Why You Can Trust God to Protect You

No one is more trustworthy than the Lord.

trust God

“I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’”

Psalm 91:2 (ESV)

Like verse 1, verse 2 is especially important because it lays the foundation for all the promises that follow. According to this verse, who is God for us?

He is Yahweh

When God first appeared to Moses at the burning bush, he revealed his name Yahweh:

[13] “Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ [14] God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.”‘ [15] God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “The LORD [Hebrew YHWH], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’” (Exodus 3:13–15, ESV).

The ESV Bible note for Exodus 3:15 says, “The word LORD, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, ‘to be’ in verse 14.”

Hebrew scholars transliterate and pronounce the divine name YHWH as Yahweh.

Our LORD is a person who gave us his covenant name, not just his title or role, so we could have a close, personal relationship with him. The difference between “God” and “Yahweh” resembles the difference between someone calling me “Pastor” and someone calling me “Brian.”

Both “I am” and “Yahweh” are linked here with God’s covenant action to deliver his people. We can trust God to protect us because we are in a blood covenant with him. His covenant is his bond, a bond he is sure to keep.

He is your refuge and fortress

The writer emphasizes God’s protection by using two similar, visual words that convey the same idea. God is our refuge and fortress.

The basic picture is of massive, thick, high walls surrounding you that no foe can penetrate. The fortresses seen in books and movies sometimes have a moat surrounding them, or they sit atop a hill or mountain. There may be double walls, each 10-feet thick, and double doors, barred shut with thick beams. Archers atop the walls rain down arrows upon attackers. Other defenders pour boiling oil or heave large stones over the wall. Citadels standing higher even than the wall rise at key positions providing additional defense.

Although God is an invisible spirit, he is nevertheless a refuge and fortress of infinite ability, more impenetrable than any fortress in this world. He can handle your enemies.

Isaiah 36–37 tells the story of how the superpower Assyria came against King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem with 185,000 soldiers. The commander of the Assyrian hordes called out to the people on the wall and threatened them.

He boasted, “Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants?” (Isaiah 36:8–9)

He tried to terrify them, warning that they were doomed “to eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”

The King of Israel brought the dire situation to the prophet Isaiah. The prophet announced:

“‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.’

“And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword” (Isaiah 37:33–38).

My point in using this illustration is not that God is going to kill your enemies, but that he has unlimited ability and ways to protect you. God is your refuge and fortress.

He is your personal God

“my God” (Psalm 91:2)

Being able to refer to God using the pronoun “my” makes all the difference in the world. God is Almighty, but what good is that to you if he is not your God, if he does not know you personally or care about you?

Notice in this declaration of faith how many times David, in his time of need, uses the pronoun my:

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. … In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears” (2 Samuel 22:2–3, 7).

David could not see God, just as you cannot, but he had no doubt that the Lord was nearer to him than any human and acted personally to defend him. If you have faith in Jesus, God knows and protects you personally in the same way.

Moreover, we are talking here about God himself being your bodyguard, not a big guy with a gun in his pocket, who may be in the bathroom when you need him. We are talking about the Creator and Sustainer of everything, the King, the Most High, the Almighty, who never slumbers. He is your personal God.

He is trustworthy

“in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2)

Two sentences later the writer brings up the all-important subject of God’s faithfulness: “his faithfulness is a shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4).

You cannot trust someone who is unfaithful. We can trust God because he takes faithfulness seriously. He is perfectly faithful, absolutely, always faithful. He cannot be unfaithful, never has been even once, never will be. He glories in his own faithfulness—like a man who takes pride in keeping his promises—and therefore delights in those who trust him. Trust is of ultimate importance to God.

When you become convinced of that, you can trust him to protect you.

Trust God to protect you

Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (ESV)

Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

Psalm 22:9 says, “You are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.”

Psalm 31:14 says, “I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’”

Psalm 37:3, 5 says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness…. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.”

Psalm 40:4 says, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”

Psalm 44:6 says, “Not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.”

Psalm 52:8 says, “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.”

Psalm 56:3–4, 10–11 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?… In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

Psalm 115:9–11 says, “O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.”

Psalm 118:8–9 says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”

Psalm 119:42 says, “I trust in your word.”

What is trust?

Trust is belief that transcends understanding.

When we trust God, we walk by faith, not by sight.

When we trust God, we believe that he is for us even if circumstances go against us.

When we trust God, we believe his words even when circumstances deny them.

When we trust God, we refuse to fear and doubt.

When we trust God, we patiently endure for as long as necessary to see the answer to our faith.

When we trust God, we know he is always working for good even when everything seems bad.

When we trust God, we do not need to understand, in particular we do not need to understand why.

In sum, you can trust in God for protection because he is God, your God, the one who gives you his covenant name and promises to be your refuge and fortress. You are safe and secure in him.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty God

When we know our protection comes from Almighty God, we have nothing to fear.

