Tag: judgment

Make Up Your Mind

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(Luke 21:5-19)

“Begin with the end in mind.” It’s one of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The idea behind the approach is to consider the outcome you desire before jumping headfirst into something. A person wanting to remodel or put on an addition to a home doesn’t just start the demolition and then decide what to do after that. Plans and blueprints of the finished project are drawn up and plotted first. And, although it might be slightly altered at some point, writers and producers have a general idea of the conclusion and storyline before they start the book or movie. Taking the time to think through the desired outcome ensures that the time spent getting there will be much more efficient and effective. It also greatly increases the likelihood of achieving that desired outcome.

“Begin with the end in mind.” It would also seem a prudent approach when it comes to the most important matter of our spiritual lives and eternity, would it not? Have we done that or do we regularly do that? “It’s not necessary,” one might reason, “because we already know what the end is: heaven. And, we already know how we get there: Jesus. What else is there to consider?”

Well apparently, the Bible seems to indicate there is plenty to consider in the meantime, not the least of which is how we plan to stay the course and not allow the devil’s daily ambush efforts to succeed against us. Perhaps there is a reason we see Jesus continually teaching the importance of staying connected to him. Maybe there is something to Paul’s (the writer of much of the New Testament in the Bible) repeated warnings not to forsake or abandon the good news of the gospel. After all, many of the people to whom Jesus spoke and Paul wrote were believers who knew that Jesus was the way to heaven. Nevertheless, the same warnings and encouragement are given to them. We might do well to take them to heart, too.

Jesus’ words from Luke 21 help us begin with the end in mind. He tells us what to look for.

Remember how people used to provide directions before we all just started plugging the address into our phones and obediently following wherever the voice tells us to turn? Those giving directions would tell the what to look for. “Turn this way and after about a half-mile you’ll see a grocery store. Turn right there and then go until you come to a steep hill. Turn left and keep going until you see that big barn and that’s where you want to go.” Describing what to look for lets a person prepare for what to do next.

Jesus described what to look for in Luke 21: deceivers, wars, natural disasters, terrifying events, persecution, betrayal, and even death. When you see those things, prepare what to do next, because the end is near. Spoiler alert: the end is near. What do we do next?  

Just as important as beginning with the end in mind is this: the need to make up your mind. 

The mind is so very powerful. I may sound like I am overstating it, but it’s only because we too often undervalue it. Our minds are in fact one of God’s most tremendous gifts to our physical lives. Our minds set us apart from all other living creatures. We can reason and rationalize and consider and create and imagine with our minds like no other living being created by God can.

But one of the most powerful things we can do with our minds is decide. Make a decision. I am not talking about making a decision for Christ, which is utterly impossible for anyone to make, given we all come into this world spiritually stillborn, blind in unbelief, and hatefully hostile to God. No, I am speaking about the general ability that we have to make decisions… or not make them. 

Far too many of us linger in that paralyzingly debilitating space of indecision. Out of fear of making the wrong decision, we put off making any decision at all, prolonging the crippling, costly price of indecision that leaves us hyperventilating with anxiety, worry, and stress. 

We don’t realize how much better off we are when we finally decide – even if it is the wrong decision! Yes, even making the wrong decision leaves us better off than living in the valley of indecision with our anxiety elevated to ridiculously unhealthy high levels. Even when we make the “wrong” decision, 9 times out of 10 we can correct or overcome it afterward.

Make a note right now to set aside 15 minutes today just to think back about times you made what you’d call in hindsight the “wrong” decision. While those times understandably may have resulted in a few headaches, by and large, was the wrong decision the end of the world, or did you just adjust accordingly and fix it? I think we know the answer. So knowing that we can right the ship even when we make a wrong decision, let’s work at not allowing ourselves to get stuck in the unhealthy rut of indecision.

Especially in one area. Jesus himself realized the value of making a decision – especially when it comes to the most important matter of all: being ready for the Last Day. Having described some of the details of what God’s people can expect as that day draws near, Jesus directed his disciples to make a decision. “But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves” (v.14). Make up your mind. Decide.

Decide not to worry. Yes, there is a place for applying that advice in general – and many in society would be far better off for it.

But Jesus is speaking more specifically in this context. He is encouraging us not to worry about what to say when we come under fire for our faith. It’s relatively easy for us to share a spiritual social media post or make our faith known as we broadcast it via bumper sticker. We display a cross hanging around our neck or on a shirt.

