Oct 15 - Psalm 50:6

The heavens declare

his righteousness,

for God himself is judge.

Psalm 50:6

The heavens declare God's bigness.

 

The heavens declare God's power.

"The heavens declare the glory of God!" (Psalm 19:1)

But what else to the heavens declare? As it says in today's Psalm, "The heavens declare his righteousness."

God invented this universe! He is in charge of this world! He gets to decide what is right and righteous – not us.

And if he is a good God, he WILL one day judge what is right and what is wrong. Either that, or he doesn't truly care about what is right and what is wrong. But fortunately our God is a very good God. He not only cares about right and wrong, but he also cares about you and me.

Yet there's a part of us – admit it – that really doesn't like the thought of God being a judge. That is for two reasons ...

·       First, we are like willful children. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it. (Rebelliousness.)

·       Second, we don't like the thought of God as a judge because deep down we know that we sin ... and we feel guilt and shame. Therefore, we worry. We are afraid that if God is a judge, he will judge us and find us guilty. (Fear.)

Here's the bad news: God is a judge and you are guilty.

Here's the good news -- Romans 8 -- though God is our judge …

"31 God is [also] for us.

“33 [Therefore] who will bring any charge

against [you. me, and any of] God's elect?

It is God who [who, instead of damning us,

[lovingly] justifies [us].

34 [And] who is to condemn [us]?

It is Christ Jesus, who [instead] died [for us ...

and] is at the right hand of God

[and instead of condemning us]

intercedes for us."

Romans 8

It's called "imputed righteousness."

On our own, we are guilty. On our own, we are not righteous. But on His own, Christ died for us and "input" His righteousness upon us.

Yes, on our own we are guilty. But when we plead the blood of the Lamb, His bloody sacrifice covers the blood-guilt caused by our sin in its entirety, and his righteousness -- "input" onto us -- allows us to be justified (declared just) when standing in front of the eternal judge.

And because of that, I cheer with the Apostles in Ephesians 2: "8 by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God."

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't have to fear

because "Jesus paid it all"

... and yet, I'm the one who has to

work on the second discomfort

in having a judge: my rebelliousness.

(Jesus had better help me with this too

... and He and the Holy Spirit do

as I learn to give my life over to them.)