God is not fair!
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
Ezekiel 18:25
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Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Being a stranger in any place is always an enlightening experience because it gives you the privilege of encountering first impressions, prejudices, presumptions, and judgments of all sorts. This often persuades travelers from cultural immersion, and I would presume keeps many stationed where they are most familiar. With this fact, encountering a stranger from another place can be just as challenging. It has been an absolute privilege to take part in both. We are both strangers that encounter strangers, and it resonates with Peter’s epistle that writes: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” And Hebrews writes,
“ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. . .But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
I can in a way curiously relate to these passages as in my heart I no longer distinguish to being just an American as I am so often distinguished, but as a stranger in all places. Even when I return to the place of my birth, I find myself deeply peculiar to those around me as if seeing the world at large has in some way made my soul larger or otherworldly. It has been intriguing to be seen and handled solely as an American in these past couple years. Just as a Serbian is more than just a Serbian, I am more than just another American. We all are eternal souls, special creatures of divine design with a depth unknown and capacity beyond finding out. To be judged otherwise is a great sin to our kind altogether, as it wholly abandons the judgment of God. In an experience of perpetual inequality, how is it that God is just?
The Case of Free Will
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Romans 9:13-16
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
James 4:10-12
Can time judge eternity? Can many unrighteous overthrow the judgment of one absolutely righteous? Can a loving God send men to hell? These fond questions lead us to the amusing circular discourses and debates that we often pay to attend, but they ignore the apparent truth of man’s and God’s volitional power and how it is utilized. Free will is the most confounding subject of scripture as it introduces us to many paradoxical principles, yet when we consider the immovable nature of God’s will versus our ever-changing will and understanding of it many things can come into focus in their rightful places.
“We are all resilient souls, proud and obstinate to the will of God because of Sin.“
Transformed to His Way
In being abroad we get to see culture and people exercise free will in their judgment of us, in affairs of their own lives, and in the greater scopes of religion and politics. We know we cannot always persuade or change another’s judgment of us, nor can we force upon another our own judgments. Like those around us, God has free will yet He has graciously inspired, inscribed, and inscripturated (preserved in Holy Scripture) it so you and I may know it. The problem is that We are all resilient souls, proud and obstinate to the will of God because of Sin. We do not choose our eternal destiny according to our own will, we choose according to God’s as His established options supersede any of our convoluted ideas. The case of Free-will Then stands: We either choose sin and deception according to our own ever-changing will or we choose Righteous Judgment and truth according to God’s unchanging will. Only God can choose the right way for you and me as He stands as the only judge of the living and the dead. And only YOU can accept or deny that judgment. We all have a precious choice before our God!
the Indictment of Sin
Ezekiel 18:5-10 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right . . . 9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD. If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, . . . shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
Eze 18:14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like . . . he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
Eze 18:18-20 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
There have been unforgivable abhorrent deeds done to fellow man. We have been in a land saturated with that stain. Is it righteous to accredit such deeds to all associated with them? Is it just to call into judgment an innocent? Although great strife and tensions have tainted this earth, our judgments on those that carried them out have been outright unequal. Exercising justice in righteousness is an exception to the trend of human history more than a pattern as the collective will of many has decided the fate of many more. It all is not right.
The vast movement of humanity in this time seems to have taken on justice and equity as their banner, yet we execute absolute cruelty and wickedness in the sight of God.
Transformed to His Way
As I have been charged on occasion for the atrocities carried out in the past, it has been an area of great meditation. I understand and agree with the charges to my people of that time, yet to bear the shame is not something I find right in the meeting on God’s grounds of judgment. The vast movement of humanity in this time seems to have taken on justice and equity as their banner, yet we execute absolute cruelty and wickedness in the sight of God.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Apart from a work of God, there will be no justice or peace in our lives.
TTHW
We cannot fight nor can we expect another to combat the testimony of the star witness of History that testifies to a Sin that condemns us all. Not one person nor wrongdoers eradicated could ever satisfy our deep need for justice. No amount of retribution nor scorn could wipe away the stain that taints all our hearts. There is no justice on this side of heaven, there is none right, and none have found the way to peace nor will they. This is a truth we all must come to grips with. Apart from a work of God, there will be no justice or peace in our lives. We all must stand before God personally in this indictment of Sin and we all stand guilty before Him. Apart from an appeal of mercy, we all are without any hope.
