THE CONTEXT OF GRACE IS JUDGMENT

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and JUDGMENT TO COME, FELIX TREMBLED, and answered, God thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee – Acts 24:25

You know you’ve heard the gospel of the kingdom when you begin to tremble. That’s because the true gospel carries a serious warning of judgment to come. It’s that judgment that produces the fear of the Lord in men.

We’ve heard of some ministers who say they’re not called to preach judgment but grace. They therefore never preach the fear of the Lord or repentance. There’s no such calling. We’re all called by the same Lord with the same gospel, which carries the same warning, which He himself preached.

The context of grace is judgment. Without God’s judgment, we wouldn’t need His grace and mercy. If there’s no threat of us dying in the lake of fire because of our sin, we wouldn’t need to receive the forgiveness of our sin. Without our sin and its penalty of judgment, there’s no need to repent. The context of the entire gospel message is the judgment of God.

PRAYER

Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that the church would preach your judgment for the world to repent. More than that, I pray that the church will respond to your judgment in fear and repent themselves. Amen.