Punishment of Sin

Notes

Divisions of the lesson: (1) God's Wrath Is against Sin. (2) Sin Will Be Punished on This Earth. (3) It Will Be Destroyed by Fire. (4) Its Place, the Earth, Will Be Renewed and Given to the Saints.

Questions.

God's Wrath Is against Sin.

1. How much did God love the world? John 3:16.

2. For whom did Christ die? 1 Tim. 1:15; Rom. 5:8.

3. What is God's will toward men? 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9.

4. What does the Lord hate? Zech. 8:17; Prov. 6:16-19.

Notes

Sin Will Be Punished on the Earth.

Notes

Sin and Sinners Will Be Destroyed by Fire.

Notes

The Earth Will Be Renewed.

Notes

1. It is an erroneous idea that because God pronounces the death sentence upon the ungodly, He must hate them. In saying that the soul that sinneth it shall die, He only shows what the sinner chooses. Sin must be destroyed. Its author, the devil, and its subjects, those who choose that way, must go with it. God's long-suffering has been manifested for nearly six thousand years, so that all might come to Him and live. He sacrificed the choicest gift of heaven to save all that have sinned. 1 John 2:2. His wrath is not against the sinner, but against the sin. He has provided a way in which He can pardon the vilest sinner, but sin He never can pardon. Man is given his choice, whether he will forsake sin and have life, or cling to that which God hates, and thus be an enemy of God and meet the fate He has pronounced against sin.

2. There is no scripture that locates the wicked in any other place than this earth. They have sinned on this earth, and they die the first death on this earth; they are resurrected here, and they are punished where they have sinned. Rev. 20:8, 9.

3. To destroy is "to abolish; put an end to the existence of; to cause to cease; cut off; kill." The Greek word from which our English word "destroy" comes is defined, "to perish; to come to an end." A thing that is destroyed does not exist any longer. Its component elements may still exist in some other form, but the thing itself has perished. When a house is destroyed by fire, as a house it no longer exists. There may be ashes, heat, smoke, nails, etc., in existence, but they can no longer be called a house, for it has perished.

4. All through the Bible very combustible matter is used to represent the wicked when their destruction is mentioned. They are likened to chaff (Matt. 3:12); to tares (Matt. 13:40); withered branches (John 15:6); fat of lambs (Ps. 37:20); and to thorns (Isa. 33:12), all of which are soon consumed by fire.

5. They are said to "be burned up, root and branch." In Mark 9:43, 44 a figure is borrowed from the Old Testament to illustrate the complete destruction of the wicked. In the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, was a place where all the refuse and the dead carcasses of animals were deposited. Here a fire was kept burning night and day to consume the refuse matter. Where some part of the carcass was near the edge of the fire so that it was not consumed, the worm completed the destruction until it was utterly consumed. The Saviour quoted from this to show that the wicked would be utterly destroyed and nothing left.

Again, the term "forever" is used in connection with the punishment of the ungodly. Rev. 20:10. This term expresses just what it will be for those who obey not the gospel, for their destruction will never be reversed. The second death is a death that has no promise of a life beyond, so it is eternal, everlasting, forever.