“Upon Your Own Head” (Obadiah 1)

"For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head.” (vs15)

The reality of the gospel and Judgment Day is that as you've done to others, it shall be done to you. He says, “your recompense shall return upon your own head”. Matthew 7:2 says, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you”. If you have believed on Christ and loved, then you'll be rewarded in this life and the next, having peace that leads to eternal pleasure! If you have hated your neighbor, been proud and self-righteous (because you have NOT trusted Christ), then you'll be punished and cast down, no matter how safe you think you are. How do you treat God's people? Do you love for Christ's sake, or are you under wrath?

The gospel is life changing. It takes the mind to Jesus Christ, receives grace, sees the richness of the inheritance, and it deals with men as possessing unmerited favor. It is God's grace to the sinner that looses him from self-righteousness, so that he can love. He says, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13). We don't hear our freedom and then hate others, looking down upon their faults, or using them for self-glory. But, we see others as LESS privileged than ourselves, so that the spiritually rich always love the poor. James says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descent from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic” (James 3:13-15). Those who have Christ in His fullness love both sinners and saints. They love the church and do good to God's elect, because we're brothers of the same household with Jesus as the Eldest and the King (Rom 8:29). We don't have anything to brag about, and obtaining mercy means that we're conformed to His Son, because God doesn't save us to look like Satan, but He makes us like Christ.

How you treat people reveals who you really are. You may say that you love God and know the gospel, but if you don't love the church, if you're not loving to your neighbor (even your enemies), then you have not learned grace correctly. God says, “For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. In the day that you stood on the other side – in the day that strangers carried captive his forces, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem – even you were as one of them” (Obadiah 1:10-11). Grace does more than change my doctrine. My heart and life are directly affected by what I believe, so that LOVE is the fruit of faith, and without love, faith has no existence! We read, “If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he loved God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20). Be wise, children of God. Perfect love, grow in grace, and count your behavior crucial.

I've seen many who would go to heaven and be happy, but they won't love their wife, submit to their husband, or forgive the brethren. God says, “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity; nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress. You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress” (Obadiah 1:12-14). It cannot be that we have GOD'S peace and treat people sinfully. I can't hate you and love Him, for we read, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). It's hypocrisy. Everyone who tastes grace will love, and you MUST go to GRACE to get this love that you need.