Almighty God

In this series on God’s protection in Psalm 91, we come to the second half of verse 1.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

Why can you feel safe at all times and in every circumstance? Because God is “the Almighty.”

God Almighty

That is quite a title to carry. How would you like to be able to legitimately call yourself almighty? Because we cannot, this world is a dangerous place, and if we think about it at all, we feel it.

But God truly is Almighty. He is more than able to protect us. He is so mighty that he can do not only the impossible, but the inconceivable. God could even stop the sun and moon in their tracks and leave them poised in the sky as the clock ticks. One hour with the sun and moon locked in place… two hours…five hours. In fact, he once did that for a full day.

Locked in place

Here is how it happened. When Israel invaded the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, defeating Jericho and eventually Ai, the king of Jerusalem recruited four other kings to join forces with him to attack Israel.

God told Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” Israel made a lightning march through the night and fell suddenly upon the five kings and their armies. God threw Israel’s enemies into a panic. Israel struck them down, and they fled. As they fled, great hailstones fell from the sky, killing more enemies than did the swords of Israel. It was a rout.

Since God had commanded Israel to wipe out these evil nations completely because they were under his judgment, Joshua did not want a single enemy soldier to survive the battle. For that to happen, he needed sunlight, for the day was nearing its end. What Joshua did next could only have been done by a man who knew beyond doubt that God is the Almighty.

Joshua 10:12–13 says, “At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.’ And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.”

Inconceivably almighty

Knowing astronomy as we do today, that story may stretch your faith to the breaking point. Did the earth instantly stop rotating? That is only half of the miracle. Did the moon also instantly stop orbiting the earth? The physics of what happened boggle the mind, and no doubt, secular astronomers would mock the notion that this actually happened. It is truly inconceivable.

But only for our puny understanding and strength. The God who had the power to create the universe and all its heavenly bodies, and to uphold continually each particle in the universe with his powerful word, who is not restrained by any “law” of physics because these “laws” are simply a description of how God personally controls every particle and wave of his universe at all times, making every particle do exactly what he wants when he wants—this God is able to do not only the impossible, but the inconceivable.

This is what Scripture means when it says that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV). Another translation says: “All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (NLT)

Let that sink in. It is not hyperbole. God is able not only to do more than we can imagine; he can do infinitely more than that. “Infinitely” is a large amount! God is the Almighty! He is infinitely Almighty. God can do not only the impossible; he can do not only the inconceivable; he can do infinitely more than the inconceivable!

The Lord can do the infinitely inconceivable. He can instantly freeze every single particle and wave in the universe in its place, in its state, unchanged for a day, while continuing normal physics within the bubble of planet earth and its atmosphere. Then resume the forces of light, gravity, motion, and thermodynamics in the universe as though nothing unusual had happened. Whooooooooooooaaaaaahhh.

That could be how God accomplished this miracle. Perhaps not. But one thing is sure: the sun and moon stood still in the sky for a day. It happened.

Overshadowed by God Almighty

God Almighty is the one who protects you. It is no strain for him to do so. He does not need to take a deep breath and work himself into a hyper-focused state like a chalked-up Olympic weightlifter hoisting a barbell of record amount. He is easily able to protect you from any virus, plague, criminal, or economic downturn.

Our focus Scripture says you can “abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). You can be in his “shadow.” If you stay close to him, if you “dwell in the shelter of the Most High” (v. 1), he overshadows you with his almighty protection, like a high cliff shades a desert traveler from the burning sun. You can “abide” there. You do not have to come and go from his shadow.

He is near, and he is God Almighty. You can trust him.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Dwelling in the Shelter of the Most High

The Most High, the one who protects you, towers over anything you fear.

most high

We live in perilous times. Without faith in God, there is much to fear, but not so for people who know their God.

To know God fully is to be fearless. To know him fully is to trust him. Full knowledge of God drives out fear.

In perilous times we need full understanding of his protection. Psalm 91 gives that understanding. Therefore we will meditate on it for a few months, establishing its truths in our hearts. It is our new theme.

Psalm 91:1

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

These are more than beautiful words. When you memorize, repeat, and believe them, they will establish your soul.

Who is God? He is the Most High.

The Most High

I live four blocks from Willis Tower. It has 110 stories. My residence has 49 stories. It is tall until you compare it with Willis. In Chicago, the Willis Tower is the most high. It surpasses and excels all others. Towering over all, overshadowing all, looking down on all, it is supreme.

God is the Most High. Nothing that seems big, tall, and threatening to us threatens him. He is like the Willis Tower high and tall, but not with smaller skyscrapers clustered around him; rather, with one-level buildings around him, or with ant hills around him.

No created thing can cancel or neutralize him.

God towers over disease, over coronavirus. He towers over Satan, demons, and darkness. He towers over rioters, looters, and thugs. He towers over all people.

He towers over life and death, over heaven and hell, over past and future, over time and eternity.

He is the Most High.

