AFTER THE DARKNESS OF CONDEMNATION-THE LIGHT OF PROPITIATION — Part 2
“For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness” (Romans 3:22b-25b)
Sadly, there is a growing portion of ‘contemporary religiosity’ that utterly rejects the truth that the just wrath of God abides on unconverted sinners. Many refuse even to consider the possibility that God’s holy animosity and just hostility is fixed against sin and impenitent sinners. The ‘god whom they conceived’ is a god of all love, grace and mercy; but not a god of holiness, justice and wrath.
Consequently, since they belittle and blaspheme the concept of the ‘just wrath of God’, they simultaneously belittle and blaspheme the gracious, merciful, and loving ‘Cross-work of God the Son’. If it were left up to them, they would utterly banish any mention of a God of justice and wrath. However, when one attempts to erase the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ on final judgment, they are simultaneously attempting to either totally eradicate or tragically diminish the biblical meaning of His saving work on the Cross and His glorious resurrection.
Friend, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who pointedly warned, only two verses following John 3:16, that those who have not truly believed on Him are condemned already. It is the same inspired Word of God which warned twenty verses after John 3:16 that those who have not authentically believed on the Lord Jesus Christ are present objects of the wrath of God. Additionally, the teaching of the wrath of God is declared on ten different occasions in this same epistle to the church at Rome!
Some have accused me of describing God as some infuriated Potentate, who is continually losing control of Himself and boiling over in unbridled rage. However, that is not an accurate biblical concept of the just wrath of God. The wrath of God is biblically described as God’s ‘settled and fixed’ opposition against anything and everything sinful. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. God is holy! holy! holy! His nature is so holy that, of necessity, He must maintain a holy hatred for every sin of every kind. Furthermore, remember that sin is always attached to a person. It is a person who sins. For that reason, when God judges and punishes sin, He must deal with the sinner! The wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of MEN.
How can God be both the just and the justifier of the sinner? The true and living God has set forth His divine solution for this mind-boggling dilemma. The answer is unveiled in the incredible reality that there is a sinless Substitute who has made PROPITIATION. The God of holiness, justice, and wrath has provided a Lamb!
Notice closely what Paul says, “whom GOD SET FORTH as a PROPITIATION by His blood.” Oh dear friend, God Himself provided the propitiation to appease His wrath and satisfy His justice, on behalf of every sinner who will come to Him on His Gospel terms. In those three hours of the supernatural and miraculous ‘blackness of the darkness’ on the Cross, “God Himself -Gave Himself- to save us from Himself- and unto Himself!
God the Father voluntarily and willingly delivered up His co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent Son, to be the sinless, substitutionary sacrifice. God gave His Son to be the sinless object of an equivalent of an eternity of the just wrath of God, which we as sinners deserved to receive forever in that dreadful destination called hell.
Yet, in God’s astounding love, marvelous mercy and amazing grace, GOD SET FORTH His sinless Son, so that God’s just wrath could be fully and finally vented on the Lord Jesus Christ, on behalf of and in the place of ‘any and every sinner’ who will come to His Son, in repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ! By the Lamb of Glory’s sacrifice, God’s justice was satisfied, and God’s wrath appeased.
I think of the Lyrics of this song:
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
AFTER THE DARKNESS OF CONDEMNATION- THE LIGHT OF PROPITIATION — Part 1
“For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being JUSTIFIED FREELY by His grace through the redemption that is in CHRIST JESUS, whom God set forth as a PROPITIATION by HIS BLOOD, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness” (Romans 3:22b-25b).
If one begins reading the New Testament at Romans 1:18, and reads to the conclusion of this passage, they would be confronted with the following biblical fact. That biblical fact is that the entire world of sinners is culpable and condemned before the inflexible justice of God, and all have shattered the moral law of God. Every one of those sinners is fully deserving of the undiluted wrath of God. All of unredeemed humanity is (by their very sinful nature and actions) marching toward an inevitable appointment with the final judgment of God. Each one of them is in desperate need of salvation from the just wrath of God. This is man’s terrible problem before the true and living God, and heading to a dreadful destination!
Dear reader, stop for a moment and carefully consider: that if God requires perfect righteousness both to enter into His presence in glory and to escape His everlasting wrath in hell, then how can a sinner be righteous before God? Remember, God is a God of pristine holiness, unadulterated righteousness and intractable justice! So, how can anyone, anywhere, at any time become acceptable to God?
