Tag: judgement

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Kingdom of Heaven (ACAD: Matthew 25)

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:1-46 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2025:1-46&version=NRSV

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Kingdom of Heaven (ACAD: Daniel 5)

King Belshazzar made a great festival for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote. Then the king’s face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and the king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.

The queen, when she heard the discussion of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall. The queen said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale. There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they were not able to give the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.”

Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed those he wanted to kill, kept alive those he wanted to keep alive, honored those he wanted to honor, and degraded those he wanted to degrade. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him. He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and sets over it whomever he will. And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this! You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored. “

So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene , tekel , and parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom.

That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Daniel 5:1-31 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Daniel%205:1-31&version=NRSV

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ACAD – Rejected: Isaiah 2

The Future House of God

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come
    the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
   Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war any more.

Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance

O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord!
For you have forsaken the ways of[a] your people,
    O house of Jacob.
Indeed they are full of diviners[b] from the east
    and of soothsayers like the Philistines,
    and they clasp hands with foreigners.
Their land is filled with silver and gold,
    and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
    and there is no end to their chariots.
Their land is filled with idols;
    they bow down to the work of their hands,
    to what their own fingers have made.
And so people are humbled,
    and everyone is brought low—
    do not forgive them!
Enter into the rock,
    and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty.
The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low,
    and the pride of everyone shall be humbled;
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up and high;[c]
against all the cedars of Lebanon,
    lofty and lifted up;
    and against all the oaks of Bashan;
against all the high mountains,
    and against all the lofty hills;
against every high tower,
    and against every fortified wall;
against all the ships of Tarshish,
    and against all the beautiful craft.[d]
The haughtiness of people shall be humbled,
    and the pride of everyone shall be brought low;
    and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
The idols shall utterly pass away.
Enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,
from the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.
On that day people will throw away
    to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
    which they made for themselves to worship,
to enter the caverns of the rocks
    and the clefts in the crags,
from the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.
Turn away from mortals,
    who have only breath in their nostrils,
    for of what account are they?

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 2:6 Heb lacks the ways of
  2. Isaiah 2:6 Cn: Heb lacks of diviners
  3. Isaiah 2:12 Cn Compare Gk: Heb low
  4. Isaiah 2:16 Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ACAD – Rejection: Ezekiel 5

A Sword against Jerusalem
And you, O mortal, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and run it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair. One third of the hair you shall burn in the fire inside the city, when the days of the siege are completed; one third you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city;[a] and one third you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. Then you shall take from these a small number, and bind them in the skirts of your robe. From these, again, you shall take some, throw them into the fire and burn them up; from there a fire will come out against all the house of Israel.

Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. But she has rebelled against my ordinances and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations and the countries all around her, rejecting my ordinances and not following my statutes. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not followed my statutes or kept my ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are all around you; therefore thus says the Lord God: I, I myself, am coming against you; I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. And because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. Surely, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents; I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to every wind. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations—therefore I will cut you down;[b] my eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. One third of you shall die of pestilence or be consumed by famine among you; one third shall fall by the sword around you; and one third I will scatter to every wind and will unsheathe the sword after them.

My anger shall spend itself, and I will vent my fury on them and satisfy myself; and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy, when I spend my fury on them. Moreover I will make you a desolation and an object of mocking among the nations around you, in the sight of all that pass by. You shall be[c] a mockery and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious punishments—I, the Lord, have spoken — when I loose against you[d] my deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will let loose to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you, and break your staff of bread. I will send famine and wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children; pestilence and bloodshed shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Footnotes:

Ezekiel 5:2 Heb it
Ezekiel 5:11 Another reading is I will withdraw
Ezekiel 5:15 Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb It shall be
Ezekiel 5:16 Heb them
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ACAD – Rejected: Jeremiah 2

God Pleads with Israel to Repent

The word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:

I remember the devotion of your youth,
    your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
    in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
    the first fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
    disaster came upon them,
says the Lord.

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.  Thus says the Lord:

What wrong did your ancestors find in me
    that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, “Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that no one passes through,
    where no one lives?”
I brought you into a plentiful land
    to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
    and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”
    Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers[a] transgressed against me;
    the prophets prophesied by Baal,
    and went after things that do not profit.

Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
    and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
    send to Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
    even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
    for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
    they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
    and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
    that can hold no water.

Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
    Why then has he become plunder?
The lions have roared against him,
    they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
    his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
    have broken the crown of your head.
Have you not brought this upon yourself
    by forsaking the Lord your God,
    while he led you in the way?
What then do you gain by going to Egypt,
    to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria,
    to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
Your wickedness will punish you,
    and your apostasies will convict you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
    for you to forsake the Lord your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
says the Lord God of hosts.

For long ago you broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds,
    and you said, “I will not serve!”
On every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you sprawled and played the whore.
Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
    from the purest stock.
How then did you turn degenerate
    and become a wild vine?
Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,
says the Lord God.
How can you say, “I am not defiled,
    I have not gone after the Baals”?
Look at your way in the valley;
    know what you have done—
a restive young camel interlacing her tracks,
    a wild ass at home in the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
    Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
    in her month they will find her.
Keep your feet from going unshod
    and your throat from thirst.
But you said, “It is hopeless,
    for I have loved strangers,
    and after them I will go.”

As a thief is shamed when caught,
    so the house of Israel shall be shamed—
they, their kings, their officials,
    their priests, and their prophets,
who say to a tree, “You are my father,”
    and to a stone, “You gave me birth.”
For they have turned their backs to me,
    and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
    “Come and save us!”
But where are your gods
    that you made for yourself?
Let them come, if they can save you,
    in your time of trouble;
for you have as many gods
    as you have towns, O Judah.

Why do you complain against me?
    You have all rebelled against me,
says the Lord.
In vain I have struck down your children;
    they accepted no correction.
Your own sword devoured your prophets
    like a ravening lion.
And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord![b]
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
    or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, “We are free,
    we will come to you no more”?
Can a girl forget her ornaments,
    or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
    days without number.

How well you direct your course
    to seek lovers!
So that even to wicked women
    you have taught your ways.
Also on your skirts is found
    the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
    Yet in spite of all these things[c]
you say, “I am innocent;
    surely his anger has turned from me.”
Now I am bringing you to judgment
    for saying, “I have not sinned.”
How lightly you gad about,
    changing your ways!
You shall be put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
From there also you will come away
    with your hands on your head;
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
    and you will not prosper through them.

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 2:8 Heb shepherds
  2. Jeremiah 2:31 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. Jeremiah 2:34 Meaning of Heb uncertain

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Cheap Words

Well, they’re native, so…. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had half a dozen or so conversations where some version of the phrase above was used to “explain” or set the table for an explanation of some undesirable situation or turn of events. Often, the conversations have been with Christians. Always, the comment was presented […]

via Cheap Words — Rumblings

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Devotional: Love and Justice

February 1, 2016
Love and Justice: Hosea 12:1-6
Read

The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence; they are making an alliance with Assyria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.

Now the LORD is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done. Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him. (Hosea 12:1-6)
Reflect

The two principles that Hosea called his nation to live by—love and justice—are at the very foundation of God’s character. They are essential to his followers, but they are not easy to balance. Some people practice love to the point that they excuse wrongdoing. Others practice justice to the extent that they forget love.

Love without justice leaves people in their sins because it is not aiming at a higher standard. Justice without love drives people away from God because it has no heart. If we forget God’s love, we’ll be left believing that our sins leave us hopeless. But if we forget his justice against our sins, we make the mistake of thinking he will continue to accept us no matter how we act.

Forgiveness is the key (Hosea 14:1-2). When God forgives us, he judges the sin but shows mercy to the sinner.
Respond

Today’s church, just like Hosea’s nation, must live out both love and justice. These two values are not in conflict. We maintain each of them by being a community of forgiveness. The church should practice both love and justice in the context of forgiveness. In this way, the world will be able to see Christ.

Life Application Daily Devotional; A daily devotional based on the New Living Translation

2016 © Tyndale House Publishers

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ACAD – Injustice: Psalm 94

God Will Pay Back His Enemies

The Lord is a God who punishes.
    God, show your greatness and punish!
Rise up, Judge of the earth,
    and give the proud what they deserve.
How long will the wicked be happy?
    How long, Lord?

They are full of proud words;
    those who do evil brag about what they have done.
Lord, they crush your people
    and make your children suffer.
They kill widows and foreigners
    and murder orphans.
They say, “The Lord doesn’t see;
    the God of Jacob doesn’t notice.”