The Most High over Egypt

When God took his people Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he displayed his glory as the Most High warrior. Egypt was the superpower of the day, with well-trained soldiers, chariots, and horses. Egypt had its magicians, secret arts, and sorceries. Arrogant, hardhearted Pharaoh had his royal throne and many servants. And Egypt had its gods, thousands of gods, whom they worshiped instead of the true God. Through the eyes of flesh, Egypt was a towering nation greatly to be feared.

Then God came to deliver his people and judge their oppressors, sending one plague after another: drinking water changed to blood, teeming frogs, biting flies, swarming gnats, pummeling hail, painful boils, green-eating locusts, pitch darkness, the death angel striking the firstborn. Each plague brought proud Pharaoh, his people, and their false gods low. No matter their human and satanic might, they could not resist the Most High with his limitless power over the forces of nature.

And when Pharaoh drove Israel out of Egypt, even the Red Sea could not resist the Most High. The Towering One parted the waters, and Israel walked through on dry land with a wall of water on its left and a wall of water on its right, held by invisible hands. And when Egyptian soldiers tried to follow, the Most High released the mighty waters to destroy his enemies.

Dwelling in his shelter

In the New Covenant era inaugurated by Christ, the Most High seeks not to destroy his enemies but to save them. But he is still the Towering One. He crushes Satan; principalities, powers, and authorities of darkness; and demons under his feet. He punishes and brings to nothing great nations that persist in evil. He controls the forces of nature. He defeats the sin and strongholds of our souls.

At the tomb of Jesus he stood as the Most High and conquered an enemy far greater than Pharaoh and Egypt. There the Lord towered over death. In the human flesh of Jesus he reversed its power, and for the first time in history released in Jesus the power of an eternal, resurrection body.

“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57, ESV)

Towering over fear

Because he is Most High, we can dwell in his shelter. For the human heart, God is like a home, a dwelling. He is a shelter from storm, chaos, disease, evildoers, and lawless ones. We need not—and must not—fear them, for whomever we fear becomes most high over our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Now and always, remember that God is the Most High. You can dwell safely in the protection of that shelter.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

October 2020 Newsletter

Hey,

In August I celebrated my 25th anniversary as pastor of Lake Shore Church in Chicago. I thank God for the joy it has been to work with the Lord and his people!

25 years!

In August I officiated the wedding of one of our church members to a man living in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Everyone in our church enjoyed getting out for the celebration (held in Chicago), especially after months of being cooped up in apartments.

With Stephen and Sujatha

Next week we begin a new theme: What Psalm 91 teaches about God’s protection.

I am getting the technology and skills together to post audio now and then of my messages. Here is the sermon I gave on October 4th: When Victory Looks Like Defeat.

When Victory Looks Like Defeat, by Craig Brian Larson

My favorite post of the last two months is What It Means to Be in Covenant with God. All who sincerely believe in Jesus Christ are in covenant with God. God obligates himself to his covenant partners with many promises, and in turn he requires certain things from them. Please share the link with someone you care about.

Seeking a Publisher

This morning I sent a book proposal to my literary agent for a book on holiness. Pray the Lord will open the door with a publisher. Our nation needs the holiness of God!

Knowing God

Knowing God and his ways upgrades your life. He gives meaning and significance to all you are and do.

Knowing God and his ways does not happen by accident. You must pursue it, pursue him. It takes time, meditating on the Bible, praying, reading material such as my blog that has the specific goal of helping you understand God and his ways better. But there is nothing—nothing—you can do that is more important, that will enrich your soul in every way both in this life and forever. Make it a priority. He is the ultimate everything!

May the Lord teach you his ways!

Craig Brian Larson

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

The God of the Gospel Is Irreducibly Unique

The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the full, unique glory of the God of the gospel, who will not allow us to reduce him to a generic God acceptable to Western sensibilities.

God of the gospel

For eight months my weekly posts have examined the crucial theme of knowing God through the lens of the gospel. This is crucial because it is the gospel that brings into sharp relief the difference between the true God of the Bible and all other ideas of God.

In other words, if you do not understand and believe the gospel, then you do not know God as he truly is. You believe in a merely generic God, who cannot save anyone because he does not exist, or the God of some other religion, again unable to save anyone, but not the real God of the universe who actually exists and has revealed himself in the Bible.

Beliefs in common

Writing on this theme has reminded me how drastically different the God of the Christian gospel is from all other ideas of God.

Most ideas of God hold that

  • God somehow created everything (through evolution or whatever).
  • God is powerful and exerts more or less control over events on earth.
  • He is good.
  • God expects us to be good.
  • He accepts any nice person who believes that he exists and leads a generally good life.
  • That after this life God oversees some sort of punishment or reward for how a person lived.
  • God will ultimately have mercy on many people—perhaps most or even all people—for their wrongdoing.
  • He resides in heaven, and good people go to be with him after they die.
  • God occasionally answers prayers.

There are some similarities between this generic God and the God of the gospel, but many significant differences.

