Challenging God to Judge Us

The innate human nature is oft times rebellious. The presupposition of our innocence is debatable when you consider one's theological position on the subject matter. Instead of opening the issue to create a comparison of positions, I would rather dive right into the concept of our habit as humans to challenge God to judge us.

Paul wrote in the Roman epistle that sin did enter into the world through one man (Rom 5:12) and through this man and his sin, death spread to all mankind, because all have sinned. Notably, Paul indicates that in the time before Moses and the Law given at Sinai, that sins were not counted where there is no law (Rom 5:13). This leaves very little room for self-righteousness. If at all any opportunity for man to positionally say to the Lord God that he is innocent of sin. The guilt of man was still accounted to him despite any revelation from the Lord concerning how one could essentially be counted as righteous in the eyes of God. Although the sin of man during this time is not written of as being worse than Adam's transgression, it was still sin. The final restitution for the sin passed to all mankind was inevitably man's life (Rom 5:14).

Man has a tendency to seek justification for his actions through many means. The most abundant situation that man finds himself justifying his actions in is sin. In the light of our own knowledge of what depravity is, the modern psychological perspective attributes the occasion of depravity to circumstantial situations despite the examples of obvious occurrences in every human being.

While pondering this dilemma, and the notion that man not only sins with no consideration that he will ultimately pay for sin with his life, he gives little assent to the second life he will have to live beyond this world. Man pays for sin with death. Death has come because through one man sin has entered the world. We all unfortunately inherit this sin 'nature' and guilty charge before God, and are left holding nothing in our hands to accredit us as righteous.

Taking this one step further, those us who suppress the truth in all unrighteousness (Rom 1:8) seek daily ways to not only challenge God, but seek to challenge Him to judge us for our unrighteousness. IF you read this today and yet not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be a sole provider of righteousness for the sin you have committed, let me plead with you.

While some have perished with no revelation, we have been given what is necessary to understand our state. The Law was revealed through Moses to the people to create a standard that was necessary to be righteous before God. This Law required man to worship and love only God, to not make idols for themselves, not blaspheme, keep the sabbath day holy, honor your parents, not murder, commit adultery, steal from others, bear false witness or lie, and lastly not to covet things or persons belonging to others (Exo 20:3-17).

Regrettably, I nor you, have been able to live to these standards. For some of us, we would see a God that requires these unmeetable laws to be held as capricious, arrogant, or unrealistic. It is indeed too bad that while these statements may be true, we are not in a position to argue with the creator. This perspective only remains valid if we discount the evidence that He has provided a means through the revelation of this law, and an ends through the sacrificial system that appeases God for our sins. Fortunately for those who were unable to meet these difficult standards, God indeed cares enough to provide an ends to the means.

The Bible provides many sufficient examples of those who have chosen to take the latter position of assessing God's character, finding it to be so, and completely ignoring the means that He has provided for them to be seen as righteous in His sight. For instance,

Psa 52:7 "See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!"

Psa 73:11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"

Dan 5:23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Isa 10:12-14 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.

And lastly, the words of Job, express clearly the point I would hope to articulate here.

Job 9:2-4 "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength --who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?"

I would like to end with this. It is increasingly obvious to all of us that mankind does extreme evil in the sight of others. What is unseen though, is the evil that is done in secret, in our thoughts, and behind closed doors. The Lord God witnesses these things daily and it is against Him that we sin. He has given us the law as a guardian until we could be justified by faith in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:24), who bore our sins on the cross and provided a final payment for our law debt to God. This is good news for all of us! For we all have transgressed the laws mentioned previously, and we all have a debt to God.

If these things are not what you believe this is fine. You have an option. You can pray for understanding and repentance, and the Lord is just and faithful to forgive those who honestly seek His face. Or you can continue to reject it and live, and die in your sins, finally appearing at the resurrection of the dead to a throne of judgment and being dealt with according to what you deserve.

Today I plead with you, if you are unsaved, or have simply uttered a prayer and have not lived a life bringing forth fruit in keeping with repentance, and your life stinks of sin, consider that each day that you reject God and His Son whom He has sent to save you, you harden your heart against Him. You will not succeed in this and He will punish the speech of those who are arrogant and proud in their own eyes for their sins.

I too have stood on the other side of the law, and I stand condemned without the blood of Christ being my final provision for justice in His sight. I too was with those who have challenged God to judge us.