UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

Isaiah 9:6-7:

6  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 

Ezekiel 18:30-32:

30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” 

Psalms 2:1-12:

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

It is not in pleasure that the Lord laughs and holds in derision those who are disobedient to Him; no, it is in His wrath that He does so.

Those who would not accept His rule, He is angry with every day – they shall surely perish.

It is in the Son that the sovereignty of the Father is seen; it is in our Lord Jesus Christ that we have had the Father explained to us; not only that, it is in the Son, Himself co-equal and consubstantial with the Father, yet taking the position of subservience to the Father and more, coming in the flesh of those He created, yet without sin, to make propitiation for and give life to whom He wills, showing us that the Creator, Lord, King, and God of all there is, who alone determines the days, dwelling places, and moments of each man, actually shows us the humility that we should seek after, while giving up none of His royal privileges, but merely laying them aside to show us the entire truth of our God by living as one of His own creatures, dying for those with whom He is well pleased to give of His joy, peace, humility, love, righteousness and holiness.

Some will argue that God does not have the right to do what He will with the death of His Son, or the life of perfect righteousness as the only man who ever lived such – they will not say it in such a way, but the intent will be clear: If their version of God does not “offer” a generic love – omnibenevolence, some have called it – then they will not have this man, who is both God and man, to be Lord over them. They ask for that which they themselves will not offer, in the name of knowledge which is not knowledge, and philosophies of men that may sound persuasive to those who do not test them against the truth of Scripture, yet in the end prove the way that, while seeming right to man, leads to an eternity of suffering which is of the just righteousness of the only One who is Good: God.

God is love, surely; He is also a consuming fire. To try to separate God’s righteousness from His grace is to make an idol of men in their image.

As great as His love is, so is His wrath, and because He is the only One who truly understands these things, of which we have but a partial understanding – and that, only by His grace – to sit in judgment of He who created and endures the multiplied evils of even those He has chosen through no merit of their own, as well as those who, unchanged from their evil ways by His grace, thoroughly hate Him, is the worst folly of all, for it lacks that fear of both misrepresenting our Great God as He has equipped us to, by giving us to be born again, believe, confess our sins, repent of them, and keep our hope in Him, by His Spirit putting us in eternal union with Him (not of His essence, for we are His creatures; however, in this way, we do partake of the divine nature through communicable attributes He allots to His own), and that fear of He who can throw both body and soul into hell - the lake of fire. There is no injustice with God, only mercy and grace to life, or righteous judgment to death, both everlasting, and those who question Him in this do such to the peril of their souls – to these I would give the Scriptural instruction that rings throughout the Scriptures: Repent, and call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved. Call on Him as He is, not as you want Him; call on Him as He speaks of Himself, not as some lopsided idol of your own imagining. He is holy; worship Him!

There are those who will say a loving God could not do such: How much more love does God need to show than He did in His Son, Jesus Christ?

Truly, those who do not understand the extent of the cross will never understand the extent of their own sinfulness, the extent of God’s love, righteousness, and His punishment of those who hate Him; there is grace, but there is also judgment, and He who created us has the power – and the right – to display both, to the praise of the glory of His wondrous name.

In view of these things, it is my hope that many “see and believe” the Son and kiss Him, worship Him, by His merciful grace, lest He be angry and they perish in the way, for this Son is God Almighty, who made atonement for the sins of His people, and gives His Spirit and righteousness as He wills, regardless of the sensibilities of men. Men yet kiss the rings of earthly kings and potentates; how much more adoring fealty is deserved of He who is King of kings, Lord of lords, Ruler, God, and Creator over all?

To God’s glory alone – Bill Hier