Living Like a Judge in Dark Times
February 14, 2024 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
Though Judges chronicles a cycle of sin and the deliverers God raised up, the book teaches that God is compassionate to those who repent and return to Him. Believers, made new creations with the Spirit dwelling in them, are called to be like judges—leaders who deliver the gospel as light in a dark culture.
- Judges is recorded as an example so we may learn from Israel's mistakes rather than repeat them.
- Our culture, like the time of the judges, is one where people do what is right in their own eyes with no regard for God.
- God is compassionate and gracious to those who repent and return to Him.
- Unlike Israel, believers in Christ are new creations with a new heart and the indwelling Holy Spirit who enables them to walk in the Spirit.
- The Spirit empowers us to bear fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
- God wants His church to be like Old Testament judges: leaders who deliver the gospel as light to a dark world.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
All these things happened to them as examples, and they were written down for our instruction. (cf. )
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land... you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. ()
Why study a heavy book like Judges? Because we are living in days much like theirs—and because the Deliverer they longed for has already come.
Why Study Such a Heavy Book
Judges is a heavy book, and you could fairly ask why we would go through it. The answer is that all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written down for our instruction. It is so much better to learn from the mistakes of others than to have to go through them ourselves.
We are living in a time not so different from the time in which some of these judges lived—a time in which people do what is right in their own eyes, with no recognition of God, His word, or His law. We are living in a time when we desperately need the delivering power and grace of God. It was through the judges that God rescued, redeemed, and restored His people, and through these individuals—whom we will begin to meet by name next week—we are reminded of our fifth point: God is compassionate to those who repent and return to Him.
God's Compassion to Those Who Return
Over the years I've had a number of conversations with people who started attending our church before they were believers and then became Christians. As a pastor, it is a wonderful thing to watch that transition. But some of them have told me that the first time they came to church, they were afraid—afraid they might have a heart attack on the spot, that God would simply strike them down. Some came and left before even walking in, certain they would be exposed for how sinful they were and might die right there. They had no idea what God might do to them if He were actually real.
If He is actually real, He is compassionate, and He is gracious to those who repent and return to Him.
A Hope the Judges Never Had
When we look at the stories we'll see in Judges, they can weigh upon us. We can begin to wonder how we could have any hope of not falling into the same sinful cycle the children of Israel fell into—finding ourselves in the same position, needing someone to come and rescue us.
I want to encourage you: the One who can rescue us has already come. Here is the awesome difference between the Christian and those who lived during the time of the judges. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away, and all things have become new. When you become a new creation, as the prophet Ezekiel predicted, God gives you a new heart and puts His Spirit within you.
When He gives us a new heart and puts His Spirit within us, He directs us by His Holy Spirit and empowers us to walk in the Spirit, not fulfilling the lusts and desires of our flesh. He enables us to walk rightly before God. Does that mean we never sin? I wish it did, but it doesn't. Yet He does enable us to walk in the power of the Spirit, to sow to the Spirit, and to reap of the Spirit life and its fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
The Promise Fulfilled in Christ
In God said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to keep My judgments to do them. Then you shall dwell in the land... you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." That was the promise through the prophet Ezekiel, and it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Jesus promised in that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would teach us all things and bring to remembrance all that He said. And in , the Spirit of truth comes to guide us into all truth. We need to remember this: we are not the children of Israel in the book of Judges. We do fail and fall as they often did, but we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation, and He enables us to walk in the light as He is in the light—and to shine that light to other people.
Living Like a Judge in Our Culture
That is what God wants to do in and through you. I believe God wants to use you, His church, if you are a believer today. He wants you to be like a judge in the Old Testament to the culture in which we live.
What was a judge? A leader to deliver. When we hear the word judge, we think of someone who brings justice, judgment, and condemnation. That is not what we're going to see in this book. This is a leader to deliver—and what we are sent to deliver is the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world in desperate need of it. We can be that light shining in a dark place.
So let us prayerfully examine ourselves: God, is there anything in my life keeping me from walking in rightness before You? Is there anything keeping me from shining light to a dark world? Remove it, renew my mind that I may know You and walk in Your ways, and help me to be salt and light in a distasteful and dark world. This culture desperately needs it—we all know that just by looking around Southern California where we live. Would to God that He would use us to be a bright, shining light in a dark place. Amen.
<<<CLOSING>>>
Judges is a heavy book, and you could ask the question: why go through such a book? Well, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written down for our instruction. It is so much better to learn from the mistakes of others than to have to go through them ourselves.
Listen, we are living in a time not so different from the time in which some of these judges lived—a time in which people do what is right in their own eyes and have no recognition of God, His word, or His law. We are living in a time where we desperately need the delivering power and grace of God. It was through the judges that God would rescue, redeem, and restore His people.
It is in and through these individuals, whom we will begin to meet by name next week, that we are reminded of point number five: God is compassionate to those who repent and return to Him. I have had a number of conversations over the years with people who started to attend our church. They came here not yet believers but eventually became Christians. It is a wonderful thing, as a pastor, to watch that transition.
However, I have had conversations with people where they tell me, "You know, the first time I came to church, I was really afraid to come here. I thought I might just have a heart attack on the spot because God would just kill me." They came here and left before coming in because they were afraid that they would be exposed for how sinful and wicked they are, and they might just die on the spot. They had no idea what God might do to them if He is actually real.
Well, if He is actually real, He is compassionate and gracious to those who repent and return to Him. But when we look at the stories that we are going to see in Judges, it can weigh upon us, and we can begin to think: how can we have any hope of not falling into the same sinful cycle that the children of Israel fell into? How can we avoid finding ourselves in the same position where we need someone to come and rescue us?
I want to encourage you: the one who can rescue us has already come. Here’s the awesome difference between the Christian and those who lived during the time of the judges: if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. All the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
When you become a new creation, as the prophet Ezekiel predicted, God gives us a new heart and puts His Spirit within us. When He gives us a new heart and puts His Spirit within us, He directs us by His Holy Spirit and enables and empowers us to walk in the Spirit, not fulfilling the lusts and desires of our flesh. He enables us to walk rightly before God.
Does that mean we never sin? I wish it did, but it doesn't. However, He does enable us to walk in the power of the Spirit and to sow to the Spirit, reaping life and the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. By the Spirit of God, He enables us with these things.
states, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the old heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to keep My judgments, to do them. Then you shall dwell in the land; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness." This was the promise through the prophet Ezekiel that is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Jesus predicted and promised in that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all things that He has said to you. The Spirit of truth will come and guide you into all truth. reminds us that we are not the children of Israel in the Book of Judges. While we do fail and fall like they often did, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation, and He enables us to walk in the light as He is in the light, allowing us to shine that light to other people.
That is what God wants to do in and through you. I believe that God wants to use you, His church. If you're a believer today, He wants you to be like a judge in the Old Testament to the culture in which we live. What was a judge? A leader to deliver. When we hear "judge," we often think of someone who brings justice, judgment, and condemnation. However, that is not what we will see in this passage. This is a leader to deliver, and what is it that we lead to deliver? We deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that is in desperate need of it.
We can be that light shining in a dark place. As we prayerfully examine ourselves, we should ask, "God, is there anything in my life that's keeping me from walking in righteousness before You? Is there anything that's keeping me from shining light to a dark world?"
Remove that from my life. Renew my mind that I may know You and walk in Your ways. Help me to be salt and light in a distasteful and dark world. This culture desperately needs that; we all know that just by looking around the place we live here in Southern California. Would to God that He would use us to be a bright, shining light in this dark place. Amen.
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