Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem." (Amos 2:4-5)
God's judgments are just. He says continually in Amos 1-2, “Because”: Because you have done this, God will do that, justly. He doesn't punish unfairly, but He gives us what we deserve. He says, “I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron”,“I will not turn away its punishment, because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood”, and, “I will not turn away its punishment because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory.” Those who admit their sin and beg mercy get salvation. Those who won't repent pay for what they've done themselves.
Don't think He's unjust, or you can't be saved. You and I can't have mercy, unless God is just in our misery. We must be GUILTY in God's court to be forgiven, and we must DESERVE what happens to us, if we'll be delivered through Christ's grace. Job said, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). Likewise, not only must we deserve our punishment in order to be saved, but we must admit the Lord deserves to save us because of Christ's death and the payment He made. Justice must be honored in punishing our sins, so that we can be justly forgiven, and justice must be honored or God is unjust to help the wicked. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation... for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'”, and, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe... being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 1:16-17; Rom 3:21-26).
You'd be outraged if an obvious criminal came into court, guilty on all charges, and then was rewarded with wealth and honors. You'd expect punishment, and it is the same with God. We can't leave the court innocent, unless the Son glorifies the Father in paying for our sins. Now, we may justly be saved.
Judah, Edom, Syria, Tyre, and the nations are being told what is coming upon them, so we may repent while there is time (Amos 1-2). You have death and hell coming upon you, justly. Will you repent in this day of mercy, take hold of Jesus Christ, and live? This just salvation changes you, paying for sins, and then giving you a new course of action, so that you are not what you were. Rom 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God”. Romans 8:3-4 says, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness requirement of the law (love) might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (by faith in Christ crucified and all that He has earned). Repentance has made you honor the Son, and you'll be rewarded for your good.
Always, as Job learned, believe God is right. No matter how disappointing or how it hurts, He is doing justly, and all pain and threats are deserved. This will put you in the spot of mercy, and you'll see Him as a just God and a savior. He says, “Tell and bring forth your case; yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me” (Is 45:21).
God is righteous, and those who ADMIT it - admit that His way is good - not only get pardon for wrongs, but we're enabled to please God in this world, until He perfects us in the world to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment