Judgment and the Love of God

Mea e 'ai e tatau ma le aso
“The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God ” (1 Peter 4:17).

The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unimaginable depth so deep.  Salvation is the great divine thought, manifested love of God, not an experience.

Experience is only the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life, so that we are aware of what is taken place on a much deeper level.

We Christians should never preach the experience—rather, preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach His Word, we are not proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying the good news about God.

In the teachings of Jesus, Christ stresses the element of judgment be always brought out—it is the sign of the love of God.  We should never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; because God is not to blame.  It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truths of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal to them what is wrong.

The greatest test of any quality of preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment.  When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with the reality of God Himself.

If Jesus never commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar.  And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something missing He has not taken into account. 

Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God.  The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our total dependence upon Him, will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power in us.


Ia manuia,

failauga p. anoa'i