There are three words that every two-year-old and every 72-year-old will say sometime this year. That's not fair. Let me ask you, if God is just, why is life so unfair? Let's tackle that one together today. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
We are an international teaching and discipleship ministry that motivates Christians to live like Christians. We're in the middle of our series, The Real God, as we continue studying the core attributes of God that reveal more of who He is.
Well today Chip's going to pick up with the second half of his talk, The Justice of God. But before Chip gets started, if this is your first time listening to Living on the Edge, or you're curious about who we are and what we do, visit livingonthege.org. You'll discover a wealth of valuable tools we've created to equip you in your walk with Jesus.
So check out livingontheedge.org today.
Okay, if you have a Bible, go again to the book of Genesis chapter 18 for the rest of Chip's meaningful message. C.S. Lewis, many of you are very familiar with him as a agnostic. Slash atheist. Brilliant.
Uh fellow who taught English literature. Cambr Cambridge, Oxford. And later wrote the Chronicles of Nardia and became one of the greatest apologists. But when he describes how he eventually came to believe in God. and to embrace the person of Jesus.
What he talks about is is the sense of ought or should. that is in the human heart. That tells the human heart and all people of all cultures, of all backgrounds, that this is right and this is wrong. And even though we know this is right. No matter where we place the rule.
None of us can keep even the rules that we place. Lewis writes, these are the two points I want to make. First, that human beings all over the earth have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way. and cannot really get rid of it. I mean, we take that for granted.
It's so intrinsic, right? But he just, you know, he's kind of intellectual looking and he goes. of all time, all people, people have this idea that You should behave in a certain way. And no matter how they try to say, oh, we can do whatever we want. They can't get rid of it.
Secondly, that they do not, in fact, behave in that way.
So human beings, you know, this is right, this is good, but no matter what they do, they can't do it. Then he goes on to say, they know the law of nature. Yet they break it. And then this is a classic line in his book. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves.
and the universe that we live in. Inside even a fallen world that does not appear fair, Lewis is saying, this idea, this sense of ought, this idea of justice, therefore there is a judge. And our inability to do what we know we ought is the foundation for thinking rightly about yourself. The universe And got God is the judge of all the earth, even in a fallen world. But in a fallen world, until eternity gets on the other side of Revelation 20, I will guarantee the scales will be balanced perfectly and justly.
For every situation. But in this fallen world there will be times where someone doing one thing appears to get only twenty dollars, for what we can see now. And someone who does exactly the same thing will appear to get only $1. But we have an all-wise God who is doing what? Producing perfect ends by perfect means to do what?
Help the most people for the longest possible time. And since he's completely in control of all things actual and possible, he's going to sovereignly orchestrate that in his goodness to bless both of these men to accomplish his purposes for the world and individual purposes for their lives. And he is the judge, and it's unequivocal. Hebrews 12, 23 says, To the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven, you have come to God, and how's God described? the judge of all men to the spirit of righteous men made perfect.
2 Timothy 4.8 says, Now there is in store for me, the Apostle Paul says, A crown of righteousness, which the Lord, and who's the Lord described as, the righteous judge will award me on that day. And not only me, but also those who have longed for his appearing. And then, if you want to know the role of Jesus in judgment, John 5, 22 and following says, Moreover, the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. God reveals his justice in a fallen world through the natural order the human heart, his role as judge. and fourth and profoundly yet again at the cross.
Romans 3.25-26. If you've got your pen, I want you to circle a few key words. For God presented him, Jesus, as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate. His justice.
The problem of sin was atoned or covered for. And God did that to demonstrate or make a picture or make a point about something, and that something is His justice. because in his forbearance he left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his... Just to circle that.
At the present time, so that he may be just and the one who justifies those who've put their faith in Christ. His justice, his justice, That he might be just. and also the one who justifies. God is consistent in his character, so consistent in his character that the standard for Access to him. To be fair and to be just.
