Rushwavefrom The Judgment God Desires to Withhold
© 2022 Bert Davidson
Chapter 10: Perishing as a Righteous Act of God
Man being sentenced to hell is in keeping with the moral perfections of God.
The torments of hell, and the corresponding weeping and gnashing of teeth resulting from it, are without question absolutely and utterly terrifying. But these torments must be viewed through the biblical grid of the nature and character of God. Several points are worthy of note.
The torments of hell are not excessive. It is not that man’s works warrant only a minor, passing penalty, and God is simply effecting a harsh sentence because He is unreasonable, austere, or worst yet, cruel or sadistic. On the contrary, God is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). But He is also just and holy. As such, He is constrained by His own righteous nature to mete out justice. Man being sentenced to hell does not reflect God’s cruelty, but rather how heinous, abhorrent, and wicked are man’s works.
The torments of hell are not deficient. If in the examination of man’s works God were not to sentence man to hell, He would be negligent in executing justice. Again, God is loving, compassionate, and gracious. But it is also true that “all His ways are just … righteous and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4). As such, just as His righteous nature restrains Him from executing too harsh a sentence, even so that same righteous nature compels Him to impose a proper sentence. He must subject sinners to a sentence consistent with what they earned.
God’s judgment is reciprocal. There is usually some parallel between the offense and the judgment He effects. This is in keeping with God’s righteous judgment. There are several instances where this pattern of reciprocity is seen in God’s judgment of earthly sins.
- When king Jeroboam stretched out his hand to unjustly seize a man of God, that same hand was withered (1 Kings 13:4).
- Prior to the coming of the Lord when the world is engaged in the bloody persecution of God’s people, God himself engages in the bloody destruction of those same people. At that time an angel declares:
- Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One … , because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it. Revelation 16:5–6.
- When the Israelites murmured against God after having spied out the promised land for forty days, God judged them and said:
- According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. Numbers 14:28–34
When it comes to God’s judgment of man’s earthly works, this pattern of reciprocity is seen in God’s sentencing men to hell. God’s verdict was that all men are morally depraved, murderous, godless people. They lie, cheat, steal, deceive, curse, and grumble. They dishonor, disobey, rebel, assault and demean. In short, they reject God’s moral light. God therefore condemns them to that which parallels their moral existence: darkness. In the same way, we shall see later that people in hell hate God, despise the truth, and want nothing to do with Him. Even so, God in His righteous judgment grants sinners their request. They are forsaken by God, and condemned to existence apart from Him. All His grace and mercies are withheld.
God is right to condemn sinners to hell’s torments. It is not an excessive penalty, but instead conforms to what man justly deserves for his works. The fiery torment, darkness and abandonment to which sinners are condemned reflects principles of reciprocity in God’s judgment.
from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold
© 2022 Bert Davidson
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