What keeps a person from hearing, believing, or following God? God pursues foolishly proud people, strategically revealing His glory in diverse ways. Remember last week in Daniel 1-2, God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream that terrified him, but gave Daniel the same dream and what it meant. Nebuchadnezzar praised God and promoted Daniel but fell away and sought the worship of everyone through his statue. King Nebuchadnezzar’s unrighteous condemnation of Daniel’s three friends portrays the inability of human beings, plagued by sin's corruption, to deliver righteous judgment. These men suffered unjustly because they remained faithful to the one true God. Only God can judge humanity perfectly and righteously.
God is perfectly holy and must judge sin, and since all people sin, everyone deserves His judgment. Yet God, in His justice and mercy, sent His Son Jesus to take that judgment for all who turn to Him, so believers are spared the wrath their sin deserves. Those who reject Christ will face God’s eternal judgment for their sin.
Without belief in God’s judgment: I chase worldly pleasures and opinions, depend on flawed human justice, and remain blind to my own spiritual peril—facing God’s judgment without hope.
With belief in God’s judgment: I trust His perfect justice, value Christ’s gift of salvation, and live with eternal perspective, prioritizing life in light of His truth.
The truth about God’s justice, wrath, and judgment helps us grasp the wonder of His grace. How does this reality enlarge your understanding of the wonder of Christ’s sacrificial love for you? In what way does God’s grace become personal when you experience and understand His patience with you?
Faith in the Furnace – Daniel 3
From Heights to Humility – Daniel 4
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