“Both Merciful and Just”

Revelation 22:12-15

Business leaders have what I call go-to people: the ones they turn to when the business needs someone to step up and deal with a major project or crisis. Baseball pitchers have their go-to pitch: the one they trust when the game is on the line. NFL quarterbacks have their go-to receivers: the ones they can trust to be open on any given play. And we pastor types have our go-to resources for sermons and classes.

For almost thirty-three years one of my go-to resources has been “A Declaration of Faith,” a confession proposed for adoption in the former Presbyterian Church in the United States, better known as the Southern Presbyterians: proposed but never adopted. It has been deemed by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to be a valuable document for study and worship. Its writing and the beginning of my seminary studies converged in 1973, so it’s pretty much a major element in my formation as a pastor.

Why do I tell you this? Because I quote it a lot, especially certain sections of it. And today I’m quoting it again: “We believe that God’s justice and mercy await us all. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ God has already demonstrated his judging and saving work. We are warned that rejecting God’s love and not caring for those whom God loves results in eternal separation from him and them. Yet we are also told that God loves the whole world and wills the salvation of all humankind in Christ. We live in tension between God’s warnings and promises. Knowing the righteous judgment of God in Christ, we urge all people to be reconciled to God, not exempting ourselves from the warnings. Constrained by God’s love in Christ, we have good hope for all people, not exempting the most unlikely from God’s promises. Judgment belongs to God and not us. We are sure that God’s future for every person is both merciful and just.”

God is merciful. God is also just. There is such a thing as divine judgment. In recent sermons from Revelation I have focused on the Good News of God’s saving love, especially toward those who are martyred in his name. I have spoken much about the glories of heaven, the triumph of good over evil, and the fully realized Kingdom of God.

Today’s text has some of the same: Jesus coming again and the blessed status of those who have been martyred or otherwise faithful to the call of Christ. These are the folks who get to enter the New Jerusalem and sample the fruit of the tree of life. But in today’s text we are shown the flipside of God’s mercy: his judgment. There will be those on the outside of the Kingdom looking in.

Who are they? According to verse 15 as it appears in the New Revised Standard Version: “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” Or as it’s found in The Message: “But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters – all who love and live lies.”

The grammatical structures of the two translations are quite different. In The Message the dogs – the filthy curs - are those named as the sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, and idolaters, all of whom love and live lies, all of whom love and practice falsehood. The dogs, or filthy curs, are symbolic of all that is disgusting, all who are thoroughly non-repentant and unashamedly immoral, all who have worshipped the gods of this world, all who hold nothing sacred, and all who will not accept the truth of the Gospel – all who reject Jesus.

The word translated as dogs or filthy curs has its roots in Old Testament references to sacred male prostitutes as dogs, not necessarily those with homosexual tendencies but men willing to offer up their bodies as an act of worship of false gods by way of sexual activity. The polite name for such was temple prostitutes. And they had their female counterparts. Such people were considered the lowest of the low. To be included in a group of people whose behavior is defined as dog-like is to belong to the ranks of those most offensive to God. There is no place for such people in the realized Kingdom of God.

Moving along, the justice of God is as sure as his mercy. At the end of the day, after the dust of eternity settles, some people will be left on the outside looking in. Jesus said as much on at least two major occasions. On one occasion he told his listeners that not all who called him “Lord, Lord” will be included in the Kingdom. There will be those who don’t make it. On another occasion he spoke of a group of people cast out of the Kingdom because of their insensitivity to the poor, the hungry, and the homeless.

The entire witness of the Gospel – the entire witness of Scripture – speaks to that painful truth. The Apostle Paul writing in Romans spoke of the elect, those chosen and called by God to be his people. It stands to reason that if there are the elect then there are also the non-elect. Not everybody makes it into the Kingdom. Even in verse 12 of today’s text Jesus speaks of coming to repay according to everybody’s work. There will be blessing. There will also be judgment, and some of it will be harsh.

For various exegetical reasons I only used part of today’s lectionary text from Revelation. In doing so I also added a verse to the suggested reading: verse 15, the one about dogs or filthy curs being left outside the city walls of the New Jerusalem. In his commentary N. T. Wright was very critical of the lectionary’s omission of that particular verse, or as he put it snipping out a verse that warns that some forms of behavior have no place in God’s holy city. He also asked a very important question: “… do we want to avoid the scandal of the gospel, not only in the world but also in the Church?”

Well this preacher doesn’t. As my go-to document puts is, “We are warned that rejecting God’s love and not caring for those whom God loves results in eternal separation from him and them… Knowing the righteous judgment of God in Christ, we urge all people to be reconciled to God, not exempting ourselves from the warnings.” We are warned that rejecting God’s love and those whom God loves results in eternal separation from him and them. Knowing the righteous judgment of God in Christ, we urge all people to be reconciled to God.

What part of righteous judgment and eternal separation from God don’t people understand? Yes, God is merciful; merciful beyond all human comprehension. Yes, God does will salvation of all people in Christ. Yes, he became flesh and dwelt among us so that we could see for ourselves what righteousness looked like. Yes, he took our sins upon himself and died on a cross, saving us from death and hell. Yes, he was raised on the third day, guaranteeing eternal life for us. God loves us with a love that will not let us go. He pursues us with undying passion. Over and over and over again he invites us to lay down our burdens and find rest and safety in him. His Kingdom is coming. His holy city is being prepared for us. In his house there are many rooms.

And yet there are those who insist on worshipping the gods of this world and care not that they will eventually be counted among the lowest of the low. There are those who daily reject the truth of the Gospel in favor of the Devil’s lies. There are those who persistently close their hearts and minds to the call of God. There are those who will not accept Christ. There are those who chose darkness over light and death over life. There are those who insist on denying the very existence of God.

How are we to deal with all that? First and foremost we remember that we are not exempt from the righteous judgment of God. We must daily look for the planks in our own eyes before checking the eyes of others for specks. We must never forget that judgment belongs to God not us. We don’t get to decide who’ll be on the inside and who’ll be on the outside of God’s holy city. And finally, “Constrained by God’s love in Christ, we have good hope for all people, not exempting the most unlikely from the promises [of God’s mercy].”

All we can really do is keep our own spiritual houses in order by way of prayer and other spiritual disciplines. Beyond that we can model as nearly as is humanly possible Christ-like behavior and attitudes. We can let the world know that we are Christians by way we love one another in Christ’s Body the Church. We can share the Gospel by word and deed. We can proclaim the wondrous love and mercy revealed by God in Christ. And with as little hint of self-righteousness as is possible we can speak - in love - the truth of God’s righteous judgment.

Beyond that it’s in God’s hands. In matters of things eternal, using the words of our most recent ex-president, God is always the decider. And whatever he decides, “We can be sure that God’s future for every person will be both merciful and just.” Amen.