What His holiness demanded, His love provided. And what you need to understand is what the cross is, is God's justice in action. God did not wink at your sin and my sin and say, you know what? Sin, there are actual consequences to this kind of behavior and thought that is unrighteous. This is sin, cause, this is effect.
God didn't say, oh, let's just quit that rule for a while. Michael Gabriel, you know, I'm the God of the universe. I can change whatever I want. Let's just say it's okay. No.
God's standard is even placed upon himself. And that's why the only solution for a relationship with a God that is 100% holy is there needed to be a sacrifice that was 100% holy. And the reason that Jesus was fully God and fully man, it could only be the death quote of God that could pay the price, but only man could die. And so born of a virgin, fully man, fully God, without confusion, the Messiah comes. And when he hung upon the cross, he became your payment and my payment for sin.
As 1 Peter 3.18 says, God once and for all has done what? He's drawn us to himself, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. And what he did is, he Christ once died for sin. The just Christ For the unjust me and you. The he Christ.
might bring us to the father. God's justice is demonstrated at the cross. And that's why it's about grace. That's why the Christian life is not about performance. That's why you cannot earn God's favor.
That's why the justice of God allows you, when you understand it, to begin to deeply embrace and appreciate the love of God. And that's when the cross becomes not just some mental exercise of, yes, Jesus died for my sins. What Jesus did was he absorbed the just wrath of God. Sin does what? Sin is like cancer, it destroys.
It destroys relationships. It separates us from God. It makes people make terrible decisions, and kids get abused, and suicides happen, people get hooked on drugs, and all this chaos in this fallen world. Here's a holy, righteous God, and he sees it, and he knows it's the price tag of freedom, but he hates it. He hates it!
And what he does is it makes him angry. Anger is not a wrong or bad emotion. Wrath is a response to correct something. And so God took his just wrath. Have you ever seen a child abused?
Yeah. I came as close to literally hitting a woman in a laundromat when I saw her pick up an 18-month-old and slam her into. a dryer and then sticker up on that. I mean, I went over to that lady and I just said, Ma'am, Excuse me, I'm a pastor and this wouldn't look good in the paper, but you touch that child again, so help me, I will knock your chin off your shoulders. Didn't make a lot of good headlines for the new pastor in town.
But you know what? I tell you what, that's called righteous anger. If I, as a little tiny human being, can feel that way about one 18-month-old, how do you think God feels about all the sin? that has infiltrated this planet and has caused all the heartache. And all the suicides, and all the broken relationships, and all the diseases that have marred and caused this cancer to destroy the world that he made, and the world that he loves, and the people that he cares about.
The only solution for him to be both just. To be holy and yet to be loving and good was to have his son, the perfect sacrifice, hang on that cross, and as he hung on the cross, God the Father turned away, and He took His wrath and poured it on Jesus, and all the just wrath of God. was placed on him instead of you. The sin got paid for. And the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world.
And you were justified. And the response is by faith to receive. That gift. But if you don't get God's justice, see what we think is, we think God grades on the curve. We think he's like that.
Teacher, that, well, you know, no one did very well on this test, and the highest grade was an 88. We'll make that an A. And those of you that got a 55, you get a C. Here's how God grades. If you get 100.
It's pass. 99.9, it's fail. His character demands it. And that's why I don't care how many good deeds you do, how religious you are, how kind you are, how moral you are, you fall short of the glory of God. And so that's why we need a Savior.
I think we have a generation of people that don't understand how lost we are. We think we're basically kind of good people. And we don't understand the holiness of God. Therefore, we don't grasp the significance of the love of God, and we don't grasp at all that God being just. had to deal with us in a way that would cost him the life of his son.
You're listening to Living on the Edge. And Chip will be back in just a minute to finish today's talk. But quickly, this program is only possible because of the generosity of listeners like you. Consider supporting us today by becoming a monthly partner. Learn more by going to livingontheedge.org.
That's livingontheedge.org. And thanks for doing whatever God leads you to do.
