On God As Judge - St. Justin Popovic

St. Justin Popovic (+1979) the great Serbian theologian of the 20th century, explains the nature and veracity of God being Judge of all creation. "It is natural for the heavenly Sower," writes St. Justin, "who has abundantly sown the seed of eternal, divine truths in the earth of the human soul, to come and see how much of that seed has rotted in the mire of lust, been strangled by the thorns of passion or withered by the coals of sinfulness, and how much has grown and yielded divine fruit, and, also, to reap and winnow the ripe ears of corn."A reading from The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism by St. Justin Popovic, p. 85-88.NOTE: The meaning of Theanthropic: divine (in Greek theos = God) and human (in Greek anthropos = man); the Theanthropos = the God-Man, i.e. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.📖 The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism by St. Justin Popovichttps://lazarica.co.uk/bookshop/📖 Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ by St. Justin Popovichttps://ibmgs.org/miscellaneous.html🎧 Introduction to the Lives of the Saints - St. Justin Popovićhttps://youtu.be/q1SQB8O2Aek🎧 Papism as the Oldest Protestantism - St. Justin Popovićhttps://youtu.be/6xXm1PfcQUw⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/🎁Support my work here:https://buymeacoffee.com/orthodoxwisdom_______St. Justin teaches:It is natural for God, who is the Creator, Saviour and Sanctifier, also to be the Judge. As Creator, He brought us from non-being into being, ordaining that, as the goal of our existence, we become Godlike with the help of the soul He gave us in His likeness, and to increase with the increase of God... unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:13). As Saviour, He saved us from sin, death and the devil by introducing into human nature, rendered mortal by sin, the principle and the power of resurrection and immortality. As Sanctifier, He has given us by grace, in His theanthropic Body, the Church, all the means and powers necessary for the adoption of His theanthropic ascesis of salvation and the fulfilment of the purpose of our existence. As Judge, He appraises, judges and determines our attitude towards Him as Creator and ourselves as His God-like creation, towards Him as Saviour and ourselves as the subject of salvation, towards Him as the Theanthropos, the Church, the Sanctifier, and ourselves as the object of sanctification, deification and likeness to the Theanthropos.God placed the yeast of desire for Christ into the dough of the human being, so that man, and with him all creation, should rise to Christ. For this reason all creation is essentially christocentric and is strongly drawn towards Christ as its natural and eternal Centre and Goal (cf. Rom. 8:19-23; Col. 1:16-17; Eph. 1:4-5). Whilst God, in His creative, saving and sanctifying role, appears as a tiller, sower and cultivator, He acts in His role as Judge as a reaper and winnower. It is natural for the heavenly Sower, who has abundantly sown the seed of eternal, divine truths in the earth of the human soul, to come and see how much of that seed has rotted in the mire of lust, been strangled by the thorns of passion or withered by the coals of sinfulness, and how much has grown and yielded divine fruit, and, also, to reap and winnow the ripe ears of corn.It would be unpardonably unjust, insulting and tyrannical if God were to act as Judge without having previously appeared as Saviour and Sanctifier. A God who would not reveal the way to eternal life and eternal truth or give men the means of salvation from sin, death and the devil, who would not be their Saviour, would have no right to judge mankind. Mankind would be right to say with one soul and one voice to such a tyrannical God what the wicked servant said in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:24-25).