The generic God

The Generic God is the one many unchurched Americans—who regard themselves as spiritual, not religious—believe in, and when they say they believe in God this is what they mean. They do not believe in the God of the gospel. Some may even say they believe in Jesus, but if pressed they will deny many distinctive beliefs of the Christian gospel (For example, in a 2020 survey,1 52 percent of Americans rejected the idea that Jesus is God.).

They may deny the biblical gospel for one or more of the following reasons: (a) some reject the idea of the supernatural and miraculous; (b) they find the Christian gospel offensively intolerant and exclusive; (c) they reject the idea that God judges nice people, in particular by sending them to hell.

The fact is, the God of the gospel is good and wonderful, perfect and desirable in every way, but he is a stumbling block to the unregenerate person, that is, the person without the Holy Spirit.

The stark difference of the God of the gospel

The gospel presents a sharp departure from the Generic God in these key areas:

  • The Trinity: There is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • The Deity of Christ: Jesus is the unique Son of God. He is God. He is divine.
  • The virgin birth: Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit.
  • The resurrection of Jesus: Jesus the Son of God rose from the dead in an eternal, new kind of human body, not just as a spirit.
  • The Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord over all God’s creation, all people, all things.
  • Human depravity. No one can be good enough to be accepted by God. In fact, God has both love and wrath toward every person until they receive the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.
  • Wrath and judgment. God is not okay with sin. He hates it, and because he is perfectly just he will eventually judge evildoers.
  • The exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ. There is only one way to God, and that is through faith in and obedience to Jesus. (John 14:6)
  • Justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ’s death on the cross is central and essential to all God’s saving of human souls.
  • The Second Coming. Jesus is coming again to the earth in glory to reward his people and to judge Satan and all evildoers.

Irreducibly unique

This is who God is. What the gospel reveals about God is at the heart of who he is. These truths are not optional. To reject these truths is to reject God as he actually is.

No matter how offensive the Christian gospel is to current Western sensibilities, God will not become who we want him to be. We are not the potter, and he is not the clay. He is who he is. He does not change with the never-ending flux of Western ideas about him or adapt himself to the contradictory, irreconcilable beliefs of 7 billion flawed potters. God is the perfect, unchanging Potter, and we are the clay. He requires what he requires.

It is not up to us to develop our opinion of who God is; rather, it is up to us to believe what he has revealed about himself in the Bible. He has revealed himself as the God of the gospel.

Our wonderful gospel-God

And what a perfect and wonderful God that is! Thank God he is the God revealed in the gospel! Anything less is infinitely less, and false.

He is the God of superlatives, perfections, and seeming paradoxes because he somehow harmonizes all that is good to the ultimate degree within his own nature and actions.

Thus the God of the gospel is both holy and loving, both righteous and gracious, both just and merciful. He is mysterious yet knowable. He is infinitely higher and greater than we, yet stoops to walk with the lowly. God loves to display his glory, yet in Christ is gentle and humble. He is far from us in heaven itself, yet near through the Holy Spirit. God is one, but three. He is God, yet in the Son he is also man.

He is an eternal community of love between the three members of the Trinity. God is spirit. He is truth. He is a person, not merely a force. God transcends his creation, yet is immanent with all. He is “over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6). Yet somehow he is also holy and separate from all wickedness.

“From him, to him, and through him are all things, to whom be glory forever.” (Romans 11:36). Yet somehow human beings are fully responsible for their actions.

The God of the gospel somehow was able to become fully man and yet remain God. He somehow was able to suffer himself the wrath that he had towards evil humanity, pouring out his wrath on himself in the person of the Son. The God of the gospel somehow was able to die as a man.

He is so amazing that no human could have imagined him, for he is so unlike mankind, especially fallen mankind.

If the thought of him does not take your breath away and leave you unable to comprehend his ways, then you are still living in the puny world of generic God.

The God of the gospel is singularly great and greatly to be praised. He is irreducibly unique. The God of the gospel is one of a kind. He is the wonderful stumbling block. Take him or leave him, he is gospel-God.

It is our privilege to know him, love him, and endeavor forever to know him better.

  1. The State of Theology Survey: 2020 Results

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

What It Means to Be in Covenant with God

All who sincerely believe in Jesus Christ are in covenant with God. God obligates himself to his covenant partners with many promises, and in turn he requires certain things from them.

This year I changed dentists, not because I was unhappy with the dental practice—far from it—but because my health insurance company changed its policies.

If you are like me, you probably feel insecure in your relationship with your health insurance company. Year to year they change premiums, the amount of coinsurance and deductibles, what doctors they work with, and so on. You may have an agreement with a company now, but who knows what will happen next year.

Imagine if the God of the universe were like that; how vulnerable and insecure we would feel. But thankfully God is not like that. In fact, he is the opposite. He is instead the God of covenant. His way of being in relationship is to be in covenant. In a covenant with God, your relationship stands on a rock.

The New Covenant with God

The idea of covenant is central to the gospel. At the Last Supper, Jesus took of the bread and wine being served and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).

