Hebrews 4:12-13
Does verse 13 seem scary to you? "Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account."
If you've got something to hide, this is a very frightening passage. We want skeletons in our closet to stay in our closet, don't we? That's why we put them in the closet in the first place... we're afraid of what will happen if people find out these things about us. We're afraid of what they will think about us. For some of us, we're afraid of the consequences that may catch up to us.
But for those that don't have anything to hide, this passage is very reassuring.
Have you ever been wrongly accused of something? If you've got brothers or sisters, you probably have. Sometimes we're called to answer for things we didn't do. Our superiors, whether they're parents or bosses or elders, have to judge us in these situations--but they're not always qualified to make a judgment, because they often don't have all the facts.
Wouldn't it be scary if your boss were sitting in the judgment seat on the last day? How about your friend, or your coworker? How about your rival?
Would you want any of these people making the final decision about whether your soul was going to spend eternity with God or without Him? For that matter, would you want any person?
We often say it: "He's only human," and what we mean by that is, "He doesn't know everything," or, "He can't do everything." That's why sometimes people get punished unfairly, by parents, by bosses--sometimes even by the government.
But this verse says that God will never judge someone unfairly.
Jesus said in Matthew 6, "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, Who is unseen. Then your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." God doesn't just see the bad things we do in secret--He also sees the good things. He sees everything, and He knows everything, and He understands everything.
Have you ever done something for someone, trying to be nice to them, and they misunderstood it? We misunderstand each other often, because we can't read each other's minds--can we? It's what Paul is talking about in I Corinthians 4:5. He says, "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of people's hearts..."
We look at other peoples' words and actions and judge them by what they say and do--we have to, because it's all we have to base our decisions on. God doesn't have to rely on these external things, because He sees and knows the hearts of men. God can make a righteous judgment, because His judgments aren't based on the outcome of the action; they're based on the motivation behind the action.
An evil man can do a good work for selfish gain, but God won't rule him righteous because of his good work--he only did the work out of evil motives. In the same way, a good man may do an evil act for good reasons. God won't judge the man as evil just because of the one evil act, because the man's heart was just.
We can't even imagine the kind of justice God has in store for us. In this world, we look at our judges and say, "That's not fair!" or, "Our system isn't perfect..." But when God judges, everyone is going to proclaim, "He is just and righteous altogether!"
God cuts through the appearance of things and sees to the heart of the matter, and His word is no less discerning. When we apply the word of God to our lives, we find it powerful and sharp, cutting away the false pride and artificial righteousness we add to our lives. God's word will not leave us unchanged, if we put our faith in Him and look to it for guidance.
Let us put our trust in Him and trust in His word for our lives. Let us accept His righteousness and His wisdom, instead of seeking to fabricate our own.
Let us ask Him for the truth we need in our lives, for He will not fail to give it.
If you've got something to hide, this is a very frightening passage. We want skeletons in our closet to stay in our closet, don't we? That's why we put them in the closet in the first place... we're afraid of what will happen if people find out these things about us. We're afraid of what they will think about us. For some of us, we're afraid of the consequences that may catch up to us.
But for those that don't have anything to hide, this passage is very reassuring.
Have you ever been wrongly accused of something? If you've got brothers or sisters, you probably have. Sometimes we're called to answer for things we didn't do. Our superiors, whether they're parents or bosses or elders, have to judge us in these situations--but they're not always qualified to make a judgment, because they often don't have all the facts.
Wouldn't it be scary if your boss were sitting in the judgment seat on the last day? How about your friend, or your coworker? How about your rival?
Would you want any of these people making the final decision about whether your soul was going to spend eternity with God or without Him? For that matter, would you want any person?
We often say it: "He's only human," and what we mean by that is, "He doesn't know everything," or, "He can't do everything." That's why sometimes people get punished unfairly, by parents, by bosses--sometimes even by the government.
But this verse says that God will never judge someone unfairly.
Jesus said in Matthew 6, "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, Who is unseen. Then your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." God doesn't just see the bad things we do in secret--He also sees the good things. He sees everything, and He knows everything, and He understands everything.
Have you ever done something for someone, trying to be nice to them, and they misunderstood it? We misunderstand each other often, because we can't read each other's minds--can we? It's what Paul is talking about in I Corinthians 4:5. He says, "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of people's hearts..."
We look at other peoples' words and actions and judge them by what they say and do--we have to, because it's all we have to base our decisions on. God doesn't have to rely on these external things, because He sees and knows the hearts of men. God can make a righteous judgment, because His judgments aren't based on the outcome of the action; they're based on the motivation behind the action.
An evil man can do a good work for selfish gain, but God won't rule him righteous because of his good work--he only did the work out of evil motives. In the same way, a good man may do an evil act for good reasons. God won't judge the man as evil just because of the one evil act, because the man's heart was just.
We can't even imagine the kind of justice God has in store for us. In this world, we look at our judges and say, "That's not fair!" or, "Our system isn't perfect..." But when God judges, everyone is going to proclaim, "He is just and righteous altogether!"
God cuts through the appearance of things and sees to the heart of the matter, and His word is no less discerning. When we apply the word of God to our lives, we find it powerful and sharp, cutting away the false pride and artificial righteousness we add to our lives. God's word will not leave us unchanged, if we put our faith in Him and look to it for guidance.
Let us put our trust in Him and trust in His word for our lives. Let us accept His righteousness and His wisdom, instead of seeking to fabricate our own.
Let us ask Him for the truth we need in our lives, for He will not fail to give it.
posted by ionathas78 at 10:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home