To Judge the World (3)

The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth. Psalm 110.1-3

Lord and Judge
When Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of God the Father, He became King of kings and Lord of lords. To Him the Father has given a Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, which He is working to increase on earth as it is in heaven, without end and to the glory of God the Father (Is. 9.6, 7; Phil. 2.5-11).

Our King and Lord Jesus Christ advances His Kingdom on earth by exercising His rule “in the midst of” His enemies, that is, in the everyday situations and circumstances of the world, among all its peoples, throughout its cultures and communities, at every moment, and unto His glorious and incomparable shalom.They who do not know Jesus Christ, who have not submitted to His rule, are His enemies, whether or not they regard themselves as such; and we who do believe and follow Jesus were at one time among His enemies as well (Rom. 5.10). But God has brought us into His shalom, for He is working to bring all the world to that blessed and happy condition.

To this end, the judgments of the Lord are in all the earth, throughout every society and culture. The Lord strives by the Holy Spirit to restrain evil, bear witness to God and His economy, and woo the nations of the earth, so that they might seek and find Him (Ps. 105.7; Gen. 6.3; Acts 1.8; Acts 14.17; Acts 17.26, 27). God the Father loves the world so much that He has taken steps of judgment to deliver the world from the bondage of sin, and to liberate it into the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. He has judged the world’s sin in Jesus Christ, and now through Jesus Christ He judges throughout the world, in every facet and aspect of life in the world, that the world might be brought from darkness to light, death to life, turmoil and uncertainty to shalom.

And the instruments whereby the Lord accomplishes this amazing and indispensable work of judgment are the people who freely bind themselves to Him, submit to His rule, and take up His cause in the world. These people are endued with the power of God to go into the world like the refreshing dew of the morning, carrying out acts of judging and judgment to bring the shalom of God.

We who believe in Jesus Christ are that people, those volunteers, those instruments of divine judgment and shalom. 

Free in Christ to follow Him
The Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims freedom to all who are held in bondage by sin and the devil. When we believe the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, reign, and imminent return, our chains fall off, and we rise freely to follow Jesus in His work of judging the world.

You can know the true people of the Lord Jesus Christ by observing how they use the time He entrusts to them. They who understand and embrace His mission in the world – to bring near the Kingdom and shalom of the Lord – rise like the morning dew to take up that mission every day. They prepare themselves to go among the enemies of the Lord, armed with His Word, filled with His Spirit, and drawing on His courage, to live out His righteousness in every aspect of their lives (Gal. 2.20), to announce and call others to His Kingdom and salvation, and to judge with righteous judgment in every situation and circumstance of their daily lives.

Together with the Father, the Lord Jesus has poured out the power of His Spirit, Who indwells His followers so that they might overcome their natural reticence, hesitancy, and fear to assert the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 27.14) by all their choices, decisions, words, and deeds. God has declared His judgments to His people, and He daily sends them out to judge the world accordingly (Ps. 147.19, 20; Ps. 149.5-9).

Through His faithful people, the Lord brings the light of truth and the salt and leaven of righteousness to the places and people where He sends them daily – to their Personal Mission Fields. The Lord Himself is at their right hand, by His Spirit making them willing and able to do His work of judging and judgment (Ps. 110.5; Phil. 2.12, 13). Thus Christ judges in every nation, bringing to light the dead works of God’s enemies and offering refreshment and salvation to any who long for such a hope (Ps. 110.6, 7; 1 Pet. 3.15).

Take up the calling to judge
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must make sure we understand what our discipleship entails. Being a Christian does not only mean that our sins are forgiven and we can be certain of going to heaven when we die. It means that, of course, but so much more.

Being a Christians is not merely a matter of uniting with a church where can find like-minded friends who join with us in soothing and uplifting worship and projects of mutual affirmation and encouragement. Worship and mutual disciple-making are important parts of our calling as followers of Christ, but our calling does not end here.

We are appointed as witnesses to Jesus Christ, and we have been given the power of His Spirit to carry out this mandate (Acts 1.8). In a court of law, a witness offers his own credibility, observations, and experience as a work of judgment, to condemn an offender or exonerate one falsely accused. He can only do what he is prepared to do, but he must do it faithfully, truthfully, and whenever called upon to do so (Lev. 5.1). And an indispensable part of our role as witnesses is to carry out those acts of judging and judgment, beginning with ourselves and our own believing community, that bring the goodness of God to light and offer His healing and restoring shalom to the world.

But where do we begin? What does such judging look like, and what can we expect as we are faithful in it? How can we remain faithful and improve diligence in judging the world? In the remaining installments in this series, we will consider these important questions.

For reflection
1.  What does it mean to say that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords? Why does it follow naturally from this that His judgments should be in all the earth?

2.  How is it obvious in your life that you are one who “volunteers” for Jesus?

3.  What are you doing to prepare yourself to be more consistent and effective in judging throughout your Personal Mission Field?

Next steps – Transformation: Memorize Psalm 110.1-3, and use it throughout the day to renew your commitment to judge your world with righteous judgment.

T. M. Moore

Forward today’s ReVision to a friend and encourage your friend to subscribe. To gain a better perspective on “the smallest matters” we are called to judge, download the free 3-part ReVision study, Small Stuff, which is available by clicking here.

This week’s study is part 4 of a 4-part series, To Judge the World. Each part consists of seven lessons and is available as a free PDF download at the end of the study. In the tag for part 7, we’ll give you a link to download part 4, To Judge the World.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.