“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” (Eze. 18:23) I am going to bring up a subject in this letter to you today that few Christians I have met in my life care to discuss, and for many different reasons, but the main one has always seemed to come down to this, they do not like to think of our Lord in this manner.
To the majority of mankind life has incalculable value, above all other things it is prized, the most powerful, richest man in the world would give all he owns for only one more day. We shed tears when the young die, for “They had all of life before them,” we do all that we can to keep the aged alive as long as possible, when the rapist murderer is shot in a gun battle with the authorities, we rush in medical emergency teams to tend to his wounds. Nothing is more important to man, a lost man and sadly some who profess Christ, than their life, their continued existence. Far too many who name Christ as Lord have fallen into this mindset, and the words of Phil. 1:21 “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” are mouthed only within the realm of the end of their lives, or for any other person nowadays, is brought to their doorstep.
How many would die for a righteous person? (Romans 5:7) We like to think that God looks at people like we do, that every single one of us has great value, that every possible avenue to stay alive, to keep them from dying should be explored, that the longer life means a more fulfilled life. What difference does it make is a man dies at twenty or a hundred and twenty, if he dies in his sins, he will spend eternity in the same place. The only possible hope for a long life is the continuing opportunities to accept Christ as Lord, to repent of their sins and be spared from His eternal wrath, there is no other reason for the length of life than this. God does not think like we think, His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8) “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.” (Psalm 50:21)
Before the Lord created the universe and everything in it, He knew the name of every person that would be in heaven and the name of each one that will spend eternity in hell, His infinite knowledge is not bound by His own creation of time. The only way we as human beings can tell who the children of the Most High are is by their works, (Matt. 5:16) and so by the inverse of that statement, if they have no works that are being done through them by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are lost, they are the wicked that the wrath of God abides on. We are commanded to love them, to do all that we can to draw them to the Savior, to show them the cross, the empty tomb, His life, death, burial and resurrection, and then let them come to their own conclusion, that is our responsibility to them, it is what we are commanded to do, and if you are not doing it, then you are remiss in your duties.
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11) Our Lord does not think like we think, the same Lord that we serve in the New Testament is the same Lord that wrote the Old Testament, “I have said, ye are gods” (John 10:34) a lot of people like to skip over this verse, and do not think of the truth of it, the Lord Jesus is saying in it “I wrote the Old Testament, I am God and I do not change.” These are the same individuals who believe we are to just slosh the love of Christ over everyone all the time, never reprove, never rebuke, never correct or judge with righteous judgement, and they are one of the reasons for the downfall of the church today.
There is no power in the love of a wishy-washy, God is nothing but love Christian, “Turn from your sin or face the eternal wrath of God in the Lake of Fire” never comes from their lips, they will not tell the lost that “That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.” (Job 21:30) Our Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but they will know no pity, no slacking of His wrath and fury upon them for all eternity, for they have denied the Most Holy One. The same Lord that killed 50,070 people just for looking in His ark, (1 Sam 6:19) is the same Lord that is coming back in power, to kill hundreds of thousands at the battle of Armageddon, the Lord that sent serpents to destroy the people, (Numb. 21:6) is the same Lord that is going to rule with a rod of righteousness. (Rev. 19:15) God does not think like we think, He is no respecter of persons. (Romans 2:11)
We are commanded to love, because we know their end if they die in their sins, but if this love is not shown in its entirety, if they are not warned by us of their end if they refuse His call, then it is not truly love, if only half the story is told, then they will remain blind. We love to tell the story, don’t we, His wonderful grace and mercy, His everlasting love for us, the glories of the kingdom of heaven that await all His chosen ones, but we continuously shy away telling them that the “Wicked shall be turned into hell” (Psalm 9:17) that they are reserved to the day of destruction,” (Job 21:30) that the wrath of God not only abides on them now,(John 3:36) but will abide on them without pity for all eternity. We don’t mind telling them that He loves them, but we do not want to tell them what their end will be if they do not call upon Him in repentance.
These are those who are causing the falling away from the faith, these are those who are bringing in the apostacy, (2 Peter 2:20) these are they whose love is waxing cold, (Matt. 24:12) for they will not speak the truth in its entirety, they love without warning. It is part of the reason that the “enabled society” has become prevalent, it is the reason death row is just a longer life sentence, it is the reason socialism is beginning to rear its ugly head again, God is nothing but love, so we should not do anything but love. “The whole world lies in wickedness.” (1 John 5:19) And we, as we rightly should, tell them of His love, His sacrifice, their need for repentance, but only in part, for we fear to tell them of the judgement that awaits them if they do not repent and come to Christ in that repentance, seeking mercy and forgiveness.
We know their end, we know for a fact what their end will be if they die in their sins, we love, but we do not warn, we say we care, but we do not explain the torment of hell to them. The wrath of God abides on them, and we look at them, tell them they are loved, and then move on. When was the last time you mentioned that verse to a friend who is lost, when was the last time you spoke with one of your beloved family members who does not know Christ and explained in detail to them the suffering and eternal torment of all those who reject the Son of God. My guess would be that you have told them how much He loves them, but not the punishment that awaits them if they reject Him, you have probably spoken with them about your changed life because of Him, the stony heart that once resided inside of you that is now being transformed into one of flesh, (Eze. 36:26) but not of the wrath and hopelessness that they will suffer eternally, of the punishment that awaits them because they will not accept the One who took that punishment for them so they could escape it.
God does not think like we do, far too many who profess Christ as Lord are cowards in this area, they have fallen into the trap laid by Satan, clearly marked, that says “Never offend, only love.” If you have not hidden all of God’s word in your heart, (Psalm 119:11) then you have not hidden any, if you have decided to emulate only part of Christ, then you will never be Christ-like.
God is love, and He is wrath, God loves the righteous, and He is angry with the wicked, those who serve Christ will abide eternally in His presence, those who do not will suffer His wrath eternally without pity, this is what you are to tell them.