This new covenant, based on the blood sacrifice of Jesus, fulfills the previous covenants God had made with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, the nation of Israel, and King David. It was necessary because Israel had broken their previous covenant. (see Jeremiah 31:31–34).

A covenant with many promises

Let’s try to comprehend the idea of covenant and how important it is to the Lord to establish relationships on a covenant.

God’s covenant is a commitment similar to but infinitely stronger than a business contract, or than the treaties that nations make with one another. God’s covenant is a commitment of eternal love. He stipulates exactly what that love entails in the Bible. All the promises God makes in the Bible are his commitment to us. They are foundational to how he relates to us. His covenant promises are as important and visible to him as the tracks on which a train runs.

The lavish blessings that come to those in covenant with God

Here are some of those promises.

  • To forgive our sins and cleanse us from them. (1 John 1:9)
  • To give us eternal life and an inheritance in the kingdom of God. (John 3:16; Matthew 25:34)
  • To prepare a place for us in heaven. (John 14:1–3)
  • To raise our bodies from the grave. (1 Corinthians 11)
  • To return to the earth to recreate the heavens and the earth as our eternal home. (2 Peter 3:1–13)
  • Never to leave us or forsake us. (Matthew 28:20)
  • To provide for our needs. (Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:33)
  • To heal our bodies. (James 5:13–16)
  • To guide us. (Psalm 32:8)
  • To deliver us from Satan’s power. (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 6:10–18)
  • To answer our prayers of faith in accordance with his will. (1 John 5:14–15)
  • To adopt us as his children. (Ephesians 1:5)
  • To reward us for serving and obeying him. (Hebrews 11:6)

This list is by no means exhaustive! God is truly gracious and kind.

God’s covenant requires faithfulness

Because God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping person, faithfulness is of ultimate importance to him. He is absolutely faithful, and he expects his covenant partners to be faithful. He is absolutely truthful and expects his covenant partners to be truthful.

Exodus 34:6 says, “The LORD passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’”

The requirements of people in covenant with God

Covenants make requirements of both parties. God has graciously made many promises to us, and in turn he requires that we respond obediently to him in particular ways. The old Mosaic covenant with Israel required that they keep various laws regarding food, sacrifices and ceremonies in the Temple, and the observing of holy days. In the New Covenant, those requirements no longer apply.

Here is what God requires of those who enter the New Covenant with him.

  • Confess your sins and believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, for the forgiveness of your sins. (John 3:16–19; 6:28–29; Romans 3:9–26; Philippians 2:9–11)
  • Be baptized in water at conversion, giving public testimony of your faith. (Matthew 28:18–20)
  • Receive Communion regularly. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
  • Love God and love people, in particular by serving the needs of fellow believers. (Matthew 22:34–40; 25:31–46)
  • Repent of wickedness, impurity, idolatry, and the love of the world, being holy as God is holy. (Hebrews 10:26–27; 1 Peter 1:14–16; 1 John 2:15–17; James 4:4; Colossians 3:5–9)
  • Embrace a church that is faithful to the Word of God and submit to its authority, joining in worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word. (Acts 2:41–42; Hebrews 10:24–25; 1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 4:11–16)
  • Believe and obey God’s Word, the Bible. Most importantly, believe the core doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, justification by grace through faith in Christ, the virgin birth of Jesus, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus. (Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:14–17; Matthew 22:29)
  • Serve the Lord with the abilities and resources he has given you, including finances. (Matthew 25:14–30)

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen sinners are unfaithful in their relationships.

God’s way: God faithfully keeps his covenant.

Life principle: Our covenant with God, which we have by believing the gospel, is the most valuable relationship we have. It is a priceless treasure, the only immovable rock in the ever-shifting sand of this world. Keeping it faithfully is the most important thing we do.

I invite you to read my weekly posts
about knowing God and his ways better.
—Craig Brian Larson

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

The Mystery of the Gospel

People who want to control their path to God are not reckoning with the mystery of the gospel.

mystery of the gospel

There are two kinds of religion, and they resemble two crossword puzzles. The first puzzle is challenging, but slowly, word by word, over the course of several days, the puzzler enters words in every available space. Finally she checks it against the answer key and with satisfaction finds she had only two mistakes.

The second puzzle is not only challenging, it is impossible. The puzzler meditates on each clue, wracks his mind for weeks, even months, refusing to quit, but he cannot supply even one word. He is completely stumped. In frustration he concludes something is wrong, that the wrong clues were given or that there are no answers, and this is just a cruel joke. He looks at the answer key, and to his astonishment discovers the most intricate, wonderful crossword puzzle ever written.

The first puzzle resembles the religions and worldviews developed by human reasoning and imagination. One or more people think long and hard about the meaning of life, the existence and nature of God, morality, and perplexing questions such as why evil exists in the world. They progressively develop a belief system that millions of people follow.

