“...will I judge!"

(Genesis 15:14)  “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

This morning I am driven to explore God’s judgement. In times past, prior to Christ and the work of the cross, there seemed to always be a way of escape or was there! Due to it being far too much of an in-depth study to unpack all my thoughts to support my persuasion as I believe that provision was always made for man to find a way of escape, but only up to a point and then there was no possibility of forgiveness.

I must use a few examples to support my argument; as I have started to make my way through the bible as a reading project; I have started at the beginning and find it wonderful on the one hand but terrifying on the other. He saves some but ultimately destroys others! This is the God we serve; He without hesitation has both traits to His persona. We know from scripture that God is love; “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1John 4:8)

But we also know that God is righteous and will judge as He has done from the beginning, let us look and examine what He said to Cain: - “And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:2-7)

There are a few observations we must note in this text; firstly there were two sacrifices but God only received one of them. Why? They both had a calling! One was a gardener and the other a shepherd!  God gave their father Adam a calling, he was to tend the garden and now both of them also had responsibility. Why did God accept the sacrifice of one and not the other? I will not dare to speak as if I am able to speak on behalf of God will absolute certainty and explain His decision. But we have the Word for study and when we glean from it, we see God’s heart in the matter. Our existence here on earth is to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we must work out what God will accept and what He will reject. The Apostle Paul teaches us this with absolute certainty, he gives us an inclining into this very account when we scratch just a little deeper than the surface, this is what he teachers: - “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:1-3) 

God will always be God and He will never relinquish His title to another. We must understand this clearly! What He says goes and it is not up for debate! But we must always remember this, as a righteous God He always acts in righteousness even if we cannot see it at the time! He is the One who will keep righteousness intact, if we left it up to mans opinion we would be in big trouble. Thankfully that is His domain and therefore all who belong to Him will always be safe. Thank you Heavenly Father!

For us life is a journey and we must work out what it is that God requires from us along the way. It is obvious that all must firstly repent and turn to Jesus to be covered by His grace. No covering, no lasting grace! We may all have what is known as common grace, save and unsaved alike. The sun rises for the righteous as well as the unrighteous, for those who believe and also for those who don’t! But lasting grace will only cover those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. In other words, not everyone will make it to heaven, but only those who are written in the Lambs Book of Life, those who are born again! This is clearly seen in scripture! However once we are saved we must find obedience in our lives, it is taught through suffering! Another topic for another time!

Now back to Cain and Able; what do you see when you read this account? Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s? Time does not permit me to conclude today’s thoughts, but I would like you to study it for yourself and come up with some answers and I will conclude this tomorrow. It is a crucial foundational truth we must come to grips with if we want to please God our Father! The answer is in the text!

Signing off

Tyrone