Inescapable Destiny

June 5, 2013

There are three inescapable realities that the Psalmist presents in Psalm 1. First, we live in a world of inescapable influence, where a thousand voices provide counsel each day. Second, we live in a world of inescapable harvest, where the seeds of our words and actions will always reap some consequence.

Here?��s the third and final reality:

3) You live in a world of inescapable destiny

?��Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.?�� (Psalm 1:5-6)

We live in a world that has a beginning and an end. Scripture is very clear about that. In eternity, there?��ll be a moment of ultimate judgment. We?��ll give an account of every idle word. What a scary thought!

We serve a holy, righteous God who is judge over all things. That radically changes the way we think about everything in the here and now. You see, if there?��s no eternity and no ultimate judgment, then it?��s free living. You and I can do whatever we want without consequence.

If there?��s no eternal destiny, what?��s the game? Get as much pleasure, get as much comfort, get as much power, and get as much control as you can get in the here and now because it's all about the here and now.

But that?��s not the Biblical reality. It's not all about the here and now. We?��ll stand before a holy God, and there?��s a legitimate heaven and a legitimate hell. We don?��t live in a morally neutral world, where each makes his own law. No, God has spoken through His Word, and there?��s a right way to live, and there?��s a wrong way to live.

Now, maybe after reflecting on these three realities, you?��re left feeling discouraged. If you?��re like me, you know that you listen to the wrong voices all too often. If you're like me, you sow seeds of bad decisions that harvest messy consequences later. And if you're like me, you're tempted to cram all the pleasure and comfort you can in the here and now.

Psalm 1 is a shockingly honest mirror into which we can see ourselves with accuracy. And because it does that, it cries for a Savior. It cries for help that can never be found in human wisdom and strength. It cries for a righteousness that?��s only ever found in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One day, when that inescapable destiny arrives, all of us who?��ve been covered by the righteousness of Christ will be welcomed into His presence for eternity. He will say, ?��Come! Come! Come!?�� And the broken and the lame and the dirty and the scarred will come, and we?��ll be like Him, and we?��ll dwell with Him forever and. Praise be to the name of our Lord!

But the work of the Lord Jesus doesn't just cover our past and our future. Until that day, between the ?��already?�� and the ?��not yet?��, Christ has given you everything you need to live a holy and productive life in this fallen world.

Yes, you should be honest about the realities of life in a fallen world and the sin that still remains. But you don't need to be discouraged, because God has provided a Savior, both for now and all of eternity.