\n<\/p>
Acts 24:24-25: But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. <\/span> But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, \u201cGo away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.\u201d <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If a Roman governor asked you to appear to talk about \u201cfaith in Jesus,\u201d what would you say? <\/span> You\u2019d talk about the fall, sin, the cross, the resurrection. <\/span> Depending on how evangelical you were, you might call the Roman governor to personal faith, a personal relationship with Jesus. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Most likely, you would not talk about righteousness, or self-control, and definitely not about judgment to come. <\/span> That\u2019s only going to scare him, and then you lose the chance to win a convert. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s not the way Paul did things. <\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For him, preaching judgment is part of preaching faith in Jesus. <\/span> When he preaches to the philosophers at Mars Hill, Paul says the same thing: God has raised up Jesus and appointed a day when the world will be judged in righteousness. <\/span> Stephen does it too: He compares Jesus to Moses, who was rejected with the complaint \u201cWe do not want this man as ruler and judge over us.\u201d <\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The gospel is all about resurrection, and for that very reason, it is all about judgment, about the appointment of a universal Judge. <\/span> For Paul and the apostles, announcing that Jesus is raised immediately leads to the announcement that He will judge all men according to their works. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This may not seem like good news, but it is, and Job knew it. <\/span> When the world is under the control of Satan the accuser, judgment is good news. <\/span> When the halls of power are occupied by men and women who think it\u2019s OK to slaughter unborn babies, you want judgment. <\/span> When the police are rounding up and arresting Christians, you want judgment. <\/span> When the bombs are falling and you don\u2019t know why, judgment is good news. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This table celebrates the death of Jesus, which is the judgment of this world. <\/span> This table celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which is the Father\u2019s judgment that Jesus is the Righteous one. <\/span> This table celebrates the exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of the Father, as the One who will judge the world in righteousness. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This table is a table of joy because it is a table of judgment. <\/span> Here we rejoice because He comes, He comes to judge the earth. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Acts 24:24-25: But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, \u201cGo away for the present, and when I find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology-liturgical"],"yoast_head":"\n