Ecclesiastes 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
The Appeal of Mercy
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Ezekiel 18:21-23
So many suppose that God is satisfied with indicting the world with sin and condemning all to an eternity without Him. There are also those that despite the evidence and witness against them, would appeal to God according to their own righteousness and good deeds. Both defenses would stand in contempt to the appeals court that took the case for you and I!
“The world would gladly keep changing to hide the reality of a terminal malady.“
Transformed to His way
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It has been a sobering experience to be in a place so unaccustomed to mercy. As the marks and wounds of history continue to inflict pain, it is a wonder to see a soul liberated from its clutches. It is only the Grace of God that can do this for you and me, only the mercies of God can take the ill will we have towards another and place it upon Christ’s cross. Only by the mercy of the judge can any of us be completely acquitted without the need for further trial and it was in God’s mercy that Jesus Christ was sent. It is heartbreaking to be in the Balkans where ethnic tensions have persisted for centuries, a place that has kept close accounts of each other’s sins and of those around them. It is a place much like the rest of the world today, where the crimes of the past are calling for present reforms and reactions. The world would gladly keep changing to hide the reality of a terminal malady. Only one thing is needful for this land and only by the mercies of God may men accept it! No reform can truly change the heart of man no matter the merits of it. A revival of religion, a political treaty, and an assumption of a higher ideal all fall short in the court of heaven.
We need the highest appeal of mercy to cover us all!
Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Matthew 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
When you consider your life, maybe even your past heritage, consider this truth. No injustice of the past can be settled by the work of men. Sacrifices would not suffice if they were offered, and sympathies would be just mere formalities in the eyes of our unsatisfied souls. Only a change of our own hearts would truly yield the ground for forgiveness and mercy. I strongly believe God is calling us all to this court of appeals where His Son settles all for all despite everyone’s contempt for each other. We all must meet at the Cross if we hope to live free from the ruin of our vice.
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:7-8
The Verdict of Grace and Truth
Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
Psalm 64:9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
When you search for the truth in any case, you find that you arrive at the focal point through the lens of many witnesses, evidence, and testimonies. Then of course the judgment and sentence are issued by the judge. Is it not strange to find a case where despite absolutely damning evidence, multiple witness accounts, and a damaging testimony, the judge precedes to acquit the defendant of all charges with no reparations, punishment, or further charge? It would be an outrage to us all! Yet in His wisdom, God himself has done just that with you and I by His work alone through Jesus Christ. We would die a thousand deaths to see the guilty walk free, yet we awake every morning. Are not our ways unequal, to bear such acquittal and execute cruel judgments on our neighbor?
I realize now in the time we live, there are truly places that may never give ear to the witness of Christ nor give place to a discussion of a mercy that would go as far to forgive their sworn enemies. Christ himself states in the gospel account of Luke chapter 10:10-16 that there will be such places where the appeal of mercy will not find its court to be heard and the verdict of Grace will not be accepted.
In these times do not forget the heart of God even though the hearts of men have waxed cold. Born-again believers are called ambassadors of God’s kingdom to go into all courts that would hear the great appeal of mercy and accept the Verdict of Grace for the souls of many! Do not let cries for our cruel justice overshadow the righteous verdict of Grace proclaimed by the work of Jesus Christ. No sin committed by another to you, or your forefathers stands unpaid before God, let the appeal of mercy have its hearing in your life. Your heart needs to change before anyone else, and only God’s work can accomplish that!
Choose to Humble yourself before God, accept the indictment of Sin, embrace the Appeal of Mercy, and rejoice that there is a Verdict of Grace & Truth! Time is short and the world around us needs God’s perfect Judgment to have an enduring hope of life eternal. May you be transformed to His way today in God’s perfect justice and judgment.
John 3:16 -17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Our Vision and Prayer according to The Great Commission:
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore(Reach), and teach(Teach) all nations, baptizing(Immerse Them in Christ’s Truth) them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all(Challenge their capacity) things whatsoever I have commanded you:(Engage their faith in Biblical Responsibility) and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (See Them faithfully kept by God’s Grace). Amen.”
Matt 28:18-20
Please pray as we believe God to:
- Reach: Evangelism to the Lost
- Teach: Biblical Study and Training in the Word of God
- Immerse others in Christ’s Truth: Fitting into the fellowship of the Church, discovering their Identity in Christ, and Observing the Ordinances
- Challenge their capacity: Biblical Discipleship and Biblical Accountability
- Engage their faith in Biblical Responsibility through His Ability: Opportunity and Leadership Development in the Church
- See Them faithfully kept by His Grace: Faithful Feeding and Fruitfulness in their Lives
Transformed To His Way 