Well, let's rejoin Chip now for the remainder of his message. See, his justice even in a fallen world is revealed through the natural order, human hearts, his role as judge, through the cross, and then finally through the promise of eternal retribution. Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Very important passage. 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
The Apostle Paul is talking to a group of people, and there's division in the church. He's explaining to them how spiritual growth occurs. He's explained that his role was to plant. Apollos was one who watered, and he wants them to understand that only God causes the increase, but there are genuine, real implications that there is going to be a future judgment for believers. Not a judgment for your sin, not a judgment of whether you spend eternity with Christ or eternity apart from Christ.
It will be a judgment for believers of how they've lived their life. And at the end of that judgment, at what's called the Bima seat or the judgment seat of Christ. People will be rewarded for what they did in this life. and others will suffer loss for what they did or doing it for the wrong motives.
So notice we pick it up in chapter 3, verse 10. By the grace of God, that he's given me, I laid a foundation. as an expert builder in someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on the foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, His work will be shown for what it is.
Notice it's his work. It's not a salvation. It's your work as a believer. because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
If what he built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss and he himself will be saved, but only as one. Escaping the flames. Here's all I want you to hear about God's justice. There's coming a day.
that you will give an account. And I will give an account. And I'm gonna die or the rapture's gonna occur. and I'm going to be ushered into the presence of God. And not because of anything good I've done, I will, because of the substitutionary death and atonement of Jesus, my sins are forgiven.
And because when I was 18 years old in 1972, I by faith received that free gift. there was a judgment that occurred, and the judgment was my sins would never be held against me ever. and I was justified, I was born again, the Spirit was placed in my life, and then from this point I'm living this life as a believer, and then I die, and I meet Christ. And when I meet Christ, he's going to say, Chip, Got a few questions for you. I gave you X amount of time on the earth.
I gave you these spiritual gifts. I gave you this ability to make this much money. I gave you these talents, these experiences.
Now I would like to do a little inventory. What did you do with what I gave you? And I will hold you accountable. You are my steward. It was not your time.
It was my time entrusted to you. You are my steward. It was not your money. It wasn't your house. It wasn't your car.
Those gifts They're called gifts. I gave them to you. I entrusted this ministry gift to you.
Now chip We're going to have a little evaluation time. And if you used your time, your talent, and your treasure with the right motives, not to impress people. Not to gain strokes. Not to get people to like you or think better of you while you secretly had different motives. But to the degree you used your time, your talent, your treasure, To honor me during this life, I want you to know that I have some rewards that you will enjoy with me forever and ever and ever.
And those things that don't quite measure up you will have an experience of loss. And we don't hear a lot of teaching on spiritual rewards. It's very clear in Scripture. Yeah, question. And remember what God's justice is?
Everyone gets exactly what they deserve. Do you think that people who've lived for Christ? Have a passionate love for him and been a great steward of their gifts and their time and their talent and their treasure are going to have the same experience in heaven as those who didn't? Absolutely not. We think heaven's like a socialistic society.
Absolutely not. There will be multiple levels of heaven.
Now we will all have no tears. But what you do with your life. I told you sobriety would be needed. What you do with your money. What you do with your gifts in your time.
will have an eternal impact on the quality I mean, certain people will have levels of service. Heaven is not floating on clouds and sipping iced tea. There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth, and there's going to be real people and real life and real work. And except what it's going to be is everything about this fallen yiki earth is going to be gone, and we're going to have relationships and work and joy. like we've never known.
But what you do and what it looks like. will be determined by what you do now. I mean, the Bible's very clear on this. And so we somehow think that we're trying to get this little ticket to get into heaven, I believe in Christ, as though that's the end of the game. Instead of it's the entrance ticket into a life of service and stewardship.
And that this whole little thing called time is about like this, and there's this thing called eternity because Revelation chapter 21 starts here, and forever and ever and ever, the implications. of what I do to steward my life. will be played out for all eternity. That's serious stuff. That's really serious stuff.
I mean, that ought to be one of the highest priority. Jerks. Shakers In your life. You talk about the fear of the Lord? The second Promise of eternal retribution is for unbelievers.
