The Judgment of God or How to Make Friends and Influence People
By Rusty Lee ThomasThe Covenant News ~ September 22, 2005
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18)
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion. “I'm dying of thirst,” said Jill. “Then drink,” said the Lion. “May I-could I-would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill. The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. “Will you promise not to-do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill. “I make no promise,” said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. “Do you eat girls?” she said. “I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it “I dare not come and drink,” said Jill. “Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion. “Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.” “There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
In this dialogue, C. S. Lewis presents Jesus Christ as the Lion, Aslan, in his famed Chronicles of Narnia series. His portrayal of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is not one that could even remotely be considered “A Tame Lion.” This Lion bids us to come and drink of the waters of salvation freely and yet has no qualms about gobbling up children, adults, kings, cities, or nations. In this, we see the mercy of God that flows from His great love and the judgment of God that is based upon His holiness and demand for justice.
The modern church is more than accommodating to highlight John 4:13,14, “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” But to proclaim a warning to sinners, backsliders, and carnal Christians to flee from the wrath that is to come is a tad bit old fashion don’t you think? I mean who would dare utter these provocative words from the Apostle Paul, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11). Thus the Church either in ignorance or in disobedience has emphasized God’s love and de-emphasized His judgment. We have highlighted His grace and dimmed the convicting power His law. We have proclaimed from the rooftops His great mercy, but not a whisper of His absolute hatred of sin. Is it any wonder that people refuse to recognize God’s judgment when it is so evident amongst us? This was the wretched condition that the weeping prophet Jeremiah had to contend with. He lamented, “...Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.”
Typically, we tend to believe that the attribute of God judging mankind for blatant sin is non-existent in the present era. Divine retribution in the here and now simply does not appear on the screen of many in American Christianity. We either put off the chastening hand of the Lord and confine it to the Old Testament or place it in a futuristic setting in some fanciful version of the dispensational “End Times.” Far too many are convinced the “judgmental” Almighty God of the Old Testament was converted to the loving, merciful, and gracious, Christian God of the New Testament. Most cringe to face the reality that the God of the Bible has destroyed more people than He has saved (Noah’s Flood anyone?).
If there is any talk of judgment, which is minimal, I marvel at people’s perspectives. Some are so indoctrinated in the pop culture, public school, race baiting, governmental blame game that they actually believe President George Bush is responsible for Hurricane Katrina. There are conspiracy theories being floated that President Bush actually blew up the levies to murder as many black people as he could. The Muslims claim its divine intervention from Allah (that‘s convenient, since we are at war with Islamic Terrorists). Christian Zionists and Jews believe it happened because of the Jews being dispersed from Gaza. Others just believe it is another “sign” of the “End Times.” What is strangely missing from all these speculations? The same thing that is missing from the entire American culture and that is personal responsibility. None of these views take into account that these string of natural disasters, terrorism, and the like could be based upon the merits of our own sin.
For years Operation Rescue/Operation Save America has warned that there are two particular sins that once they reach heaven bring cataclysmic judgments upon any nation that practices them. They are child-killing, otherwise known as abortion, and homosexual, sodomy. America for years have celebrated these abominations and turned these moral wrongs into legal rights. God has been patient and has exercised much long-suffering as we have paraded our sin like Sodom. His goodness towards us, however, was not a sign of His approval, but His desire to see us repent of this great wickedness and return to being “One Nation Under God.”
In fact, just recently when I caught up with Flip Benham down in Mississippi to help with the relief effort there, he reminded me about our Walk Across America. He asked me about the date our walk ended at the White House in Washington DC. I said, “August 28th, 2004.” He then asked me the date Hurricane Katrina started to bear in upon New Orleans. It was August 28th, 2005. One year to the day.
For over six months the Walk Across America team warned America to turn from our wicked ways of abortion, sodomy, and idolatry, lest God bring His judgment upon us. We were laughed at, jailed a few times, people threw garbage at us, one man pulled a gun on brother Flip, and many other instances were recorded in the annuls of heaven of America rejecting God’s word and warning. Regardless, we faithfully delivered God’s mail and I left for home while Flip left to visit another city. He was there to confront a sodomite lust-fest. It was called “Southern Decadence” and the city that proudly hosted it was New Orleans. Brother Flip joined with Pastor Bill Shanks from New Orleans. For years Pastor Bill had warned the city on the local news that if New Orleans did not repent of abortion, celebrating sodomy, and debauchery that God was going to send a hurricane and flood the city. Not only did they not take heed to the warning, but the Bourbon St. Businessmen’s Association banned the Gospel witness in 2004. This Year, God Banned business on Bourbon St., canceled Southern Decadence, and there are no abortion mills operating either.