But when it comes to talking about Jesus, we clam up like a kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Why is it so unnatural for us to casually, comfortably, talk about Jesus with others (without being abrasive or overly aggressive)? We’re worried… but about what? Make a note to yourself to set aside another 15 minutes later today just to think about what worry keeps you from talking about Jesus with others more naturally.

Then, take that worry captive to the words of Jesus this morning. Here’s why we can make up our minds not to worry: Jesus promises, “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (v.15). How refreshing is that?! In these last days, as if we don’t already have so much that weighs heavily on our hearts and minds, Jesus assures us that one area we don’t need to stress out about is what to say when it comes to talking about our faith or defending ourselves. He’ll give us the words, and not just any words, but the Word. And when we speak his words – the Word – no one will be able to resist or contradict his words. 

No one will be able to resist or contradict his words because they are true. Jesus prayed elsewhere to his Father and ours, “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth” (John 17:17). Others may disagree with it. They may deny it. They may ridicule it.

But let me ask you, do any of those responses in any way at all negate the truth of God’s Word? Is it any less true because others reject it? Absolutely not, and don’t forget, if it’s true – and it absolutely is! – then it is also the truth by which others are going to come to faith as they see us defend our own. So we have nothing to lose and everything to gain as we make up our minds not to worry because we can have 100% confidence that the Lord will give us his words of wisdom that are absolutely true.

You know the power of his Word. You’re likely reading this right now because you know it. You know its truth. It is spot-on when it calls out our sin and reveals that sin to be the source of the rift between God and us. When the Word points out the painstaking reality that we cannot repair that rift in any way no matter how hard we try, we know it is speaking the truth. When the Word says judgment and condemnation are what we deserve, our sin convicts us to know that is the truth.

But grace has also opened our eyes to the greatest truth of all. Jesus promised, “Not a hair of your head will perish” (v.18). No, he wasn’t speaking physically, since right before these words he had just prepared his disciples for the reality that some believers would die, they would be put to death for their faith. Rather, here he is comforting his disciples and us with the rock-solid truth that we have nothing to fear about our eternal future. The spiritual judgment our sin deserves has already been declared and carried out – not against us, but against Jesus. 

Let that sink in. Jesus is speaking these words. Jesus is making the promise that we have nothing to fear spiritually, despite the awful worldly things happening physically all around us. Jesus makes that guarantee because Jesus was the one to deliver and make good on it. He would be the one to bear the brunt of the Father’s judgment and condemnation. He would be the one to be cut off and damned. He would be the one from whom the Father would turn his face.

So then it is true that he will never turn his face from us. No matter how bad things get in these end times. No matter how much the details Jesus shared become increasingly intense during these last days, we can stay the course. Jesus said, “Stand firm, and you will win life” (v.19). How can we be sure we’ll win life? Because Jesus lost his. For us.

So don’t be afraid. The judgment we deserved has already been declared and carried out against Jesus. Therefore, make up your mind not to worry. 

Crushing Condemnation

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(Romans 8:1-10)

Though we may not readily admit it, we care what other people think of us. Their opinion, their judgment of us, matters to us. Now, while we try to manage their opinions in such a way that maintains a healthy balance between not caring too much or too little of what others think of us, we often end up tipping the scale to one extreme or the other: we either place far too much emphasis on how others feel about us, or far too little. 

Putting too much emphasis on what others think of us leaves us with a people-pleasing anxiety. That often means that our mood or the way we feel about ourselves rises and falls with the tide of positive or negative feedback we receive from others. We can be elated when receiving praise or commendation from others or deflated when hit with cruel words or criticism. The problem is, we have absolutely zero control over the words or actions of others toward us on any given day. We therefore enslave ourselves to feedback from others that, upon further inspection, may not have much to do with us at all, but instead may simply be the result of a good or bad day they’re having. So this does not leave us in an emotionally healthy place.

On the other hand, we can also become too indifferent to the impression others have of us that we come across as pompous or self-absorbed. Then we come across as always having a chip on our shoulder and resenting anyone else’s opinion of us, being completely unwelcoming of any commentary at all on our life. When that’s the case, we are perceived as prickly and rude, only looking out for number one. So caring too little about others’ opinions of us has its own problems! 

