“Against You, You only, have I sinned” - Psalm 51:4
Does the punishment fit the
crime? As a society, we frequently ask that very question about criminal cases
in the news. We are appalled at the light sentences given to abusers,
pedophiles, drunk drivers, rapists, murderers, and the like. We are aggravated
and disgusted when victims are treated like criminals and criminals appear to
have more rights than their victims. We sense there is something inherently
wrong, unjust, when we see such things. When the sentence doesn’t fit the crime,
it has a destabilizing effect on society. But I would like to apply this
question to an even more important area, eternity. Will God actually sentence
people to hell? Does His eternal punishment fit the crime of our sin? Are we
guilty of crimes of sin deserving of a sentence of hell?
At present atheism seems to be
going through a cycle of popularity in society. But those who do accept the
existence of God, (and statistically they still remain in the majority)
frequently doubt that God would send anyone to hell. They may accept that God
would send those to hell who are guilty of the most heinous crimes, but they
don’t see themselves as that bad. In general people feel they will be good
enough to get into heaven and avoid hell.
While statistics show a trend away from
orthodoxy, studies continue to show that a majority of people believe in a
heaven and a hell. A significant portion of the populace still accept the
gospel, i.e. “confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior”
as means of going to heaven. But there is a growing majority of people who are
unclear about what determines their destiny. Those who choose to reject the
gospel say their eternal destination is based on one of three things: keeping
the Law of the Ten Commandments; their basic goodness; or a view of God that
disallows a sentence to a place called hell. What does God say about this? What
does He tell us in His word?
The first thing we need to
consider is what has God revealed about Himself in His word? God is holy and He
commands His followers to be holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Peter 1:15-16). God’s
revelation of Himself says He has an aversion, a revulsion to sin:
·
Habakkuk
1:13a - You are of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.
God states that sin separates us from Him (Isaiah
59:1-2). The Bible says if we allow sin to reside in our hearts God will not
hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18). The Bible says God is light and in Him is no
darkness at all (1 John 1:5). God and sin do not mix.
What is hell? Hell is a place created by God for the
devil and demons (Mat. 25:41). It is a real place. The Bible also says the
person who sins, “is of the devil” (1 John 3:8; cf. also Eph. 2:1-3). The
wicked or sinners will be turned into hell (Psalm 9:17). God will cast the
sinner into hell and therefore we ought to revere Him (Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke
12:5). Hell is a place of everlasting fire, punishment and torment where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat. 25:41, 46; Rev. 19:20). Though not
created by God for people, those who sin will be cast there to join the devil
and his demons (Rev. 21:8).
What is sin? God has given us a Book called the Bible
which is a manual for life. This Book explains the problem of sin and its
solution. This Book explains God has given us laws that explain how we can
experience prosperity, blessing, fullness of life (Joshua 1:8; 1 Chron. 22:13).
God’s law consists of rules, principles, statutes, and God’s judgments. God’s
laws tell us the parameters of what He says right and wrong is. Living within
the parameters of His word and law is righteousness.
Living righteously (i.e. keeping the law) assures we will experience life
as He created us to live it. It will also assure that we don’t harm others. Sin
is breaking God’s law in word, deed or thought. John put it this way, “All
unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17a). Sin beaks our relationship with God.
Sin causes pain in our relationship with others, including God.
What does sin look like? In Exodus 20 God gave Moses the
Ten Commandments. These ten laws of God given to His people serve as the
summation of His Law. There were 613 lesser laws given but the Ten Commandments
serve as the bedrock of the Law of God. These Ten can be described as:
1.
Not having any other God’s except Almighty God.
2.
Do not make any images or idols of God or any
other gods.
3.
Respect God’s name; don’t use it in vain.
4.
Keep the Sabbath.
5.
Honor your parents.
6.
Don’t murder anyone.
7.
Don’t commit adultery; stay true to your
marriage covenant.
8.
Don’t steal anything.
9.
Don’t lie or bear false witness against anyone.
10. Don’t
covet.
Sin is when we break such laws. All sin is against God
and His Law (Psalm 51:4). The first four are vertical and directly against God
while the last six are horizontal and indirectly against God but directly
against other people.
What is the penalty for breaking these laws? The penalty
for breaking God’s laws is death. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death”
(Rom. 6:23a). God says, “Behold. All souls are Mine; the soul of the father as
well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel
18:4). It’s at this point that some might respond, “Isn’t that harsh? Does the
punishment fit the crime? Isn’t God loving?” Yes, God is loving, but God is
also holy, just and righteous. God is of purer eyes than to look on wickedness.
