GRACE & JUDGMENT

Reading Isaiah and what Jesus says in Mathew, the Law of God stated in the Old Testament of the Bible is totally in effect. That is why the world will be destroyed, and the reason for disease and death.  Nations come and go and convulse – as they are doing now. God is judging and allowing the results and consequences of evil to happen, while specifically dealing with sin. The Law of God is based upon God’s character and standards.  Note though, that even under the strict application of the Law, there was a measure of grace through repentance – signaling a greater measure of grace (forgiveness and blessing) in the future.

In Jesus, on the individual level, God turned back the clock to Adam in a number of ways. Jesus took our pains and infirmities, so we can be well. Jesus’ death allowed us to be purified so that the Holy Spirit can live inside us.  We thus became connected to Life – God is Life and Life flows into our spirit, soul and body. Also, if we will put ourselves in a position to listen through Bible, prayer and fasting, He will advise us and we can escape much that would otherwise happen to us.

Individual Grace is there through Jesus. The grace of the love of God was apparent through the tolerance and continual warning of Israel to repent preached by the Old Testament prophets. In grace God changed his judgment when repentance occurred – that is one of the big lessons of Judges. But the fullness of the flow of God into man came through Jesus. We do have a better contract with God. On the individual level the contract is personal and comes through confession of sin and by faith through stating and claiming the promises of God all along.

The key element of grace through Jesus is that we are forgiven when we confess our sin, we can pass our punishment to Jesus, and have grace to continue in God’s blessing while he and we work on changing outside behavior. We have room to move.

God’s treatment of nations, I think, mostly exists as it did under the old contract with Israel. Do right and prosper, do wrong and be judged and destroyed. Nations prosper based upon implementing the love preached in the Bible, both towards God and each other. Muslims don’t prosper, for their gospel is war and division. The USSR failed by denying God. China is becoming Christian as the Gospel grows there. The US still preaches getting along and helping each other – the Christian heritage, also a measure of doing right and honesty. One of the big changes through Jesus is that when a nation repents in its collective heart – there is forgiveness and grace while the heart repentance can be worked out in actions and change. The hand of judgment is taken away or modified.  We can see this, as mentioned, even in the Old Testament, but it is much greater under Jesus.

In spite of grace, as the end draws near, the world will destroy itself and be destroyed. I think it is Isaiah who mentions that the good and evil will be caught in the destruction. All will be caught in the net of destruction, but those connected to Life will go on and live with God, and those not connected will never connect with Him. That is Hell in all its divisions and levels of punishment.  Grace through Jesus gives us escape from eternal judgment.  He is the only escape. We cannot ever earn God’s approval except through faith in believing Jesus saves us.