Whether we like it or not or believe it or not, there comes a time in every nation when sin and Satan have such a stronghold and are so entrenched in a culture that only the judgment of God can extract its poison from our midst. There comes a time when people become so desensitized to evil and so accommodating to perversion that God’s hammer must fall to awaken our dead, defiled consciences. Jesus declared,
“But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee...” (Matthew 11:16-21)
Notice the root cause of Jesus pronouncing His woe and judgment upon cities. They lost the ability to correctly respond to God. People throughout America seek to respond to God, but is it right in light of the wicked condition of our nation. We kill babies, we allow the sodomizing of our sons and daughters, we spread pornographic filth, we legitimize Islam, and disparage Christianity. Our Lord has mourned over our lost condition and we have not lamented nor repented. He has called to us, His wayward children to return, and we have turned our backs on Him. He has demanded we stop killing His children and repent of the sin of shedding innocent blood and we continue to turn a dear ear and a blind eye to the injustice of the American Holocaust.
In Leviticus 18, God lists the particular sins that would bring about His visitation of punishment upon the land. In fact, He declared that the land itself would rise up and rebel to vomit out its inhabitants that would dare to practice sexual immorality and baby-murder. How many have been displaced (vomited out) due to Katrina? Here is the entire text,
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord. None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord. The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” Leviticus 18:1-25
Brethren, if we do not see this as the judgment of God who will break, humble themselves, cry out, and repent? All we hear is, “America is a great nation, New Orleans is a vibrant city, we will rebuild!” Do we honestly think this is the proper response? Do we actually believe God sent His judgment upon us to rebuild the same city that invoked His wrath in the first place? The message from heaven is not rebuild, it is repent. Pastor Flip Benham addressed this vital issue in his teaching on Katrina. Please take heed to his words.
“Unfortunately for us we are looking to rebuild rather than to repent. It was the same in Isaiah's time. God's people were rich, secure, and very religious. They were always in church praying, praising, preaching, and tithing, but God said their hands were full of blood (Isaiah 1:15). They were killing their children (child sacrifice) and praising God at the same time. This He will never tolerate. Never! The people thought things were just fine between them and God because He had not judged them (in reality He had given them several remedial judgments to turn them to Himself but they did not see them). So when disaster came, they simply sounded the tune, “let us rebuild!” Sound familiar?
“The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. All the people will know it – Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria – who say with pride and arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” But the Lord has strengthened Rezin's foes against them.” Isaiah 9: 8-11. This is what God thinks of rebuilding rather than repenting. He will stiffen the judgment. Why? Because He loves us. His judgments will continue their relentless mission until there is true repentance.
Why wouldn't the people repent before God rather than trying to rebuild what the judgments of God had brought down? “But the people have not returned to Him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty…those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.” Isaiah 9:13-16. It is crystal clear here that God was the One who struck them. He was the One who was disciplining them. Their prophets were not telling the truth about God and about His judgments. The people did not know to repent because the prophets were proclaiming the message “we will rebuild” rather than, “we must repent.”
God's Church has responded splendidly to come to the aid of the brothers and sisters caught in the judgment of hurricane Katrina. God is looking to cleanse us all. He has been very merciful and patient with us desiring us to repent and return to Him. The question remains, will the prophets of God, who have the ear of this nation, call us to national repentance over the shedding of innocent blood (abortion) or will we arrogantly try to rebuild that which God has brought down?”
This is the burning issue now that God is calling our nation to account. God told Jeremiah, “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:9,10). There is much evil, wickedness, idolatry, and sin that must be rooted up, pulled down, destroyed, and thrown down in our own lives, communities, and nation before we arrogantly dare think to build and to plant. And if the time does come we are allowed to rebuild, I’ll leave you with this admonishment from the Apostle Paul, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”