Week #6 of Ecclesiastes is in the books, and if you missed the latest message, you can check that out here — JUSTICE... DEATH... DOGS.
As I mentioned this past Sunday, one of the themes that not-so-quietly runs throughout Ecclesiastes is the theme of judgment.
After observing corruption in the courtroom and injustice in the world, Solomon reminds himself…
"In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds."
Ecclesiastes 3:17 (NLT)
This might not be true for you, but for many, that statement, "God will judge everyone," can make people feel extremely uncomfortable.
Let's be honest...
Judgment isn't exactly a popular subject.
God's love...
God's mercy...
God's grace...
God's kindness...
God's provision...
God's faithfulness...
YES. Let's talk about ALL of those realities.
But God's judgment?
Ahh… not so much.
Yet Solomon never shrinks back from talking about judgment because he understands something that is so easy to miss…
WITHOUT JUDGMENT...
Injustice wins.
WITHOUT JUDGMENT...
Evil has the final word.
WITHOUT JUDGMENT...
Corruption goes unanswered.
WITHOUT JUDGMENT...
Life eventually becomes meaningless.
The reason judgment matters so much to Solomon is because the judgment of God means that God sees what we see.
He SEES the injustice.
He SEES the corruption.
He SEES the abuse of power.
He SEES the lies.
He SEES the suffering.
And one day… in ‘DUE SEASON’, the Righteous Judge will make all things right.
For King Solomon, judgement is not something to fear, rather, God's judgment is actually one of the greatest sources of HOPE for those who love Him.
The judgment of God reminds us of two things…
NO act of evil escapes His notice.
And...
NO act of faithfulness goes unseen.
Now, let's be honest… thinking about God's judgment as it relates to the evil perpetuated by others can feel comforting. But when we think about God's judgment as it relates to the person we see in the mirror every day...
Well... what do we do with that?
For Solomon, concern about judgment was NEVER limited to the evil "out there." He knew that one day he too would stand before God.
In fact, the final word of Ecclesiastes is a reminder of our coming day of judgment:
"God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad."
Ecclesiastes 12:14 (NLT)
That reality MUST shape how we live today.
NOT in fear.
NOT in shame.
NOT in anxiety.
BUT IN WISDOM.
Remember… WISDOM is living life in light of what you know to be true.
And the TRUTH is this… our lives are not our own, and one day we will give an account to God for HOW we stewarded the life He entrusted to us.
Knowing that MUST shape HOW we...
love our spouse...
lead our children...
serve our co-workers and classmates...
engage our neighbors and friends.
Knowing that should shape how we spend...
our time...
our money...
our words...
our energy.
Judgment reminds us that OUR DECISIONS matter because OUR LIVES matter.
BUT DON'T MISS THIS...
As followers of Jesus, we do not face that future day with dread.
WHY?
Because Jesus accomplished for us what we could never accomplish on our own.
The One who will sit as Judge is also the One who TOOK our judgment upon Himself.
The One before whom we will stand is the One who STRETCHED out His arms on a cross for us.
Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, judgment is no longer something that drives us away from God, rather, it’s something that draws us closer to Him.
Not because judgment no longer matters. And not because how we live no longer matters.
But because Jesus has done for us what we could never do for ourselves (live a life without sin), FREEING us to PURSUE the very life He created us to live.
TO BE SUPER CLEAR...
The righteousness of Jesus has been given to us. See that with me…
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
Not to be missed… on judgment day, we stand clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.
THANK YOU, JESUS!
But knowing that we are clothed in His righteousness MUST never lead us to take His grace lightly… quite the opposite.
It should lead us to...
WALK with integrity.
PURSUE faithfulness.
EXTEND grace.
SEEK His Kingdom.
LIVE with eternity in view.
Not because we are trying to earn God's acceptance... but because, in Christ, we have already received it.
The reality of future judgment should not make us fearful… it should make us faithful.
It should inspire us to look more and more like the One who stands in our place on judgement day.