Breaking or disregarding His law is rooted in pride, rebellion and is wickedness.
“Wickedness” as spoken of by prophet Habakkuk means acts of deceit, treachery,
faithlessness (Habakkuk 1:13). God will not even look at such things; He will
put them out of His presence.
Does the punishment of God fit the crime of sin? Let me
share a personal story from my youth. When I was a kid during the summer time
we’d play outside from morning to night. We’d get on our bicycles and ride all
over the place. We’d play sports. We’d chase each other all around. And
sometimes, when we were going through a particularly long dry spell that made
the dirt crusty we’d have “dirt bomb” fights. That’s when you collect clumps of
dry stony dirt and throw it at each other. It was kind of like a summer version
of snow ball fighting. Well, one time we were having a monumental dirt bomb
battle and had all suffered some direct hits. We accepted that as part of the
game. You hit and got hit, no problem. We got to the point where we called a mutually
agreed upon cease fire. But now what? What would we do for the rest of the day.
I don’t know who it was but one of our crew got the brilliant idea to hide in a
tree line adjacent to a busy road and start throwing dirt bombs as passing
cars. We collected our ammunition and snuck up to the tree line. We lay in
wait, waiting for the call to let her rip at some unsuspecting motorist. (Yes,
it was dangerous and not the brightest idea. We could have caused an accident.
But we were kids and out for fun at others expense. We didn’t really give it a
lot of thought.) Waiting, waiting, hold, get ready, and in the distance we saw
the perfect target, A CONVERTIBLE! And the top was down. As soon as that bright
shinny top down beauty passed by we let her rip. Bang, bang, bang, clunk, screech!
That screech indicated we had made direct hits. But what we didn’t figure is
that “screech” part of the motorist pulling over to the side of the road,
GETTING OUT OF HIS CAR, AND COMING AFTER US!
Needless to say, the fun in that game blew out as fast as
air out of a popped balloon. We did what any other kid our age would do, have
an instant moment of regret and then run like the blazes on an escape route. We
thought we could run pretty fast but this guy proved to be an Olympian-like
sprinter. We split up and kept running. I stayed with a friend of mine who
lived in an apartment nearby. We glanced back only to have our terror
heightened when we saw that the just pursuer had sovereignly chosen us to
chase. We ran down a hill, through a parking lot, up some rear stairs, and into
the apartment. We ran as fast as we could but that guy wasn’t giving up. Then
we did what any other kid of that day would do in such a situation, we ran to
the nearest mother for protection. We ran to my friend’s apartment as our “city
of refuge” and once inside one glance of his mother at our fear laden faces
told her she needed to go in protection mode. We ran to my friend’s room and
literally hid and listened. Almost
instantly we heard loud banging on the metal apartment door. My friend’s mother
spoke through the door in an effort to calm down our pursuer. He must have
cooled down a bit. Then she opened the door and reasoned with him. We heard
some raised voices and shouting and then a calm. Moms can be pretty diplomatic you
know. He left and we soon felt the consequences when news of our exploits
traveled over the Mom’s phone network. Believe me there were consequences of
varying degrees and I can’t remember ever having another dirt bomb fight after
that.
What’s the point? The point is that when you’re throwing
dirt bombs at your buddies there’s little fear of offense but when your target
becomes an adult the offense will be noted and punished. We often minimize our
sins because we limit their definition to our horizontal plane. But when we see
our sins on the vertical plane of God, that our sins are against an Almighty All-Powerful
Adult God, our sins take on much more severity. Throw something at an equal and
offense is minimal. Throw something at an Authority and there are consequences.
Throw a dirt bomb at a friend and it’s no big deal. Throw a dirt bomb at and
adult, or an elderly person, a police officer or president, and you’re in deep
trouble. Sin’s severity is measured by who it offends. All sin is ultimately
against God and severely offensive. The Bible states, “Against
You, You only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). Think about that. When we see
sin as against God Almighty, no sin is a “small” sin.
