God's Judgment

As I am reading through Joel in preparation for Sunday School on Sunday and beginning my Precept study of Jude, I am confronted with the reality of God's judgment. In previous studies of Amos and Romans, the reality of God's judgment is apparent. I think that only now am I realizing what some of the people that we think are crazy are saying when they label every tragedy that happens as God's judgment.

What I mean is that the Bible is very clear that all death and all natural disasters are God's judgment on sin. Please hear me out as I explain this more fully. The reason that natural disasters exist in the world is because man sinned. Before man sinned, this world was perfect. However, as a result of man's sin, even the ground was cursed. Later on we see how God judges the world by bringing a flood to destroy everyone but Noah. The minor prophets state how earthquakes, floods, plagues of locusts, drought, etc. are used by God to try to bring people and nations to repentence. This is still true today. The natural disasters are God's punishment on sin. Romans tells us that creation groans. This groaning is as a result of man's sin. When we see natural disasters occur, we should and need to preach the gospel of repentance to those suffering. Not only are these natural disasters an act of judgment, but they are also an act of God's mercy. God is warning us of His ultimate judgment for man's sin and giving mankind an opportunity to experience His grace. This is where I think that those "radicals" that you see on TV get it wrong (or at least the way that the media portrays them by failing to give the full message). We need to explain correctly the judgment of God and let people know that it is also an example of His grace because He is giving us every opportunity to repent and turn to Him. He is patient with man.

If we are honest, we realize that all death is judgment on sin. That is why Christ's resurrection and the hope of our resurrection is such a radical idea because the final punishment for sin, meaning death, is actually a victory for the believer! The whole reason that death exists is because of man's sin. Our bodies are dying from the moment we are born because of sin. For the believer, death is the final victory over sin because it is with our death that we are united with Christ completely in glorification. We no longer have the ability to sin. This is where the hope of the believer lies. We will finally be able to glorify God in all that we do without the problem of sin!

For those events that are not acts of nature, but acts of men, we need to realize that they are also God's punishment on sin. That does not mean that God authors sin or causes man to sin. What that means is that God is a sovereign God and gives men over in their depravity to act out their natural desires, but it all falls within God's plan. I can't fully understand it, so I know that my definition is an imperfect way of defining how the sovereignty of God fits in evil situations. I do know that Joseph had an understanding of this concept when he told his brothers, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good." In the midst of tragedy, many hearts turn towards God and His amazing grace.

So what do I want people to get out of all of this? If you are going to preach God's judgment, don't forget God's grace. On the other side, if you are going to preach God's grace, you need to teach about God's judgment. I don't understand my need for grace unless I understand that I deserve God's judgment. You can't say that Jesus died to save you unless you have first established what you need to be saved from. I feel that this is also why it is important to study the minor prophets because, although they painted a picture of God's judgment, they also painted a picture of His grace by giving the people an opportunity to repent. This is a hard message to give to the world, but it is part of the gospel. The world doesn't like to hear of a God of judgment, but has to if they are going to accept His grace.