Judgment is Coming - 2 Corinthians 4-5

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

We have all heard that there are two things in life you can’t avoid: Death and Taxes!   It is unclear who made that observation famous, but whoever it was they did not read the above passage.   We struggle very much with the concept of death, obviously.  But, it is not death that should shock us.  It is not death that should scar us.  It is not death that should cause us to tremble and fear.  It is not death, but standing before the judgment seat of Christ out to cause us to shake and tremble in awe.     One of the quotes on my prayer list regarding doing good works is:

“The issue in the judgment is productivity not belief.” (Robert Wilkin) 

Wilkin gives us great truth here.   Paul, in the above passage is writing to believers.  He is not writing to them about there sin.  He is writing to them about there walk.  Notice the verse just before the above verse:

2 Corinthians 5:9 (ESV)

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

He is talking about our eventual facing Christ, our savior.  He wants us to know our walk ought to be to praise Him and please Him.   That is the point of the text.  We will not be judged for our sins at the judgment seat of Christ.  How do we know this.  Because ... 

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

But, we will be facing Christ to show how we pleased Him.  That is the judgment believers will face.  We can rejoice that as we walk with Christ, He enables us to please Him.  As we submit to His rule in our lives we please Him.  As we walk with the Spirit we please Him.  That is the point of our lives. We are not here to please mankind.  We are not here to please the world around us.  We are here to please God, who raised Jesus from the dead of His glory and our salvation.   Judgment is coming for believers.  Not judgement about how we are saved.  That is finished.  But, judgement on how we live out that salvation.  

Jesus Gives a Powerful “Hint” in Response to Taunting - Mark 15-16

 Mark 15:31-34 (ESV)

31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It is too bad that in the ESV and NIV version of the Bible translations put a break between these two sections.  Both versions separate verses 31 and 32 from 33 and 34 with a simple header, “The Death of Jesus.”   It is true that verse 31 and 32 are the end of one paragraph and 33 and 34 are the beginning of a new paragraph.  But, the connection of the two thoughts is actually quite dynamic.   The connection between these verses  is found in the way Hebrew teachers teach.   Jesus is actually doing something quite amazing in His last words, 

“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

In these words Jesus is quoting the first verse of Psalm 22.   That is significant based upon what the “chief priests and scribes” were mocking him.  They were shaming Jesus and taunting Him to come down from the cross so that they “may see and believe.” To understand the significance of this you have to know how “they” actually taught others.  Remember, the Jews didn’t have “Bibles” in those days.  Not only the teachers, but the people had to commit significant portions of God’s word to memory.   When the chief priest and scribes would teach they would quote a portion of a text.   The audience would so know the passage that the small portion they quoted would be a “hint” for them to recall the entire text.  Today if we hear the first part of Psalm 23, the rest of Psalm 23 comes to our minds.  The Hebrew word for “hint” is “remez.”   The scribes and chief priest would be familiar with using a “remez” in their teaching, since this was THEIR technique for instruction.   They would simply quote a portion of the passage and the listeners would recall the entire passage.   

This “remez” form of teaching is the significance of these verses flowing together.   In verses 31 and 32, the chief priest and scribes are taunting Jesus to come off the cross and imply they would bow down and worship Him if He did.  What does Jesus to in His defense?   In verse 33 and 34 He quotes the first verse of Psalm 22.  Why is that significant?  Because He was using the teaching technique of the “remez.”  He was given these religious teachers a “hint.”  They would, by nature, hear the first verse, but recall the entire chapter.   They could not help themselves but to recall and know the entire chapter.  Remember, they are taunting Jesus to come off the cross and implying they would  then worship Him.   Well, note what the the end of Psalm 22 says.  They would recall the end of the chapter when they heard the first verse of the chapter:

Psalms 22:27-31 (ESV)

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the LORD,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the LORD,

and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it.

Jesus did not simply ignore their taunting.  He did not cry out simply to explain that God had forsaken Him (the meaning of the Hebrew words He uttered with His last breath).   He specifically used that passage to say to the religious leaders (and to all mankind), “I AM COMING DOWN FROM THIS CROSS AND YOU WILL WORSHIP ME ... ALL WILL WORSHIP ME!”

