Wintry Mix / 35° F
"Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" This question was asked by Abraham of God, in Genesis 18:25, when Abraham was pleading with God to spare the few righteous souls from the impending doom pronounced against Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20).The Rev. Dan Puckett: Join the greatest momentum in the world
Published 11:39am Friday, November 20, 2009Abraham did not think righteous people should be destroyed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. God granted Abraham’s request and sent angels to rescue Lot and his family from Sodom (Genesis 19:12-13).
We know that God will do right because He is righteous and just. The question is, what will we do?
We live in a fallen world corrupted by sin. Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden and spiraled mankind into an abysmal decline. God never lost control and is always working to redeem fallen people, and eventually to redeem His entire creation. This redemption is through Jesus Christ the Son of God who suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.
Jesus was absolutely innocent by every measure, yet He was delivered up to be crucified by unjust rulers. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ were all in God’s plan. There had to be a sacrifice for sin, a sacrifice that could satisfy the righteousness of God. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice.
The redemptive plan is in place. Any person who gives their life to Jesus Christ by faith in His finished work is redeemed, added into the family of God, and is promised eternity with God.
Eternity is taken care of for the Christ-follower, but what about life in the meantime? As Christians do we huddle up, put blinders on, and endure till the end, or do we become who we are meant to be, agents of God in a fallen world, seeking to see the principles of the Kingdom of God lived out here and now to every degree possible? We know God will do the right thing, but what about us?
The apostle John gives this stirring indictment in 1 John 3:17: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
John continues, in verse 18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” There it is . . . we must get involved, dive in, and do something. We cannot do everything but we can do something.
The psalmist challenges us in Psalm 82:3-4: “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless, maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Christians have too long just dabbled in causes of justice for the oppressed. We know it exists; we give lip service but we have done too little too late. Secular benefactors have done more than the church. It might be time to step up, join the Living God of the universe in true Christian practice.
We know there is a day coming when Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will return to the earth, set every wrong right and establish a righteous kingdom.
In the meantime, we need to pray the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 6:10: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is all about bringing “up there” down here, to establish outposts of heaven on earth now.
“Will not the Judge of the earth do right?” Yes, He will, but we must also do right and uphold every cause of true justice.
Jesus promised, in Matthew 16:18, “the gates of Hades will not overcome [His church].” In other words, we can join the greatest momentum ever in seeing the church of Jesus Christ prevail against the forces of evil in this world.
The Rev. Dan Puckett is a minister with Life Action Ministries.
Jesus said “If You love Your freinds, and hate Your Enimies, You are no better than the world” Which Means we must even be kind to Democrats, and gracious to them.