I want to share on a subject that is not often taught: the judgments of the Lord. This is not a popular subject, but it is a necessary subject.
I recently had a dream encounter with the Lord in which I physically felt a rushing, mighty wind come over me. I felt such glory and power, my skin seemed to detach from my muscles and my muscles from my bones. It was the power of God’s presence. This encounter did not leave me feeling like anything was wrong. Rather, it made me think about Hebrews 4:12, which says the Word of God is powerful enough to be able to discern between joints and marrow and the thoughts and intents of the heart.
There are reasons the Lord’s judgments are not often discussed. However, with an increase in God’s presence and glory comes a corresponding measure of God’s jealousy over His people. If we say we want the last days’ move and outpouring of God, then our lives need to line up with God’s Word. Anything we have repented of in our past is forgiven and forgotten. However, God’s judgments require us to repent first.
The judgments of the Lord are numerous. We read in the Bible that everyone is subject to God’s judgments. II Peter 2:4-9 says God did not spare the fallen angels nor the people of the ancient world who lived during Noah’s time from judgment. Romans 11:21 says God also did not spare from judgment the “natural branches,” which were the first-century Israelites who did not accept Jesus as their Messiah.
God did not even spare His own Son, Jesus, because Jesus died for our sins (see Romans 8:32). Jesus willingly laid down His life to save us, and God did not intervene. He let Jesus suffer the judgment for sin, so all who call on His name in faith, believe in Him, and choose a lifestyle of sanctification and holiness will not be subject to the wrath of God.
Psalm 19:9-11 says, “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.” When we hear about the judgments of the Lord, we may feel dread. In reality, the Bible says the judgments of the Lord are to be desired more than fine gold and are sweeter than honey, so we should want God’s judgments with His mercy.
The law of God is summarized in Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” If we were to write a constitution for a Christian nation, this would be the spirit of the law. Paul said the law of God was not evil (see Romans 7:12). There was nothing wrong with God’s law. It represented His nature and character written on tablets of stone and scrolls. However, now that we are in a time of grace after Jesus died, we are hearing some teachings that say the law of God is bad.
But a judge cannot judge without a set of laws or a justice system by which to judge. The Spirit of the law, the Lawgiver Himself, lives in the heart of new covenant believers. Because of this, we by nature do things that men used to try to outwardly conform to by their fallen nature.
So, what do we do when there’s a violation of the law? The judgments of the law dictate consequences. For instance, the Bible tells us a thief was expected to repay double, or fourfold if the item stolen could not be returned (see Exodus 22:4).
Jesus absorbed those judgments for us on the cross. There is no New Testament statement that puts away God’s law. However, there were changes in how the laws were interpreted by the Old Testament prophets.
In I John 3:4, John gives us the definition of sin: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Why? In Matthew 24:12, Jesus said, “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Lawlessness is sinful because it can affect outcomes like whether or not people will love God.
Some may wonder if our faith cancels out our need for the law. Paul said in Romans 3:31, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Paul then said in Romans 6:14-15, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!”
These verses are often misunderstood. That’s how we get this lawless, hyper-grace Christianity that says if there’s no code of conduct, we can do whatever we want. Some think that if God does not directly tell them something is wrong, they can do it. However, there are things the Bible specifically says are wrong that we should not do whether we feel convicted or not. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (see Jeremiah 17:9). So, don’t always follow your heart, but do always follow God’s Word.
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Blessings,
Chris Reed | President & CEO
MorningStar Ministries
