‘But Destruction’

‘But Destruction’

It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

Proverbs 21:15

We delight in the Grace, Goodness and Mercy of God.  If we would embrace a whole God and a whole Christ, we must also understand Him as the God Who is Righteous, Just and True.  These characteristics are not inconsistent with the others. They do result in manifestations of the Character of God, which are Judgment and Justice.  For ‘the workers of iniquity,’ to whom our text refers, this does not end well. Let us view this in terms of the Person and Work of Christ. We speak often of the Grace, Mercy , and Compassion of Christ and the practical implications of them.  What are the practical implications of Christ’s Righteousness, Justice and Truth? Christ Himself tells us when He describes the Last Judgment in Matthew 25. The end result of His judgment against ‘the workers of iniquity’ is, ‘and these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.’  Revelation 20:12-13 declares, ‘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 which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:  and they were judged every man according to their works.’ That passage ends with, ‘and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’ Christ is not a whole Christ without His Righteousness, Justice, and Truth. Those character qualities, have moral ramifications and consequences. Therefore, we do well to take stock of where we stand with Christ.  We have no righteousness of our own. We look to Him to justify us, and then follow Him in learning to do that which is righteous and just.

O God of Grace and Truth,
we rejoice that You are a whole God
and that You present unto us a whole Christ.
We praise You that Christ, our Savior, the Judge of all the Earth,
will indeed do right in rendering judgment and justice.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning