Choosing between righteousness and spiritual deception

The most urgent need is for people to hear the word of God.

When the wicked prosper, is God unjust?

A study on eternal judgment.

In our final article on the basic principles of Hebrews 6, Campbell MacAlpine turns to the subject of eternal judgment.

We now come to the last of the six truths which should be absorbed into our lives if we are going to continually advance to maturity. We considered in the previous two articles the glorious prospect and hope for the Christian who dies before Jesus returns. However, as well as a resurrection of the just, there is also a resurrection of the unjust. As well as salvation, there is condemnation; as well as heaven there is hell; as well as there being eternal bliss, there is also eternal judgment.

Why should this teaching be so important? How should it affect our lives? There are various answers:

• We should be continually grateful to God that he ever saved us. Daily we should be thankful for his mercy to us, and that he has “delivered us from wrath to come”. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him” (Rom 5:89).
  
• We should continually desire to see people saved. The truth is that man without Christ is lost, and lost forever. We are called to be signposts to Jesus, to intercede for the lost, and to be available to bring the good news of the Gospel so that people can be saved from eternal judgment. As the old hymn puts it, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.”
  
• We should present the truth of the Gospel. Paul could boldly declare, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew; then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:16-18).

Paul states that the Gospel reveals two things: the righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

The Righteousness of God

First, the Gospel reveals that for man, who is totally unrighteous and can do nothing to make himself righteous, Christ's righteousness has been imputed to him when he believes in the Lord Jesus. “There is no-one righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10); “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21) and “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

Paul states that the Gospel reveals two things: the righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

What a powerful, life-changing message is contained in the Gospel. How gracious of God to pronounce a ‘not guilty’ verdict on us when we came to him. How merciful of him to look upon us as righteous because on the Cross Jesus took our unrighteousness.

The Wrath of God

The second thing the Gospel reveals is God’s wrath; his holy and just anger against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Heb 1:8-9).

How is the wrath of God revealed?

• It is revealed in man’s conscience. If a man does something wrong, he knows it, and although he may not agree, knows his wrong deserves punishment. Therefore, his first impulse is to hide his sin.
  
• God’s wrath is revealed in history when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. The wickedness of mankind increased and increased, until God in his holy justice had to intervene and everyone was destroyed when the Flood came, with the exception of eight people who were saved in the ark. God’s wrath on cities rife with immorality was revealed in Sodom and Gomorrah.
  
• As well as nations and cities, God's wrath against all ungodliness has been revealed in his judgments on individuals such as King Belshazzar, Korah, Gehazi, King Uzziah, King Herod, Ananias and Sapphira and the Corinthian believers failing to discern the Lord's Body during communion.
  
• God’s wrath is revealed in death. Satan lied to our first parents and assured them that if they disobeyed God they would not suffer – “you will not surely die” he whispered to them. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Every time we pass a cemetery, or see a funeral, or read an obituary, we need to remember that the word of God declares, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).
  
• However, the greatest revelation of God's wrath against sin is seen at the Cross. There we see what it cost the Lord Jesus, sinless, holy, spotless, pure, taking the punishment for our sins, taking the judgment, taking the wrath, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Hallelujah, what a Saviour! “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).

The greatest revelation of God’s wrath against sin is seen at the Cross.

Importance of Warning

There are two essential contents of good teaching. One is feeding, and the other is warning. When you study the ministry of the Lord Jesus you find that his teaching was punctuated by warnings. “Watch out for false prophets”; “Be on your guard against men”; “Watch out! be on your guard against all kinds of greed.”

You also find this content in the teaching of Paul and the other Apostles. When Paul was visiting the leaders in Ephesus for the last time he exhorted them to “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers”. Then he said, “…for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:28, 31).

So it is with the message of the Gospel. There is the proclamation and teaching of its glorious message which is “the power of God unto salvation.” It brings the wonderful invitation “whosoever will may come”, although the late Dr Tozer, in one of his wonderful writings, said the Gospel is not an invitation but an ultimatum: “God commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”

However, the message also brings a warning. The verse that says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned”, is the same verse that says, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

We do not seem to hear much warning today. When did you last hear a sermon on hell, or the wrath of God, or eternal punishment? I am not speaking about preachers taking delight in dangling their congregations over the hot flames or hell to try and scare them into the Kingdom of God. In years gone by that kind of preaching seemed to be quite prevalent. However, I think the pendulum has swung in the other direction.

