WHICH WILL IT BE FOR YOU? RESCUE OR DAMNATION.

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to Hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

2 Peter 2:4-10a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Each and every day, people go through life feeling they can behave any way they want, as if there are no consequences for their actions. In fact, a major producer of sporting equipment has a motto that has been in place since 1988, a motto that has been ingrained into global culture. It goes like this:

“Just Do It”

This is exactly what people have done since the dawn of mankind. They have just done what they wanted to do with no concern for regularly sinning in plain sight of a God who despises sin, a God who possesses infinite power and has already shown He isn’t afraid to use it to bring judgment on those who would choose to live in disobedience to Him. As we continue to study in the second chapter of Peter’s second letter, we find him providing a biblical history lesson to his readers (past and present) in regard to God’s response to those who sin and those who take a stance against it. Look at these verses from today’s passage:

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to Hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Vv.4-10a

Unlike human beings who God created as physical beings, angels are spiritual but both are expected to display absolute obedience to the One who made them. Holy angels maintained complete allegiance to God but we know that there have been many angels who chose to move to the side of Satan. We know them as demons.

Note that this traitorous choice brought with it judgment and damnation from the Lord as He didn’t spare the sinful angels but rather “sent them to Hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment”.

And then there were the world’s people during the days of Noah. The “ancient world” had become so “ungodly” that God brought a flood that wiped everyone off the face of the earth with the exception of “Noah” who was described as “a preacher of righteousness” as well as “seven others” (Noah’s wife as well as his three sons and their wives) and a boatload of creatures who were aboard the ark (Genesis 7).

The righteous Noah and his family were rescued by God and maintained their lives. The ungodly suffered His judgment and damnation.

Peter then mentions the Old Testament cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. You might remember that these cities were definitely living under the “just do it” attitude. We know this because the Lord Himself sent two angels, disguised as men, into the two cities to see if their sins were a grievous as He had heard. In an exchange with Abraham, the Lord essentially promised to spare His judgment on the entire populace if He could find as little as ten righteous people living there (Genesis 18). Abraham’s concern was born out of knowing that his son, Lot, and his family lived in the city of Sodom.

Well, we know how the story went, don’t we?

The two angels accepted Lot’s invitation to stay with him and that evening, the scriptures tell us that all the men of the city of Sodom surrounded Lot’s home and demanded he send the two visitors outside, visitors that the city’s men believed to be human, so they could have sex with them (Genesis 19:4-5). As you read the rest of Genesis 19, you will see how the homosexual intention to sexually assault the two angels by Sodom’s men, first led to punishment as the angels blinded them, allowing Lot and his family to escape, and then utter annihilation as God rained down burning sulfur on the two cities from the heavens, destroying them and everyone within.

The sinful people of Sodom and Gomorrah received damnation while Lot, described in our passage as a “righteous man” and his family, minus his disobedient wife (Genesis 19:17, 26), were rescued. We further read that Lot gained God’s favor because he “was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless”, “tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard”. His devotion to righteousness was seen by the Lord and rewarded with saving.

Through these examples, we find the Lord giving us the point He is trying to make in His Word. For if He “knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment” and has shown it through the scriptures, then He surely will exercise these discernments for as long as this heaven and earth exist. He will bring damnation on “those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority”, and rescue and save anyone who chooses righteousness over wickedness and obedience over sin, responding to His offer of salvation through believing in Jesus, His Son, the One He will one day send to bring ultimate judgment on all of creation.

And so, we come to today’s message title:

Which will it be for you?

Rescue or damnation.

It’s Heaven or Hell, one or the other will be your destiny forever.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you choose Heaven by believing in Jesus and committing yourself to live as He did. You’ll never regret it.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.