The law of a nation is built for the purpose of providing justice to its people. When the law comes into action, it works on the basis of the evidence it can support and then judgment is served. These are well known facts and are in need of no further diversification. Simply speaking, the nature of a law is to save or protect. Therefore, each time the law speaks it must provide that which is right. When God instituted the Law through Moses, it was given to provide righteous judgment and it served its purpose. Hence, there were severe punishments, because of the severity of the Law. It mainly did two things. First, it caused fear of God and second, protected the weak and the needy. Each time Moses had to pronounce a judgment it had to be a righteous one. For the law to be fruitful the one who uses it must also be fruitful in life i.e. righteous. Whether it was Moses under the Law or Christians and preachers under the law of liberty, they are fruitful in it only when they are righteous. If the contrary, their fate would be like Jannes and Jambres. The reason for such fate is foolishness. Foolishness comes from lack of understanding and this in turn is the cause of not knowing righteousness. When men, who are without the law of Christ, speak of Him, their judgment concerning the word and God is unfruitful and are with an attitude of personal favoritism. Hence God warns us to, “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy” (Prov. 31:9).
Every person who proclaims Christ has the obligation to open their mouth and judge righteously both the Christ and the believers. In doing so, sin must be condemned and truth be glorified. But, he who takes the law of Christ upon himself does less good than the one to whom it has been given. For the former are many and thus, the fruitlessness of the churches. To the latter, the law of Christ has been given in wisdom, since he or she is rightly the called of God and thus, the fruitfulness of the churches. To judge righteously is the greatest responsibility given to those who are called to minister for Christ. On this responsibility is depended the salvation of the fruit of their ministry. On it is depended even their own salvation. Yet, preachers, elders and leaders continue to judge falsely. For the lack of understanding they are judging both Christ and the faithful wrongly. They have not learned from those that came before them and judged righteously. “Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they would be the LORD’S people, also between the king and the people” (2 Kings 11:17).
Jehoiada was a man who knew the Law of Moses and God’s will, and did accordingly in those days. He judged righteously not only regarding the Lord, but of the king and the people. What was his judgment? He made a covenant wherein the king and the people were made known as to whom they exactly belonged to. Then, he let the people know their ruler and God’s anointing of him. Was this all necessary? When a covenant is made, it is a teaching pronounced to remember God and His will. This ensures that the judgment stand righteous and the Law fruitful. In this there is righteousness. Everything that was done was done before the Lord and for the Lord. Those who lead the churches today are in need of much learning from those that came before us. If the law of Christ is to stand fruitful, people ought to be taught as to whom they belong to. They should not be taught that they belong to a certain doctrine or tradition, but to Christ alone. This is how God’s nation is built and is already being built. Many are still valiantly disputing as to whom the church belongs, whether to Christ or God; or after whom the church is to be named. With this as premise they have innovated doctrines that were of anti-Christ. What Jehoiada and the rest did was remarkable considering that a lad of seven years was made the king. Had they not feared God and understood His Law, they would not have judged righteously. Further, they protected the king who was by the will of God. It is the fear of God that gives us the wisdom of His word. Wisdom leads to righteous judgment concerning God, Christ and church.
For this reason, the psalmist said, “to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night” (Ps. 92:2). O how a great number of Christians and preachers have lost this truth! Rather than fearing God they seek unreasonable gain and the pride that comes with it. For the lack of understanding they do not know what to declare. Hence, they declare that which they create in their minds. Had they seen His loving kindness and faithfulness, they would declare them day and night. His loving kindness and faithfulness is only seen when we judge Him righteously with our mouth. We declare the faithfulness of the law of our nation when it produces right results. How much more should be done for the law of Christ? Now, the question is what did Christ do for you that you may declare His loving kindness and faithfulness? As far as the psalmist is concerned, God has done for him more than just making him righteous. In fact, this righteousness was the root for the many wonders of God in his life; of these he amply describes in his writings. If you have been saved or made righteous by faith in Christ, has Christ gone any further in your life with this righteousness? Then, you would know how to declare God’s loving kindness and faithfulness by day and by night. Or else, you would be no different to the one whose judgment was pronounced and can no longer be saved. “We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Forsake her and let us each go to his own country, for her judgment has reached to heaven and towers up to the very skies” (Jer. 51:9).
Check yourself to see how you weigh for Christ before your judgment reaches to heaven and ascend into the skies. Though a man’s judgment may falter, the judgment of God is stern and upright. The time of your healing is only until you are willing to hear and understand. But, if you have passed your time of understanding, Christ’s blood has no purpose for you; you are forsaken! While the faithful, who declared the loving kindness and faithfulness of God, reach their own country, you will be left out. Are you willing to be left out, O preacher? If not, let the truth about Jesus Christ sink into you. Understand the wisdom present in His loving kindness and faithfulness. He not only came to save us from our sin, but to relieve us of the suffering in the flesh. When He proclaimed the Kingdom of heaven, He opened His mouth for righteous judgment and thereby, was able to defend the rights of the afflicted and the needy. “Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured” (Mark 6:56).
If Christ was able to empty Himself and come in the flesh and enter into places where people lived; if then, Christ was able to remove their afflictions and needs that they might believe in Him; if Christ was able to overcome death to provide men with salvation; if Christ was able to ascend into heaven that He may descend, then He is able to enter our hearts and perform the same works as when He was in the flesh, provided we make a righteous judgment of His coming in the flesh. When such judgment is made, Christ will empower you to proclaim His gospel and through it defend the rights of the afflicted and the needy. But, if the problem with preachers and Christians is in making a righteous judgment concerning Christ, then it will lead to disaster. “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25). What happened when Moses was not understood? The salvation of Israel from Egypt was greatly delayed. However, there it was delayed, but in the case of rejecting the purpose of Christ coming in the flesh, our salvation from sin would be put off eternally. If through foolishness they have become a cause for prolonging their suffering, we having the knowledge of God have become a cause for obtaining condemnation. While their foolishness was overcome by God’s mercy and were brought out from Egypt, we by our rejecting the purpose of Christ coming in the flesh have cancelled the knowledge of God. Hence, their foolishness became wiser than our knowledge of God.
Or, do we not have the wisdom to draw the inference from the doctrine that whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at one point has become guilty of all? What then is the advantage in believing Christ for those preachers and Christians? Nothing, when they partly understand the purpose of Christ coming in the flesh. What they assume as advantage has become their disadvantage. The knowledge of God is the healing that is being applied to them, but they are unwilling to be healed. Yet, for those who have the understanding of the full purpose of Christ coming in the flesh, they both have the salvation and the gifts which Christ willed to give to men. These are the people to whom a man of God once addressed and said, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1). Know that the New Testament was written for those who are faithful in Jesus and have obtained the seal from God as the saints. They have received His loving kindness and faithfulness, and thus, have the knowledge of God. To these alone God willed to give wisdom present in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only they are equipped to build the nation of God, which is the church of the living God. For this reason, they will beyond imagination accomplish for Christ by what He supplies them.