Is God Judging Visayas? Question same as Is God Judging America? Soon after the tragedy of September 11 had taken place, some believers publicly declared that God was judging America because of its sins. When I heard that, I could just imagine Osama bin Laden in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan agreeing with them and thinking that “god” was indeed using him to judge America. Come on, when Christians attribute such events to God’s judgment, terrorists would be the first to say, “Amen! Preach it!” Can you see that something is amiss when both believers and terrorists agree on the same thing? Thousands of people died, and many families, friends and loved ones were thrown into grief. How can that be the work of our loving Father? Read the Bible for yourself. It says that God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 peter 3:9). Terrorism is the work of the devil. It is not the work of our loving Father. I have also heard some believers pronouncing, “If God does not judge America for all its sins, God has to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Well, let me say this with honor and respect: If God judges America today, He has to apologize to Jesus for what He has accomplished on the cross! My friend, God is not judging America (or any country in the world today). America and its sins have already been judged! Where? At the cross of Jesus! Sin has been judged at the cross! What About Evidence Of God’s Fiery Judgment? “But Brother Hanniel, didn’t God use Elijah to call down the fire of judgment on those who opposed him? And didn’t God rain fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah?” Let’s look at Elijah’s story. It happened during the reign of King Ahaziah of Israel, whom the Bible describes as someone who “did evil in the sight of the Lord” (1 King 22:52). Ahaziah deployed a captain with 50 soldiers to confront Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill. The captain shouted at Elijah, “Man of God, the king has said ‘Come down!’” So Elijah answered and said to the captain of 50, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his men. So Ahaziah sent another captain with 50 men, and again, fire came down from heaven and consumed them. Ahaziah then sent a third captain with 50 of his soldiers, but this time, the captain pleaded with Elijah, and his life and the lives of his men were spared. As for Sodom and Gomorrah, the Bible records that the Lord rained brimstone and fire on the two cities. He “overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground”. Rightly Dividing The Word “There, brother Hanniel… clear biblical evidence that God rains down judgment to punish His people!” You need to understand how to rightly divide the Word of God . When we read the Bible, we need to follow the advice that Apostle Paul gave to his young apprentice, Timothy. Timothy was a young pastor of the church of Ephesus, and Paul told him to be “diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed , rightly dividing the word of truth ” (2 Timothy 2:15). Many believers today are living as if the cross did not make any difference! God wants us to be able to rightly divide the Word. He wants us to be astute in rightly dividing and clearly separating what belongs to the old covenant of law and what belongs to the new covenant of grace. He wants us to be able to distinguish what occurred before the cross from what occurred after the cross, and to understand the difference the cross made. Many believers today are living as if the cross did not make any difference! There’s one crucial fact that you need to recognize about the two incidents of God’s fiery judgment — they both took place in the Old Testament and before Jesus’ crucifixion. Don’t just take it from me that God will not call down the fires of judgment on you today. See for yourself what Jesus Himself said about what Elijah did. Do you remember the time when Jesus wanted to enter a certain village in Samaria, but the people there refused to receive Him? When Jesus’ disciples saw that the people rejected Jesus, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” Now, how did Jesus respond to them? Did He say, “That’s a great idea! You are truly disciples who carry My heart”? No, of course not! Read your Bible. He turned to His disciples and rebuked them firmly, saying, “ You do not know what manner of spirit you are of For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” (Luke 9:56) My friend, the spirit of Jesus in the new covenant of grace is not the spirit of the old covenant of law during Elijah’s time. Jesus wants you to have full assurance in your heart today that He did not come to condemn or destroy you. He came to save you! The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came that you may have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Hallelujah!
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 15:20:07 +0000
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