NOVEMBER 28 "JUDGEMENT WILL COME; SOONER OR LATER"

  We are apt to look at the Bible as a whole as a time when God brought swift judgment on his people. Nobody got away with nothing, sin & lightning struck, swift judgment was the law of the land...or so we think! No doubt there was incidents in the Old Testament when there was swift judgment, but there were plenty of times where it was more of a looming judgment. Yes even in the New Testament Ananias & Sapphira were quickly dealt with in their scheme to defraud the Church & Disciples, but these are rare incidents. What you will find if you read your bible thoroughly is that it was not much different than today. People seemed to sin in the church without any accountability. For the rest of us that are trying to live for God it drives us crazy to watch others go on in their sin with what seems at times like, impunity. We want the hammer to fall and we want it to fall..."yesterday!". Peter today is definitely on his "soap box" about all that he sees in the church and he reminds us..."nobody is getting away with nothing". Peter writes "their condemnation has long been hanging over them and their destruction has not been sleeping". Or it is also said "their judgment is looming!" Pay close attention to every word Peter uses in that sentence, there is no redundancy, every word has a meaning. We must remind ourselves when right isn't turning out right and wrong continues on flagrantly; that God is at work even if we don't see the swift judgment we want to see. You look at the Parable of the tares & the wheat that Jesus gave us. We see that man in his natural, spontaneous, reactive response, says, "you want us to pull them out!?" That seems like a logical conclusion to the matter, but they are surprised when they are told, "no leave them". In pulling and uprooting the tares you will also pull and uproot the wheat. God in His wisdom will either untangle the mess and then uproot or He will separate the tares from the wheat at judgment, but in the end, God is clear to state, "nobody is getting away with nothing". You may want swift execution of judgment (I know you do) but God's wisdom teaches us that there is a bigger picture that you do not see, there are more lives at stake than simply you and your offense. Within reason and according to biblical principle, there are seasons where we must learn to live and dwell amongst the tares & wheat and other times where swift judgment is needed, see Paul's Epistles to the Corinthian Church, but by and large, it is more often a case of looming judgment, but know this, nobody sins with impunity, God is on the throne and He keeps excellent records; and if not on earth then in the judgment God will render unto each man, what he deserves according to what was done in the flesh during his/her days on the earth.

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