Vingança de Deus

Vingança de Deus

WE MUST WARN THE PEOPLE OF GOD'S VENGEANCE

Thousands of pastors do not believe this because they cannot make it square with their view of eternal security. How can you warn the saints on Sunday morning of God's vengeance if their faith in Christ delivers them from the wrath to come?

Zane Hodges of Dallas Seminary says in a recent book, "It may be safely said that no man in Christian history—with the exception of our Lord Himself—ever motivated believers more or threatened them less than did [Paul]". Hodges must say this because he concludes 3 pages earlier that "works have nothing to do with determining a Christian's basic relationship to God." If the way you behave—say in your sex life—has nothing to do with your basic relationship to God, then warnings of God's vengeance make no sense.

It makes no sense when Paul says to Christians in Rome (8:13), "If you live according to the flesh you will die." It makes no sense when he says to the Corinthians ( HYPERLINK "http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=47&passage=1%20Cor.%2010.9" \t "_blank" 1 Cor. 10:9), "We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of the Israelites did and were destroyed by the serpents." It doesn't make sense when he says to the Galatian churches (5:21), "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not enter the kingdom of God." And it doesn't make sense here in HYPERLINK "http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=47&passage=1%20Thessalonians%204.6" \t "_blank" 1 Thessalonians 4:6 when Paul says, "Let no man transgress and wrong his brother … because God is an avenger in these things as we solemnly forewarned you."

That is, it doesn't make sense unless your premise is wrong that the behavior of man has nothing to do with his salvation. And it is surely wrong. For the tree is known by its fruit.

Therefore, I urge you all to immerse yourselves more and more in the Scriptures and learn for yourselves how to preach practical holiness. And from this one very typical passage in 1 Thessalonians I believe you will find at least that you should

HYPERLINK "http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=47&passage=1%20Thessalonians%204.1-8" \t "_blank" 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Then in the latter half of verse 6 Paul shoots his rifle over their heads. As if to say, brothers I'm not kidding, this is serious. "The Lord is an avenger in all these things as I solemnly forewarned you." Paul is not speaking here of a fatherly swat on the behind. He is saying that if these professing Christians continue to act as those who do not know God or love the brothers, the Lord will condemn them along with the unbelievers.

The parallel with HYPERLINK "http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=47&passage=2%20Thessalonians%201.8" \t "_blank" 2 Thessalonians 1:8 is clear. There Paul says that the Lord is going to come with his angels in flaming fire "inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." Paul repeatedly warns professing Christians that if they live according to the flesh they will be condemned. The reason I say "repeatedly" is not only because you can read it again and again in his letters, because he says right here in verse 6 that he has warned them like this before. He repeatedly warns the same church of God's vengeance.