You stupid ones among the people, pay attention.
    You fools, when will you understand?
Can’t the creator of ears hear?
    Can’t the maker of eyes see?
Won’t the one who corrects nations punish you?
    Doesn’t the teacher of people know everything?
The Lord knows what people think.
    He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind.

Lord, those you correct are happy;
    you teach them from your law.
You give them rest from times of trouble
    until a pit is dug for the wicked.
The Lord won’t leave his people
    nor give up his children.
Judgment will again be fair,
    and all who are honest will follow it.

Who will help me fight against the wicked?
    Who will stand with me against those who do evil?
If the Lord had not helped me,
    I would have died in a minute.
I said, “I am about to fall,”
    but, Lord, your love kept me safe.
I was very worried,
    but you comforted me and made me happy.

Crooked leaders cannot be your friends.
    They use the law to cause suffering.
They join forces against people who do right
    and sentence to death the innocent.
But the Lord is my defender;
    my God is the rock of my protection.
God will pay them back for their sins
    and will destroy them for their evil.
    The Lord our God will destroy them.

New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Injustice: Zephaniah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

How terrible for the wicked, stubborn city of Jerusalem,
    which hurts its own people.
It obeys no voice;
    it can’t be taught to do right.
It doesn’t trust the Lord;
    it doesn’t worship its God.
Its officers are like roaring lions.
    Its rulers are like hungry wolves that attack in the evening,
    and in the morning nothing is left of those they attacked.
Its prophets are proud;
    they are people who cannot be trusted.
Its priests don’t respect holy things;
    they break God’s teachings.
But the Lord is good, and he is there in that city.
    He does no wrong.
Every morning he governs the people fairly;
    every day he can be trusted.
    But evil people are not ashamed of what they do.

“I have destroyed nations;
    their towers were ruined.
I made their streets empty
    so no one goes there anymore.
Their cities are ruined;
    no one lives there at all.
I said, ‘Surely now Jerusalem will respect me
    and will accept my teaching.’
Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed,
    and I would not have to punish them.
But they were still eager
    to do evil in everything they did.
Just wait,” says the Lord.
    “Someday I will stand up as a witness.
I have decided that I will gather nations
    and assemble kingdoms.
I will pour out my anger on them,
    all my strong anger.
My anger will be like fire
    that will burn up the whole world.

A New Day for God’s People

“Then I will give the people of all nations pure speech
    so that all of them will speak the name of the Lord
    and worship me together.
People will come from where the Nile River begins;
    my scattered people will come with gifts for me.
Then Jerusalem will not be ashamed
    of the wrongs done against me,
because I will remove from this city
    those who like to brag;
there will never be any more proud people
    on my holy mountain in Jerusalem.
But I will leave in the city
    the humble and those who are not proud,
    and they will trust in the Lord.
Those who are left alive in Israel won’t do wrong or tell lies;
    they won’t trick people with their words.
They will eat and lie down
    with no one to make them afraid.”

A Happy Song

Sing, Jerusalem.
    Israel, shout for joy!
Jerusalem, be happy
    and rejoice with all your heart.
The Lord has stopped punishing you;
    he has sent your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
    you will never again be afraid of being harmed.
On that day Jerusalem will be told,
    “Don’t be afraid, city of Jerusalem.
    Don’t give up.
The Lord your God is with you;
    the mighty One will save you.
He will rejoice over you.
    You will rest in his love;
    he will sing and be joyful about you.”

“I will take away the sadness planned for you,
    which would have made you very ashamed.
At that time I will punish
    all those who harmed you.
I will save my people who cannot walk
    and gather my people who have been thrown out.
I will give them praise and honor
    in every place where they were shamed.
At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring you back home.
I will give you honor and praise
    from people everywhere
when I make things go well again for you,
    as you will see with your own eyes,” says the Lord.

New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Praise: Romans 2

God’s Righteous Judgment

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man — you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself— that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking[a] and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth —  you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You whoboast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded[b] as circumcision? Then he who is physically[c] uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code[d] and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, andcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Footnotes:

  1. Romans 2:8 Or contentious
  2. Romans 2:26 Or counted
  3. Romans 2:27 Or is by nature
  4. Romans 2:27 Or the letter

English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.