Today's Worship: The threshold of judgment.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in James 2:10-11,

 

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker."

 

Here is a sobering thought. One infraction of God's law makes any of us a lawbreaker, subject to the judgment of God. As logical as this is, it is a frightening thought. James here is not telling us that all sins are equal. He is telling us that any law of God we break is equal in making us sinners.

 

The commission of any sin carries us across the threshold of God's judgment. We read in Revelation 21:8, "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." To make matters worse, we don't even need to do anything wrong, if we fail to do what is right, that is a sin as well, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." James 4:17. Paul tells us, "... everything that does not come from faith is sin." Romans 14:23b.

 

What hope do we have beyond the grave? As we consider the advent of the Son of God, what an opportunity comes our way! Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

 

God is intensely loving and intensely just. All sins will be accounted for. Woe to the man who feels he can trifle with the intensity with which God pursues his interests and agenda! As the writer of Hebrews says, "For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

 

May we all find refuge from God's judgment in the Child born on Christmas day!

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com