The second puzzle resembles the religion first of Judaism and then of Christianity. The key feature of this puzzle is mystery. No human being is able to answer the questions apart from God’s revelation. God reveals the answer key; mankind receives it and believes.

Unveiling the mystery of the gospel

Talking about his ministry, Paul spoke of proclaiming “the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). He also spoke of “the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). In saying this, he did not mean that the gospel and Christ are currently subjects people can know nothing about; rather, they once had been mysteries, but now God has given the answer key.

Merriam Webster Dictionary gives two meanings for mystery:

  1. “something not understood or beyond understanding”
  2. “a religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully understand”

The mystery of Christ and the gospel is a mystery in the second sense. God has revealed the truth. Although we do not understand Christ and the gospel exhaustively, we understand much. We understand more than enough to believe and be saved.

God of mysteries

What does this teach us about God? We learn he is a God who hides and reveals truth.

Matthew 13:35 says the teachings of Jesus fulfilled “what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’”

Romans 16:25 says, “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages.”

Colossians 1:26–27 talks of “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Proclaiming the mystery of God

As the last verse implies, this requires humility from mankind. God calls us not to solve a puzzle, but humbly to believe the answer key he proclaims. We can know nothing about God except what he graciously reveals.

1 Corinthians 1:21–25 says, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Remarkably, once God revealed the answer key, even a child can understand it. In fact, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:15).

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen people assume they can figure out what God should be.

God’s way: He reveals only what he wants to reveal about himself. He entrusts this revelation of the gospel to preachers, whose responsibility is simply and faithfully to proclaim the message.

Life principle: Our responsibility is to believe and obey what God has revealed, not to design God and his gospel according to human reasoning. We need to recognize our dependence on God and abandon any beliefs that do not agree with the Bible, which is the repository of his revelation.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

The Gospel of the Kingdom

God is a great and benevolent King who delights to bestow on his repentant subjects all the glories of his peaceful kingdom.

gospel of the kingdom

People commonly think of the gospel as the message that saves individuals. But the gospel focuses both on individuals and the entire created universe. The gospel encompasses everything.

At the macro level, the gospel is all about the kingdom of God. Matthew 4:23 says Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (ESV). Pay attention to that phrase “the gospel of the kingdom.” The kingdom of God is a vital part of the gospel message.

Jesus and the gospel of the kingdom

Jesus proclaimed the message of the kingdom of God at the beginning of his ministry, after his baptism and 40 days of testing. Mark says, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14–15).

And Jesus talked about the kingdom of God as part of the gospel message at the end of his ministry, as he taught his disciples about the End Times, saying, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Where God rules

The kingdom of God is his rule. Wherever God exercises his rule, in exorcism and healing and other wonders, his kingdom comes. Jesus said, “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).

Whenever people surrender their lives to his rule, his kingdom has come in them. Colossians 1:13 says, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”

The great and benevolent King

What does the gospel of the kingdom teach us about God?

The gospel reveals that God is a great king ruling a great kingdom, which he is reestablishing in the earth and the universe after a horrific rebellion. His delight is benevolently to bestow on his repentant subjects all the glories of this joyful, loving, peaceful, eternal, righteous, beautiful kingdom. (See Romans 14:17; Luke 23:42–43; Isaiah 9:6–7; Revelation 11:15)

Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

God’s kingdom is not the oppressive tyranny of a soul-grinding totalitarian state. Rather, God’s kingdom is a paradise into which he graciously welcomes his adopted sons and daughters. He gladly gives his kingdom to us as a gift and a reward, where we can flourish like trees planted by streams of water.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen souls rebel against God’s rule, even though his will is “good, pleasing, and perfect” (Romans 12:2, NIV), and his laws are “holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12, ESV).

God’s way: He invites all the rebellious earth to return to the fold of his life-giving kingdom, before he vanquishes, once and for all time, Satan’s evil empire.

Life principle: Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [that is, the things of this created world that you need] will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

How Boasting Can Keep You Out of Heaven

God’s opposition to human boasting is more intense than most people, even most Christians, realize.

boasting

In this post we explore one of the least understood truths about God. Without this, the gospel will not make perfect sense. You might even think the saving work of Jesus on the cross is ultimately unnecessary, that people can come to God without believing in Jesus. The gospel makes this truth about God crystal clear.

Here it is in a nutshell. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). “Opposes” really does mean opposes, as in, he is against the proud.

Here it is in a coconut-size shell: Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Here it is in watermelon size: 1 Corinthians 1:27–31 says, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

What’s so bad about boasting?

Why does God adamantly oppose a man boasting in his presence?

1. Because boasting is proud

To boast is to exalt oneself. To boast is to take more credit than one deserves. To boast is to regard oneself as superior to others.

God opposes such pride.

There is a second reason God opposes boasting.

2. Because boasting is a lie

The God of all truth—all truth—will not make peace with one single lie or one single liar in his universe. He hates and exposes each and every falsehood. And for humans to boast as if they have or do anything apart from God is utterly false.

