Granted that there are those who just simply want to be a law unto themselves and refuse to submit to any given authority (good or evil) and will commit any wicked deed they think they can get away with without regard to those whom they victimize and harm, but there are also those who, although they do see the need for some sense of order to be maintained, also feel that some of the laws and regulations imposed upon them by their respective governing authority are unnecessary, unjust, oppressive, and wicked.
And when a populace sees that their respective authorities are not subjecting themselves to the same laws that are being imposed upon them, they may become resentful of their respective government and even rebel against it at a time they feel they have the strength and power to challenge that established authority and even overthrow it.
That is because, whether they fully comprehend it or not, there is a law written in our conscience and even upon our hearts that comes from a much higher authority than any form of civic government and it is from that supreme authority that the establishment of civic government finds its basis because it is that supreme authority who is the source of all truth and the definer of right and wrong, law and justice because He is also the Creator by whom all things were created and it is before Him that all people, subjects and ruling parties alike, will be made to give an account for all things done in this life (good or bad) and will receive their reward or sentence accordingly.
With the highest authority also comes a standard of justice that is much higher, more pure, and much more severe than that of any earthly authority and to a form of justice to which even earthly governments will be made to face one day.
But
it is not just the outward actions or even the words we speak that will be
subject to judgment, but even our inward thoughts and motives will also be
judged as well as the goodness of each and everyone of us will not be compared
one to another, but with the goodness of the God who made us which is moral
perfection.
But because the goodness of even the best of us falls short of that standard, so does our standards for law and justice, and when governance is done apart from the counsel of the Supreme Lawgiver, there are either an excessive amount of laws, or utter lawlessness, plus corruption in high places, double standards, enforcement of laws and decrees in an unequal and unfair manner, and miscarriages of justice.
It is because that we fall short of God’s moral standard of perfection that even the institutions and governing authorities in whom we place our trust do not always make the best policy decisions and are even tainted with shortcomings, evils, and failures of their own because from a fallible and morally imperfect people comes a fallible and morally imperfect government, even under the best of circumstances and under the best and most upright systems of government.
When man was first created, he was created without a corrupt nature with perfect unity between him and His maker, with harmony throughout all of creation; a peace and tranquility therein that we could only dream of. It was nothing like the present world we live with its ever-increasing darkness, wickedness, corruption, suffering, hardships, perplexities, griefs, pains, and sorrows.
But man was given a choice of life and death and which would also determine the course of the world. In the midst of a certain garden were two trees: The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that the first man and woman, Adam and his wife Eve, were told not to eat from. They were warned that in the day that they eat of it, they would surely die. (Gen. 2:16-17)
But when they disobeyed that one command, in giving heed to the false promises of a voice at enmity with our Maker, and ate the fruit of that tree that they were told not to eat from, sin entered into them and with sin came death and then death to all mankind because we have all inherited sin from Adam and Eve because we are their descendants (Rom. 5:12) which why it is written that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and because all sin, all die; sin being more than just actions or even the words that come from our mouths. It is that corrupted condition of our very nature affecting not only our actions or our speech, but also our very thoughts, reasoning, and motives.
No matter how much good we try to do, sin is every with us. We may perform a charitable act one moment, curse our neighbor the next, embrace our spouse in the morning and contend with lustful thoughts of someone other than our spouse in the evening. We may extend mercy to one and yet harbor a grudge against another and even when we perform that which is good, it may be done, not for the reason that good ought to be done, but for selfish gain thereby making the standard of moral perfection an impossible one to meet.
To examine oneself, inside and out, is the most humbling experience anyone can undergone, but when they realize that they have fallen short of moral purity, it can also be the most terrifying experience when they come to understand that even every thought and motive will be taken into account by their Maker on the day of judgment and what that could mean.
Every sin, no matter how slight, must eventually be punished because with moral perfection comes judicial perfection which must judge the smallest misdeeds alongside the most grievous and when it comes, the severity thereof will be terrifying to those who will be receiving its sentence.
When
the Maker imparted His laws and precepts to mankind, they were given to us for
the purpose of bringing and maintaining order to a sinful world but the law was
never meant to bring redemption. Instead,
it was given to show us our need for redemption.
The law of God addresses the inward man as well as it does the outward performance. The same law that says, “Do Not Murder” also states, “Do Not Covet.” Most of us will say that we have never murdered anyone, but who can say that they have never had a covetous thought, which is wanting what someone else has; a sin of the inward man? The same law that says, “Do Not Steal,” also says to not lie. But who has never told a single lie? Can anyone say that they have never disobeyed their parents? God’s law tells us to honor our parents. Every violation, whether it be outwardly or inwardly will be taken into account and the sentence given accordingly which will be an everlasting sentence without end for those who die without redemption.
Sin has affected not only man, but also everything it touches which is why when sin entered the world, and death through sin, the entire creation also became cursed and subject to strife, pain, suffering, and constant struggle (Rom. 8:19-22) and it is because of our inherited sinful nature, that we are born separated and estranged from our Maker and cannot be permitted entry into His Kingdom due to our sinful state as that which is without sin cannot be allowed to be defiled by that which is sinful.
That is why those for who remain in their sinful condition, there is nothing to look forward to except eternal separation from our Maker resulting in a fearful, terrifying, and everlasting torment and punishment because if sin was not punished that the Kingdom of God would become just as defiled as that of the world we live in but there is a way that we can be liberated from our sinful state and a means of redemption provided for us because the God who made us is not willing that we should die in our sins but that we would all come to repentance and embrace the offer of redemption that He has set before us for He is not only a God of the justice that must be carried out to maintain holiness, but He is also a God of love and mercy and it is His love and mercy for His creation that He sent Christ Jesus who is without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) to die for all who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) which is every one of us.