For it's appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. You know, so often people are so afraid or like hell is a bad topic. Hell is not a bad topic to talk about. God so honors the dignity. of people's choices that he has created a place where those who don't want to be around him get the opportunity to not be around him forever.
That that's I mean, what what is it in this thinking that thinks that somehow, somehow God's gonna make everything and Edi Amin and the Stalins of the world and the and the people that have murdered and abused and those that somehow, well, everything just gets okay and Universalism, people want to play these pseudo-intellectual games like, well, everyone somehow is going to be in hell. Yeah, you know, you and Hitler just, you know, drinking iced tea, you know, and everything. You know what? Hitler's going to get exactly what he deserves. And you know what?
You're going to get exactly what you deserve unless you have a sin substitute named Jesus who has. Placed His life As a substitute and receive the just wrath of God for you, and by grace you have been forgiven. There's only two kind of people I love C. S. Lewis's two kind of people in all the world.
One group of people say to God, Thy will be done. I want to be with you forever. And to another group of people, God says, Thy will be done. You get your way forever and ever. And I don't know where you're at.
I did not grow up in the church. But if you have never received Jesus as your Saviour, I want you to know that God's just. He's going to be fair. And if you don't have a way to cover your sin, you will get exactly what you deserve, and you will receive the just, full, it's only, you want fair, right? You want fair?
God will give you fair. But you don't want fair when it comes to this. What you want and what you need is grace. And so I'd encourage you: if you've never received the forgiveness and the work of Christ on your behalf, I mean, I would just turn me off mentally right now, and in my mind's eye, I say, Lord Jesus, I get it. I've never seen it this clearly.
Will you forgive me right now? Will you come into my life? And then I would tell someone, you know what, I prayed to receive Christ and I'm not sure what to do. Let me encourage you. to do that.
Let's look at the application. We've covered it, but let me give it to you in sort of a little to-go package. Four specific things we do in light of the justice of God. Number one, choose to embrace Jesus today as your Savior. rather than meet him as your righteous judge later.
Just choose to meet him today. He will judge you. He will judge me.
So meet him as your Savior today. Instead of your judge later. Second, refuse to take revenge when treated unjustly, knowing God and God alone is judge. Just refuse to take revenge. See, life isn't fair, and you live in a fallen world, and what you want to do is you want to be the judge.
And my ex did this to me, and they did this at work, and they did that at work. And this guy at church, I can't believe he even calls himself a crash judge. He makes me so crazy.
So I'm going to say really bad things about him over here. Never pay back evil for evil. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. Don't take revenge, my beloved. Leave room for the wrath of God.
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a drink. In so doing, you heap burning coals upon his head. It's a picture in the Middle Eastern culture of someone who had repented.
And they would go through the village and they would take some rocks out of the coals and they would put it in a pan and put a towel and they'd put it on their head and they would walk through the village and say, How I used to think has been burned out of my mind and I was wrong in the way I was living. And I want you to know I've changed. It's the kindness of God that leads people to repentance.
Well, how does God show kindness today? It's when his children, his body, treat people who are evil the way they don't deserve. Never take your own revenge, beloved. Leave room for the wrath of God. Do not be overcome with evil.
But what? Overcome evil with good. That's Romans 12. 17 to 21. Don't take your own revenge.
Third is take comfort when you encounter injustice, knowing God will balance the scales either in this life or the next. Psalm 73, for those of you that have had injustice in your life, I mean, those of you who are saying, you know, buddy, I have gotten such a raw deal. Read Psalm 73. Asoph was just about ready to cash it in. He said, You know, I've been walking with you, I've been trying to be pure, and all I've got is heartache.
And I look at all these proud, arrogant people, and man, they have just got it made. And he says then I went into the temple of the Lord. And God gave me perspective. And I realized that their life looks good now, and then like a rug, it could be pulled out from under them. And then he would say, My flesh and my heart may fail, verse 25.