Years ago I asked God never to allow me to preach about judgment unless my heart was filled with his love for the lost. In his faithfulness he has answered that prayer, sometimes causing others embarrassment. Although I have not been embarrassed, I have had to pause and weep.

In the same way that we cannot fully anticipate the joy awaiting the Christian, neither can we understand the desperate loss for those who reject the message of his love and grace. At a conference in Belgium some years ago, I sat next to a lady from a Middle Eastern country one lunch-time. In conversation I asked her how she came to know the Lord Jesus. She told me it was the result of a dream. She dreamt that she was in hell and described some terrors and horrors that were shown her. One thing that so impressed her was that there was fire but there was no light. She never rested until she came to the place of yielding her life to Christ. Yes, the message speaks of the righteousness of God, and the wrath of God.

In the same way that we cannot fully anticipate the joy awaiting the Christian, neither can we understand the desperate loss for those who reject the message of his love and grace.

What Then is Eternal Punishment?

There is no need to conjure up some human description or pass one’s personal opinion. The safest thing to do is simply take what the word of God says. Eternal punishment is:

• Eternal separation from God: “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thess 1:7-9).
• Being in the company of the devil and his angels: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).
• Darkness and sorrow: They “will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 8:12).
• Everlasting shame: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2).
• A place of no return: Jesus gave one of the most revealing insights when he told the story in Luke 16, of the rich man and Lazarus. To the rich man who lived without God, and died without God, he said, “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26).

Who Will Be There?

Those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death” (Rev 21:8).

In the light of this sobering truth it is good to know that God does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). How great is the love and grace of God in sending the Lord Jesus to die and rise again that we might be delivered from wrath to come. What confidence we can have in the Gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to all who will believe it. So let us be thankful for his salvation and his keeping power. Let us proclaim the good news of a Saviour, and let us go on to maturity.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptism, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Heb 6:1, NKJV).

Let us take as our resolve the words of the next verse, “This will we do…”

Questions

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an invitation, and also a warning. Why is the warning so important?
   
2. Why is it, do you think, that so little is preached about God’s wrath?
3. How will this teaching affect your life in the future?
4. Why do you think that Jesus preached more about hell than anyone else?

This article is part of a series. Click here for previous instalments.

A Famous Clock and a Total Eclipse

After more than 150 years of continuous chiming on the hour, Big Ben has temporarily ceased to gong. The four-year moratorium on the famous bell is so that repairs can be made without bursting the eardrums of the workers. And judging by the TV footage, there are serious cracks in the structure of the clock tower. And yet MPs, including Prime Minister Theresa May, have protested at what they consider to be this unnecessary deference to health and safety regulations.

Clock-Tower Corruption

It appears that they are not wishing to face up to the severe corruption of the clock-tower which needs major repairs. Maybe God is speaking to us through this episode – it’s more than a facelift that is needed. There has been talk for some time about MPs having to move out of the Commons while repairs are made to the crumbling foundations adjacent to the iconic clock. But that conversation has also gone rather quiet.

All of this is a clear picture of the state of the nation and the corruption in our national moral and spiritual life , thanks in large part to the diabolical laws passed in these hallowed buildings.
What a shocking betrayal of our esteemed forefathers who, inspired by their Christian faith, campaigned for laws – including the abolition of slavery and child labour – that set an example of moral righteousness to the rest of the world.

Parliament’s Foundations

It is well to remind ourselves that our Parliament is quite literally founded on the word of God – its floor is inscribed in Latin with the words of Psalm 127, verse 1: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.” The Moses Room, which is the largest assembly room in the House of Lords has huge wall murals of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments which is a reminder to all MPs of the centrality of the word of God in our Parliamentary history.

This is a clear picture of the state of the nation and the corruption in our national moral and spiritual life.

But in the past 50 years Parliament has agreed to one law after another that directly contradicts biblical truth. Our MPs have deliberately rejected our Christian heritage with everything we have stood for as a nation for hundreds of years.

Abortion Act

Among the most heinous of these was the Abortion Act, which has seen the legalised murder of nine million unborn children. And yet, in our topsy-turvy politically-correct world, we have heard little about the horrors of this subject 50 years on while at the same time being bombarded with ‘celebrations’ of the decriminalisation of homosexuality – another law passed in 1967!