Scripture says, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Scripture says, “From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36).

Notice, it says “to him,” to God, not to any man, be the glory forever precisely because everything is “from him.” And for emphasis this truth is solemnly affirmed with an “Amen.” No human has anything except what they have received from God, and what they use through God’s continuous, enabling power. The God-ordained purpose of every human accomplishment is that it be “to him,” that is, that it bring God glory. This is the circle of God’s glory that must not be broken through the lie of boasting.

Similarly, Scripture says, God “himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything…. In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:25, 28). This enlarges on the truth that all things are through God. God not only made an initial deposit in the person that created possibilities, but he also continuously sustains and upholds the person’s life and accomplishments, as well as the environment in which the person works. For example, God sustains the football team for whom the star player performs or the family whom a mother faithfully serves.

Because he is the absolute source and sustainer of everything, God devised the gospel in such a way that no one may boast in his presence.

There is a third reason God opposes boasting.

3. Because boasting is idolatry

To boast is to act like God, to claim his role and powers. God didn’t do this; I did. I deserve credit and glory.

To act like God is to put oneself forward as a false god, an idol.

In the Bible, what does God do with idols? He sees to it that idols are burned to ashes and ground to powder. They are toppled, knocking off their heads and hands. They are mocked. They are regarded as abominations, as objects of hissing and the worst contempt, as things to abhor and banish, whose names are not even to be spoken in the holy land.

When God himself carved into stone with his own finger the Ten Commandments, the first commandment he wrote was, “You shall have no other gods before [or beside] me” (Exodus 20:3), and the second commandment forbade making idols.

Because his fury rages against idols, God devised the gospel in such a way that no one may boast in his presence.

There is a fourth reason that God opposes boasting.

4. Because boasting seeks to rob God of his glory

A boaster takes what rightly belongs to God. He or she is a thief of something God prizes: glory.

He is infinitely glorious. That is the truth. And he is worthy to receive all the glory for everything. That is the truth. And the God of truth will not falsely act as though it should be any other way.

He has infinite pleasure in every single word of thanks and praise because it is true. He perfectly enjoys every adoring heart, every bowed knee because it is right.

We would look down on any human that wanted such worship, and that is because we know intuitively it is false. But nothing could be more true than that God be worshiped.

To be God is to be great and greatly worshiped. That is the nature of things.

Therefore he says, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” “I will not give my glory to another.” (Isaiah 46:9; 48:11).

What Americans Believe

What this means is that many Americans are in deep trouble with God, and they do not know it.

In a 2017 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 56 percent of Americans said it is possible to be a good person without a religious belief.

Consider what that implies. If you can be a good person without religious beliefs, then you have something to take credit for, something to boast about.

If you talk to people about their beliefs, as I do regularly, if you ask why people expect to be received into heaven, they will usually say they do indeed expect to get into heaven and the reason is that they are good. They will usually say nothing about Jesus Christ. They often give the feeling that God will owe them eternal life.

But they are trusting in themselves and their moral ability to make the grade. They believe human beings can be good enough to merit—even require—God’s approval.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: We want to earn heaven on our own. We proudly imagine we can be good enough for God. We want to be able to boast in his presence, “I am a good person.”

God’s way: There is no one good, not one (Romans 3:9–20). No one will be able to stand before God on Judgment Day and claim to deserve to enter heaven apart from trusting in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness he provides in his death on the Cross.

Life principle: The right way to boast is to boast in the Lord, and the way to boast in the Lord is to make much of Jesus. When we put all our faith in Jesus Christ to save us, we are boasting in the Lord alone.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Reconciling the Seeming Contradiction of 2 Corinthians 5:10

How can we reconcile being perfectly forgiven with giving an account for evil deeds on Judgment Day, as 2 Corinthians 5:10 teaches?

2 Corinthians 5:10

Imagine a family with ten spoiled children. Each day the ten children mistreat their mother, each other, and their house and possessions. Every night the Father returns home from work, hugs each one, and ignores all the wrongs they have done. He tells them how much he loves them and acts as though nothing bad happened. Day after day, year after year, no child ever receives correction or discipline.

Wouldn’t you say something is wrong with that home? Wouldn’t you say something is faulty about that Father’s love? Everything in our sense of right and wrong tells us the head of the home should hold the children accountable and make things right. He should not, with a patient smile, just sweep wrongs under the rug.

2 Corinthians 5:10

On the cosmic scale, that is part of the reason why even forgiven, justified souls will give account to Jesus Christ for every sin of their lives. Scripture does not tell us exactly what that accounting will entail, but Scripture says it will happen. Ashamed of sins, we wish it were not so, but deep down we know it must be true.

Last week we established that it is so by carefully studying 2 Corinthians 5:10 and 1 Corinthians 3:10–15. In today’s post we will seek to reconcile this reality with the inarguable, seemingly contradictory fact that believers in Jesus are perfectly forgiven, justified, blameless, accepted, and saved by grace from all condemnation. How can it be that justified souls give an account for sin—not in the sense of being punished for sin but in the sense of talking with Jesus about them in some way—on Judgment Day?