Jesus used a “remez” approach to teach them.  All the Old Testament references found in the New Testament are used in this way.  They are “hints” of greater truths to learn.  But, in this case, Jesus was not just giving His life up and proclaiming He, alone, was giving His life for us.  He was always responding and teaching the religious leaders that they might taunt Him now, but they would still worship Him later.   

Punishment for False Teaching is Not Sleeping - Jeremiah 27-31

 Jeremiah 27:14 (ESV)

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you.

As Jeremiah was prophesying to Judah, so, too, were other prophets.  But they did not convey the same message that Jeremiah has been conveying.   Just prior to the above text, Jeremiah has just completed an object lesson for Judah.  God told him to make a yoke out of wood and wear it.  His message was, “Just as I am wearing this yoke around my neck, so too, you will all wear one as Nebuchadnezzar takes you captive back to Babylon.” 

The false prophets did not like this message and prophesied that God would defeat Nebuchadnezzar and bring peace to our lives once again.   They even had warnings for Jeremiah that he would be destroyed.  Yet, that is not what happened.   Instead, doom fell on them.  Note:

1. Hananiah:  In chapter 28 we read about Hananiah and his warning to Jeremiah in the 5th month of the year. But, note what happens to him two months later:

Jeremiah 28:17 (ESV)

In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

2. Shemaiah: In chapter 29 we read about Shemaiah.  He too objected to Jeremiah’s prophesy that they all should give in to Nebuchadnezzar.  Here is what happened to him:

Jeremiah 29:29-32 (ESV)

Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the LORD, for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD.’”

There will always be false teachers.  We should oppose them.  But, in the end, God will protect both His message and His messenger.   God does not allow false teaching to continue.   Note what Peter told the church a thousand years later:

2 Peter 2:1-3 (ESV)

False Prophets and Teachers

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

God’s destruction of false teachers is His responsibility.  And that destruction does not sleep and has not become idle.   

If You Are In a Trial Down Here, Look Up There! Job 35-36

 Job 35:5 (ESV)

Look at the heavens, and see;

and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.

It might be wise to look at the above verse in the context of the chapter, but even more so, the context of the entire book of Job.   In this chapter Elihu, Job’s fourth friend, is finishing his argument to Job and his three friends.   Both Job and his first three friends have continued their debated around several themes. One of the theme of Job’s other friends is that the righteous do not suffer like they see Job’s suffering and the unrighteous do suffer.  One of Job’s arguments have counter that he is innocent and he sees many unrighteous who look blessed and therefore their argument is wrong.   A theme both Job and his friends agree on, however, is that God is impacted by Job’s conduct.  His three friends have maintained that it is Job’s conduct that altered God’s response to Job’s life.  Job has stated that his conduct should have solicited God’s protection, not His wrath, as is being seen in his life.   This is where chapter 35 comes in.  Elihu wants to confront all of them with the fact that God is far above the heavens and awesome in who He is and he neither needs Job (or his three accusers) but acts out of His character and His splendor.   

Elihu is trying to focus them all on who God is and not on their mere circumstances of life.   Notice how chapter 36 starts as Elihu continues his argument:

Job 36:2-4 (ESV)

“Bear with me a little, and I will show you,

for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.

I will get my knowledge from afar

and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

For truly my words are not false;

one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

This thought of “I will get my knowledge from afar ... ,” is not meaning Elihu has studied in a far collegiate location.   It means he is speaking for God and that is why in our above verse he tells Job and the three companions to stop talking and look up to the heavens.  There might be a double meaning in Elhu’s words.  He is telling them to look to the heavens because God’s ways are certainly higher than their thoughts.  This was a theme for Isaiah as he prophesied:

Isaiah 55:9 (ESV)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

But, Elihu also might be echoing something that King David would also see and say:

Psalms 19:1 (ESV)

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

It might be the Elihu is setting the table for God’s speech to Job, which is to follow. He is saying, “Gentlemen, get your heads out of the earthly arguments and LOOK UP! God is so higher than your thoughts.  He transcends your mere minds.   But, He is right there to declare His glory!”

Notice how God starts His speech to Job:

Job 38:1-7 (ESV)

The LORD Answers Job

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Dress for action like a man;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

We see God Himself declaring His glory by asking Job to “look!”   God wants us to look away from our pain, sorrow and suffering and trials and get our heads up and see the glory of God in the heavens.    If you find yourself in a trail down here, look up and see the glory of God up there!