The Lord Jesus Christ has called us to be “perfect, even as God is perfect.” God will not lower this divine requirement of perfect righteousness. But no one can produce this brand of righteousness! The bible clearly states that there is none righteous, no not one! Moreover, the best performance of any human righteousness, which a sinner could produce, would be as filthy rags to a holy God. So then, an unequivocal question is: How can a sinful man or woman, who deserves an eternity of the undiluted wrath of God, be reconciled to a perfectly holy and just God?
The answer to this eternally essential question has been revealed in this most precious passage! Friend, this is one of the most important passages in the scriptures. All must possess a sound understanding of the ‘one and only way’ of salvation from the wrath to come. The key word we will focus on today is the word ‘PROPITIATION’! What is the vital meaning of the sinless, substitutionary, and sacrificial death of God the Son on Calvary’s Cross? The foundational answer to that question is discovered within the biblical definition of the word “PROPITIATION”.
It is quite interesting that the Greek word, translated “propitiation,” is the same Greek word found in the book of Hebrews 9:5, where the writer declares: “and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the MERCY SEAT.”
Recall the significance of the ‘mercy seat’ in the Old Testament tabernacle? The mercy seat was located in the Holy of Holies, the innermost sacred place of the tabernacle. A thick protective veil separated it from the outer court. Only one man (the High Priest) was allowed to enter into the ‘Holy of Holies’; and that man could only enter once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day, the High Priest would bring the blood of a spotless animal. He would sprinkle that blood on the mercy seat, as well as in front of the mercy seat. The High Priest offered the blood of that sacrificed animal to the Lord God, as a substitutionary sacrifice, to appease the just wrath and holy animosity of God against the sins of the people. When God accepted that substitutionary sacrifice, it assured the people that the blood covered their sins and provided atonement for another year.
But what is the New Testament definition of this word “propitiation”, as it relates to the work of God the Son? The word actually means to appease God’s righteous wrath to avert God’s just animosity and holy hostility against our sin. A propitiation assumes that there is: an offense which needs to be taken away; a Person who has been offended, who must be appeased; there is justice which must be satisfied; there is an offender who is guilty of the offense; and there must be a spotless sacrifice to make atonement for the offense.
Friends, God the Son’s death upon the Cross perfectly appeased the just wrath of God, on behalf of any sinner and every sinner who will come to Jesus in ‘repentance toward God and saving faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’.
AFTER THE DARKNESS OF CONDEMNATION- THE LIGHT OF PROPITIATION — Part 1
“For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being JUSTIFIED FREELY by His grace through the redemption that is in CHRIST JESUS, whom God set forth as a PROPITIATION by HIS BLOOD, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness” (Romans 3:22b-25b).
If one begins reading the New Testament at Romans 1:18, and reads to the conclusion of this passage, they would be confronted with the following biblical fact. That biblical fact is that the entire world of sinners is culpable and condemned before the inflexible justice of God, and all have shattered the moral law of God. Every one of those sinners is fully deserving of the undiluted wrath of God. All of unredeemed humanity is (by their very sinful nature and actions) marching toward an inevitable appointment with the final judgment of God. Each one of them is in desperate need of salvation from the just wrath of God. This is man’s terrible problem before the true and living God, and heading to a dreadful destination!
Dear reader, stop for a moment and carefully consider: that if God requires perfect righteousness both to enter into His presence in glory and to escape His everlasting wrath in hell, then how can a sinner be righteous before God? Remember, God is a God of pristine holiness, unadulterated righteousness and intractable justice! So, how can anyone, anywhere, at any time become acceptable to God?
The Lord Jesus Christ has called us to be “perfect, even as God is perfect.” God will not lower this divine requirement of perfect righteousness. But no one can produce this brand of righteousness! The bible clearly states that there is none righteous, no not one! Moreover, the best performance of any human righteousness, which a sinner could produce, would be as filthy rags to a holy God. So then, an unequivocal question is: How can a sinful man or woman, who deserves an eternity of the undiluted wrath of God, be reconciled to a perfectly holy and just God?
The answer to this eternally essential question has been revealed in this most precious passage! Friend, this is one of the most important passages in the scriptures. All must possess a sound understanding of the ‘one and only way’ of salvation from the wrath to come. The key word we will focus on today is the word ‘PROPITIATION’! What is the vital meaning of the sinless, substitutionary, and sacrificial death of God the Son on Calvary’s Cross? The foundational answer to that question is discovered within the biblical definition of the word “PROPITIATION”.
It is quite interesting that the Greek word, translated “propitiation,” is the same Greek word found in the book of Hebrews 9:5, where the writer declares: “and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the MERCY SEAT.”
Recall the significance of the ‘mercy seat’ in the Old Testament tabernacle? The mercy seat was located in the Holy of Holies, the innermost sacred place of the tabernacle. A thick protective veil separated it from the outer court. Only one man (the High Priest) was allowed to enter into the ‘Holy of Holies’; and that man could only enter once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day, the High Priest would bring the blood of a spotless animal. He would sprinkle that blood on the mercy seat, as well as in front of the mercy seat. The High Priest offered the blood of that sacrificed animal to the Lord God, as a substitutionary sacrifice, to appease the just wrath and holy animosity of God against the sins of the people. When God accepted that substitutionary sacrifice, it assured the people that the blood covered their sins and provided atonement for another year.
But what is the New Testament definition of this word “propitiation”, as it relates to the work of God the Son? The word actually means to appease God’s righteous wrath to avert God’s just animosity and holy hostility against our sin. A propitiation assumes that there is: an offense which needs to be taken away; a Person who has been offended, who must be appeased; there is justice which must be satisfied; there is an offender who is guilty of the offense; and there must be a spotless sacrifice to make atonement for the offense.
Friends, God the Son’s death upon the Cross perfectly appeased the just wrath of God, on behalf of any sinner and every sinner who will come to Jesus in ‘repentance toward God and saving faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’.
THE DREADFUL DESTINATION OF THE IMPENITENT SINNER — PART 15
Today, this series, considering the ghastly doom of the unconverted, comes to a close. For that reason, I would like to remind you that Matthew 23 overflows with a cavalcade of repetitive “woes” (judgments) which the Lord Jesus Christ called down on the Jewish religious leaders.
The religious leaders had wickedly lived and led the entire nation into a dead, ritualistic, ceremonial, and apostate religion. The Lord Jesus was acutely aware that these leaders and the mass of followers were slated for eternal judgment. Yet, the Lord closed that chapter with tears of lament over these very people.
Jesus grievously weeps, saying: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” When the Lord Jesus taught of the coming judgment which was slated for the overwhelmingly unrepentant city of Jerusalem, He could not proclaim those words of wrath without His compassionate heart being deeply stirred; even unto uncontrollable wailing over their lost souls. Dear one, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
The Apostle Paul, whose life was being moved along by the Spirit of Christ, expressed the same ‘Spirit-given’ compassionate and burdened heart, in words of personal testimony. He wrote: “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” Paul knew that the ‘day of the Lord’ was coming! He was fully aware that every person will soon hear one of these two phrases from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. The narrow road people will hear, “Come, YOU BLESSED of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” But the broad road audience will hear, “Depart from Me, YOU CURSED, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
See, Paul had come to enter into a saving knowledge of God’s astounding love, even though he was previously a sinner, a blaspheming persecutor. But the amazing love of Jesus, which had now been shed abroad in his heart, was compelling him to have earnest desires for the salvation of his fellow countrymen.
The supernatural and sacrificial love of Jesus that had reached down to Paul, in his condition of utter rebellion, was now compelling him to reach out to his fellow countrymen with both the ‘bad news of God’s judgment to come and the Good News of Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.’
May I say to each of us that, “This shocking and sobering doctrine of the dreadful destination of the impenitent sinner should also be compelling a personal incentive to all born-again believers. Each one who has been born from above and made a new creation, saved from eternal judgment, should be earnest and opportunistic in our evangelistic intercession and personal witnessing to the unbelievers headed to eternal judgment.
Look at the heartbeat of the Apostle, as he considered the coming condemnation of his fellow countrymen. He writes, “I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed (separated) from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh.” Paul was writing these words with a profound burden and a sincere compassion for the very people who had made themselves his sworn enemies.
Consequently, he wholeheartedly testified that he was very willing to take his countrymen’s place in this dreadful destination of eternal hell, if only his brethren would run to Christ and be saved.
Why and how does Paul say such things? Because the reality of the doctrine of hell had overwhelmed his heart with a passionate passion for souls. He is the one who had penned these words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, which declare that ‘the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men’. He was also the one who had written that ‘all the world was guilty before God’; and that ‘the wages of sin is death, spiritual separation from God forever’.
