It’s Not For Me To Judge

 

In the midst of that post I mentioned how Saul’s disobedience did not nullify God’s love for him. I said I was confident that God still loved Saul and wanted what was best for Him, which is 100% truth in the character I believe God has shown me of Himself through His Word, and through my experiences with HIm. But just because God’s love for Saul did not diminish, this did not keep him from having to face the consequences of his disobedience – one of the consequences we know about being the loss of God’s favor over him as king.

 

Since writing that post I have had this persistent, nagging urge inside of me to bring up a question that some of the readers may have had following that post, though, so that’s where we’re going to go next with all of this. Truth-be-told, I’m a bit concerned about how this is going to go, but in the spirit of obedience, I’m going to do what I think I’m being told to do. So, here goes nothin’…

 

Here’s what some of you could have been thinking as you read my last blog:

 

And this is where things are going to get complicated…

 

The honest and most truthful answer I can give you is, I don’t know. Sincerely, I don’t know the answer to that question, and biblically speaking, it’s not my job to know.  

 

Let me explain…

 

Just after the situation with Saul in 1 Samuel 15, chapter 16 begins with God telling Samuel to go and anoint the new person He had selected to become the (eventual) king of Israel.  That person being King David, the ancestor of Jesus.

 

When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem, God told him to make a sacrifice. The elder’s of the town were invited, as well as David’s father, Jesse, and David’s brothers. David was out in a field somewhere tending to the family’s livestock.

 

The Bible says that when Samuel took one look at the eldest son of Jesse, Eliab, he was convinced that this kid was the right one to pick, but God told him he was wrong. In verse 7, God says:

 

 

This is why I’m honestly grateful that it won’t be my job to judge come Judgement Day. It’s also why I can’t answer the question for where Saul will spend eternity.

 

People are human. We have faults. We make mistakes. We are easily deceived and most of the time can’t see past the outward appearances right in front of us. We may think we know people’s intentions, but the truth is most of the time we have no idea what’s really going on in people’s minds and hearts.

 

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus tells a crowd listening to one of His most powerful messages, “Beware of false prophets who come in disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.” (NLT). He’s warning them about people who appear to be innocent. Our humanistic eyes would believe these individuals to be people with good intentions who want to tell us something about, and/or from the Lord. 

 

In verse 21 He continues, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ Will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” (NLT)

 

From this, you may be thinking:

So it’s doing the will of the Father that will allow people to enter into Heaven? Well, what exactly is the will of the Father and how do we do it? 

 

This is a good and valid question. I think the best answer I can give for this can be found in Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus was asked by some religious leaders around town if He could tell them what the most important commandment of the Law was. Here’s what Jesus said in verse 37:

 

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”  Adding also that loving your neighbor (other people) as yourself was just as important.  He said on these two commandments hang the ability to fulfill all of the Law.

 

Now, you may be thinking:

 

Let’s go into the Gospel of John 

In John 14:21, Jesus tells His disciples a little more about how exactly we’re supposed to show that we love God:

 

“Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me…” 

 

What He’s talking about here is doing His will. In other words, doing what He asks. He clarifies this in verse 23 after a question is presented to Him by one of the disciples:

 

“All who love Me will do what I say. My father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”  And in verse 24 “… And remember, My words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me.”

That’s a good question, too. The simple answer is you should read His Word (the Bible). It tells us that the Word is the lamp for our feet. In other words, the light that shows us where to go. You should also spend time talking to God. Praying. Listening to Him… because He actually talks to us. Maybe not in audible words for the majority of us, but when you really ask and listen, and wait patiently you might find yourself surprised at how much He says. That’s how relationships are formed – time together.

 

Some of you may be more accustomed to hearing from the Lord, and you may be thinking more along these lines…

You’re right. They aren’t always easy, but they are for our good. That’s why Jesus also told the people listening to that really awesome and long sermon in Matthew:

 

It is definitely a hard road. Anyone who tells you otherwise… well, they must have missed Jesus’ other words mentioned in Mark 8:34:

 

“… If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” NLT

 

We must give up our selfish desires to do God’s will. We must become selfless. It often means giving up a lot of things you think you want. But I tell you the truth – when we give up the life we think we want and take the life He desires for us there is fullness of joy. He wants us to do what He asks because His desires for us are always good. He wants what’s best for us because He KNOWS what’s best for us. Sometimes we have to give up lifestyles we’ve become accustomed to. Sometimes we have to do hard things. Sometimes we even get to live in mud hut villages using squatty potties and taking bucket showers because He wants us to share His message of truth with the “least of these”. He calls His followers to be “set apart”. To be different than the world.

 

Some other questions that may be coming up now:

 

 

Personally, I think this is where what Paul writes in Romans 7 comes in to play. He talks about how sometimes, even though his deepest desire inside of him is to do the right thing in the sight of God, he messed up and did wrong things. His heart wanted to do the right thing, but every once in a while that sinful nature that’s inside of all of us would get the better hand. This is where the grace given to us through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is important.  

 

You see, what I believe is that God sees the heart of man… just like He told Samuel when he was checking out the sons of Jesse. He doesn’t see the actions (to a degree), He sees our hearts and our intents and our earnest desires. That’s why He’s the righteous judge, not you or me. He’s the only one worthy of being the final judge.

 

I told the world in a blog post over a year ago (here) that I struggled with an addiction to pornography for nearly a decade.