The Prosperity of the Wicked.

     But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
                                                              Psalm 73:2-3 NASB  

Read Psalm 73:1-28

     Sometimes it seems that everyone around us is prospering, while we struggle. There are those who seem to live luxuriously, never in need of life's basic necessities, who always appear to succeed at everything they put their hand to. We may feel as if the wicked are prospering in this life in spite of their wickedness, as if God does not see. It can be easy to look at our hardships and struggles in comparison with the ease of the wicked, and say as the Psalmist did, Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence" (Psalm 73:13 NASB).

     But this Psalm goes on to show us that what may appear to us as an unfair situation is not what it seems to be. While the wicked go on in their prosperity, they are actually in a very slippery place. Their life will not always go on as it has. Just like the rich man whom Jesus described in Luke 12:16-21, life is uncertain. As this man was preparing to retire in his abundance, his life was required of him. Things may go smooth for a season for those who live apart from Christ, but it will always catch up to them one way or another. Ultimately, we will all stand before God someday, and then it will be worth it all to follow Him now. 

     As for the hard times and struggles that so many Christians seem to face, these are for our good (James 1:2-3). The writer of Hebrews encourages us with the fact that God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-12). Discipline is not fun to go through, but it is the means by which God keeps us close to Him. Much like a parent who lovingly corrects and disciplines a child to keep that child safe, and to train him to grow up into a godly individual, God also uses trials and testings to keep us from straying after the things of this world. It is better to face discipline, and thereby grow in grace and holiness, than to be allowed to persist in worldliness and sin, and ultimately go lost.
Psalm 73:1-28

     

A Cry For Revival: Is God Unjust?

A Cry For Revival: Is God Unjust?:      There seems to be this idea that a God who would punish evil doers is somehow unjust. This idea has even been accepted by many who prof...

The Foundation of God's Throne.

     For I proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
                        Deuteronomy 32:3-4 NASB

     As the above text shows, God is upright in all of His dealings with mankind. There is no injustice found in Him. Everything He does is perfect and right.
     As the sovereign ruler of the universe, it is of the utmost importance that He be perfectly just in all of His ways. What would we think of a ruler who created laws that were unfair, oppressive, and impossible to obey? Furthermore, what would we think of a ruler who did not enforce the laws of His kingdom, laws that were just and fair, laws that were in the best interests of His kingdom and it's subjects?
     We see examples of this in human governments. There have been ruthless dictators who have ruled with an iron fist, men who have oppressed and killed millions of their subjects.
     Then we see those who fail to uphold the laws of their countries. They let criminals go free, or get by with a sentence that falls far below that which the crime deserves.
     We all understand that this is wrong. That men who rule in this way are unjust, and unfit to rule! We can see that the lenient judge, is just as wrong, as the ruthless dictator. Both of them have built their kingdom and rule upon a throne of injustice and evil.
     This is not so with God. His rule is founded upon the principles of righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14, 97:2). The law of God is perfect, righteous in every respect. He upholds it in truth and justice. There is no wavering with Him, no partiality is found in His character. He is bound by His very character to uphold His law in truth and justice. If it is broken, the penalty that is required must be fulfilled, or God is no longer just. The implications of this astound one's mind! Can God still be God, if He denies in any measure, one or more of His divine attributes? Would He then cease to be good, and become evil?
     You see, God is perfectly just, and cannot sway from this for even an instant, no matter who he is dealing with. We can depend on Him to render a just verdict every time. There is no partiality with God. He has no favorites, and He will not turn a blind eye away from sin, and those who commit it.
     God also loves His rebellious creation, and does not desire their death, but that they would turn from their sin and live (Ezekiel 18:32; John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9).
     For God to pardon sin, and to still be just, He had to offer up His Son for us. Jesus Christ was pierced for us, crushed for our sin (Isaiah 53:5). Our sin was placed upon Him (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Cor 15:3; 2 Cor 5:21). There can be no other way for God to exercise pardon in the case of one who has violated His law.
     Once again, God is righteous in all His ways, and just in every decision. He must uphold His law, and execute the penalty of the law. He is bound to do this by His very character.
     Our sin cost Christ dearly. He suffered and died an agonizing death upon a Roman cross on our behalf. What was even more agonizing to Jesus, was that moment when God the Father forsook His Son, because of our sin, placed upon Him (Matt 27:46). To have the intimate closeness He shared with His Father broken was more devastating to Him then the pain of crucifixion. This separation is what we experience ourselves, when we choose to go our own way in sin, rather than obey God.
     God has made a way to justify the sinner, and yet be just in His action (Romans 3:23-26). By the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, He has upheld the righteousness of His law, and executed it's penalty in a way suitable to allow Him to pardon a repenting sinner.
     I say repenting, because to merely pardon one who has no desire to change, but still persist in rebellion against God, would still dishonor the righteousness of His law, and bring into question the very righteous and just character of God. It would be an act of injustice still.
     Jesus did not die so that we could go to heaven, and enjoy eternal life in fellowship with God. He died to set us free from sin. He died so that we could be made holy in our conduct (Romans 6:22; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:1-2).
     The repentant sinner receives mercy as he places his trust in Christ, but he has been called by God to be conformed into the image of His Son Jesus (Romans 8:29). It is through this union with Christ that we find ourselves now actively fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law we once cast aside (Romans 8:4). Instead of being lawbreakers, we now obey God's law from the heart!
     It is safe, and wise, for God to forgive the sinner, and make a new creation out of him (2 Cor 5:17). His law is still upheld in all it's glory, as Christ honored it's penalty by His death and resurrection. Now by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within the pardoned sinner, the law is upheld once again as it is lived out in reality through the life of the one whom God saved.