Let’s pretend we are in a secular worldly court. The
judge is just a regular human being in a position of authority. Before him is
brought a man who has disrespected, rebelled against and murdered his parents,
has murdered numerous other people, has committed adultery on numerous
occasions, has stolen repeatedly, has lived the life of deception and is a
compulsive liar, and is driven by a lust for more of what he already has enough
of. In addition to that this criminal is disrespectful and disobedient toward
the judge. He curses the name of the judge and won’t rest and calm down when
the judge orders him to. What would you say about such a man? What would a just
sentence for him be? He’s a parenticidal, homicidal, sex crazed, thieving, lying,
lustful man. If anyone was due the death sentence certainly he would be!
But you say, “That’s not me! I’m not that bad.” The Bible warns us not to think more highly of ourselves
than we ought (Rom. 12:3). The Bible says we should examine and test ourselves
to see where we stand with God (2 Cor. 13:5). Let’s do that.
Have you always honored your parents? We may respond that
there have been times when we’ve dishonored or rebelled against our parents but
not always. Maybe you are in rebellion against your parents now. Maybe you’ve
rebelled against them in the past. How much rebellion against your parents can
be equated with dishonoring them? Any amount! But what about parenticide? You
say, “I haven’t killed my parents. I’m not that bad.” Jesus said that if you’re
angry with someone or call them a fool or something equivalent to that it’s as
though you’ve killed them in your heart (Mat. 5:21-26). That’s His standard of
judgment. Have you ever been angry with your parents? Parenticide!
Ever murdered someone? Here we are not talking about
killing of a human being in the line of duty such as with a policeman or
military person. Here we are talking about murder. And again, Jesus’ standard
equates anger with murder. Ever get angry with someone? Murderer! Probably a mass murderer!
How about adultery? Ever commit adultery. “Oh no, I’ve
always been faithful to my spouse” you say. But Jesus’ standard here is higher
than mere actions too. He said if we even have a lustful thought about someone
we are guilty of committing adultery in our hearts (Mat. 5:27-30). Even have a
lustful thought, a fantasy, anything about anyone anytime other than the one you
are married to? This includes those who are single. Ever have a lustful
thought? Adulterer!
Ever stolen anything, anything, anytime? How much do you
have to steal to be considered a thief? Anything, even a paper clip that makes
you a thief. How about lying; ever spoken a non-truth? Ever lied about your
age, your weight, your income, your past, your present, ever lied at all? Liar!
Ever wanted something someone else has? Ever wanted more of what you already
have enough of? Ever yearned for something, lusted after it? Coveter!
So far we’re finding we’re not as different from our
imaginary criminal as we thought ourselves to be. We’re finding we’re
parenticidal, homicidal, sex crazed, thieving, lying, lustful just like that
man. We haven’t even considered our relation to a Judge who is God Almighty,
All Holy, perfectly just and righteous. Has He always been first and foremost
in our lives; our thoughts and actions; our priorities? If not that’s
blasphemy. Have we idolized God? Have we defined Him as we see Him or want to see Him rather than how He has revealed Himself to be in truth? Your God is your master
passion. If anything takes priority in our lives besides God we’ve broken the
second commandment. That’s idolatry. How about the way we have referred to God?
Ever used His name as a four letter curse word? Ever referred to Him and used
His name in a profane way, even a common or irreverent way? If so that’s taking
the Lord’s name in vain; that’s disrespecting the God of glory! How about
observing His Sabbath? Some will say, “Oh, that’s just for Jewish people.” But
wait, the Sabbath of God is holy and there is a principle here. To rest on the
Sabbath is a demonstration of faith and trust in God to provide for you. We
rest trusting that God will supply our needs. The Bible says whatever is not
done in faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). God has done so much for you, He has been so
faithful and true, and will you distrust Him? That’s offensive to God.
So to the charges of parenticidal, homicidal, sex crazed,
thieving, lying, and lust we can add the highly offensive to God charges of
blasphemy, idolatry, profane use of God’s name and distrust of God to our
ledger. Now, do you see a bit more how the death penalty for sin is
appropriate? The wages of sin is death. The soul that sins is deserving of
death. And death here is not annihilation. The death sentence here is an
eternal sentence of existence in a place called hell; a place of darkness,
loneliness, regret and torment. That is a just sentence for the sinner.
If you were to stand before God charged with such
offenses would He pronounce you guilty or innocent? Does that matter to you? If
it doesn’t matter to you I would like to give you further warning. In the
gospels Jesus performed countless miracles and taught powerful truth. The religious
of His day refused to heed His words or acknowledge His work. There came a
point where they could not believe (John
12:35-41). Refusing to respond to God leads to hardening of your heart. The
more you refuse to turn to God from your sin the harder your heart becomes and
the harder it is for you to do so. Only God knows when a person reaches this
point of no return. But why risk getting to that point?