Not an anomaly

First, we need to see this paradox appears elsewhere in the New Testament.

Exhorting Christians who were suffering persecution, the apostle Peter writes, “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). Peter regarded the suffering of these Christians as ultimately an expression of God’s judgment. But why would forgiven, justified believers in Jesus for whom there is no condemnation experience judgment?

Similarly, Peter writes, “If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile” (1 Peter 1:17). But why would a forgiven, blameless, justified soul need to fear God’s judgment? How can our Father be our Judge? How can he judge us according to our deeds if he treats us as though we have never sinned (which is a definition often used for the word justified)?

Similarly, Jesus himself says to his church, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19). But why would Jesus reprove and discipline people who claim to be Christians saved by grace and are therefore blameless, forgiven, accepted?

See also Romans 14:10–12; 1 Corinthians 4:5; James 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:6 (3–7); 1 Corinthians 11:27–32.

Your status in Christ versus your conduct

Again and again throughout the New Testament it is undeniable that God deals with his people on two levels. On one level, he treats us according to our status in Christ: forgiven, justified, sanctified. On another level, he deals with us according to our conduct, as we actually are living, in need of admonishment, discipline, training and so on. Both levels are necessary. Though they seem contradictory, neither cancels out the other.

I think this same duality explains what will happen on Judgment Day for a Christian. There are good reasons why Jesus will talk with us in detail through the good and bad of our lives, yet at the same time we will stand before him as his beloved, forgiven, fully accepted saints, free from all condemnation.

So, what are some of the good reasons why forgiven souls will give an accounting to Jesus for both the good and evil in their lives?

Why forgiven souls give account

I believe the purposes for the Lord’s careful examination of a Christian’s life on Judgment Day include the following.

1. Our works will prove our faith (or, in the case of hypocrites, tragically prove the opposite).

James 2:17–18, 22, 24 says: “17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works…. 22 You see that faith was active along with [Abraham’s] works, and faith was completed by his works;… 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

2. Having our sins brought into the light as forgiven will magnify the Lord’s grace and mercy.

Psalm 25:11 (NLT) “For the honor of your name, O LORD, forgive my many, many sins.”

3. Having both our good and evil deeds brought into the light will be good for us. The light will bring healing and wisdom. God calls us to account because of his love.

Romans 8:28 says, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

In Revelation 3:19 Jesus says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.”

4. God will be glorified as the perfect Judge, just and fair. Judgment Day will be in all history one of the two greatest manifestations of his holiness, righteousness, wisdom, mercy, salvation, and judgments, the other being Christ’s death on the cross. We will know God’s name far better because of Judgment Day. It will be the greatest display of justice in human history, as well as the greatest display of forgiveness. It will leave us astounded, marveling, worshiping, rejoicing, in awe of God our Savior.

Psalm 9:16 says, “The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment.”

The stark difference between God’s children and God’s enemies on Judgment Day

Although we will talk with the Lord about our sins on Judgment Day, we will not stand before God as lost souls stand before him giving account. We will stand before him with all the benefits of our status in Christ. We will stand before him on Judgment Day as the beloved. We will give an account like a son or daughter gives account for wrongdoing to a beloved father, not like God’s enemies who hate God and proudly reject Christ.

The contrast between God’s children and God’s enemies on Judgment Day will be stark:

  • God’s enemies stand before him alone with no one to help them. But God’s children stand before him with the Judge himself as their advocate, mediator, high priest, atoning sacrifice, and Savior.
  • God’s enemies will experience his demeanor toward them as he recounts their sins as one of wrath and fury. But God’s children will experience his demeanor toward them as he recounts their sins as a merciful demeanor, like a father correcting his child. First Thessalonians 5:9 says: “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
  • God’s enemies will be condemned at the end of their judgment to suffer the full punishment of their evil forever. But God’s children at the end of their talk with Jesus will not be condemned (Romans 8:1), but rather, fully forgiven. For them, judgment will end in grace.
  • God’s enemies will receive no rewards, but only differing levels of punishment based on the degree of their evil. While God’s children will receive extravagant rewards for even the least of their good deeds and will depart from Judgment Day solely with rewards, not penalties.
  • God’s enemies will be cast into the Lake of Fire. But God’s children will enter the beautiful new heaven and earth and will enjoy their rewards forever.
  • God’s enemies will pay for their sins forever. But God’s children will never again have their sins remembered. They will be separated from them as far as east from west—for good, forever.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen souls try to hide sins and avoid God’s light. They deceive themselves to think they can keep their evils secret.

God’s way: God not only forgives us perfectly, he also judges us perfectly. God is light and therefore he brings all things, all sins, all secrets into the light. God’s light is always good.

Life principle: Judgment Day will be a day of divine light shining on all things, a divine light that will heal us and magnify God’s mercy.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)