CLEAN!! Psalms 51-53

 Psalms 51:7-12 (ESV)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

It might be after a big work out.  It might be after doing extreme work in the garden, or cutting the grass.  It might be after you have cleaned all day and the dust and dirt has clung to your body.   It might be you fell into the mud and the mire and you are simply completely covered with filth and fumes.   Whatever the case, there is nothing like a great shower or bath to wash off the stench you might have from life’s walk through a dirty world.    There is nothing like being clean and refreshed after being covered in dirt and grime.    The soap and detergent business is a multi-billion dollar industry.   And that is just the outside of our body.   

Imagine that the feeling of cleanliness you feel for the body can be had in the heart and the soul.  Imagine the dirt, filth and wickedness of the heart and can be washed clean.  Think about how it would feel to have the shamefulness and guilt washed completely away.  That is what David is writing about in the above passage.  He has not only just committed adultery with Bathsheba and lost the child as a result of that sin, but he has also just arranged and conspired the death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, and then taken Bathsheba as his wife in an attempt to cover up the adultery.   David is filthy and covered in shame.  His guilt is overwhelming.   In the above passage he is crying out for a hot, soapy bath from God.   What happens?  God restores him.  God comes to him to clean him up and give him the desires of his heart.   How?  The New Testament book of Hebrews probably answers that question the best.  Even though a thousand years earlier David prayed this prayer, he did so in faith that somehow his heart, soul and body would be clean before God, he did so by faith in the following hope:

Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV)

The Full Assurance of Faith

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

David, like us, prayed in faith to have our sins forgiven and our conscious made clear.  How? By the blood and body of Christ in His death, burial and resurrection to new life.  We are CLEAN!   What an amazing thought.  We are CLEAN before God, in His sight because He only sees us through the blood of His Son.  

Humility is the Avenue for Victory - 2 Samuel 5-9

 2 Samuel 8:1-3 (ESV)

David's Victories

After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.

As we read about David’s life we see a story unfolding that gets better with David’s humility.  David experienced significant victory after the humility of chapter seven.   The entire eighth chapter is about David’s victories.  He needed the humility of seven to get the victories in eight.  

That is how God works.   Humility is the avenue to God’s grace and grace is the field and foundation for victory.  Obviously David’s son, Solomon, must have observed this.  Note:

Proverbs 15:33 (ESV)

The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 18:12 (ESV)

Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,

but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 22:4 (ESV)

The reward for humility and fear of the LORD

is riches and honor and life.

But, humility is also a tool used in the early church age and given to us for the living out our Christianity:

Acts 20:19 (ESV)

serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;

Ephesians 4:2 (ESV)

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Philippians 2:1 (ESV)

Christ's Example of Humility

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

1 Peter 5:5 (ESV)

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Humility is the avenue to victory!

There is Safety in Counselors - Exodus 17-20

 Exodus 18:24-27 (ESV)

So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.

Moses’ father-in-law was a brand new believer.  Until he heard about the power of God he did not have faith in God.  Note:

Exodus 18:10-11 (ESV)

Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”

Up until this time he was polytheistic.   But, now he was given his allegiance to Yahweh.   Yet, despite not knowing God in the persona way that Moses did, Moses still took his wisdom.    What makes this so profound is that Moses had already had many encounters with God.  He has spoken to Him.   He has heard from Him.   Moses could have said to his father-in-law, “I got this old man!”   He could have said, “It is great that you are now a believer, but give it some time before you counsel me.”   Or, he could have said, “I speak to God every day so thanks for the advice, but if God wanted me to do that, He would have told me Himself.”   There are a lot of responses Moses could have said.  But, he simply allowed God to speak through this young believer’s life and improved his ministry to the people of Israel.   Younger men should listen to older men.  Notice Paul’s instruction:

Titus 2:2 (ESV)

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

The same is true of older men listening to younger men.  Note Job’s fourth friend, Elihu:

Job 32:6-8 (ESV)

And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said:

“I am young in years,

and you are aged;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to declare my opinion to you.

I said, ‘Let days speak,

and many years teach wisdom.’

But it is the spirit in man,

the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

Elihu finally had to speak.  The older men were wrong and needed his voice.   So, age is not the issue in all this.  The issue is listening to others to get counsel from them.  Why?  

Proverbs 11:14 (ESV)

Where there is no guidance, a people falls,

but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.