Because of sin being always in us and with us, it is impossible for our goodness to grant us entry into the Heavenly Kingdom, but we have been given entry on the merit of the God who is without sin, giving Himself over to death to pay the required penalty on our behalf, which is death, and afterwards, raising from the dead, so that anyone placing their trust in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. (Jn. 3:16)
It is one the cross that Jesus died that both the demanded penalty for sin was met and mercy was shown thereby making the forgiveness of sins possible for anyone calling upon the name of Jesus to be saved.
For
by calling on the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, our souls are made
clean and thus are reconciled to the Father in Heaven, being able to approach
Him now in a way that we could not when we were still under sin and with the cleansing
of the soul, will come the eventual redemption of the body (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1
Thess. 4:13-18) and finally, the redemption of creation itself from the curse that
has plagued it through the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth wherein will
exist no curse, where death will be absent, where there will be no sin, and in
which there will be no evil, pain, suffering, grief, hardship, strife, or struggle.
(Rev. 21-22)
But with the cleansing of the soul from sin also comes the transformation of the inward man which causes the repentant sinner who places their trust in Christ to no longer want to do that which is evil and displeasing in the sight of our Lord, but who seeks to please and honor Him in all that they do out of love for Him and in gratitude for the grace and mercy shown to them, relying on grace by faith Christ alone for salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) instead of their own efforts which will never measure up, for salvation comes by grace being given freely and without merit, not a thing to be earned but a gift to be received and yet so often rejected by those who prefer the darkness instead of light, sin instead of holiness, evil instead of good.
No longer are we who are in Christ subject to laws that cannot save or transformed, but we are now subject to the law of Grace by which we are redeemed and changes us in a way that makes us want to be obedient to the law of God, not to earn His favor but because of His favor shown to us through Christ but not all law is of God, for the laws of God are not burdensome or oppressive but are established for the best interests of all.
But the laws of men, when done apart from the counsel of God, impose that which is wicked in His sight, oppress, cause those who would otherwise prosper to fail, compel those who would otherwise not, to endorse and participate that which is evil in the sight of our God, serve not the interest of the people upon whom they are imposed, but instead serve only the interests of those ruling over them, and even seek to silence the voice of truth through suppression and persecutions.
But for those of us who seek to follow Christ, we are subject to His laws above all other laws and therefore must obey Him above all else when the laws of men oppose His laws and commands (Acts 5:29) no matter what we are threatened with or what degree of persecution we may experience for the reward to come is destined to overshadow the persecution that we face in the name of our King (Mt. 5:11-12) and the recompense that we receive for the sacrifices we make on His behalf will supersede that which we relinquish for the sake of the Kingdom (Mk. 10:30)
He has also promised to those who serve Him faithfully that He will bring trouble to those who trouble us for His name’s sake (2 Thess. 1:6) which is why:
We need not fear those who would shame us for they themselves will be overwhelmed with shame.
We need not fear the scrutiny of the academics or skeptics because the Lord whom we serve is able to give us the wisdom needed to answer every question and to overcome every argument, thus leaving the unbelievers without an excuse for their unbelief.
We need not fear the criticisms of those who think themselves holy for the works in which they place their trust will not justify them and they will be subject to everlasting condemnation.
We need not fear those who discriminate against us for they themselves shall be kept out of the world to come.
We need not fear the loss of livelihood, property, nor should we even fear the loss of that which we hold dear on account of our faith for the Lord God whom we serve is able to either restore or replace that which is taken from us.
We need not fear the sentences pronounced by any court against us for the judges themselves will stand condemned and subject to everlasting contempt before the Judge of all mankind.
We need not fear the prisons for they who would imprison us will for they who imprison us will be bound in everlasting chains of darkness.
We need not fear them who would torture and torment us for they themselves will be subject to everlasting torment.
We need not fear the armies which come against us because they can be defeated and will find themselves falling defeat.
We need not fear them who can only kill the body because we will be ever present with the Lord and our bodies will be raised anew when our King returns but they who kill us will find both their bodies and souls destroyed in the everlasting fire.
We need not fear the ever increasing darkness of this present world because there is a new and better world to come.
If
we serve the King of Kings, then we must live and act like we serve Him and Him
alone and that we are subject to Him above all other authorities which will
themselves be made subject to Him because He will enforce His authority over
all things when He returns. (Rev. 19)
In that day, the world will experience what it is like to be under a government that is without corruption, whose every law is just and serves the interests of all, in which justice is made swift, righteousness is enforced in a way that we have never seen but there will be no place for the unrepentant in the Kingdom He establishes. They who submit themselves to Him will inherit all things with Him and enjoy everlasting peace and joy, but the unrepentant will be shut out and cast into darkness and into the flame that torments and punishes forever and ever which is why now is the day of salvation, and now is the time to repent and give yourself over to Christ our Savior and King. (2 Cor. 6:2)
If you sense and feel the calling of the Holy Spirit to repentance, do not harden your heart, but open your heart to the love and mercy of our Savior and receive His offer of the forgiveness of sins on your behalf so that you may become a citizen of that better world to come.
If you are not sure what to pray, here is an example of a prayer of repentance that can be prayed:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
Amen."
18. Revelation 19
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