DIVINE RETRIBUTION - SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED?

 

                   DIVINE RETRIBUTION – SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED?

                                              (For  the local Newspaper)

     Before we tackle the topic of Divine Retribution we must establish a few facts first. Divine Retribution is obviously referring to God’s Judgment, but it’s important to understand a little about God. Our Creator's desire for us is only good; The Lord… is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.’” “For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

   When contemplating retribution of any kind, it is wise to consider the reality of consequences beginning with the very basic principles of life. We reasonably anticipate possible consequences to everything we do or fail to do, from jumping over a railing to not paying our taxes. There is always a payday and a reaping of what we sow. If there is an extensive lapse in time before reaping, we sometimes develop a boldness, false sense of security, and possibly an assumed assurance that the grim reaper will pass us by, or perhaps that there is no grim reaper. Furthermore, there tends to be a downplaying of the seriousness of an offense, especially if in some presumptuous way, it becomes acceptable.

 The Bible says that a wise man looks well into his going. For there to be justice, there also needs to be retribution both with the laws of man and the laws of God. The municipal and civil laws, as well as the Ten Commandments, are meant to provide safety and stability for every individual and the population as a whole. Knowing the deviant human condition, the laws are there primarily and hopefully as a deterrent to violation and not solely as a form of punishment, needful as it may be. God's laws are designed to keep us from harming one another. His commands are summed up in “Love your neighbor as yourself. Love works no ill to his neighbor.”

  God's laws are timeless and borderless. No one is exempt, nor shall any escape the consequences if they are defied. Ignorance of the laws do not change the demands nor the possible penalties. If we consider the Commandments...you shall not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, we can see that they are the heart of most of our legislated laws, and are sentinels that help deter us from causing harm. It is obvious that breaking any of these laws will not only bring about some form of consequence, but will indeed inflict harm on others.

  God's primary objective in working in the world today is Salvation, and not retribution. His desire is to give all peoples everywhere an opportunity to be cleansed of our sins by being reconciled to Him through the Death and Resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He loves us all that much. He continually withholds the judgment that we deserve with the hope that each of us will turn to Him by faith and repentance. But be assured, as with the individual, so for the nations, there is coming a day of reckoning. We will be called to give an account. He will step in to avenge long standing debits of injustice, disobedience, immorality, cruelty, and corruption. Remember, silence and inactivity is not an affirmation of tolerance or acceptance, we have the Bible to guide us. We are still living in the period of grace, but that door will close. Indeed, there is coming a day of DIVINE RETRIBUTION, both in this life and in the afterlife, and yes, we need to be concerned! Next  Part 4 – THE DOOR TO DARKNESS