AN INCOMPREHENSIBLE GOD:

Grasping for an Understanding

 

A God of Judgment

Lesson #12

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    In our previous lesson, we learned that God is a God of wrath.

1.      His wrath involves His righteous indignation against sin.

2.      If man refuses to turn from his transgressions, God wrath is pour out (II Chron. 34:25)

 

Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

 

B.      God’s wrath is poured out in the form of judgments against those who oppose Him. 

 

C.     Yes, God is a God of judgment.  Let’s look at this aspect of God’s nature.

 

I.                   THE VERY FIRST JUDGMENT OF GOD

 

A.    The fact that God is a God of judgment is seen in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. 

 

B.      Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden with laws from God being given unto them.  One of those laws dealt with a specific tree in the garden (Gen. 2:16-17).

 

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:  for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

C.     Adam and Eve violated God’s law (Gen. 3:6).  Thus, He poured out His wrath against them and Satan who tempted them (Gen. 3:14:-19).

 

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shalt bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it:  cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou east of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken:  for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

 

1.      All guilty parties were judged.

2.      The consequences were severe.

3.      The consequences were lasting.

4.      The consequences impacted future generations.

 

II.                THE JUDGMENT OF THE FLOOD

 

A.    In the days of Noah, the whole earth had turned from God.

1.      Genesis 6:5

 

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 

2.      Genesis 6:11-12

 

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

 

B.      God promised to bring judgment upon the earth (Gen. 6:7, 13, 17).

 

And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

 

C.     God’s promise of judgment came true (Gen. 7:11-12, 17-23a)

 

In the sixth hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.  And it rained upon the earth forty days and forty nights…And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted above the earth.  And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.  And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.  Fifteen cubits upward did the water prevail; and the mountains covered.  And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping things that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:  all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, and all that was in the dry land, died.  And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth…

 

D.    A description of this judgment:

1.      It came just as God promised.

2.      It was severe.

3.      It was long.

4.      It was devastating.

5.      It was comprehensive.

6.      It involved the loss of life.

 

III.             OTHER JUDGMENTS FROM GOD

 

A.    Individuals

1.      Cain (Gen. 4:11-12)

2.      Moses (Num. 20:12)

3.      Miriam and Aaron (Num. 12:9-10)

4.      Man picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36)

5.      Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-2)

6.      Achan (Josh. 7:24-25)

7.      King Saul (I Sam. 15:23)

8.      Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:31-33)

9.      Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)

10.  Herod (Acts 12:20-23)

 

B.      Other nations

1.      Egypt (Exo. 7:4)

2.      The nations of the land of Canaan (Exo. 23:23-24, 27, 28)

3.      Isaiah 13-23

a.      Babylon (Isa. 13:1-14:23; Isa. 21:1-10; Hab. 1:5-11)

b.      Assyria (Isa. 14:24-27)

c.       Philistines (Isa. 14:28-32)

d.      Moab (Isa. 15-16)

e.       Syria and Israel (Isa. 17)

f.        Ethiopia (Isa. 18)

g.      Egypt (Isa. 19)

h.      Egypt and Cush (Isa. 20)

i.        Edom (Isa. 21:11-12)

j.        Arabia (Isa. 21:13-17)

k.      Jerusalem (Isa. 22)

l.        Tyre (Isa. 23)

 

C.     God’s people

1.      The Northern Kingdom (II Kings 17:7-23)

2.      The Southern Kingdom (II Kings 25:1-21)

3.      The destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 24:21)

 

IV.             THE DAY OF FINAL JUDGMENT

 

A.    There will be a “day” of final judgment (Matt. 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; Mark 6:11; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:5; II Pet. 2:9; 3:7; I John 4:17; Jude 1:6).

 

But the heavens and the earth, which are not, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

 

1.      We are not judged immediately upon our death.

2.      A set day has been appointed for the judgment of mankind.

 

B.      All men will be judged.

1.      “And before him shall be gathered all nations…” (Matt. 25:32).

2.      “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he shall judge the world… “(Acts 17:31).

3.      “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6).

4.      “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12).

5.      “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…” (II Cor. 5:10).

6.      “…who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (II Tim. 4:1).

7.      “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

8.      “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God…and they were judged every man according to their works” (Rev. 20:12-13).

 

C.     God, the righteous Judge, will judge all by His Son Jesus Christ (John 5:22; Acts 10:42; 17:31)

 

And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

 

1.      This is one example of agency in the New Testament.

2.      God is the Judge, but He judges through His Son Jesus Christ who is His agent.

 

D.    There will be a standard of judgment, the Word of God.

1.      Revelation 20:12

 

And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God; and the books were opened:  and another book was opened, which is the book of life:  and the dead were judged out of those things written in the books, according to their works.

 

a.      The “books” (plural) were opened and the dead were judged according to them.

b.      The books are not named.  They are the Old and New Testaments.

2.      The New Testament will judge Christians.

a.      John 12:48

 

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:  the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

 

b.      Romans 2:16

 

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

 

E.      Judgment Day will be a day of division, saints from sinners.

1.      Psalm 1:5-6

 

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:  but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

 

2.      Matthew 25:31-33

 

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:  and before him shall be gathered all nations:  and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:  and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

 

3.      Romans 2:6-11

 

Who will render to every man according to his deeds:  to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:  but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;  But glory, and honour, and peace; to every man that worketh good; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:  for there is no respect of persons with God.

 

 

 

F.      Judgment will begin first with the household of God (I Pet. 4:7).

 

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:  and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

 

G.     There will be some surprises at the judgment (Matt. 7:21-23).

 

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?  and in thy name cast out devils?  and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:  depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 

H.    Even the secrets of men will be judged in the last day (Eccl. 12:14; Rom. 2:16).

 

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    One of the downfalls of the U.S. court system is that it is not perfect.

1.      Judges can be bribed.

2.      All the evidence is not presented.

3.      Jurors can be biased.

4.      Evidence can be interpreted in different ways.

5.      Sentences do not always fit the crime.

 

B.      The judgments of God will always be right.

1.      In the long ago, Abraham asked:  “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25).  The answer to that question is:  “Yes.”

a.      Deuteronomy 32:4

 

He is the Rock, his work is perfect:  for all his ways are judgment:  a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

 

b.      Psalm 119:75

 

I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

 

2.      When we stand before God in judgment, the sentence that will be placed upon us will be final, but it will also be absolutely right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A God of Judgment

Lesson #12

Homework

Victor M. Eskew

 

 

1.      How does the phrase, “God’s wrath is poured out,” make you feel?

 

2.      What interests you the most about the very first judgment upon mankind in the Garden of Eden?

 

3.      What is impressed upon your mind about the judgment of God that took place on the world in the days of Noah?

 

4.      We listed ten individuals in the lesson who were judged by God.  Can you think of two examples not named on that list?

 

A.

 

B.

 

5.      Why is it important to know that God judges nations?

 

6.      What sticks with you when you understand that God has judged His own people in the past?

 

7.      T – F    There will a day of final judgment for all men.

 

8.      Why doesn’t this day concern all humanity?

 

9.      Why is it important to know that a standard is involved in the judgment of the Last Day?

 

10.  How will the ocean of humanity be divided on the Day of Judgment?

 

11.  Who will be some who will be surprised on the Day of Judgment?

 

12.  Why is important to know that our secrets will be judged on the Last Day?

 

13.  T – F    Regardless of which group I fall on Judgment Day, it will be the right group for me.