Monday 12 May 2014

Coming Up: Sonday 18 May 2014

Can A Loving God Judge Us?

Romans 2:1-16

Read: Genesis 6:5-22

Would a loving God really judge mankind? It's a popular question. We hear so much about how loving God is, how gracious God is and how kind God is. If He truly is all these things then surely He wouldn't judge people. Surely He wouldn't send people to Hell. Would He?

Word Moment

The worldwide flood is no mere myth. God's word teaches it in Genesis 6-9, Jesus and the Apostles believed in the flood (Luke 17:26-27, Hebrews 11:7, 1 Peter 3:20) and scientific evidence supports it (http://creation.com/noahs-flood-questions-and-answers). Are you willing to take God at His word?

Paul writes about God's righteous judgment in Romans 2 but before we study Paul's words together this coming Sonday let's take some time to see what the rest of the Bible has to say about this question.

The first stop on our Biblical journey is Genesis 6. At least 1,500 years has passed since Adam and Eve rebelled against God and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. During this time mankind has fallen deeper and deeper into sin. The world has become more and more perverted. Verse 5 tells us that the world had become so evil that "every inclination of the thoughts of [man's] hearts was only evil all the time." God was greatly grieved by the evil and sin that He saw and He resolved to wipe mankind from the Earth.

God's judgment is fierce. For forty days and nights it buckets down rain and the springs in the deep gush forth water. The flood rises and rises until all the highest mountains are completely covered. Picture the worst flood you have ever witnessed or seen on the news and multiply it by 1,000. There is no chance for survival. Everyone and everything under God's judgment is totally destroyed and wiped away. Does God judge people for their sin? Undoubtedly.

But here in Genesis 6 we see another pattern in the way God operates: He always provides a way of salvation for His people. Here God chooses Noah and His family to be the source of salvation for His people and ultimately for the human race. Under God's instruction Noah builds an Ark which God uses to save him, his family and two of every kind of animal from judgment.

The flood teaches us that God is both a just and righteous God who judges sinful humanity for their rebellion against Him and He is a gracious and merciful God who provides a way of salvation for His people. Let us praise our just and gracious God!

Discussion Questions for families and groups

1. Was God's judgment fair?
2. What hope was there in the flood?
3. What hope do we have today because of the flood?

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Praise God that He is both gracious and just. Praise Him that He is able to deal with sin and that He will not let evil go unpunished. Praise Him also for His grace towards mankind in providing a way of salvation.
• Pray for those who gathered together yesterday in your church. Pray that the word that was preached would sink deep into people's hearts and that they might be changed by what they heard. Pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen you and those who heard the message to apply it to their lives.

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