Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom- James 4:6-9 NIV 

The whole stupid world has fallen under the judgement of God.

Seriously.

Anytime large groups of people fall under judgment life changes dramatically and becomes far less pleasant for everyone. Crops fail, wars break out, birth rates plummet, conflicts increase, the weather gets weird, economies flounder and fail, fear increases, pandemics occur, wild animals become more vicious, leaders make dumb decisions and individuals everywhere just go kind of feral and crazy (Deuteronomy 28:15-64). Judgment is terrible. Everyone in a place under judgment feels the changes judgment brings.

This is where we’re living right now. 

However.

All the terribleness is not without purpose.  God always has two primary purposes for judgment. First, judgment is designed to bring the dead (spiritually speaking) to life in Christ. The hardship and pain that always accompanies judgment can and often does cause people who have rejected God to examine themselves, seek God and repent of their sins. When that happens, a person moves from death to life and all of heaven rejoices (Ezekiel 37:1-14, Luke 15:10).

It’s a beautiful thing.

If enough people repent and turn to God we get revival and change occurs on every level of society.  (Psalm 85:6, Acts 3:19, Acts 19:18-20). God also uses judgement to strengthen the church and make it holy (1st Peter 4:17). The church becomes stronger and holier anytime it encounters persecution. The hardship that comes with persecution draws genuine Christians even closer to God (strengthening the church) and drives non-Christians who think they are Christians away from the church (thus purifying the church).

It’s a win win situation.

  Persecution often accompanies judgment. When unbelievers experience the effects of God’s judgment (crop failure, conflict, disease, weird weather, etc.) they often make rules or laws designed to manage the difficulties of the judgment. The laws they make inevitably end up affecting the churches ability to operate and share the gospel. Secondly, those who are actively rebelling against God despise being told where their rebellion will lead them. People do not enjoy being told there will be more judgment, more personal pain and eternity spent in hell unless they repent. Those who speak the truth in a season of judgment are always persecuted in some way. 

We are in a judgment. 

Therefore, persecution of the church is likely inevitable. This means attitudes and behaviors that have become commonplace in Church world simply will not fly anymore. Following are four of those things:

Marginal commitment levels-

Attending church services weekly, reading the Bible, cultivating a strong prayer life and being actively involved in a church community do not make anyone a Christian. Good habits do not magically transform pagans into saints.  However, participation in these activities do make Christians stronger and healthier from a spiritual standpoint. Christians who have taken the time to cultivate healthy habits are more likely to stand strong when life gets hard and life always gets hard for God’s people in a judgment.    

Fakeness-

Christians are sometimes disturbingly fake. We pretend we are okay when we’re not okay and that we have it all together when we’re really falling apart. We do this for one reason: pride. We want people to think we are healthier, better and godlier than we really are so we fake we are the things we think we should be. This particular form of pride cheats us out of the growth and transformation that can only be achieved by being authentic and transparent with ourselves and God. We can’t grow if don’t admit we need to.  

Legalism-

Legalists want to follow a list of rules related to outward behavior without dealing with the heart issues that caused them to sin in the first place. God does care about what we do. Some behaviors are simply not okay for Christians (1st Corinthians 6:8-10, Galatians 5:19-21).  However, God also wants us to do the right things out of a desire to honor and glorify God rather than a desire to be accepted and liked by other Christians or because we think behaving the “right way” will gain God’s favor. Legalism can look genuine in good times because a person’s heart isn’t tested in good times. However, in times of judgment the true state of a person’s heart is always revealed. Furthermore, legalists frequently become bitter towards God in times of judgment because they feel their good behavior should be rewarded. They don’t understand intimacy with God is the greatest reward. Intimacy with God is a result of clinging to God in hardship.  

Double-mindedness-

Double-mindedness is when we attempt to live with one foot in the world and one foot in the church (1st John 2:15).  This often takes the form of adopting opinions and beliefs that allow a Christian to conform to worldly norms and standards on issues such as: homosexuality, gender, adultery, abortion or justice while still living as a “practicing Christian”. In a time of judgment God always demands that His people choose who they will serve (Joshua 24:15). 

No one gets to choose the events and circumstances of the time they live in. God does that for us. However, we do get the privilege of choosing how we respond to the circumstances of our life. How we choose is never more important than in a season of judgment.