Keep His Words

April 4, 2020

Lent 2020

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“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47)

I don’t like to talk about the judge part of the Godhead. I don’t really even like to think about it. But here I am staring at two passages that make it completely clear, that yes, part of the fullness of God is that He is a judge who will pass judgment. A God who will not only pass judgment, but enact it (read Isaiah 13:9 again). And yet I still don’t like it. But maybe I shouldn’t like it, maybe it should point me to something bigger.

Justice and judgment are great when it makes my life better, or benefits me, but when it negatively impacts me, I don’t like it. Jesus is calling me to understand that He doesn’t condemn me, rather the opposite. John 12:47 actually says that Jesus came into the world to save the world. And if there is condemnation, judgment, and justice to be handed down, it lays squarely on my response to the words He spoke. Wow.

This view really changes things for me and, hopefully, changes things for you. Jesus provides every avenue to escape that judgment, and it is simple: keep His words. While those words may from time to time provide a moral dilemma or a tough decision, they are simple in the face of the judgment that we may bring down on ourselves. God is going to judge the world, its a reality we have to face. But He hands us the key to escaping that wrath that comes with that judgment: Keep His Words.

DIG DEEPER: