Higher justice
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, magnify and magnify the Heavenly King, Whose all deeds are true and His ways are righteous, and Who is strong to humble those who walk proudly.”
(Daniel 4:34)
In these words, the Bible speaks on behalf of the king of Assyria and Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. He was punished by God for his pride. He proclaimed the great Babylon as a proof of his power and glory, without mentioning the Creator of heaven and earth. Chapter 4 of the book of Daniel tells about the prophesying of these events and everything that happened. This part of the Bible will serve us as an introduction to the sermon. The words of the Bible about God, who is strong to humble the proud. Proud rulers, proud nations, mighty cities and empires have existed and exist on this planet. People revel in their power, rejecting God and being at enmity with one another. But God reminds again and again in His word that He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He judges this world.
Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king, but God’s will applied to him as well. Danylo, being a Jew at heart, according to his culture, was a person of the pagan environment in which he lived. And God spoke through this man some of the most important truths about the peoples of the planet. Daniel in his apocalyptic visions and in the story of Nebuchadnezzar declared that not only the Jews, but also all nations are subject to the will of God and His Law! The Bible ends with the Apocalypse of John the Theologian, in which events cover all countries and capture all people who once lived or live on earth. No one escapes responsibility and will not avoid meeting with God’s justice.
For a thinking Christian, the question arises: what is this responsibility? Or what fulfillment of His will can God demand from the heathen, who are the vast majority of people? With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will try to answer these questions today. But the first truth we learned will be the following: God’s Law extends to the entire universe – Angels and the depths of hell, even more so to this world of crazy people who need salvation! The Bible talks about it. God does His will. He will force recognition of His authority and His righteous judgment. The Revelation of John will tell about people who will turn their faces to heaven and blaspheme God during the time of the earth’s tribulation. They do not repent before the Creator. God will become an adversary for man, but will make him recognize His authority! The prophet Isaiah spoke to many of God’s people: God, who was supposed to be a God of love and blessings for you, because of your sin and hatred, became a stumbling block (Isa. 8:13-15). A person who rejects God and Christ does not accidentally blame the Almighty for his troubles. God is really the source of this person’s problems and even troubles.
“There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord” Isaiah 48:22
“He who believes in Him (Jesus Christ) is not judged, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” John 3:18
“…I am laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone, a cornerstone, precious, firmly established: the believer will not be ashamed of it. And I will set judgment as a standard and truth with scales;
We Christians get used to the fact that the responsibility of faith and obedience to God is a personal responsibility, and in the Church we, with full right, declare only to believers the duty of obedience and recognition of God’s will. But the Bible says amazing things about the Gentiles. Nebuchadnezzar, after several years of his madness, humbled himself before Jehovah and recognized His authority, by no means became a Jew. He did not belong to God’s people either before this event or afterwards! What he did and recognized is the will of the heathen of this world. For those who will never believe in the Savior and will go to hell, but must recognize the will, judgment and omnipotence of God! Many “theologians” consider the story of the prophet Jonah to be a myth with an instructive filling. But this is the word of God. And it says – Nineveh repented. What kind of city was that? The military capital of Assyria, a city of pagan temples and barracks. A city where the death of a slave and the right of force were self-evident things. And these people repented! Their repentance was not the usual for us, Christian repentance. They did not become Jews, were not circumcised, did not introduce service to Jehovah, and did not come to Jerusalem to worship. They recognized some untruth in their lives. And they refused her. We do not know exactly what their repentance was. But the people of this city recognized the omnipotence and authority of God, who sent the prophet Jonah.
Today, thousands of people die on our planet every day. Wars take the lives of civilians. Epidemics are raging not only in Africa, but also in the expanses of our once “great” empire. Droughts, floods and hurricanes suddenly occur in previously prosperous countries. Millions are dying from AIDS and tuberculosis, and how many don’t even know they have it. The planet’s climate has warmed by several degrees. Even here, in Europe, we notice this. The presidents of the countries at the meeting in Kyoto (Japan) admitted that if the climate warming continues, the ice caps of the Arctic and Antarctica will begin to melt. Our children will be able to witness the disappearance of many cities and even countries under water. Think, is it only because of the vague assumptions of a few scientists that the politicians of the leading countries of the world came together? And what they decided to tell humanity can probably only be part of the truth about what might happen.
People whose loved ones die of diseases, whose heads are bombed with the American and Russian brand, when everything they have accumulated for a long life was destroyed by the elements in a moment – people turn their eyes to the heavens. They name and invoke God as they are used to and as taught by their religion. They ask: “For what? Why is the world so unfair? Why instead of blessing comes curse and death?” The sky is usually silent. He is silent, because it is the duty of the Church to say this. It is the duty of those sent by God with the Scriptures in their hands to answer all the questions of this world. The Church of Jesus Christ is God’s prophet! A prophet of the Bible is a person who speaks God’s opinion on everything. It is not only and not so much a harbinger of the future. But the preacher, sent in the name of God and with the word of God to his people and the world. Now the one sent to the world is the Church, if, of course, it is the true Church.
Based on this, my word is addressed to you, to everyone who reads and understands God’s word and His Holy Spirit. This word is addressed primarily to believers and Spirit-filled Christians.
People are right to suspect. There is some supreme justice. Justice that depends on their opinion or desires. There is a supreme court that cannot be avoided. The highest justice is God’s justice. This righteous judgment is God’s judgment. This universal law is God’s Law. When God reveals this truth, you begin to see His hand. You begin to understand why and why some are blessed, while others are destined for grief from suffering. You begin to clearly see how under the judgment of God empires and countries perish, and rulers turn into nothing. You begin to notice the opposite as well, how the Lord blesses the nations in order to bring them into the awakening of salvation through His Son. You begin to understand that God is really powerful. You begin to appreciate His love and mercy addressed to you. Now we will discover the will of God in two interrelated aspects:
About the highest justice, about God’s Law for all mankind.
And about the duty of the Church to announce the will of God, to speak correctly and precisely about the Law and justice.
We will touch on issues on which we will probably have different opinions. But I least want to argue. The problem of Christianity and the Church is expressed in the fact that it does not have an opinion about many things. We are afraid to have an opinion about serving in the army and participating in war. We dare not have an opinion about corrupt politicians and mobsters in uniform. A taboo on the idea of nationalism and fascism of all kinds exists in the Evangelical Churches of many countries. The Bible increasingly ceases to be a prophetic book, “a book of God’s point of view on everything.” But it becomes an attribute of intra-church life and intra-church discussions. We, like Jonah, absolutely do not want to go to Nineveh. We leave the world without Truth. Although they are obliged to announce it not only to those who have come to the evangelization, but, apparently, to those who do not want to listen to God and curse the Bible. The attitude of the Church to the world is similar to that of a “normal” and “decent” person to life in prison or the army. There – there are guards and guards behind the wire, the dregs of society are gathered there and they are not free for long. What happens there does not concern us and should not particularly concern us. So that the world does not penetrate into the Church – this is how we conclude our considerations. This is definitely important. But the apostles talked about the “debt” of the Church of this world. Довго сповіщати слово та істину. Even when they don’t want to listen to us…
Living in this world, most people dream of justice and seek it. This desire is a rudimentary spiritual memory of the relationship between man and God before the Fall. Some animals have rudimentary remains of eyes that will never be eyes that see light. Similarly, a person’s religious feeling will by no means help to find God, but often disturbs and disturbs the sensitive souls of people. Religious feeling forces one to seek justice in religion. Any religion is an attempt to explain the universe and provide some laws of justice. Karma of the Hindus is an attempt to explain “higher justice”. Islam is justice with almost no chance of leniency. All religions convince man to do good and promise something good in return. People invented utopian philosophies. They built huge empires of justice on the bones of Auschwitz and the Gulag. Others, believing society to be wrong and vicious, protest by growing their hair and wearing flagrant clothing. They protest against the traditional culture and die either of drug overdoses or in the noose… People realize that something is wrong. But few find this supreme justice to bow before God and obey Him!
“The works of His hands are truth and judgment; all His commandments are faithful. Firm for ever and ever, based on truth and righteousness… The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; the mind is faithful in all who do His commandments…” Psalm 110:7-8,10
God’s highest justice lies in His holy Law! This place of the Bible and others claim – the Law of God is eternal! When I now speak of the Law, I am affirming precisely the Law of Moses, the Law of the Old Testament, which expresses the holiness and justice of God. This Law was not invented “on the fly” to be given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Angels obeyed and obey this holy Law, and demons trembled before it when man was not yet created. Moreover, God did not invent the Ten Commandments just for the duration of creation – from eternity to eternity. He gave ten commandments to creation to show who created it. Creation must live according to what its Creator is. The law is an image of God’s holiness, His love, righteousness, and hatred of sin. The Devil and Adam didn’t just break one of the rules of behavior on the mountain of fire and in the Garden of Eden. No! They broke God’s holy Law and according to that Law there was retribution. God’s law is the highest instance of justice on this planet. To be a prophet of God’s word, the Church must know and understand God’s Law.
“Everyone who commits sin commits iniquity, and sin is iniquity” 1 John 3:4
“For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a
We are used to thinking that such retribution is an individual retribution. That’s right, it’s God’s reminder of judgment. But the Lord does not speak only about an individual person. He claims that God puts the whole earth, every people, every ruler, every good or bad deed into the bowl of His judgment! He is lying, he is not in power on this planet. The power of the devil is an illusion, in which he himself believes and about which he speaks with pleasure. Power belongs to God and only Him! It would be good for the Church to know this, so as not to create theological and spiritual confusion in people’s minds. When the Bible speaks of absolute authority, it is speaking of the authority and will of God. We should not preach dualism. God and Satan are not equal. And if they ask me: who is stronger than the most ardent lawless, I will answer – God! Who is the real Lord? Only He, the Creator and Son of God, Jesus Christ! If it were not for Him, the true Ruler and Lawgiver, this world would have destroyed itself within a very short time. It does not have the potential to save this wretched planet and its population. Where Satan’s hands are looser, a great catastrophe occurs and the inevitable death of many people occurs. But God protects us. His judgments sustain the world as much as the Lord has given it to exist.
This is the Bible’s answer to many “why?”. Why did judgments and misfortunes overtake entire nations? Why did the wars of this century devastate countries? Why were millions of people killed and tortured by the rulers of our “civilized” century? Why are the rulers of some countries cursed in their turn? In a country like Russia, where crazy tsars, paranoid general secretaries, and insane presidents are what the people are used to and expect? Why did God clearly show America, in its last adulterous president, that this country must repent? Once God made a cardinal judgment – a flood. But Scripture warns:
“And the land became defiled, and I looked upon its iniquity, and the land cast out those who live on it” (Leviticus 18:25)
“Do you speak the truth to the judge, and do you judge righteously, sons of men? Do you pile up iniquity in your heart, put on the scales the wickedness of your hands on the earth.” (Psalm 57:2-3)
People say that the best system of society, great freedom, correct laws bring prosperity and at least a little happiness. It’s not okay. The best law, adopted from another nation, will not change the mentality and thinking of that nation, which was enslaved and obsessed with the vices of thievery and drunkenness for centuries. Being Russian by belonging to the “historical homeland”, I know my nation. But this is absolutely true for everyone else. British laws did not help Africa to become even remotely similar to England. Why did America, Canada and some other countries prosper in the last few centuries? The basis of their laws was God’s Law of Moses. No, they did not rewrite the Law of Moses, making it a constitution. But they saw a few important things about which God judges in His word. America was founded on the law of unconditional freedom to worship God. And this applied to Christianity in general or Protestant Christianity in particular. All denominations, and sometimes the most exotic ones, you will most likely find in the USA. Of course, contrary to the claims of some, the USA is by no means the “Promised Land” for the Christian. Or, to be more precise, since some time it stopped appearing altogether. After all, there was a time, some 50 years ago, when in many countries of the Western, Christian, Biblical world, open homosexuality, pornography and advertising of women’s intimate accessories was absolutely impossible. Even now, in small towns in the southern United States, a miniskirt is a distinctive sign of a woman of a certain profession. But the Law of God has ceased to be decisive for the vast majority of people, and even so-called Christians. Scripture says:
“Righteousness exalts a people, but iniquity is a disgrace to a people” Proverbs 14:34.
