"But though I cannot make you see sin, yet I can leave this truth with you,—you will one day feel what sin means, unless you repent of it, for he that spared not his own Son will not spare you. If the Judge upon the throne smote Christ, who had no sin of his own,—smote him so sternly for other men’s sins,—what will he do with you? If he spared not his beloved Son, what will he do with his enemies?"
"But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end. As it says, “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:13-15 NET)
"At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession. So do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward. For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised." (Hebrews 10:33-36)
There is much to this entry. The honest reality of this is I have spent more time reflecting on this very topic than any I have in such time. For the land I once knew as home is in udder disarray, as the conflict rages between the loveless and the lost.
Shame is a curious affliction that is borne both as an effect of unrighteousness actions, more so often now realized as chain draped over the accused. Under the old covenant, shame was often a mark that kingdoms would carry as a mark of failure to obey the word. Ezekiel 36 states "They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols, so I poured out my fury on them. I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the LORD, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations. (Ezekiel 36:18-21 NLT)
Shame has become a new Gospel in the modern world, though the false idol of shame masquerading as justice is not one new to this world. The world identifies those who lie within those church walls as legalistic, concerned with righting those who err and correcting their missteps.
I've often wonders why the skeptics continue to walk though the church doors when their more rational natures would reason otherwise.
Who among us is righteous enough I assign shame? For those men who assign shame rarely do so with an underpinning of love. Our prisons are not designed to hold those who we hope for redemption. The world will deliver justice to the blind, but you, oh believer, are not of that world. Your eyes have been opened, your justice is now that of your King. Your enduring confidence will cast out shame and replace it with hope.
So the strident wonder, "Well, what about justice? Who will administer right justice to the world?" have you yet to awaken, o believer? Justice in men is fleeting, righteousness abides on the tribunal of God. That who is tried and tested will be judged under his gavel, and those who wrong will reach their due uppance. Even more, we make for poor authenticators of sacred pardons, and worse agents in abiding in the supremacy of grace.
For us, he gave us not a truth that would please or placate us, but rather the intensity, the agony of the blood of Calvary. The reality of his sacrifice is not meant to be hidden within the catacombs of our courts, rather it should permeate our decisions, rumination and actions. Indeed, those who our courts corral are not confined that they may someday be savable. For the saving was already done. So strong must a man's sense of justice be that he be able to overcome the whole of his prejudices and be sprinkled with the blood of the lamb.
We have so often allowed ourselves to confuse the moxie of man-made justice with a holy chivalry. But Paul forewarns us against such a fallacy. The confounding misapplication of our might and passion has allowed vehement vigilantism that is antithetical to the redemption. Jesus does not confuse the application.
"But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. (Matthew 5:39-41 NLT).
He speaks to those specifically who seek to carry revenge under the vise of justice and redemption. These vises lead to more sin, and as believers, must not be out foundation. In Isaiah 1:18-20, Isaiah specifically does not emphasize seeking justice as an isolated act, but as action intertwined with Love, Hope and Mercy.
Better to see the whole of your innocence though the judge of all judges than upon the obstructed eye of men.
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