What can we do about our sinful state? The Bible says,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). The Bible states:
·
Acts
17:30-31 - Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has
appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man
whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from
the dead.”
There is a Judgment Day coming. You may have been ignorant of your sin predicament
before but you aren’t now. Where do you stand with God?
Let me say first that salvation from sin is not a matter of keeping the
laws of God. God’s law exposes our sinfulness and shows us the futility of
trying to keep them in our own strength (Rom. 7:7). The law shows us we are
sinful (1 Tim. 1:8-11). And the law in pointing out our sin also leads us to
the solution for our sin problem, Jesus (Gal. 3:24).
God calls everyone to repent of their sin. To repent means to respond
to God, to turn to Him. To repent means to have a change of heart that leads to
a change in life action. No one can come to God unless God draws them to Himself
(John 6:44). God has been reaching out to you. The Holy Spirit has been
convicting you of your sin (John 16:8-11). “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and
truth” (Psalm 25:10). The truth is you are guilty as sin before a Holy God. But
God is merciful. Mercy is not getting
what you deserve. He has made a way for you to be justly forgiven. He has
made a way for you to have your sins wiped away so that it will be just as if
you’ve never sinned (e.g. Rom. 5:1). He has made a way for you to replace death
with spiritual eternal life. He has done all of this through Jesus Christ.
The Man ordained or anointed and chosen by God to make the way for
salvation from sin is Jesus Christ. Jesus went to the cross for you and for me;
for sinners. Jesus lived a life of perfect and without sin (1 Pet 1:18-19). He
died on the cross, the just for the unjust, to pay our death penalty for us (1
Pet 3:18). “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
That can happen when we put our faith in Him. It isn’t a matter of us doing some good works or religious
activity (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Jesus has done the work for us; the work of salvation is compete; “It is finished!” (John 19:30). We need to receive by
faith what God has provided for us in Christ.
God who is Holy is also gracious and loving. Humanity has a humanly
insurmountable debt of sin. But God has made a divine way for lost humanity to
be redeemed from that debt of sin. He has made a way for humanity to be saved
from their sin by sending His One and only Son Jesus to die on the cross in our
place. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). This work of Jesus has been shown to
be valid and completely satisfactory to God by His resurrection from the dead.
Therefore this work of Jesus for salvation can be put to our account; we can be
forgiven all our sin (past, present,
even future sin) when we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior. The Bible says,
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10). The saving transaction is put to our account by
faith. It is offered by God freely to us by His grace and appropriated to our
account by faith. God’s grace is God’s
Redemption at Christ’s Expense. The faith that saves us is Forsaking All (other alternatives) I Trust
Him. Salvation is not about something we
do, it is all about accepting by faith something Jesus has done for us.
Salvation is freely provided by God but it wasn’t cheap; it cost Christ
His life. We justly deserve the death penalty. In His mercy God makes a way so
that we can avoid the death sentence we deserve. But God goes beyond that and
gives us what we don’t deserve, His precious promises of a personal eternal
relationship with Him. Jesus said eternal life was knowing Him and the Father (John 17:3). The Bible says:
·
Philippians
4:19 - And my God shall supply all your need according to
His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
God promises to meet all our needs.
·
2 Peter
1:3-4 - 3 as His divine power has
given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have
been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these
you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust.
God promises to change us and make us like Jesus (cf. also Rom. 8:29; 1
Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6). And you know what else? When we accept Jesus as Savior
by faith, God forgive our sin, but He also gives us spiritual life by
indwelling us with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9-11). When the Holy Spirit indwells
us He pours His love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). And this love, lived out in
and through us, fulfills God’s law! (Rom.
13:10). Those are incredible truths. Jesus promises us abundant life (John
10:10). The appropriate response to God’s grace is to receive it and love God
for it (Jon 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:1-16).
Think of it, justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting
what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Does the punishment
fit the crime? Is God fair with us? What do you think now? God is incredibly
loving and giving. In light of Holy God the more important question is do we deserve God’s grace? The answer is
no we do not. But thank God that He gives it to us anyway. Thank God our
salvation is contingent on Him and
not us. Now, what will you do? I hope
you will turn to God in Christ and be saved.
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