To Judge the World (5)

…of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do… 1 Chronicles 12.32

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5.15, 16

Time on our side
All the acts of judging and judgment we will undertake will be made in time. This is good news, because time is on our side as believers. By understanding time, the times in which we live, and the time of our lives, we can redeem the time allotted to us by shalom-bringing acts of judging and judgment.

What is time? It is the succession of moments which proceed continuously from the Word of God into our present, where we invest or squander them before they return to the Lord to be noted and recorded. One day, how we used the time allotted to us will be read out before us as witness to our true faith and convictions. We need to make sure that we use the time of our lives in a manner consistent with the intentions of Him Who gives it.

Our Lord’s intention is that His shalom and glory might be known in the time of our lives. We know this, because we understand it from His Word (cf. Jer. 29.7; 1 Cor. 10.31; etc.). We are not in the dark about time and what it’s for, so in that respect, time is on our side. Since we know why the Lord leaves us here and gives us the gift of time, we can bring our use of time into line with His intentions by learning to judge with righteous judgment.

Time is on our side as well because Jesus is the Lord of time. He works all things – all of which are done in time – according to the counsel of His will and for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Eph. 1.11; Rom. 8.28). By His powerful Word, our Lord Jesus makes time work for His purposes, especially the time He grants to us who know Him, and who understand that He has called us to judge the world (Heb. 1.3; 1 Cor. 6.2).

Finally, time is on our side because we know where time is going. At the end of time we will stand before the Lord of glory and give an accounting of how we used this most precious gift for His shalom and glory. The end of time will not spring some unwelcome surprise on us; we know what to expect when we get there, and thus we may happily and energetically prepare for that great assize at the end of time in each and every moment of our lives.

Understanding the times
The current of time is flowing toward final shalom and eternal glory; but the times in which we live strive mightily to resist that current, and we must make sure the time of our lives is flowing as the Lord intends. Thus, to judge the world, we need to understand the times in which we live, and to make sure that we are using the time allotted to us in line with our Lord’s purposes.

Epochs of time are, in a general way, identified by their outstanding features, at least, that is, according to certain observers. Historians talk of the “dark ages” (which weren’t all that dark) and “the age of enlightenment” (which frequently seems not very enlightened) or “the age of reason” or “the technological age.” Those terms identify the dominant characteristics or worldview of the times, that approach to life which describes the views and aspirations of, if not all, at least the most influential people of any age.

The times in which we live are predominantly secular, materialistic, and narcissistic. Ours is, as Charles Taylor had observed, “a secular age.” While many people in our culture continue to believe in God, they do not believe Him to be relevant, except either to blame for incomprehensible disasters (“acts of God”) or to plead with in times of desperation. Otherwise, for most people who claim to believe in Him, God is merely background noise to which most of us have become accustomed and therefore to which we pay no heed.

At the same time, most people in our day define the good life in terms of material comforts – wealth, health, personal safety, and an assortment of delights and entertainments. This feeds our natural self-interest which, in our day, has bloomed into widespread narcissism. 

These convictions only seem to be the dominant currents of our day; in reality, they are carried along in the larger current of time’s progress toward the day of Christ’s final judgment and glory. We need to understand the ways of these counter-currents, so that we may avoid being swept up in them, and may know how best to help those who are trapped in and being carried along by them. How does such a world spirit of secularism, materialism, and narcissism affect people’s priorities, choices, and way of life? How can we show the Christian worldview as a truer and more satisfying way of life by our decisions and actions? If we pay attention to the times, and the effects they have on the people in these times, we may know better what we must do as the people of God to judge the world with righteous judgment.

Redeeming the time
For many contemporary Christians, the faith described in the Bible is not as real as it should be. It exists primarily as a raft of beliefs to assent and a community of people with which to identify. The daily experience of the presence, promise, and power of Christ and His Kingdom eludes many believers, because many of us have allowed, as Francis Schaeffer observed, “the spirit of the naturalism of the age to creep into our thinking, unrecognized.” For many believers, trapped in what George Barna and Frank Viola call “pagan Christianity,” their lives are dominated by priorities, activities, commitments, and interests that parallel more closely those of our secular age than those of the eternal King of glory.

Paul tells us to pay careful attention to how we use the time of our lives. When our approach to the time of our lives is framed in prayer, managed by careful planning, and characterized by constant attention to the will of God, we will make the kind of decisions and choices, and take the kind of actions, that bring the rule of Christ to bear on our world. We will judge the world according to Christ’svision of time, rather than that of our unbelieving contemporaries.

The time of our lives comes to us from our Lord Jesus Christ, pristine and free, intended for His glory and the blessing of our world. We must receive those moments and use them with a view to the larger scope and purpose of time, so that all our acts of judging and judgment will reflect the eternal purposes of our Lord, rather than the fleeting fancies of an age in flight from God.

For reflection
1.  Summarize your approach to planning, using, and reviewing the time of your life. Do you see any ways you might improve this?

2.  The world thinks of this as a secular age, but the Scriptures refer to the days in which we live as “the last days” (cf. Micah 4.1-8; Acts 2.14-17). Does it matter which of these templates we follow in using the time of our lives to judge with righteous judgment? Explain.

3.  Jonathan Edwards described time as, next to our salvation, God’s most precious gift. Do you agree? Explain.

Next steps – Preparation: Talk with some other believers about their approach to redeeming the time of their lives. What can you learn from them to improve your own approach?

T. M. Moore

For a more detailed study of the spirit of our times, download our free ReVision study, “The Religion of Secularism,” 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.