The Lord of the Storm
Genesis. The book that taught us about Noah, the flood, and courageous faith. But is there more to learn? Why yes, there is! But it’s a topic that we often find a little uncomfortable, and in some instances, tend to avoid. It is the topic of divine judgement. (stylerecap.com) The Bible teaches us about several different judgements. Most notably are:
- The Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10)
o The place where Christians appear before God to be rewarded for their life and service to God on earth. - Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)
o The final judgment of sinners where they are judged for their rejection of Jesus and cast into the lake of fire.
As such, we can learn a lot from the story of the flood and how to prepare for God’s divine judgement. The flood provides an occasion to teach us what is beneath the judgment of God and why it is necessary.
The Necessity of Judgment
Whether we like to admit it or not, it’s human nature to question God. When we look at situations like the flood, we may ask. “Why would God destroy everyone? God is a God of love, so why does it matter what we do and how we behave?” The answer: Genesis 6 shows us that God’s judgment is the result of humanity’s violence and evil in the world. Violence corrupts and destroys creation, essentially making it unrecognizable from God’s original intent when he created it. Thus, if there is no judgment from God, there is no way to stop humanity from destroying itself once it is overcome with violence and corruption. In the case of the flood, it was a vicious cycle that God stepped into out of love to end. God is both the ultimate creator and supreme judge of all. As a supreme judge, God:
- Makes sense of the violence in nature through the lens of what is morally right and wrong.
- Gives us a way to deal with personal wrongs and offer forgiveness to others.
- Keeps us from taking matters into our own hands and allows us to let God fight our battles.
The flood teaches us that there is a God who is an ultimate creator and judge, and that the judge is not us. We have to allow God to judge for us. Now that we know why divine judgment is necessary, it is time to explore its complexities.
The Complexity of Judgment
When we look at Genesis, we see how violent the world was. The world “grieved the heart of God” and caused him immeasurable pain. Judgement, like the flood, is complex because while it ended violence and corruption, it caused God pain. The way we live, what we do, and how we experience life really matters to God. When we destroy God’s plan for our lives, it hurts him beyond measure.
Judgment is complex because:
All judgment is born out of God’s heart.
God has tied his heart to our well-being. He chooses to stay with us and not forsake us. At the cross, Christ wept in agony as he secured our redemption. God suffers when we turn to sin because God loves us and refuses to abandon us.
God does not just give judgment, but he takes judgment upon himself.
God does not just give judgment, he also takes it. His cup is filled with suffering. At the cross, he is the one that took on the weight of judgment so that we would not have to be judged. Tim Keller said, “If he’s just a God of truth, he’s not going to suffer. Right? He just smites people. If he’s just a God of love and he accepts and tolerates everybody, he’s just going to accept people. If he’s a God of truth and love, if he’s a God of holiness and absolute compassion, he suffers. It’s the nature of God. When God saw what Adam and Eve did, when God saw what we did, he knew because of who he was he was going to suffer more deeply than anybody else, and yet he let history go on. 1 “
With this, we now understand why divine judgment is complex but necessary, but what is the solution?
The Solution to Judgment
When we have an infinitely holy and loving God, there must be a solution to judgment. The flood presents a pattern for a solution we can apply to our lives. We learn from the flood that:
It is a picture of salvation through judgment.
Not salvation in spite of judgment, not salvation and judgment, not half salvation and half judgment; it’s salvation through judgment. 2 Noah escaped; God still provided a way out through the ark.
The world needed a fresh start.
Humanity’s violence destroyed the world. It was disintegrating, crumbling, decaying, and God had to stop it. The world needed a new beginning so God decided that Noah and his family would be the ones to help start over.
We need a place of safety in times of judgment.
It all comes back to Noah’s ark. God provided Noah (and will also provide to us) a solution when judgment was coming. We need to be wise, listen to God, and get into the ark.
As Christians, the flood (trouble and judgment) will come. However, it is only when we are in the ark of salvation and remember what Jesus did for us that we will be safe. Once judgements pass, we must live our lives as such or we will be crushed by guilt and despair, hate the world, or become bitter toward God and His people. We must start living today as though the judgment is past and that we are truly free in Christ.
Summing It Up
We have learned a lot today. Let’s sum it all up in a few points:
- God’s judgment is the result of humanity’s violence and evil in the world.
- God is both the ultimate creator and supreme judge of all.
- As a supreme judge, God:
o Makes sense of the violence in nature through the lens of what is morally right and wrong.
o Gives us a way to deal with personal wrongs and offer forgiveness to others.
o Keeps us from taking matters into our own hands and allows us to let God fight our battles. - Judgment is complex because:
o All judgment is born out of God’s heart.
o God does not just give judgment, but he takes judgment upon himself. - The flood presents a pattern for a solution that we can apply to our lives.
- God is both a God of love and a God of holiness.
- We are all subject to the judgment of God.
- The ark (salvation) is the way that God protects us from judgment.
- The cross simultaneously shows us the judgement of God and the love of God. God demonstrates his love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[1] Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
[2] Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.