However, Paul also fully understood that his fellow citizens’ only hope for salvation was to be justified by grace alone; through faith alone; in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
Through sharing God’s word in these devotions, I have been stating that the Lord Jesus Christ was the primary theologian concerning the doctrine of hell. The One who proclaimed “I am the TRUTH” had far more to say about it than anyone else. Yet, we also find that the One who preached most about the reality of hell is the very One who is solely able to deliver us from its awful reality!
The very Person (God the Son) who came to warn sinners about this dreadful destination is the only One who can save us from it. This is the incredible beauty of God’s gracious warnings to sinners. God the Father primarily sent His warnings by the means of the One who is the one and only Deliverer! He came to save sinners!
These multiple warnings written in these devotions have certainly been unpleasant, to say the least. And most of the time, they are unwelcome by many, if not attacked by the people of the world. However, if a warning is based on spiritual reality, it then becomes a compelling, loving, and extremely beneficial warning to those who will “hear, heed, repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
THE DREADFUL DESTINATION OF THE IMPENITENT SINNER — PART 14
“Then He shall say to those on his left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41).
“These shall go away into EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT” (Matthew 25:46a).
There is not a single human being on this planet who would know what lies beyond our ‘physical and temporary’ life, if God had not revealed these truths in His inerrant, infallible and authoritative Word. The scriptures unquestionably declare that, ‘Every person will occupy an eternal destiny, either in the everlasting glories of Heaven or the timeless torments of hell.’
Let us continue considering the clear and concise teaching of God the Son on this essential issue concerning the unending perdition of the impenitent sinner. The Lord Jesus has repeatedly taught that hell is ‘a place and condition’ of CONSCIOUS and EVERLASTING suffering, misery, and woe. This divine truth is certainly the most unsettling reality involved in all of the Lord's teachings on the subject of hell.
Furthermore, I would submit that this aspect of God the Son’s teaching on the doctrine of the ‘eternality of hell’ is probably the most despised and detested doctrine. May I say personally that there is only one reason that I would ever believe these startling teachings, concerning the ‘everlasting torments of the condemned’. That reason is that I am a bona fide disciple of the Lord Jesus. I believe that Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Godhead. I am fully convinced that Jesus Christ is God made manifest in the flesh. Moreover, my conscience is held captive by the teachings of my Savior and Lord.
Additionally, considering the truth that “No human being (who is a sinner deserving of judgment himself) would ever conceive of such a doctrine as eternal hell." Only the Creator God, who is the God of pristine holiness and inflexible justice, would author and authorize such a place of unending abandonment and agony, as the eternal exhibition of the glory of His holiness and justice!
Adhere closely to the words employed by God the Son to describe the duration of the torments of hell. “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the EVERLASTING FIRE” (Matthew 18:8).
Then Paul was instructed to write these starkly potent words: “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). Also, John writes in Revelation 14:11a: “And the smoke of their torment ascends FOREVER AND EVER; and they have no rest day or night.”
Oh, these few verses are a mere sampling of the multitudes of other passages concerning Jesus’ teaching on the ETERNALITY of this dreadful destination. All of these words describe a state of reality which is without termination. In fact, the same Greek word (which is translated eternal or everlasting) is used to describe the everlasting life of the glorified believer. The words, ‘eternal life’ not only speak of a divine quality of life; they also speak of an endless quantity of time.
Additionally, please be reminded that God Himself is called the “Everlasting God”. The same word is also used to describe God the Son in Revelation 1:18, when He declares, “I am alive forevermore.” That same Greek word is also employed to describe the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 9:14, when the Word of God proclaims, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the ETERNAL SPIRIT offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Furthermore, this same concept is in the familiar words of John 3:16, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE.”
Notice the contrast of both of the eternal destinations in the Book of Revelation. First, the eternal destination for the redeemed: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign FOREVER AND EVER (Revelation 11:15)!
Next, the contrast of the condemned condition of the unconverted, in which precisely the same terminology is utilized by the same writer, the apostle John, “And the smoke of their torment ascends FOREVER AND EVER; and they have no rest day or night.” John does not say, ‘The smoke of their annihilation will rise up forever and ever! He describes it as the “smoke of their everlasting torment" that will rise up forever and ever.
THE DREADFUL DESTINATION OF THE IMPENITENT SINNER — PART 13
“Then He shall say to those on his left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed into the eternal torments prepared for the devil and his angels.’” (Matthew 25:41).
“These will go away into EVERLASTING punishment” (Matthew 25:46a).
A multiplicity of verses was proclaimed from the lips of the Savior of sinners, clearly and concisely declaring that the agonizing sufferings of those who enter into this dreadful destination will be ETERNAL! Of course, the finite and carnal mind of men would immediately protest against any concept of being an everlasting object of God’s wrath.
However, the greatest mind that this nation has ever produced (whether Christian or secular), Jonathan Edwards, succinctly stated, “If man’s obligation is to worship, honor, and obey an infinitely worthy Lord and God, then a life of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ is the infinite violation of this infinite obligation to worship an infinitely worthy Lord and God. Consequently, the legitimate sentence of an infinite punishment is justly due to the impenitent sinner.” The true and living God is infinitely glorious and majestic. He is infinitely worthy to be perfectly loved with 100% of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Friends, this is the first and greatest commandment to all humanity.
Consequently, for a person to live a life of mutiny against their Creator God is an obstinate violation of this ‘command of all commands’. As a matter of fact, any and every sin which is committed against the moral law of God has an infinite dimension. For this reason, the just sentence of an infinite Being, who is infinitely worthy of our worship, love, and obedience, is none other than an infinite punishment for this infinite crime. Anything less than infinite punishment for this crime of degradation would not be a faithful execution of divine justice.
Of course, the sinful mind (which is at enmity against God) purposefully avoids the consideration of this mind-blowing truth. When any man is left to their own iniquitous intellect, they utterly flounder even to begin to fathom the biblical truths concerning the pristine holiness and inflexible justice of God.
Furthermore, every sinner (left to his own sinful mental state) totally fails to comprehend the infinitely evil nature of any sin against God. The fleshly mind will always tend to conceive a humanistic view of God.
However, we must begin by considering the reality of God’s foundational attributes of pristine holiness and inflexible justice. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 97:2b (which I read in my personal devotions this morning), declaring that “righteousness and justice are the foundations of God’s throne. A fire goes before Him and burns up His enemies round about.”
Recall when the Living God encountered Isaiah with that devastating vision of Himself? The prophet heard the continued cries of worship from the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory! And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So, I (Isaiah) responded with these cries of deep contrition, ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.’”
Notice carefully that in this heavenly encounter, these blazing angels were not crying, “Love! Love! Love!” Even though I glory in the biblical truth that “God is love.” But that does not mean that “love is God!” No, dear one, the precious verity that “God is love” is not all of the revealed truth concerning God. Love is only a portion of the foundational truths which comprise the character of God.
Sadly, and dangerously, when contemporary religion attempts to take ‘part of the truth’ (God is love) and seeks to make that ‘all of the truth’, then that ‘part of the truth’ becomes an untruth. Why does it become untrue? Because that carnal conception of God is completely out of balance.
The passage continues to declare that those seraphim (who are holy angels) had to hide their faces in the presence of THE HOLY ONE! And they ceased not day and night to cry “HOLY HOLY HOLY.
God’s attributes of pristine holiness and inflexible justice cause Him to maintain an infinite hatred for all sin. He is a sworn enemy of any sin and every sin. Thus, because of His infinite animosity and just hostility for any and every sin, His infinite expressions of His holy hatred against every sin are appropriate and compatible with His holiness and justice. It is in perfect keeping with God’s holiness and justice that He would execute infinite punishment against the infinite evil of even one act of rebellion which has been committed against Him. As a matter of fact, God would topple from His throne of justice and holiness if He failed to give this perfectly suitable sentence of infinite punishment!
Friend, our puny, fallen, and finite minds are in absolutely no position to argue or criticize God’s just penalty for sin. Man has an extremely limited comprehension of the magnitude of our own corruption and guilt. Our narrowly restricted concept of the heinousness of even ‘one sin against an infinitely majestic God’ is woefully inadequate to question what is ‘fair and not fair’.
As His created beings, men are utterly incapable of even beginning to conceive the enormity of our mountains of transgressions that we have committed against God’s moral law on innumerable occasions.
THE DREADFUL DESTINATION OF THE IMPENITENT SINNER — Part 12
“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12: 47-48).
The entirety of the scriptures (from Genesis to Revelation) reveal a God who shows mercy to those who will repent of their sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But God has also purposed to bring eternal judgment and punishment on sinners who do not! God’s just and swift judgment of the angels (who rebelled against His commands) proves that He will judge and punish every impenitent sinner. The Apostle Peter writes in 2 Peter 2: “For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered (committed) them to chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.”
History reveals God’s devastating wrath upon Sodom and Gomorrah. That powerful action proclaims that God is utterly committed to judge the impenitent. Again in 2 Peter we read: “and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, condemning them to destruction, making them an example to those who would live ungodly.”
Oh, please take heed to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:15, “Assuredly, I say to you, it will be MORE TOLERABLE for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” Then, as I reminded you in previous devotions of Matthew 11:22-24. The Lord Jesus declares, “But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be MORE TOLERABLE for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
Sodom and Gomorrah had descended into such defiled depths of depravity that neither ‘a woman nor a man’ could walk the streets in safety. They may very well be accosted by defiled and depraved men and women who had utterly given themselves over to their reprobate minds. These cities had plummeted to such a condition of moral degradation that God’s only solution was to burn them to the ground. However, the Lord Jesus is teaching that, “the torments of eternal hell will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than it will be for one of these Jewish cities. Why will the degree of torments be heightened? These Jewish cities had been availed of far more ‘light and opportunity’ than Sodom and Gomorrah.
The opening verses of Romans 9 unveil the multiplicity of gracious privileges God had bestowed on Israel. Some of those glorious privileges mentioned were: “To whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God.”
Through the tender mercies of God, the Dayspring from on high had visited His people, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide their feet into the way of peace. But during that time in history, this apostate nation was thoroughly corrupted in ceremonial religion.
The Jewish people had witnessed countless amazing signs and wonders, which unequivocally revealed that the King of kings was walking among them. They witnessed countless miracles that only God can produce. They were given a multitude of opportunities to hear the teaching from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ, which was unquestionably anointed with divine authority and power.
Despite all of these things, each individual was ‘personally responsible’ to respond to that light and privilege, in repentance toward God and saving faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, though He came unto His own people, His own received Him not!
Oh, friends, there are yet over 7,000 unreached people groups across the globe who have never heard the proclamation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If they die in their sins, they will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment as guilty, lost, and condemned sinners.
Oh, but sadly, the person who has sat under the preaching of the Gospel on numerous occasions, and yet has refused to come to King Jesus on His conditions, will give anything to trade places with the unreached pagans on the day of final judgment. For the unconverted person, who has been given incredible Gospel light and privilege, will suffer a far greater intensity of the everlasting torments of the wrath of God than those unreached people groups. All of ‘the light and privilege of Gospel opportunities rejected or neglected’ will rise to condemn and agonize these in a far more ferocious potency of the eternal torments of hell.
THE DREADFUL DESTINATION OF THE IMPENITENT SINNER— Part 11
Today, let us consider the third basis which will determine the varying degrees of punishment which impenitent sinners will suffer for all of eternity.
This basis involves “the extent to which both ‘light and privilege’ were neglected or mishandled by this person”. Read the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ from Luke 12:47-48, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
Did you notice in that example that both servants will be accountable to their Creator at the final judgment? Both servants were guilty of committing vast and various sins against God worthy of eternal punishment. However, one of these men had more light (more knowledge of the master’s will) than the other. One servant knew the will of the Lord and failed to obey it. The other did not know the will of the Lord; and yet he also failed to obey.
Consequently, because they differed in the measure of the light they had been given, they will suffer differing degrees of intensity in their everlasting punishment. The one who received more light, yet squandered it, must endure a more severe degree of punishment. The one who had less light will suffer a lesser level of punishment.
Note again that they will both suffer and spend eternity in outer darkness; where the fire is never quenched; where the worm of an accusing conscience never dies; and where there is the weeping, the wailing and the gnashing of teeth. However, there will be varying magnitudes of the ferocity of the ‘holy animosity and just hostility of God’ which will be suffered, according to the degree of light that the neglected or refused!
Please remember scripture in Romans: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ALL ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God (IN CREATION) is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
Now, after reading these verses from Romans 1, you will discover that all sinners will be judged guilty at the Great White Throne Judgment (whether they have heard the Gospel or not), simply because they have been given the natural revelation of God in creation! Furthermore, they will be pronounced guilty because they have been given their ‘soul’s warning system’, which the Bible calls the conscience. Then another reason that the impenitent sinner who had never heard God’s word will be accountable is because: “Even those who do not have the 10 commandments on tablets of stone were given the moral law in their hearts.”
Paul reiterates these biblical principles in Romans 2:12, “For as many as have sinned without law will ALSO PERISH without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law.” First, the Word of God speaks of the pagans who had been without the law of God. That is, the person who has never heard the Word of God will experience the eternal wrath of God. Yet, they are still wicked sinners against God.
Consequently, the answer of scripture is absolutely clear that the unconverted sinner (who has never heard the Gospel call and commands) will still be accountable at their final judgment because of God’s three revelations: Creation, Conscience, and the Commandments. And the wages of their sin will still be spiritual death.
However, the intensity of that pagan’s eternal suffering although still tormented, will not be as severe as the person who sat in an evangelical church on countless occasions, and was given the light of the inspired Word of God; the light of the preaching of the Gospel; the light of an example of authentic believers who lived within their sphere of influence; and the light of the prayers and tears of parents, grandparents and other authentic disciples of Jesus, who stood in the gap for the conversion of their lives. For that individual who rejected the Gospel, there shall be a severely multiplied measure of the ferocities of God’s judgment and eternal wrath. That individual sinned away their life against greater light and privilege.
THE DREADFUL DESTINATION OF IMPENITENT SINNERS — Part 10
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear HIM who is able to destroy both soul and body in HELL” (Matthew 10:28).
In the previous devotion, we considered the biblical truth that ’the extent to which a sinner has abandoned themself to their transgressions and iniquities’ will be one of the direct determinations of the severity of their everlasting punishment.
Secondly, we had also considered ‘the intensity of the perpetual sufferings of the sinner will be specifically impacted by the degree to which that sinner had led others into sins against God, by their wicked example or obstructionist influence, which is from another fruit of their sinful lives'.
The infinite mind of the omniscient Judge (the Lord Jesus Christ) can perfectly assess every aspect of a sinner’s wicked influence and iniquitous impediments to his immediate family, extended family, sphere of friends, workmates, etc. You can be absolutely certain that the Great White Throne Judge will mete out the intensity of this particular sinner’s ‘eternal judgment and wrath’ in direct relationship to this individual’s sinful examples and selfish influences on others.
Moreover, it is also true that this sinner’s ‘stumbling blocks from their example and influence’ could corrupt multiple generations! This is made obvious when observing the lifestyle and attitudes from one generation to the next. This fact alone ought to cause any unconverted person to shudder in absolute horror.
As I write this, I am thinking of grown men whom I know, who are very successful in their secular careers and are excellent physical providers for their children. However, these same individuals are wicked obstacles to those same children when you consider the spiritual and eternal realm! They have neglected the most needful things to help their families: investing spiritual truths into their eternal souls.
Dear reader, if the amazing grace of God does not intervene in his life, his rebellious, self-centered, materialistic influence may lead his children down a similar path, which will eventually lead to them dropping into the flames of the fire that is never quenched.
See, the ‘worldly example and wicked influence’ of this man’s godless life is hastening his children down an expressway, leading to a destination which will not only take the dad to eternal torments, but could very well influence their children to follow the same devastating path.
If a parent or a grandparent arrives at the Great White Throne Judgment, having never known a supernatural spiritual heart transplant, they will face the unmitigated justice of God, without one ounce of mercy. The omniscient Judge will expose, righteously judge, and condemn every ‘worldly and materialistic example they have set for their children and grandchildren.
On that day, the Lord Jesus will unmask, judge, and condemn all of their self-centered wicked influences, which become obstacles and influences that led a child or grandchild down the paths of worldliness, selfishness, sinfulness, and final condemnation.
Still others will also be judged who negatively influenced their children or grandchildren by the hypocritical example of possessing a ‘superficial religion and church membership’ that fell short of entering through the narrow gate of authentic conversion!
Subsequently, this parent’s life gave a counterfeit concept of what true Christianity is! May I add that this mocking life of ‘superficial religiosity’ will be judged with even a greater ferocity by the Lord Jesus Christ. If you survey the Gospel records, you find that Jesus’ most severe ‘warnings and woes’ were always aimed at the religious hypocrites. For example, Jesus said, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you do not enter the kingdom yourselves, and YOU HINDER those who would.”