REPOST Todays’ AMI Quiet Time, originally posted on January 16, 2019, is provided by Pastor Ryun.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“Media Loves To Dig Up the Past, but God Does the Opposite”
Isaiah 54:4 (ESV)
“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.”
It was quite a spectacle to watch members of the Judiciary Committee—Senator Richard Blumenthal (DConnecticut) in particular—attempt to gauge Brett Kavanaugh’s fitness for the Supreme Court based on entries in his high school yearbook. One writer summarized it as “lots of football, plenty of drinking, parties at the beach.” Others focused on a cryptic reference allegedly pointing to a sexual conquest.
No doubt, to the news media and senators, Supreme Court justices seem far more important than ministers of the gospel like myself. But not according to how God sees things. Kavanaugh was trained in law school to interpret the Constitution of the United States; I was trained in seminary to interpret the Constitution of a Higher Order—the Scripture. Thus, before the eyes of the Lord, what I am called to do in God’s Court (i.e., the church) ranks higher than what Kavanaugh has now been appointed to do in the Supreme Court. So if Kavanaugh’s youthful behavior is grounds for denying his appointment to the lower court, then shouldn’t I resign from the higher court, since I too behaved badly in my youth? I confess that I did things in my youth that would greatly embarrass me if they were exposed. So did King David, who prayed, “O LORD… remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions” (Ps. 25:7).
Are you any different? Senator Blumenthal wasn’t. The same senator who took a hard stance against Kavanaugh’s nomination felt the boomerang effect when a 2010 New York Times report resurfaced during the hearings: he had falsely claimed to have served in Vietnam. President Trump, never one to pass up ridicule, quipped, “Da Nang Blumenthal.” The issue here is not whether one’s background should be weighed in assessing fitness for office—it must—but how far back in time the digging should go. For the 53yearold Kavanaugh, it was high school; for 21yearold Kyler Murray, whose antigay tweet surfaced immediately after he won the 2018 Heisman Trophy, it was age 15. Do you have anything to hide yourself? At some point, the digger must be reminded: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone” (Jn. 8:7b).
Nevertheless, I have good news for people like Blumenthal and Kavanaugh. God is not like the media, which never forgets our most disgraceful moments because such stories sell. First, the bad news: “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27). At that judgment, “the Lamb’s book of life” will be opened (Rev. 21:26). But here is the good news: if your name is found in that book—because you have believed the promise that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life”—then you “do not come into judgment, but have passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24). God promises, “You will not be ashamed or disgraced,” for He declares, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 10:17). That is the New Covenant of grace!
But those who have not believed that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (Jn. 20:31) will find that every act of rebellion against God—including rejection of the gospel—will be remembered. As a result, they will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). If this describes you, then be your own media: recall every sin you have committed. But instead of despairing, turn to Christ and repent—He will save you. Guaranteed.
Meanwhile, resist the temptation to dredge up the past mistakes of others when it suits your agenda. Instead, forgive and forget, just as God has done for us in Christ.
Prayer: Father, there are no words that can adequately capture our awe at discovering that You, in Christ, choose amnesia—no longer remembering our most shameful and disgraceful moments. Thank You! May I extend that same grace to others. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Romans 6
Lunch Break Study
Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (ESV): “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV): “For we must all appear before the judgment seat [“bema” in Greek: elevated platform] of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
1 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV): “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”
Questions to Consider
I attended a dispensationalist seminary where it was taught that there will be an additional
judgment (a.k.a., the Bema Seat Judgment) just for the believers to determine their rewards. Admittedly, there is a paucity of teaching on rewards. Today, we take a small stab at it.
1. Based on these passages, what should the believers be concerned about regarding their present life on earth: whether going to heaven or hell or something else? Back up your response.
2. What is one key area that God will examine to decide whether we will receive rewards (not salvation) for the things done while we were on earth? In other words, what are the things that we did that would constitute “wood, hay, straw”—combustible materials?
3. Certainly, these verses seem to suggest that bad things we did on earth will be mentioned at this judgement as well, which, then, goes against God’s declaration that “[I] will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12). How can we reconcile this?
Notes
1. The believers need to be concerned about rewards, not whether they are going to make it to heaven. Whereas salvation is a free gift (i.e., the “foundation . . . which is Jesus Christ”), the rewards are determined by “what sort of work each one has done” while on earth.
2. I am under the impression that “wood, hay, straw” do not refer to our sins (since we don’t expect to be rewarded for these); rather, these point to apparently good deeds done while we were on earth that were, nevertheless, done for our own glory, not God’s. Paul calls this “the purposes of the heart” and God will disclose the true nature behind each of our “good” deeds at the judgment seat of Christ.
3. I wrote a book called Theologizing in the Radical Middle whose main thesis is this: when seeing two seemingly conflicting Scriptures that are, nonetheless, true, we accept both in tension. We may have worked out positions that harmonize them (some more convincing than others) but never to a point in which we divisively argue (2 Tim. 2:14). My position has already been stated: in the bema seat judgment of Christ, what are referred to as “bad” things in 2 Corinthians 5:10 are apparently good things, but they were done for the sake of our own glory (“wood, hay, straw”), rather than for God’s glory.
Evening Reflection
Before going to sleep, review your day—focus on those things that you would consider good deeds. Maybe you bought an extra cup of coffee for your co-worker or gave money to a homeless individual. Were you cognizant of your motive in those moments? Looking back, what was the main motive behind those deeds? If it was done for God’s glory, what would that look like? Is this too much thinking for everything we do? Or, should we be more in-tuned with why we do what we do? What do you think? Pray about it. It is important: salvation is free, but rewards are earned. But since our rewards will far exceed what was actually done to deserve them—I mean, who expects to be rewarded for giving a cup of cold water to a child (Matt. 10:42)?—you can say that grace is very much factored in determining our rewards.