Greg speaks from the heart about the way that God judges, and how he uses all life circumstances to grow us, even though he does not cause those circumstances. When we honestly look at the difficulties of life, can we trust that God remains in them and meets us there, bringing good out of evil?
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Final Justice
• Greg Boyd
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Many have used the focus scripture quoted above to tell people that the tough circumstances that they are enduring are God’s punishment and chastising. This creates a difficultly in that it means that the persecuted people to whom Hebrews was originally written were being persecuted because God wanted to punish them. God disciplines us all of the time in that he uses every life circumstance to grow us as disciples. Punishment, on the other hand, is the stuff that we bring on ourselves, as the actions we take have the consequences baked into the action. God is not causing the difficult life circumstances or the consequences that we face, but he uses both of them to shape us.
The question Greg raises is whether or not God is actually bringing growth and life out of the process of using the life circumstances we face. This is especially important to ask when we take a hard look at the realities of life as we reflect on our personal struggles and we pay attention to what is transpiring in our world. Is God really in the yucky stuff to bring good out of evil?
This is the question the martyrs have in Revelation 6:9-11, when they ask how long it will be until God brings justice. At the same time, they also call for retribution in their prayers. These people are still in process, not yet fully understanding God’s kind of justice. This is contrasted with Jesus’ prayer on the cross when he says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 24:34). He is not praying for God to avenge, but to forgive.
Jesus recognized that the key to all sin is the fact that we don’t know what we are doing. We are deceived. We don’t see the truth of the way that things are. On the surface, the cross looks like failure, but it is the ultimate truth. That truth did not manifest fully and clearly until the Resurrection. Even now, we live in a Good Friday world where the final victory has not come. And therefore, the victory is not obvious. We might question what’s going on when we look at the surface, but God is always working at a deeper level.
We read in John 12:27-33 that, on the cross, Jesus is saying that the world will be judged, but also through this judgment that the enemy will be defeated and all will be restored. Judgment is restorative. It is designed to help pull away that veil of deception so that people can live in the truth, and this is available to all because the door is always open.
Greg concludes the sermon by asking two questions. Do we have the heart of Jesus on the cross where we pray for forgiveness instead of vengeance? Secondly, are we pursuing peace with others so that we might be reconciled as much as possible?
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: End Times, Judgment, Presence of God
Sermon Series: The Wrath of the Lamb
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The MuseCast: October 29
Focus Scripture:
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Hebrews 12:5-6
My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when you are punished by him, for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves and chastises every child whom he accepts.
