DRAWING NEAR
December 21
The Certainty of Judgment
"If the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"
(Heb. 2:2-3).
There is certain judgment for everyone who does not receive Christ as
Savior and Lord.
Today the majority believes that God is a God of love and grace, but
not of justice. One brief look at Hebrews 2:2-3 ought to convince
anyone otherwise. The writer's point is this: Since the Old Testament
makes it clear that transgression and disobedience met with severe
and just punishment, how much more so will equal or greater
punishment be rendered under the New Testament, which was revealed by
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?
Both the Old and New Testaments confirm that angels were instrumental
in bringing the law (Deut. 33:2; Acts 7:38). The law the angels
spoke, primarily the Ten Commandments, was steadfast. That meant if
someone broke the law, the law would break the lawbreaker. The law
was inviolable; punishment for breaking it was certain.
"Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense" (v.
2). Transgression refers to stepping across a line--a willful,
purposeful sin. Disobedience, however, refers to imperfect hearing
--the sin of shutting one's ears to the commands, warnings, and
invitations of God. It is a sin of neglect or omission, doing nothing
when something should be done.
Hebrews 2:2 also puts to rest the notion that God is not fair. The
writer says every sin received a "just recompense." God, by His very
nature, is just. Every punishment He meted out to those who defied
Him was a deterrent to the sin He wanted to stop.
God severely punished the nation of Israel because they knew better.
That leads to the important principle that punishment is always
related to how much truth one knows but rejects. The person who knows
the gospel, who has intellectually understood it and believed it, yet
drifts away will experience the severest punishment of all.
Suggestion for Prayer:
Ask God to give you an even greater appreciation of the punishment He
has saved you from to motivate you to pursue the lost more
vigorously.
For Further Study:
Read Matthew 11:20-24, 12:38-42, and Luke 12:47-48 to discover
Christ's attitude toward those who know the truth yet rebel against
it.
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Deuteronomy 33:2
2 And he said: "The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from
Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands
of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them."
Acts 7:38
38 This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the
Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one
who received the living oracles to give to us
Matthew 11:20-24
20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty
works had been done, because they did not repent:
21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty
works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 "But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
in the day of judgment than for you.
23 "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.
24 "But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of
Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."
Matthew 12:38-42
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying,
"Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous
generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except
the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the
great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth.
41 "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this
generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of
Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
42 "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this
generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to
hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is
here."
Luke 12:47-48
47 "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.
48 "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."
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
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NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase@wowway.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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There is a living God. He has spoken in His word. He means just what he says, and will do all that He has promised. - Hudson Taylor
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