Think about why many people still need crazy rulers and tyrants, communists, Nazis, Zhirinovsky, Lukashenka, etc.? This is the result of dishonor and lawlessness before God of countries and peoples. For iniquity follows the retribution of the curse. A curse is not something like an undead or an unpredictable intervention of the devil. The curse will fall only on the one who earned it. Cursing is an act of God, just like blessing.
“Behold, I offer you today a blessing and a curse: a blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God… and a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God and turn away from the way that I am commanding you today…” Deuteronomy 11:26-28.
It is pointless to shout loudly at the devil. The Bible simply forbids it. Those who have been taught to do this, read carefully James 3:13 and Jude 8-10. To remove the curse, one must repent of sin!
Nineveh repented and God let the people live. Japan and Germany repented of the crimes of their rulers and peoples. These countries will remember Nuremberg for centuries: the shame and humiliation, the fear of the cases and crimes that unfolded there. The Nuremberg trial was the first in the history of mankind against criminals against humanity and God’s holy Law. God watched the people and they repented. God let them live. Now the dream of many is to live in Germany. God blessed this nation based on true repentance. Germans are afraid of those people who once almost destroyed their people. Now in Germany it is impossible to openly appear in a public place with a shaved skull and in the leather outfit of a neo-Nazi; it is impossible to paint a swastika on a wall or hang an anti-Semitic slogan with impunity. It is impossible that nowadays at every step in the “country that defeated fascism”. The streets of St. Petersburg are plastered with postcards of Russian fascists. In the south of Russia, neo-Nazis from Barkashi patrolled the streets together with the police. For those killed in the Gulag camps, who were much more than the victims of the concentration camps of German fascism, for racist and neo-Nazi gatherings in America, for SS veterans marching through the streets of Riga, for 250 thousand Lithuanian Jews tortured in the ghettos of Vilnius and Kaunas. And they are already accountable to God and His Law. This is the answer to many modern questions.
Let’s return once again to the question: what is the point of God judging this world? Interfere in the mad affairs of humanity perishing in sins? God preserves this world by His judgment until Jesus Christ returns. The full number of those who believed in the Calvary sacrifice will return!
Therefore, if what we talked about is God’s business, then Christians are very mistaken if they consider themselves free from the notification of God’s will and judgment. The church was not intended by God to essentially be a “canning jar” for preserving and storing saved people. The church is not a super-monastery with high spiritual walls behind which we cannot hear the cries of dying people. We cannot ask everyone to linger a little inside us to explain the Bible. We must announce and preach the Truth to everyone and everywhere. But for this it is necessary to accept and know this Truth, for this it is necessary that the Bible becomes what God predicted it to be! Christ said to look carefully at what is happening around us. To know when an attack is approaching. In the tragedies of many nations, God’s goal is also awakening. As a rule, the Church of Jesus Christ grows not in prosperous countries, but in African countries or Belarus. In prosperous countries, only the “telechurch” has been growing for a long time.
“…walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; and do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but also rebuke them” Ephesians 5:8b-11
We must somehow open our mouths and preach, prophesy this word. Because if the Church refuses to prophesy, how will God’s will be heard on this earth? God will not send Angels to preach, but He will ask of us! Especially from those who are appointed and endowed with the gift of speech!
The Bible states that if a prophet prophesies not what God says, or he refuses to prophesy, that prophet must die. Isn’t this the reason for the premature spiritual death of many Churches and denominations?
In conclusion – about some things that are controversial in the Christian world, but we do not have the right to brush it off and remain silent.
