Introduction & Purpose: In Their Own Eyes: Good, Evil, and the Rejection of God in Judge

In Their Own Eyes: Good, Evil, and the Rejection of God in Judges

Introduction & Purpose

Foreword

The book of Judges is raw. It’s full of rebellion, violence, compromise, and spiritual collapse. It records what happens when a people rescued by God begin to reject His rule—and instead do what is right in their own eyes. It doesn’t offer easy answers. But it does confront us with a difficult and necessary truth: without God, even our best intentions lead to ruin.

This series was preached during a season of deep personal strain. As a bi-vocational pastor trying to balance family, work, and ministry, I often felt incapable of doing what was needed to make the church healthy, let alone help it grow. At the same time, our fellowship was facing division—conflicts over direction, over style, over who the church should be built to serve. But Scripture is clear: the church is not about us. It’s not a consumer space—it’s a gathering of believers, saved by grace, called to worship and follow Christ together in holiness, humility, and unity.

Judges became a mirror. It reflected back a version of God’s people who had forgotten His covenant, who made peace with compromise, and who kept asking the wrong questions. They didn’t need a better system or a stronger leader—they needed hearts turned back to God. So do we.

This series was written for our local church to show that we need all of Scripture—not just the parts that feel encouraging or familiar. Judges reminds us that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. He does not abandon His people. Again and again, He raises up deliverers. Again and again, He hears their cries. But every one of those human judges eventually fails. Only Jesus—our true and final Judge—saves fully, rules righteously, and never breaks His promise.

My hope is that as you read through these reflections, you’ll come to the same conclusion we did: man cannot bring justice, even under the best conditions. Everyone fails—except Jesus. And He is merciful. He justifies sinners by faith and keeps His word, even when we don’t deserve it. That’s the hope found in Judges, and it’s the gospel we still need today.

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