But you are the strength of my heart, and you are my portion forever. In a fallen world where there's injustice, and it's going to happen. You are going to get a bad deal in a fallen world. Run to Jesus. Just come to him and say, you know what?
I'm going to trust all these anger fantasies, all these desires to pay people back, all this stuff inside my heart that hurts so bad, all these ways that I mean keep me up at night that cause that acid in my stomach to churn, all these times I find myself rehearsing and telling people on the phone of how I've been hurt and what they did, stop it. Forgive them. The word forgive literally means to loose. Loose them and say, God, I'll tell you what. I'm a tiny little judge trying to make this happen because it makes me feel better, but they seem like their life is really going pretty well, and I'm up in the middle of the night with these stomach cramps and anger fantasies.
I'm drinking Malox, you know, three or four times a day. I'm taking all those new pills that get the stomach acid down, they're not even working. I'll tell you what, God, I'm going to do. I'm going to forgive and loose them. The same way you forgave me, and now I'm going to step out of the way.
You're the judge, you judge them. And you can do it in this life, or you can do it the next life. I trust that you're a righteous, just judge, and you'll do it. I'm letting go of my internal demand that they get back what they deserve. And you know who will be free?
You will. See, that's what God tells us how to deal with justice in a fallen world. And finally, this is just a word of encouragement: meditate deeply. On the reality of the judgment seat of Christ and the promise of spiritual rewards. Are you ready for this?
What would be your sort of spiritual PL statement? You know, profits and losses. You know, and just go through and say, you know, kind of my devotion, my heart for God, my money, that's what it reflects, my time, that's what it reflects, spiritual gifts and ministry, that's what it reflects, attitudes, and just kind of go through and do a little PL. and say, if I was going to get rewarded or suffer loss today, What would it look like? And then probably get a little journal out or a sheet of paper and say, What mid-course changes do I need to make?
So that when I meet Jesus at the judgment seat, it'll be a lot happier occasion, right? He's good. He's holy. He's just. Life isn't fair.
But God is. I want to pause right now. before this program goes any farther. I don't know where you're at. But what I want to tell you is that if you're outside of Christ, you may never hear the gospel as clearly.
Not because I'm saying it more clearly, but because God has your attention. God loves you and He cares for you, and He's provided a way to be both. Just and the justifier. In other words, he has said, He will take what you deserve, Jesus dying on the cross in your place, paying for your sin, and building a bridge from you To God the Father. And you can receive that free gift.
Would you, wherever you are right now, even if you're driving, maybe need to pull off? Would you pause? And say to the Lord God of heaven, I have sinned against you greatly. I am not perfect. I have fallen short.
and to day I believe that all my sin, You placed on Christ, and now I turn in the empty hands of faith. and I'm putting my trust in him. The Bible promises, as many as receive Him Jesus, to them He gives the right. to become children of God even to those who believe in his name. If you believe in your heart right now and then confess with your mouth the Bible promises, God will save you.
He'll forgive you. He'll come into your life. And so at this moment can I encourage you, in your own words, Tell God I'm sorry. Tell him you're putting your faith in Christ. And right now say, Lord Jesus, come into my life, cleanse me.
Forgive me. Make me your son. Make me your daughter. And if you prayed that even if you prayed it in your mind as you are driving. And from your heart, I want you to, as soon as you can safely, text or call the greatest Christian you know, tell them what you did, then I want you to find a good Bible teaching church this weekend, And then, maybe before that, Go on to livingontheedge.org.
One long word, livingonthege.org. We have some things to put in your hands to help you grow. That's right, Chip.
Well, if you've prayed to receive Christ, we do have a free resource we'd like to put in your hands that was created specifically for new believers. This tool will help you understand what it means to trust in Jesus and what to do next. Request this free resource by calling 888-333-6003 or by visiting livingonthege.org, then clicking the New Believers button. That's livingontheedge.org or call 888-333-6003. Let us help you get started in your faith journey.
Well, thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Druy, and I hope you'll join us again next time.
