March 23, 2011

  • Judgment Begins in the House of God

    Michael was a theology major attending Southwestern Adventist University, and claimed New Orleans as his home town. At lunch one day Michael told me that he felt God's judgment was going to fall on New Orleans. He didn't know when, but based on all that he saw in his home town, he could say with certainty that the wickedness of the city would rise up like the stench of Sodom and God would bring forth judgment. Voodoo and paganism, the hedonistic and bawdy celebration of Mardi Gras, and other things he was aware of made the city "feel" evil.

    I haven't seen Michael since he graduated from SWAU, so I don't know what he thought about Hurricane Katrina, or if he was in New Orleans when Katrina hit.

    The recent earthquake and nuclear disaster that has hit Japan has led to more people talking about God's judgment being poured out in biblical proportions. I have never visited Japan. I know some Japanese history from the rise of the Shogan to the Meiji Restoration, as well as modern Japanese culture. But I do not know how wicked the country may truly be. Some have looked at World War II and have said Japan "deserved" the natural disaster that struck it, and yet, I don't buy it. I don't see it as God's judgment against the Japanese people.

    If God was to punish Japan for its sins, then what of Thailand? Both countries are notorious for thriving sex industries. When God looks at Thailand, does He find ten righteous people, resulting in His sparing the country of the disaster that Japan faced? Were there no righteous people to be found?

    In my opinion, the natural disaster is not God's judgment against any nation or against any people. Disaster strikes. It is a part of life on this planet. And while some disasters can be predicted, some cannot. We are in the right place at the right time when something hits. Or not. It is a chance we take as we risk our lives one day at a time for our daily bread.

    Back in the 1980s it was said that AIDS was God's judgment against gays and drug users. They were living an unclean lifestyle that God did not approve of, and AIDS was His way of "getting back" at them. It was God's judgment, God's wrath, for living an immoral lifestyle. People in the health care industry were fearful of the disease and would not get near an AIDS patient. Families were afraid of the disease being spread to them by a son or daughter who was HIV-positive. Because of fear, a lot of AIDS patients died alone with no one standing by to comfort them or to stand by them when their lives ended.

    One day I reversed the angle on this concept. What if AIDS was not God's judgment against gays? What if it was God's judgment against Christians? Jesus Christ said to His disciples that they would be known by the love they shared one for another. If I read the Bible correctly, then a true Christian will not be afraid to give aid to the sick and the diseased. There is a reason Mother Theresa worked with lepers, and love was her motivation. Her love for the leper cast out the fear of leprosy. Should love also cast out the fear of AIDS so that Christian health care professionals can be there to comfort their patients?

    I look hard at this issue. I do not like wearing gloves because they interfere with my sense of touch. Yet, if I was in a position to where I have to perform CPR on a patient, or work with someone who is bleeding, then I must wear the rubber gloves as a part of preventing the spread of a disease the patient might have. Do I put on the gloves? Or do I take the risk and possibly catch an infectious disease? It is an issue as I have been trained in CPR and first aid and am a former American Red Cross instructor in both areas. I need to recertify as soon as possible.

    The natural disasters that fall on us are not signs of God's judgment against sin and sinners. I see them as God's judgment against Christians. Peter wrote that judgment begins in the house of God. God's family is to be judged.

    The Ten Commandments have a couple of interesting things to say about this. One commandment says that we are not to take the name of God in vain. Another says that we are not to bear false witness, that is to give false testimony. There are two types of Christian in this world in which we live in, and I will tell you about them. There are the genuine Christians who love God to the point that they would die a martyr's death for their faith in Him. Then there are the posers. The posers claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but there is no love in them. They claim to be something they are not. They tell lies about being one thing when in truth they are something else.

    Judgment begins in the house of God.

    The world doesn't care much about the Bible and doesn't know anything about what makes up a true Christian. Yet God inspired men to write what they wrote and they gave us a check-list of things to look for in a true Christian. The key is going to be living a sacrificial life dedicated to Jesus Christ. John tells us that the saints at the end of time will have the testmony of Jesus Christ and the spirit of prophecy. Jesus says that love will define the character of His followers. A true believer offers mercy, seeks justice, helps with widow and orphan, and gives without any hope of anything given in return. Like the Shulamite woman, a true Christian doesn't take time to work for selfish gain, but works in the hopes of lightening the burdens of others.

    Not many true Christians in the world.

    But it is full of posers who take the name of Jesus in vain. Jesus spoke of a farmer who planted a field of wheat. The next day servants noticed something was wrong. There were too many plants in the field of wheat. They were not able to tell the difference between the wheat they had sown or the plants that had been planted during the night. The farmer told the workers that they would let the crop grow together and in the harvest they would know by the fruit the plants bore which ones were wheat and which were not. That is the condition of the church today. There are good Christians, and there are posers. You can know by the fruit of a person's character who is and who isn't a true Christian. Watch how they react to the natural disasters that strike. Do they respond with a loving heart and care for the victims? Or do they stand back and tell jokes?

    God is judging the people who claim to be His children.