Tag: turn from

20.q. “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked”

ROMANS 11:11  So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

 Ezekiel 18:23    Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

 Ezekiel 18:32     For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

 Ezekiel 33:11   Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

 Acts 13:46-48    And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.  He has no pleasure in their rejection and denial of Him and their resulting destiny – eternal hell.  He withholds His wrath and anger for the single purpose that they would turn from their wicked ways and live – eternal heaven.  The wicked surely know they are wicked.  They choose to do acts that are against culture and society’s morals.  They lie, cheat, hurt, kill, cause harm, steal, overpower, hate, cause fear, destroy, etc….., These people absolutely know they are wicked and they choose to live this way for some reason.  They serve only one person – self- and they honor only Satan, knowingly or unknowingly.  Their wickedness and all the harm they have caused are not unseen or unknown by God.  We know these people by their acts of wickedness and destruction and arrogance.  It is clear to see, and yet, God has withheld punishment to them and gives warning after warning to turn back from their wicked ways.  It is easy for us to say they get what they deserve when they face the judgment of God.  Yes, we agree that God is just and right in the punishment of eternal Hell for them.

There is another type of wickedness that is can be easily perceived by us. It is the wickedness of self-worth, self-reliance, self-honor, self-centered indulgence, boasting, and arrogance.  It includes self-pride, greed, and more want of what the world has to offer than things of God.  They may cause harm and some deceit but it is all within the laws of man.  Their actions serve only themselves.  Their plans serve only to advance their own plans and purpose in life. The world may even honor the accomplishments of such people and give them praise for how much they have acquired or the power they have obtained.  In the eyes of the world, it may even seem as they have done everything right.  We may have a hard time agreeing these people deserve the same punishment (eternal Hell) as those who outwardly do vile and hurtful things to others.  

Then there is the other type of wickedness that is no seen at all by the naked eye.  It is disguised and hidden deep within the heart and soul.  They do good things, they help others, they say encouraging words, they live in peace with others, they are kind, they are good employees or are good to their employees, they give of their time for others, they to not lie or cheat, they live content and within their means, they may or may not attend church, they believe there is a God, and they believe there was a Jesus Christ. They have not and do not purposefully harm or do bad to another person. They live humbly and without any appearance of pride.  They don’t boast and are not arrogant.   But, deep within their heart and soul, they have not seen the need for forgiveness of sin.  They judge themselves worthy of eternal life (heaven) by living good and upright lives.  Herein lies the problem. The wicked know they are sinning, but these people are clueless.  These good people think they are worthy of heaven by what they do or do not do.  I think it is harder for these people to see the need for forgiveness of sin than the wicked. By all outward appearances, they do seem worthy of something better than the same judgment given to the wicked, eternal Hell.  

All three of these types of people fall short of eternal life.  There is only one way to eternal life, belief in/on Jesus Christ.  This belief encompasses complete humble acknowledgment and awareness of sin-nature and repents and turns away from it by a surrender of self-reliance. In this turning away there is a desire and seeking of forgiveness that results in a belief in/on Jesus Christ that relies on faith, trust, and reliance in Him alone.  They became fully aware of the need for belief in/on Jesus Christ and how foolish all of their good works were in providing eternal life to their soul.  Their eyes were opened and now they understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the completeness of Christ. The life they formally lived was revealed as worthless in comparison and their humble surrender, trust, reliance, faith, and obedience made perfect sense in the light of this understanding and wisdom given by God.   

God’s Word makes it very clear that all three types of people are wicked and will perish if they do not believe in, rely on, trust in, and cling to Jesus Christ.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Without complete trust and reliance in/on Jesus Christ, all will be judged wicked and will perish into eternal Hell.

1.u. Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!  

2 Chronicles 7:11  Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Leviticus 26:40-41    “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,  so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,

Ezekiel 33:11     Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live;

Deuteronomy 4:29-30   But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

Lamentations 3:40-41    Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!  Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

After Solomon completed the temple and offered prayer and dedication of it to God, they sacrificed offerings to the Lord for 7 days and the people went back to their homes joyful and glad of heart because of their prosperity. Can you remember times of overwhelming joy and gladness?  Can you remember the times of when you were so aware of God’s provision and you were moved to a sincere deep thankfulness?

In times of prosperity don’t we tend to lose sight of God and walk more closely with the world?  The weird thing about this is that we come to a time and place in our life when we surrender to God because of circumstances/troubles/ trials and our faith is turned fully to God and our belief and only hope is placed into His hands.  We wait expectantly and then by the grace and mercy of God we see His deliverance, either through giving us strength and courage to get through it or by a work of His hand blessing us.  We come out the other side closer to God, joyful, thankful, and gladness filling our heart.   But…… Then…..

It seems we are enticed away from the very presence of God that brought this joy, thankfulness, and gladness.  In our blessing and prosperity, our eyes turn toward the worldly and shinny things, everything but God. Do we think His presence is no longer needed?  Do we think we can last, walking life paths without Him?  Do we think we can stand against the attacks, temptations, and deceptions of Satan and our sinful nature?  Do we think God is not worthy of all of our heart, mind, and soul, all of the time?

If we give thought to these questions we certainly will arrive at the answer “NO”.  The problem is we don’t think about these questions.  We allow ourselves to skip a day where He is not our first thought, praise, hope, and strength.  This day so easily turns into weeks, months, years, and then we find ourselves lost and not knowing how to find our way back into His presence.  “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin”

56. So that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Deuteronomy 28:47   Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things.

Nehemiah 9:35     Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works.

1 Timothy 6:17-19    As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,  thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Deuteronomy 12:8    “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes,

Deuteronomy 32:13-15     He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.  Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats, with the very finest of the wheat— and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.  “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.

When are you closest to God?  What times in your life were you seeking Him earnestly?  I would be accurate if I said it was in a very troubling, sad, confusing, frustrating time in your life.   Doesn’t it seem like we run to Him only when we need His refuge, strength, power, courage, forgiveness, and healing but we aren’t quick to run to Him to give honor, glory, praise, and to worship Him?

In times of quiet, health, comfort, prosperity, and freedom there is a high probability to neglect and be complacent with His word.  Challenge this statement if you want but it is surely true.  If His word is not actively being desired and cherished then it is being set aside because of a perceived lack of need of it.

Remember God will not be mocked – if your life is sowing seeds of self-interest above humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God, God will give you the desires of your heart which will never satisfy, never fulfill, never bring joy, peace or comfort.