Preparing for God's Judgment

 

While all of us will experience the Lord’s judgment after this life passes at either the white throne judgment (Revelation 20:12-13) or the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), there are also moments during our lives where we experience smaller moments of judgment. Last week we asked the question of if God’s judgment was fair, highlighting that we see examples of three kinds of judgment throughout the Bible: micro, macro, and grand (for the individual, nation/group, and world, respectively). This week, we will revisit the three and unpack what we can personally do in order to better prepare ourselves, should we experience one of the three scenarios.

Preparing for Micro-Judgment
More than likely, each of us are going to experience some degree of micro-judgment during our lives. But should we think that the slightest mistake will condemn us to eternal damnation? Or should we be so fearful, that we live in a constant state of worry? Of course not. As a quick refresher from last week,

Regardless of the scale of His response, the pattern of how the Lord acts is consistent. First, we see throughout the Scriptures that God chooses grace and decides to bless humanity out of love; second, we find ourselves abusing His grace because of sin; next, God warns his people and calls us to repentance through the prophets that He appoints; finally, judgment is dispersed in an effort to bring His children back to Him and restore the relationship between God and His people.

Whether this is for a nation or for an individual, His pattern is consistent. If we find ourselves adopting a lifestyle of sin where things like violence, sexual immorality, substance/digital addictions, or other sins become prevalent within our lives, there’s a good chance that the Lord will send a prophet our way who will implore us to stop. The person may be a pastor, a friend, or even our spouse, but the message will nevertheless be clear: repent before it is too late. For as we see in Ephesians 5:8-20, it is inevitable that secret sins will be discovered and revealed. Perhaps our actions may have been so severe that we are unable to escape some degree of correction, however our humility in seeking the Lord first will play a large role in our ability to find peace and avoid additional cycles of micro-judgment in the future. Thus, the very best way to prepare for micro-judgment is to repent and seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).

Preparing for Macro-Judgment
We don’t need to navigate too deep into the word of God before we find examples of entire nations being judged for their pervasive sinfulness. While critics of the Bible focus on examples like the destruction of the Canaanites or Sodom and Gomorrah, we must not forget that God was just as consistent in the judging of His own chosen people whenever the Israelites would live in a state of sin (See books of Judges, Isaiah, and Jeremiah). Yet just as we see in Isaiah 6:12-13, the Lord will indeed identify and raise up a remnant during an instance of macro-judgment. Such a remnant is a “holy seed,” composed of those who truly rely on the Lord (Isaiah 10:20-21). Thus, under macro-judgment, the call to repent and seek first the kingdom of God becomes just as applicable and vital for the remnant as it was for the individual experiencing micro-judgment.

Preparing for Grand Judgment
According to Jesus, it is futile to try and predict the coming of the end times (Matthew 24:42-44). Instead of us worrying about the exact timing of such an event, Jesus offers parables to help us understand the more important takeaways on the topic. One such parable is offered in Matthew 24:45-51, where He tells of two different kinds of servants: one type who continues to work while his master is away, and the other type who decides to be wicked and abuse the master’s trust and resources. Naturally, the former is blessed, while the latter is judged accordingly. Only two grand judgment events are described in the Bible: The flood in Genesis 7 and the passing of the earth in Revelation 21. In both scenarios, humanity is on a course that will inevitably destroy itself and the Lord is stirred to directly intervene. While no one is able to evade an instance of judgment on such a grand scale, we look to Noah from the flood and God’s sheep from the end times to understand that the righteous servants who continue to serve the Lord will indeed receive favor and/or blessing surrounding the time of trial (Matthew 24:40-41, 25:34). Thus, the pattern officially solidifies itself for a third time as we note that repenting and seeking first the kingdom of God will indeed be the very best way to prepare for grand judgment.