JUDGMENT BEGINS WITH GOD'S HOUSEHOLD

Judgment Begins With God’s Household 

Toni M. Babcock

We should expect sufferings for the cause of Christ in this world. But we should not suffer as an evil-doer. Peter reminds us, 

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. 

Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. 

If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. 

But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name. 

For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:12-17 CSB)

As we all witnessed, what took place on January 6th at the United States Capital resulted in murder, theft, evil-doing, and meddling – all sins the Bible says Christians should have no part of. 

Five people lost their lives. 

Five lives cut short because of the disobedience of an angry mob. 

As believers, we should not want anything to do with movements egged on by conspiracies and bitterness. 

Americans have lived through that script before. 

The time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household. 

Let us be sure to align ourselves with God’s Word and shun all evil, because if we don’t — who else do we expect Him to change?

Toni M. Babcock is the author of Reflections from the Heart in Light of the Gospel of Jesus and The Stone Writer. Contact