"..ask God for wisdom.." - James 1:5 (TPT)

There are so many more scriptures that confirm and tell us of God’s unfailing love for us than anything else. Why are we as a Christian culture so fixated on God’s judgment in the form of punishment? 

Here is an example of God’s judgment of sin, abounding grace. Sure God will judge sin from the one who introduced sin into the world; Satan himself as stated in John:

 “But here’s the truth: It’s to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away the Divine Encourager will not be released to you. But after I depart, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will expose sin and prove that the world is wrong about God’s righteousness and his judgments.“‘Sin,’ because they refuse to believe in who I am. “God’s ‘righteousness,’ because I’m going back to join the Father and you’ll see me no longer. “And ‘judgment’ because the ruler of this dark world has already received his sentence.” John 16:7-11 (TPT)

Jesus continually made the comparison to those whom He would redeem as sheep, we are all considered sheep because Jesus died for all of humankind, not just a select few; it was all of these sheep (Humanity itself) whom Jesus redeem. 

There were also goats, which were the fallen creation like Satan and his angels; And God’s judgment on Satan and his fallen angels has already been declared. There is also a place prepared for them, which is called “Hell.” 

“Then to those on his left the King will say, ‘Leave me! For you are under the curse of eternal fire that has been destined for the devil and all his demons”. Matthew 25:41 (TPT)

For whom was hell designed? Not mankind, hell was created for ”the devil and his angels.” There is no punishment for man other than the grace and mercy that is offered through Jesus Christ. 

But you will say what about evil people in this world like Hitler, Nero, or others like them? Shouldn't they be punished?  We must keep in mind that the man who wrote most of the New Testament, which we all follow and adhere to, was considered a murderer. He persecuted the early church and saw to it that many were imprisoned and put to death. Paul the Apostle didn’t have clean hands before he became a follower of Christ, we cannot discount what God will do on this earth in this life, or when our life is over. 

Paul writes to the Philippians and says this:

“For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father”. Philippians 2:9-11 (GNT)

The reference “the world below” is referencing those departed souls who have passed from this life. Early believers thought that those who died without Christ continued to exist in a dark world under the ground. The Hebrew word for this place is called “Sheol”. 

Paul also makes it clear that as a believer "..to be absent from this body is to present with the Lord" (see: 2 Corinthians 5:8)

Paul is making it clear that opportunity will be made to all of creation, that all will bow down and worship the true king.

• Sin has already been defeated through the cross of Christ; the cross stands in victory over sins effects such as sickness, decay, and death. We are no longer slaves to sin; we are free sons and daughters of God. 
• Righteousness because we stand in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, (please excuse the comparison here) our righteousness in and of ourselves Paul considered being as foul and as dirty and smelly as used menstrual cloths.
• Judgment because the prince of this world has been judged and condemned. 

We are transformed by Christ into His image, to reflect the mercies of God, not to be punished for anything. That is the wisdom that is being spoken about in today’s verses, wisdom to recognize that our God wants to overwhelm us with His generous grace. Jesus came to correct the wrong thinking about God. 

Here is a quote from Paris Reidhead:

"But there was a difference! Jesus didn’t come to convince GOOD MEN that they were in trouble with a BAD GOD! But instead that it was to convince BAD MEN that they deserved the wrath and anger of a GOOD GOD!“

Humankind got it twisted that the wrath and anger that was meant for the devil and his angels was somehow meant for man, that is wrong thinking. Even though we do deserve God’s wrath and anger for our affinity to sin, Jesus declared us forgiven, and we can freely come to Him and receive His righteousness to live a life free from the effects of sin.

We were purchased with an incredibly high price; it was the death of God’s dearest son. 

Jesus paid the penalty for our redemption from Satan so that we could be restored to our rightful place as God’s sons and daughters and reign with Him. 

It was a King’s ransom that was paid on our behalf for our freedom, so God's wisdom says we should use that freedom wisely and decisively.   

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett