Rebellion against God came early in the creation. It arrived when Adam and Eve disobeyed the instructions of God given to them in the Garden of Eden. This in essence was the beginning of wickedness and it continues to this day. When God’s patience ran out, he took steps to end the evil that had invaded his creation: [Genesis 6:5] And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. His long suffering came to an end and as a result, he brought his righteous judgment called justice down on the wicked.

The Bible tells us that trifling with God leads to destruction, and yet so many refuse to believe that a loving God will allow people not to be saved. Why would God allow those who refuse to honor him to be saved, when Christ, a man without sin, went to the cross? The answer is he won’t. Romans 5:8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In the death of Christ, the way is paved for salvation so that no one ever needs to experience what the people of old suffered in the flood, an agonizing death with no hope.

Christ didn’t die that we might continue in sin. He died so that we can live in righteousness, which is the holy standard of God. As Paul wrote: Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? That is the question that everyone who claims Christ must answer. The other question is how can a Christian condone and wink at sin.

The claim is that because God is love, he won’t allow anyone to go to Hell for any reason. That is nothing but an excuse to continue to live a wanton life in disobedience to God. It is a perversion of the word love to justify living a sinful life. Jesus made it clear about the nature of being lost. John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. How can those who don’t believe be saved when they are condemned already and refuse to believe in Jesus Christ?

Just as the world of old suffered the justice of God, there is no reason to believe that those who live in sin won’t experience the same end.  The writer of Proverbs 14:33 wrote the following:  Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known. When God is understood, wisdom rests in the heart of that one. But those who don’t know God, and who hold beliefs contrary to God, will have their beliefs made known. The Hebrew word for fools means a stupid fellow; a dull person; a simpleton; an arrogant one. (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Concise Addition) Those whom Proverbs says are fools will puff, blow, and refute that, but in the process they prove the words true.

Then in verse 34: Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Nation refers to any people (people as a group, not a country) and refers to both the non-Hebrew and the descendants of Abraham, the people of Israel. It is plain that any group of people will be blessed when they follow the standards of God.  As Paul wrote in Romans 2:14-16: 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Those without the law to guide them followed the moral standards of God by nature and that Jesus Christ is the standard for judging according to the gospel.

Sin of all kinds, homosexuality, adultery, pedophilia, pornography, filthy speech, and all that is contrary to God is practiced. Those who wallow in those sins and those in rebellion need to answer the question found in Hebrews 2:3, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; The answer is that they can’t.

© 1-19-2007 DEC

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