Choose God's Righteousness or God's Wrath

Paul turns his attention away from the Gentiles and now turns towards the Jews. There are four points that Paul addresses here: 1. God's judgment will come upon those who judge; 2. the goodness of God leads to repentance for those seeking to do 'good' for His glory; 3. tribulation and anguish will come to those who seek to do evil; and 4. God has no partiality when it comes to His judgment.

To understand God's instruction is to understand that without faith we cannot find heaven. It is through our faith that we are saved. As part of God's judgment He looks at the reality of our faith. That means He will judge us based on how faithful we are to Him. How we respond in times of trials and how we seek and find Him. Faith is demonstrated in our lives by the way we live. Do we put our trust in Him and Him alone?

Paul reaches back into the Old Testament and warns us that those who judge should not practice in doing the same things. This is called being a hypocrite. Being called a hypocrite is an effective tool that Satan will use to cast a dark shadow on us in our walk with Jesus Christ. Remember, it is not our job to judge others because God has already given that job to Jesus Christ. But we are called to make disciples to all the nations and share the word of God in a loving, guiding way to point people to God through the revelation of Jesus Christ because we care about others and we care where they spend their eternal life.

As mentioned, in (2 Samuel 12:5) Nathan shares a parable with David about two men, a rich man with many sheep and a poor man with only one sheep. Nathan shared that the rich man refused to take one sheep from the many he possessed to prepare a meal for a traveler. The rich man took the only sheep from the poor man and killed it. As David was listening to this parable from Nathan, it made David angry and in His anger, David judged the rich man and sentenced him to death. In the parable, it turns out that Nathan was speaking about David and his relationship with Bathsheba. Through it all, David remembered his act of disobedience and had repented for the sin he committed. Although David repented there is still a consequence for his sin. Through God's righteous judgment, David was disciplined by losing his first born child with Bathsheba. Through scripture we learn that we should not judge others because God's judgment is greater and like a boomerang that will definitely come right back to you when we least expect it (Luke 7:1-2).

Paul goes on to identify three of the many attributes of God as goodness, forbearance and long suffering. If we approach every circumstance practicing these three attributes from God, we can find repentance. Living in God's will and having a repentant heart we can achieve many of God's blessings and promises. Glory, honor and immortality are just a sample of His blessings that will be given to everyone who works what is good in God's will.

It is important to acknowledge that we cannot live in lip service telling people how good we are. If you are self-serving seeking to reject the truth of God and are living in unrighteousness you will find God's wrath. This wrath presents itself through tribulation and anguish. The bible teaches us that there is no partiality with God whether you are a Jew or a Gentile (Deuteronomy 10:17).

Our destiny will be based on doing God's will not just knowing His will. There is knowledge of God and then there is living for God. Both are complimentary and should work together in finding heaven.

My prayer is that everyone will know the name of Jesus and when you hear His name we will react with a receiving heart and not to reject the name or person of Jesus but to embrace Him with all your heart mind, soul, and strength. I pray that every man, woman and child will develop a close personal relationship with You Jesus and that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that the King Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior and that He will live in our hearts until God calls us home and then we will live in His presence for eternity. In Jesus Mighty Name Amen! Amen!