Wars
Power
Death penalty
Wars are the hand of God over nations, and He allows the devil’s forces to do these terrible things. We cannot know God’s ways. But everything that happens happens according to the will of the Lord, so the Bible says. shyly silent when a Christian takes up a weapon, swears to give his life not to God, but to the nation or the state, it is worth confessing to fear! By her I respect these people much more than those who are frantically praying in tongues, clutching machine guns and asking God for mercy to return from the war they got into.
Speaking of wars, we must speak of justice. In every war there is an aggressor, the side that will be judged for the destruction and death of many. A just war for those who defend their homes, families, land. Think about whose side you are on now? I appeal to Christians of the same nationality as myself. Is the land where Russian people are dying now Russian land? Has God ordained it for your people? Or for centuries and centuries every Russian with a weapon in hand was an enemy in the Caucasus and now we are reaping what we sowed? Christ said: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The war of revenge that Russia has declared against the Chechens is not fair. Destroyed cities and thousands of refugees, men aged ten to seventy in infiltration camps; one and a half thousand dead, only according to official reports, Russians – this cannot be justified by anything. And those who contributed to silence and spoke about their Christianity will answer before God. America has reduced the fruits of the Vietnam war. Afghanistan became a ten-year grief of the USSR. Now Chechnya. What’s next? When will the people repent so that they can live?
Authority is the order established by God. The retribution of a wicked people is a crazy government. Destroyed temples of the Soviet empire and millions killed – this is Russia’s retribution for the excessive pride of the pseudo-Christian “Third Rome”! The government, blessed by God, implements God’s Law. kills, the devil is the author of anarchy. A healthy mind from the Lord tells us that if there is anarchy on earth, God will not be able to save many and many.
Recently, many post-Soviet countries have actively debated the issue of the legality of the death penalty. At the same time, as a rule, a priest of some denomination appears on the television screen and speaks about evangelical love and forgiveness. Mercy and love are bequeathed by God and Christ for the Church and should be in it. State Lutherans and Calvinists confuse church and state. on earth is always a concrete fulfillment of God’s Law: life for life. and the Law.
For thousands of years on earth, there was one determining higher Law for people – God’s Law. Until Jesus Christ came. His sacrifice saves many chosen ones. The cross speaks and forgives sin, the Blood of Jesus introduces eternal life. The Gospel announces love and forgiveness in the name of the Son of God! But this concerns the Church, who came to God’s justice in the name of the crucified Jesus Christ. But those who did not do this, are forced to obey and respond to the Law of God’s commandment given in the Bible. A person is not outside the law and the court. The only question is what kind of justice he will choose: the justice of the Law or the justice of Christ? A Christian will not kill. In this he is not accountable to the Law. But the one who killed must answer:
“And if there is harm, then give soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, wound for wound” Exodus 21:23-25.
If you have a different opinion, think: with whom does your opinion align? Who preaches humanism and the “sacred right” of a person (murderer, rapist) to life? Your interpretation of evangelical love is woven into the chorus of New Age preachers of all stripes, including Green Peace, cults, and sexual minorities of all stripes! They are fighting for the repeal of the law. They talk about the joy of pseudo-freedom. What are the countries that have advanced the most on the slippery road of humanism? The fields of Holland with thousands of vacationing drug addicts, rampant prostitution and entire blocks of brothels and porn cinemas in Europe, television and the press, which have lost the rest of their decency. Puritan customs went into the past and man refused to obey God’s instructions. The freedom of the church and religion is adjacent to the freedom of corruption and temptation. Will God leave it unrequited?
God demands from the Church certainty in its position. The power of the Holy Spirit consists in a clear position in relation to everything: God, the Bible, the righteous, the idolaters and the lawless. Samson began to lose his strength when he abandoned God’s view of the Lord’s enemies, from a clear position to God’s will. He was defeated and blinded. Aren’t there many Christians, Churches, denominations now? May the Lord give us the strength to prophesy in His name God’s opinion on everything.
*** Vitaliy Rysev is an ordained minister and pastor of the Pentecostal Church “Bible Path” in the city of Liantvaris, Republic of Lithuania. The opinion expressed in this sermon is not necessarily the official viewpoint of the denomination to which the author of this article belongs.