As if not enough of a challenge for us to handle other peoples’ opinions and judgment of us, perhaps the judgment that causes us the most consternation is the judgment we place on ourselves. We might do a good job of masking it behind bravado or overconfidence, but our low opinion of ourselves, our self-criticisms often leave us believing the absolute worst about ourselves, judging ourselves far more harshly than anyone else. You become aware of this as you pay attention to how you talk to yourself in your own mind. “I could never be good at that.” “I did a horrible job of this.” “He or she would not like someone like me.” “Surprise, surprise, I messed up again.” We are often our own worst critics.

Check that – there may be one more critic that hits us harder than even our own self-criticism and judgment: the way God’s law exposes us for who we really are. Then, to cap it all off, the more we know God’s Word, the more acutely aware we become of how impossible it will ever be to measure up to God’s standard of perfection. We have all come across one Scripture verse or another that describes in detail the kind of person we want to be, exuding this quality or that quality. We then commit to making the effort to be that very kind of person, demonstrating those very qualities, and it goes well… until the first time it doesn’t. And then the second. And the third. 

Suddenly the verse that we felt such a strong pull toward actually pushes us away and we’re relieved to let go of it because it was too hard to keep. Those experiences with God’s Word and the judgment we feel as a result make us acutely aware that the Bible is absolutely not a series of self-help steps to follow in order to get in good with God; rather, it shows us how far out of touch with his holiness we truly are. Along with that, it shows how deserving we are of the judgment God’s law declares!

How refreshing then, dear friends, are Paul’s words to us this morning! Writing to hearts that are heavy with judgment from others, judgment from self, and the awareness of the very well-deserved judgment from God’s law itself, Paul writes, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

Hear him again: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I ask you, is that a complicated statement? Does it require a theological expert or Bible academic to explain it to you? It doesn’t, because it really doesn’t get much simpler than that. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

To worn-out souls living in what’s been called the “age of outrage,” a cancel-culture filled with judgment and anger, God himself has an entirely different declaration: “no condemnation.”  Not only is this such a refreshing, uncharacteristic verdict in our day and age, but it’s even more impactful as we consider the source. This verdict comes from the One whose judgment matters most. In fact, of all the judgments, his is the only one really worth paying attention to. 

Why? Jesus himself warned, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt. 10:28). God is finally the One who determines where we spend eternity. He alone is able to sentence anyone to an eternity of distress in hell or delight in heaven. And friends, his verdict is not a secret! He has already revealed it! There is no condemnation!

I suppose we should mention the fine print, the little disclaimer you often find at the bottom of the page, the one that says “certain restrictions apply.” There is a restriction – this declaration of no condemnation applies to those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Exactly what does it mean to be “in Christ Jesus”? Paul wrote earlier in this same letter to the Romans, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (3:22). So God has not, as some falsely claim, declared that everyone automatically goes to heaven and no one goes to hell. No, this guaranteed assurance of no condemnation belongs only to those with faith in Christ Jesus. The righteousness – just a way of saying, “being right with God” – belongs only to those who are in Christ Jesus, because he alone was perfectly right before God in our place. So only if we are “in” him – have faith in him, does God’s declaration stand. Only “in Christ Jesus” is there no condemnation. 

Think of it like the umbrella you might be wise to have on hand the next day or two. If the forecast holds true and you’ve got your trusty umbrella with you when you’re out and about, the rain shouldn’t be a problem – provided you stay under the umbrella. If you don’t bother to open the umbrella and then stay under it, however, there’s no assurance you’ll stay dry. Stay under the umbrella, stay dry; step out from under it, get wet. 

So it is with God’s condemnation. Stay in Christ Jesus, no condemnation; step away from him and outside of the faith, and there is condemnation. 

But remember that condemnation was not the reason Jesus came! Jesus himself really expressed that truth long before Paul even wrote Romans. Jesus said it like this: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned” (John 3:17-18a). It’s interesting to hear others label Christians as judgmental, seeing as judgment – condemnation – overlooks the important truth that Jesus came for the very opposite purpose: to save, not to condemn! 

While it’s one thing for an obstinate, hardened unbeliever to characterize us as judgmental simply because he refuses to acknowledge the gravity and consequence of his impenitent sin, let us not relish that label or wear it as a badge of honor if the world never sees in us the reflection of the Son who came to save and not to condemn. 

Instead, may we reflect on an ongoing basis one of the most powerful words of Paul in verse one and let that ring true in our daily lives: the word “Now.” At this very moment. Right now. And when you leave here this morning. And when you are hit with the next wave of judgment this week. And… “Now” always applies. It’s always in the present. There is never a moment outside of now – it’s the only moment you constantly live in. Now. And in that very moment, every moment, for those who are in Christ Jesus, right now there is no condemnation. 

