God’s judgment is awful and I don’t want to think about it. But if I’m going to read all of scripture, I eventually have to confront it. When I read passages like this one, I want to ask, “What does this have to do with me?” By God’s grace, I’ve been justified, so I won’t face judgment, right?
Wrong. I looked up a bunch of other passages about judgment so I know we will all be judged before the throne of God – even Christians. Jesus talked about the Judgment Day. He told a parable about weeds growing up with the wheat and being separated at the harvest. (Matthew 13:24-30). He said that when He comes back, He will separate the people like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:3-33). In Revelation there’s a description of the Judgment. The people whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life are saved. But in verse 20:12, it says the dead are judged according to what they have done. So somehow, even though I am saved, my deeds will be judged.
That’s a scary thought. But this passage in Zephaniah gives me an example of what not to do and what I should do.
Like the Israelites, I can sit complacent in my sins, thinking God won’t do anything.
I can not worry about pleasing God and do what I want.
OR
I can humbly seek the Lord and follow His commands.
I can recognize my sinfulness before a righteous God and live my life trying to please Him.
The difference is complacency versus humility; sinfulness versus obedience.
Judgment is a hard subject to understand and accept. I know I don’t begin to understand it. It’s complicated, but one point is simple. Because I’ve been saved by Jesus, I should obey Him.
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