Life is cheap while evil is flagged up as good, and good as evil: turning upside down God’s law. (Isaiah 5:20). Our Parliament that was once the envy of the world and the ‘Mother of Parliaments’ is now in a state of weakness and confusion, symbolised by the decaying state of the historic buildings.

Our Parliament was once the envy of the world and the ‘Mother of Parliaments’.

Unless our leaders – political and spiritual – face up to the moral decadence of the nation to which they have contributed and instigate major repairs by reaffirming our biblical heritage in the same way as they are carrying out major repairs to the buildings the whole of our social order is in danger of collapse in the same way as the buildings are in danger.

Western Civilisation Cracking

God’s judgment is at the door, but we are not alone. The whole of Western civilisation is showing cracks similar to those in our Parliament buildings. The political turmoil in the USA grows steadily more serious with Trump’s White House administration at loggerheads even with his own Republican majority in Congress. The recent outbreak of racial problems in Charlottesville with clashes between far right and far left groups reviving the old problems that have assailed America ever since their Civil War, is greatly troubling.

Total Eclipse

The eclipse of the sun which enthralled many Americans should also be seen as a sign of the times. The darkness that came over America is also a warning that, like Britain, America also has been deliberately rejecting its great Christian heritage. The great faith of the pilgrims who founded America on the word of God has been steadily rejected for the past 40 years. The eclipse symbolises the darkness that is increasingly enveloping America .¹

The total eclipse over America is both a warning and a message of hope to our world.

Evangelist Billy Graham is reputed to have said that if God doesn’t judge America, he will have to apologise to Sodom and Gomorrah. Speaking of events that would indicate his near return, Jesus said: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars…nations will be in anguish…People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Luke 21:25f)

Joel’s Prophecy

Luke also alludes to these signs from heaven happening in the ‘last days’ in reporting Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost during which the Apostle quotes the prophet Joel, thus: “I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below…the sun will be turned to darkness…before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.” (Acts 2:19f)

But the verse immediately following gives us great cause for hope, for it says: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”Solar Eclipse

An Awesome Sign

Yes, the eclipse is a wondrous and awesome sign – but also a fearful one, in the light of God’s word which shall never fail (Isaiah 40:8). For the God of creation is also the God who cannot look on evil; that is why he turned his face away when his Son bore our sins on the Cross, causing our Lord to declare in his agony: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” quoting Psalm 22:1.

Our sins were judged on the Cross; they were condemned in fact. But if we trust in Christ for our salvation, we escape God’s judgment, for there is no condemnation for those who are “in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The total eclipse over America is both a warning and a message of hope to our world in these days. The Apostle John records: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil…. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (John 3:19-21).

A stable society can only be built on Jesus, who said: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

References 

¹ According to Space.com, this was the first total solar eclipse whose path of totality remained completely within the United States since the nation’s founding in 1776.

In our continuing series on the relevance of the message of the prophets for today, Jock Stein looks at the Prophet Micah.

Micah was a seer (Mic 1:1), looking from God's perspective at cities, leaders and the events of three reigns that spanned some 50 years, from 740 to 690 BC. It is the lot of a prophet to see things and people as they really are before God, and that can be painful (Mic 1:8).

Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem

The book of Micah begins with a word addressed to all the world but concerning two small parts of it, Samaria and Jerusalem. What God does in one location is to become a sign to many, just as Micah's weeping and wailing is to be a sign to all people (Mic 1:8). His actions are a prelude to judgment, for Samaria and Jerusalem are to be destroyed (Mic 1:6; 3:12).

It is a long time since a British city faced destruction – but the Lockerbie disaster and, more recently, the 2005 terror attacks in London are just tiny hints of what could so easily occur to our major cities. For decades the ultimate threat has been that of nuclear war, but many have chosen to ignore such dangers. In God's providence, nuclear catastrophe has so far been kept at bay.

The threat of global disaster is still there, however, as nuclear know-how proliferates, environmental pollution grows, and information systems become ever more vulnerable to 'knock-out'.

But Micah warns us that the reality of judgment is not some vague and distant threat, but comes at specific times to specific cities. It is unexpected, although not unheralded, and will come at a time when people are eating, drinking and getting married (Matt 24:38). It occurs as a result of the sins of a nation's leaders (Mic 2:1-2).

It is the lot of a prophet to see things and people as they really are before God.

