The Judgements of God

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh;
The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh
Ps. 29:8

For the time has come for judgement to begin at the house of God.
1Pet. 4:17

1. Liberal and ecumenical theologians have made a false emphasis on the tolerance of God. They tell us that whatever we do or whatever we believe it will all be ok in the end, God will make allowances for our sins, errors and false beliefs and there is no need to fear a final judgement and a hell to follow.

2. The charismatic realm of the church has emphasised the love of God, falsely teaching that God loves us so much that He would not do anything to harm us or make us unhappy. They have turned Him into a sort of jolly, white bearded father figure who loves to be our pal and wouldn't possibly dream of disciplining us in any way. This concept of God is very prevalent in many modern choruses and sung with much repetition and (fleshly) gusto which further encourages this false concept of God to seep into the minds of untrained believers and rob them of a true knowledge of God.

Both these views are a misrepresentation of the true character of God, the result is that in many of our churches there is no longer any fear of the Lord; services are conducted in a casual manner, people go dressed as if they were on their way to the beach for a day out, there are no solemn moments of contemplation and prayer, the preacher hardly looks at the Bible and tells comfortable stories which supposedly illustrate some spiritual truth. There is no challenge to change, no mention of sin and repentance, no talk of the cross and no disciples of Jesus giving their all in the sacrificial laying down of their time and resources for the preaching of the gospel and the glory of the kingdom of God.

Let's see what the Bible has to say on the subject:

Our text from Ps. 29 mentions the wilderness of Kadesh. Kadesh is a place in S.W. Israel; in the Bible it marks one of the border points with Egypt. It became renowned for the events that occured there and was also known as Meribah (strife). Another name for it found in Gen. 14:7 is En Mishpat which translates as "Spring of Judgement."
There are two notable events which took place at Kadesh which gave it its reputation:
Nu. 13,14 relates the story of how Moses sent the 12 spies out to look over the land of Canaan before the people went in to conquer the land. The spies came back to Moses in Kadesh and all but two of them (Caleb and Joshua) brought an evil report and discouraged the people so that they refused to obey Moses and go in and take the land that the LORD had promised them. The result of this rebellion was that the LORD appeared in His glory with great anger and was ready to destroy the people there and then but for the intercession of Moses. God however poured out His judgement on the people and punished them by keeping them in the wilderness for 40 years until all the men of that generation were dead.
Nu. 20 relates a second occasion when the Israelites were again at Kadesh, this time moaning and complaining about the lack of water. The peoples rebellion and contention at this time was so trying that it caused Moses to fall into error, failing to hallow the LORD (Nu. 20:12) and speaking rashly with his lips (Ps. 106:33). The judgement this time fell on Moses and the LORD punished him by refusing him entry into the promised land (Nu. 20:12).
So the LORD shook the wilderness of Kadesh, the place where the congregation of Israel, His own people rebelled and contended with Him became a place of judgement and punishment. Kadesh should have been a place of blessing, it marked the point where they were to enter the promised land of blessing and fulfillment, it was the boundary point between a land of barren wilderness and a land of rich fruitfullness. So too we can have our own Kadesh, times in our christian walk when we have to decide whether to walk the Lord's way or go our own way, whether to accept His way gracefully and joyfully or to fall into complaining, moaning and rebellion. One way leads to blessing and fulfillment the other to a barren wilderness of judgement and punishment.

Well, some will say that was true in Old Testament times, God doesn't act like that now that we are under the grace of Jesus. But there is plenty of evidence in the New Testament to suggest that the Lord does indeed judge and punish His people when necessary:

New Testament Evidence

Acts 5:1-11
Ananias and Sapphira agreed together to lie to the apostles about the proceeds from a sale of one of their possession. Peter tells them they have lied and tested the Holy Spirit and they fall down dead. God's judgement fell on these professing believers, the punishment was severe and extreme. Note how as a result "great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things."

1 Cor. 11:27-32
Here Paul is writing about conduct around the Lord's Table. He says that any who partake in an unworthy manner are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord and that those who do so will bring judgement upon themselves. That judgement is manifested in weakness, sickness and even in death. The sin here is failure to discern the Lord's body, He is holy and the Lord will call into judgement any who defile the body of Christ by bringing their (unconfessed) sin to the communion and in so doing make Christ and His body partakers of their sin.

Revelation chapters 2 and 3
Through the apostle John the Lord Jesus sent letters to the seven churches. Of the seven only two receive no rebuke (Smryna and Philadelphia).
The Lord passes judgement and warns of punishment on the others:

Ephesus - they have left their first love and the Lord warns that He will remove their lampstand from its place.
Pergamos - they have failed to deal with false doctrines, idolatry and immorality; the Lord warns them that He will fight against them with the sword of His mouth.
Thyatira - they allowed a woman who was a false prophetess to have a leading role in the church, and she had led many into sexual immorality; the Lord threatens them with sickness and death.
Sardis - this church appeared alive but the Lord judged it as dead, He warns them that He will come upon them as a thief.
Laodicea - the lukewarm church, the Lord says he will vomit them out of His mouth.

These are New Testament churches with New Testament believers, these churches have a prophetic message for all churches throughout the ages. One of the very clear messages is that there are certain things which the Lord will not tolerate in His church and He will judge and punish those who continue to displease Him.

1 Cor. 5
Here is a church where a very grievous sin is taking place - a man is having a sexual relationship with his mother-in-law and the church is ignoring it. Paul writing under divine inspiration calls for the church to take action against the sinning brother. The church is called to take action in judging and disciplining the sinning brother by delivering him to Satan and separating themselves from him, note that they are to do this "with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ" (:4).
1Tim. 5:20 also states: "Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear." Again many believers find the idea that the church should exert discipline quite abhorrent, but here is the scriptural basis for such action. It does not mean we are to go searching and hunting out sin in the congregation but it does mean that where there is obvious sin the church is to take action to purge it out, we are to be zealous for the holiness of the household of God and "purge out the old leaven" which taints and spoils the witness, testimony and character of the body of Christ.
2Cor. 2:1-11 relates how the sinning brother had been reformed by his punishment and now the church is to welcome him back into the fellowship (see also 2Cor. 7:2-12). The judgement and punishment inflicted on the sinning brother had a postive effect in restoring him to a righteous life and right standing before the Lord.

Yes, the church can be a place where God's judgements are made known, it can be a Kadesh where we make a choice to obey or disobey, when we are disobedient or guilty of sin and refuse to put it right we can expect the Lord to judge and serve out punishment. As we have seen from the above scriptures that punishment can be very severe - sickness and even death.

Heb. 12:3-11 brings the right scriptural understanding to all this. Why would the Lord appear to be so harsh with us? It is because of His great love for us. Our heavenly Father wants the very best for us, a good Father must discipline and chastise his children for their own good. It is not pleasant to be chastised, nevertheless it brings a good result - "the peacable fruit of righteousness." Our heavenly Father does not punish us because of some peculiar whim or from uncontrollable fury or to satisfy his pent up anger. No, God's discipline is controlled, perfectly just and designed to have the right result. He knows we are not happy when we are rebellious, we are not at peace when we fall into sin or out of His will for our lives, so He corrects us in order to put us on the right path once again and that we might know the wonderful joy of being at the centre of His will.
Hebrews 12:5,6 exhorts us not to despise the chastening of the Lord but to be glad that His chastening proves His love for us.
Sadly many in today's society are being brought up to think that punishment is wrong, that somehow it reflects a character deficiency in the one handing out the punishment. Far too many people are bringing this thinking into the church and have created a character deficiency in their understanding of God. We need to get back to a Biblical understanding of judgement and punishment and see the Lord's chastening of His people not as an act of misguided anger but an act of His supreme and wonderful love for us.

Further Study

There is a particular and extra accountability for those called to ministry, they are responsible for the care of the Lord's people and will be called to give an accounting of their ministry: Read: 1Cor. 3:9-17; James 3:1; Matt. 7:15-23.
False teachers, prophets, apostles etc. are said to defile the temple of God, for their deeds they will face very severe judgement.