God Will Show Himself Holy

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God Will Show Himself Holy

Mankind has criticized the LORD  since the beginning,  calling Him unjust  and claiming they are capable  of being more right  in their own judgments.     They don’t seem to consider  that they are talking  about their very own Creator,  Sustainer,  and Redeemer.     But,  no matter what people think,  God is the only One  who is holy  from eternity.     We are the sinners,  born in sin.     In His holiness,  God is spiritually perfect  and totally pure  in all aspects.     In contrast,  as proud people tried to stubbornly hold onto their own ways,  Isaiah 5:16 said,

But the LORD of hosts  will be exalted  in judgment,    
And the holy God  will show Himself  holy  in righteousness.

No matter what sinful mankind says,  God is the Judge  of all  in the end,  and He will be exalted  in His judgments.     When God judges,  everybody will see  that the LORD truly is  holy in righteousness.     What people try to claim  as their righteousness  is nothing,  because  “all of our righteousness deeds  are like a filthy garment”.    (Isaiah 64:6)

When thinking about this,  we need to keep in mind  that the book of Revelation speaks a number of times  about how  in the end days  God will send plagues and judgments  of various sorts  upon mankind  because of all their sins.     But,  as we read in Revelation 9:20-21, Revelation 16:9-11, and Revelation 16:21, the people will refuse  to repent.     Instead,  they will blaspheme God.     All these unrepentant will receive eternal punishment  in hell.     All that has to be because  “the holy God will show Himself  holy  in righteousness”.    

God is perfect  in all aspects — in love,  justice,  righteousness,  mercy,  gentleness,  kindness,  forgiveness,  and everything we can think of.     God is perfect  in forgiveness,  and therefore,  He does not forgive everyone.     According to Revelation,  many will face eternal destruction  because they don’t want God’s forgiveness.     They refuse  to repent  and change their ways.     So,  with perfect righteousness  and perfect justice,  God will not forgive them  their sins.

In all this just judgment,  the Lord is not holding  a bitter grudge.     He is not being hateful  or spiteful.     And He is not emotionally tied  to bitter resentments  from which He needs  to be freed.     Instead,  in all this judgment,  God still holds onto His perfect love,  forgiveness,  kindness,  gentleness,  mercy, and every other goodness  that leads us  to love Him  for loving us.    

To be perfectly holy  in loving the whole world  and perfectly loving  in judging the whole world  takes a wisdom and love  far beyond  any human ability.     And yet,  with the wisdom and love God gives us  through His salvation  in Jesus Christ  and His word to us,  our Lord does tell us  to let His Spirit guide us  as we have to deal  with the wide variety  of situations  we will come upon.     After Jesus rose from the dead  and appeared to His disciples,  the following account is recorded  in John 20:22-23, 

He  [Jesus]  breathed on them,  and said to them,  “Receive the Holy Spirit.     If you forgive the sins of any,  their sins have been forgiven them;  if you retain the sins of any,  they have been retained.”

As we abide  in God  and He abides in us,  we let Him be our guide.     We love  because we have been loved  by God.     Therefore,  we are loving and forgiving  as God has loved and forgiven us.     In the same breath,  as our Lord does not forgive  the unrepentant,  neither should we.     That is why Jesus said,  “If you retain the sins of any,  they have been retained.”     God does not want us  to forgive the unrepentant — and we are not  to make out  like we’re more loving  than our Savior.     But,  when we withhold forgiveness,  we do not withhold the message  of the gospel  or  the opportunity  to repent,  so that forgiveness may be given.

When a Christian  does not forgive certain unrepentant ones,  it is not because  of a lack of love  for them — the Christian will not be holding a bitter grudge — Christian hearts will not be bound and twisted  with hatred.     Instead,  we follow our Lord’s example.     We continue  to love  and have a heart ready  to forgive —- just as God is with us.     We will be longing  for the unrepentant  to turn back  to the Lord  in repentance,  so that he may experience the blessedness  of forgiveness  through faith in Jesus.

As a sinner  in a world of sinners,  Christians will strive  to not be nit-picking  regarding the idiosyncrasies of others — we will not be judgmental  about things  that don’t really matter —- instead,  we will do our best  to be accepting and considerate  of others — even when they are having a bad-hair day.     That’s where compassion and understanding need  to come into play.     We love  because God first loved us.

So,  we do have loving and forgiving hearts,  but, there are times  when God wants us  to withhold forgiveness  from the unrepentant.     It is all done  with the hope  that they will turn back  to the Lord.     In the mean time,  we need to make sure  we have repentant hearts  that daily turn  to our Lord  for the forgiveness we surely need.

Receiving forgiveness  in Jesus,  we say,  “Hallelujah!     Lord Jesus,  blessed be Your merciful forgiveness.     Let Your wondrous gospel shine through us,  so that people everywhere may come  to know Your forgiveness  as LORD and God over all.”

Love,
Margaret

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A Christian devotional to glorify the LORD of lords and God of gods

 

Pray for our country.

 

This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

 

The word of the LORD is tried;
He is a shield  to all  who take refuge  in Him.
Psalm 18:30

 

Sing for joy in the LORD,  O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming  to the upright.
Psalm 33:1

 

How blessed are those  who dwell in Thy house!
They are ever praising Thee.
Psalm 84:4

 

Just as a father has compassion  on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:13

 

Oh give thanks to the LORD,  for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 107:1

 

Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
Psalm 105:3

 

Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that
I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12

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