Does that reality impact how you live? How could it not?!? “Now” then, how do we live? “Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (v.5). And that, dear friends, is how the world will come to know that we’ve been set apart for God’s special purpose. When our minds are set on what the Holy Spirit desires, and not self, we will stick out to the rest of the world. Sometimes that will make us awkward to the world, yes.

But in truth, it also makes us very attractive. When you live in the joy of knowing that right now you are not condemned because you are in Christ Jesus, you look different to the world. When the way that you carry out your job at work is in line with what the Spirit desires, your coworkers are attracted to you as an employee. When your neighborhood sees that you are a neighbor who treats others in the neighborhood in a way that is in line with what the Spirit desires, they are attracted to you as a neighbor. When others see in your marriage a husband and wife who have their mindset on what the Spirit desires, your marriage becomes very attractive. No, this isn’t rocket science – the world is used to seeing plenty of people living according to fleshly desires, so whenever the world sees us living in accordance with what the Spirit desires, we look very different. It attracts attention.

Let us then make the most of that attention not for self-promotion or to puff up ourselves, but to clearly point out what makes us different, which is simply this: we know and believe “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Then, when we’ve got their ear, in a world characterized by criticism and judgment, tell them that they, too, have a Savior who has crushed condemnation. 

Free! – to Face Judgment

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(based on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

I don’t imagine the first three verses of our text this morning would serve as the ideal bedtime story as you’re saying goodnight and tucking in your little one. “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (v.1-3). “Sweet dreams.” These aren’t the kind of soothing, calm words that would put a child at ease when lying down for the night!

For that matter, these aren’t the kind of words that go over all that well with adults, either. In fact, some might point to verses just like these in Scripture as the reason they never have and never will give Christianity the time of day. The gloom and doom version of God doesn’t go over so well in a society that has given itself permission to redefine or design the divine according to personal preference. When we’ve allowed our ideas of religion to closely resemble ordering a pizza with our favorite toppings and leaving off the stuff we don’t like, is anyone surprised that most people would prefer to leave off the toppings of hell, destruction, wrath, or judgment? Hardly.

However, though we may not readily admit it, we are all in favor of judgment. Imagine you’re a small business owner and someone breaks into your store and makes off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of product or goods. If the police caught the guys that did it, you’d likely be in favor of justice being carried out and a judgment being rendered. The same would also be true if a drunk driver hit and killed a member of your family, or if someone published an unfounded, slanderous report about you online or in a magazine or paper. When we’re wronged, we’re not opposed to judgment at all when it means justice is being carried out. But when God talks about judgment, it doesn’t sit as well with people. 

You know why that is, don’t you? Consider the child who suddenly hears his father call out to him, “Son, come here right now. We need to talk.” Those words are able to evoke totally different responses in the son. On the one hand, he might immediately react with curiosity, wondering what it could be that his dad wants to talk about. On the other hand, those words can be totally terrifying if he happens to know exactly what dad wants to talk about and it isn’t going to be good. In that situation, what is that determines the son’s perception of his dad’s words? It’s not anything on dad’s end but on the son’s. If he did something wrong, that’s what makes those words terrifying. But if he didn’t do anything wrong, those words are relatively harmless.

So when people balk at the notion of God and judgment, it’s clear why. We don’t want to consider God’s judgment, because our conscience makes it pretty clear what he means when he says, “Come here right now. We need to talk.” When we consider that God is omniscient – all knowing, omnipresent – everywhere, and omnipotent – all powerful, that pretty convincingly rules out any of our wrongs going unnoticed, doesn’t it? There’s no chance that God just happened to be looking the other way. There’s no chance that maybe he didn’t hear us. There’s no chance of anyone pulling one over him.

That means you didn’t actually have to speak your bitter response to that political comment someone made recently, the Judge knew your thought well enough. It means he doesn’t need to check your browser history to see what sites you visited online – the Judge has a browser history that can’t be erased. That means you can lie to your parents, deceive your spouse, and fool your boss – the Judge knows the truth in each and every case, right down to the last disgraceful detail. So it’s no surprise that the idea of God and judgment going together isn’t a popular one with many people.