Calling Leaders to Account

The prophet looks the leaders of Israel squarely in the eye, calling them to account (Mic 3). Many different elements go to make up the life of a nation, each one the responsibility of leaders whose job it is to know what is right, to love that which is righteous, and to do the right thing (Mic 3:1-2; 6:8). Those with responsibility could be categorised as follows:

• Those with political power (princes, elders and military officials)
• Those with economic power (landowners, accumulators of wealth and merchants)
• Those with judicial power (judges and elders)
• Those with religious power (prophets and priests)

But who would fit into such categories today?

The 'Movers and Shakers'

These are the people who make things happen: the cabinet ministers, captains of industry and so on. Others are less well known, but make up what used to be thought of as the 'Establishment'.

However, the scene has changed in Britain, not least with the incursion of 'European' directives, the Thatcherite revolution, the decline in power of the Trade Unions, the royal family's loss of credibility, and the demise of 'consensus government'.¹

For years, Britain has relied for its ethical stability on a moral consensus among 'the good and the great'. This would no longer appear to hold - indeed, sadly, today's 'movers and shakers' are more likely to reflect the interests of the rich and powerful than the poor.

It may well be that Christians within politics and the media, like the Jews in exile, have few options. But those in leadership - whatever their religious beliefs - are called to know, love and follow that which is good.

For years, Britain's ethical stability has relied on a moral consensus among 'the good and the great' – but this no longer appears to hold.

Police, Legislators and the Courts

Britain once had an excellent reputation for its legal system, judges and police, a reputation now tarnished through allegations of corruption and cover-ups. Many who work in the inner city, or on marginalised council estates, are quick to point out similar instances of injustice.

Our assessment of the situation may partly be coloured by the unreasonable expectations we have of the police to contain problems that in fact stem from decades of neglecting the moral and social fabric of society. It is clear that Britain's laws tend to favour the rich rather than the poor, though we have not yet reached the cruelty of 19^th Century France as portrayed by Victor Hugo in the novel Les Miserables. Micah reminds us that true justice is a matter of practice as well as of theory - that even good laws will fail to provide blessing unless those who carry them out act justly. In Micah 6:8 we read, "The Lord has told you mortals what is good, and what it is that the Lord requires of you: only to act justly, to love loyalty, to walk humbly with your God" (Revised English Version).

Church Leaders

Micah's word in 3:11 is most obviously addressed to those who preach a gospel of 'health and wealth', claiming the authority of Scripture for promises of blessing, when in reality judgment is about to fall.

And yet, when judgment occurs, the people "must go to Babylon", into the place of exile, in order that they might be saved. There is no easy road to blessing. So it is today, the rich Christians in Britain who "spin words" (Mic 2:6) may be saved, yet only just (1 Cor 3:15).

Micah's word is addressed to all leaders, not just the religious ones. Government can never be morally neutral, with politicians simply acting as referees, holding the ring for different sectors of society to have a 'fair fight'. Instead, those in authority are to look after the poor, restrain evil and promote what is good. It is this which creates conditions for prosperity and peace.

Christians Have a Special Responsibility

Yet no government can change the heart of a nation. Only the Lord can "lead the way" (Mic 2:13). That is why Christians, and Christian leaders in particular, have a special responsibility for the life of the nation. They should intercede, speak out and be a prophetic people, living out the word of God in such a way that unbelievers who see their lifestyles are challenged.

The book of Micah is not a weapon with which Christians can self-righteously knock the Government - is a call for us to repent.

The book of Micah is not a weapon with which Christians can knock the Government in self-righteous fashion, but is a call for us to repent. We need to see clearly that the result of disobedience is the withdrawal of God's hand. We need to embrace the promise of God (Mic 4), that beyond the days of exile lies a blessing for the world, a peace and prosperity born of loyalty to the Lord.

The word of God comes from Jerusalem (Mic 4:2). It is anchored in the specifics of God's revelation through Israel. What light still has to come from the book of Micah may not yet be clear to us - but we need to "watch for the Lord" (Mic 7:7), and intercede with him, for it is written, "You do not stay angry for ever, but delight to show mercy" (Mic 7:18).

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 10 No 2, March 1994. Revised July 2016.

Notes

1 These examples date from when the article was first published. Time has now moved on – more recent trends include the move to globalism, centralising world government and creating notable weaknesses in national leadership across the world. Even though the UK is withdrawing from Europe, we are still experiencing weakened leadership through division in our political parties and across the nation, accompanied by a rise in 'people power' fuelled in part by rapid communication through social media.