SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

If we find ourselves living out of a church culture that is mostly mercy and grace oriented, we will probably never hear Matthew 25:31-46 simply because verse 41 says, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Now it is interesting that there is a group of people who will march right off into the judgment that was prepared for satan. I wonder how they got to that point. They were likely preached to that place – preached into passivity in a culture of grace, where mercy prevailed. They did not have to grow up because Jesus had done it all. There was no judgment of their own sin or anyone else’s because Jesus had taken all judgment on Himself. Does that sound familiar? The deception of 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 can be powerful enough to sway multitudes. And many of today’s well-known church leaders trumpet this “culture of mercy”. But deception works to put well-meaning believers to sleep and render them ineffective for Kingdom purposes. Those of us motivated by a desire to know our Savior Who is also our King, will seek the truth – all of it! Anyone who calls the judicial acts of God in the New Testament ‘exceptions’ may well be caught in the deception of which 2 Thessalonians warns. Jesus is both Judge of all the Earth and Savior of all the Earth. If we hope to bring a harvest in the end-times, we need to grow beyond a culture of mercy, into a culture of justice. Then and only then can we represent Jesus, balanced in judgment and mercy, as we move toward the last days.