Especially when we consider the sentence that such judgment deserves. There were two words Paul used in the text this morning to describe what awaits those who don’t meet God’s standards of judgment: “destruction” (v.3) and “wrath” (v.9). Here we must explain another sticking point many have with Christianity. It’s one thing for people to believe in a heaven – that’s all well and good. The struggle for many, however, is the only alternative that exists outside of heaven: hell. They see no reason whatsoever that a loving God could send anyone to a place of such suffering. No heaven? That’s one thing. But why the extreme pain and torment and suffering of hell? Does God delight in that? Then why else would it exist? 

But that misunderstands what heaven is and what it means to be in the presence of God. What makes hell so wretched and unyielding is the absence of God. It’s not that God deliberately or intentionally wished to set up such a place of suffering as some curb or threat so that people would be drawn to heaven instead. Rather, when God is not present, all that remains is unyielding and relentless agony. Not because God wants it, but simply because that’s all that exists when God is removed from the picture.

However, remember that judgment is only something to be feared if you are guilty of something. If you haven’t done anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear. And if Jesus is in the picture, then you have nothing to fear. “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him” (v.9-10). Paul is addressing believers – then AND now. Believers know that they have been chosen – “anointed” as Paul writes – to receive salvation. That salvation is received not by going to church, not by voting for the right presidential candidate, not by anything you could do on even your best day, but only “through… Jesus Christ.” And then, lest we try to make it too terribly complicated, Paul also lays out how Jesus made that possible: by his death. 

This is where the focus ought to be. When so many defiantly denounce God because of their disdain over realities like judgment and hell, they’re pouting over something that doesn’t have to be anyone’s reality – including theirs! Since we’ve already agreed that most everyone is in favor of judgment when it means that justice is being served, we ought to dumbfounded that God chose to carry out the sentence of his just judgment on his own Son instead of you and me. So rather than being disgruntled about judgment and hell, we ought to be delighted that we don’t have to fear it! God’s judgment to all who believe is that since Jesus died, you will live. What’s to fear?

With no fear of judgment then, we live as we have been made to live – not as those who belong to the night, but as those who live in the light as those who belong to the day. That’s how we’re free to live. “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, …let us be awake and sober. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet”  (v.5, 6, 8). Faith, love, and hope. Do those sound like the qualities that embody your day-to-day living? 

The verdict has already been made. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Let every man and even your own conscience itself be liars, but let God’s declaration and promise stand true. If you are in Christ Jesus, you have nothing to fear. There is no condemnation for you. You are free to face judgment because you already know the verdict. 

Could I ask something of you? Could you please – please – follow Paul’s advice? “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (v.11). So many in our world right now need so much encouragement, and you have the best encouragement imaginable to share with them. You have no fear of judgment. Encourage others by reminding them that in Christ Jesus, neither do they.

The Best “No”

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Photo by Kai Pilger

In many parts of the U.S. right now, including where I live in southern California, we’ve gotten accustomed to an almost daily dose of “no’s” being doled out in an effort to practice social distancing (everyone’s new favorite phrase to hate):

  • no gatherings of groups over 250, then 50, now 10, which has resulted in
  • no coffee meetups with friends at your favorite local spot (like here or here)
  • no workouts at the gym (ah – just the excuse you needed to continue avoiding them.)
  • no taking in a movie at the theater (thank you, Netflix and Disney+!)
  • no libraries (time to get at that stockpile of books you’ve been accumulating)
  • no church
  • no work for many
  • no leaving your home except for essential needs.

Whether or not you agree with the extreme measures being taken to avoid the spread of COVID-19 (is it some rule that we have to put a virus in all caps to make it sound more terrifying?), we are currently in a state of “no’s” as a society. If they haven’t already, those “no’s” will start to take their toll. They can make us feel constricted, discouraged, and frustrated.

So, to counter all the negative “no’s,” here’s one of the best “no’s” you’ll ever come across:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:1

Did you catch that? “No” condemnation. No rejection. No abandonment. No forsaking. No judgment. None. That assurance belongs to all who have not socially distanced themselves from Christ. To be in Christ, to call him Savior, to trust in him alone for salvation, is to have complete confidence that the best no possible is yours: no condemnation. When you have that kind of confidence, you know what else you have?

No fear.

We don’t know how long restrictions will be in place. We don’t know the long-term impact they’ll have on our lives. We don’t know if more “no’s” will be coming out in the days ahead. But we have this right now in Christ: no condemnation. That is the best no ever.