction.
Oh, yes. Hell is real — and that could be termed destruction. Those who have not submitted to Him will find themselves there. But those who go to hell will go because of their choice, not God’s.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
God Can Judge the Laws He’s Given
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts” (Deut. 6: 6 NIV)
We have to remember Who gave the laws and commandments. God did.
If God gave the laws and commandments, He can judge if they have been obeyed or broken. “It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall” (Ps. 75: 7 NLT).
Since He is our Creator, God can expect us to follow His laws and commandments. He is not a permissive parent that says, “Oh, they can make up their own minds what is right and wrong.” He has final say — and believe me, it will be final.
Sovereign God Rules All Things
Some may think that, just because they have not submitted to Him, God does not rule them. Wrong.
“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’” (Ecc. 3: 17 NIV).
Don’t get hung up on the terminology wicked. Non-believers are identified ones Scriptures by the terms wicked, cursed, and evil. That is because they are following Satan, the evil one.
So, back on track. God is going to judge everyone.
Matthew Henry put it this way. He wrote, “He shall judge the world, all persons and all controversies, shall minister judgment to the people (shall determine their lot both in this and in the future state) in righteousness and in uprightness, so that there shall not be the least colour of exception against it.”
Judging in Righteousness and with Equity
“He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.” (Ps. 9: 8 NIV)
God can judge because He judges in righteousness and with equity. Let’s tackle righteousness first.
We’ve talked about God’s righteousness before in How the Righteousness of God Filters to Us. Holman Bible Dictionary tried to make this difficult concept easier to understand by saying God’s righteousness was based off the Israelites’ interaction with Him. Did God fulfill His part of the covenant like He said He would?
The list of what the righteousness of God is as follows:
- An attribute of God.
- Given as a gift by God to those who are redeemed by faith in Jesus.
- Given freely to all who confess Him as Sovereign Lord.
- Not earned through things we do.
- Eliminates human unrighteousness.
- Evident to all.
- Validated by the law and prophets.
But the Hebrews also saw God as Judge because He was Creator. He can judge because He lives forever.
We’ve also just talked about equity. Good made an excellent point about equity. Equity does not mean equal because there is a diversity among mankind. Because there are differences, our duty towards them has to be different.
God knows that. So, He treats us equitably.
Making the Connections
Let’s recap.
- Whether we are children of God or creations of God, He has the authority to rule over us as He is our Creator.
- Since He is our Creator, God can expect us to follow His laws and commandments.
- Some may think — wrongly — that, just because they have not submitted to Him, God does not rule them.
- God can judge because He judges in righteousness and with equity.
Back to the statement that started all of this. “The atonement is nothing else but the fearful statement of Divine holiness in relation to sin.”
Little was arguing that the cross was brought about by God’s necessary judgment on sin. He also said God’s judgment is brought on by God’s love. “The Cross showed the intensity of the love of God, and, by the form of the revelation, was revealed His knowledge of our fearful danger.”
We’ve said that atonement is all about the blood. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die a horrific death on the cross so His blood would be spilled. His blood became the sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins.
So, yes. God can judge us of our sins, but He has provided an out for us. If we admit we have sinned, believe Jesus has paid the penalty for us, and confess God as our Sovereign Lord, the consequences of sin will be marked paid in full.
God does this through His grace and holiness. Grace is a free and unmerited gift from Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ that enables salvation and spiritual healing to believers. Because of God’s infinite grace, He devised the plan of salvation that made Jesus our Redeemer in order to forgive us of our sins.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Yes, this devotion covered a lot of ground, but non-believers may have trouble grasping all of the components of sin, atonement, and salvation. We have to think through what we actually believe before we can articulate that to others.
We are also considering what we would say if a non-believer asked us about this. Here is the worksheet again. What would you tell someone who questions God authority to judge sin?
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
Parsons gave us a list of this we should do.
- Praise God
- Obey God
- Trust God
- Expect great things from God
God’s gift of salvation far outweighs the judgment disciples will receive. The judgment non-believers will receive will be horrific.
If you haven’t, put your trust in God today.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Heavenly Father. You are the Creator of the universe – including us. Because of that, You have power and authority to judge us. You do so lovingly and equitably. You loved us so much that You had the penalty for our sins paid by the death of Your Son Jesus. Lord, we admit our sins, believe on Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, and confess You as Sovereign Lord. Help us to obey Your laws and commandments. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: A Sincere Acceptance of Salvation – Seeking God with Elaine