Condemned: August 28, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 28, 2012.

CONDEMNED

DEFINITION:

Sentenced to punishment; declared guilty; to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on.

SCRIPTURE:

“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved … all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” II Thessalonians 2:10 b and 12.

“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:18.

“How will you escape being condemned to hell?” Matthew 23:33

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The message of the Bible is that we are all sinners as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden and, as sinners, we are condemned to spend eternity in hell. God, because of His love for us, sent His son, Jesus, into the world to die for our sins.

People who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior do not want to hear about condemnation, or about hell. It takes them way out of their “comfort” zone. Preachers today shy away from preaching about hell because church attendees would rather hear a message that makes them feel good rather than face the fact that they are sinners in need of a Savior.

This is nothing new. Jeremiah was a prophet chosen by God to bring a message of condemnation to Jerusalem because they had rejected God and had turned to worshipping false Gods and doing all kinds of evil. They did not want to hear it. At the time Jerusalem had already been besieged by King Nebuchadnezzar who ransacked the temple and carried off to Babylon all the valuable temple articles. In addition, he took all but the poorest people as captives to live in exile in Babylon.

Now Jeremiah was warning them that greater disaster was coming unless they repented and came back to God. The people chose to listen to the more encouraging message of the false prophet Hananiah. Hananiah told them that within two years Nebuchadnezzar’s power over them would be broken and the temple articles would be brought back to Jerusalem.

Choosing not to listen to a message we do not want to hear will not change the truth. The encouraging message of the false prophet proved to be a lie. Jerusalem did not repent and Jeremiah’s message of condemnation was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar again besieged and completely destroyed Jerusalem. The temple, the palaces and even the walls of the city were torn down.

God’s Word is truth. Paul tells us in Thessalonians that all will be condemned who do not believe the truth. The question Jesus asked in Matthew, “How will you escape being condemned to hell?” is answered by Jesus in John 3:18. “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

What about you? Have you believed the truth and been saved? If you were to stand before Jesus today, would you stand condemned or would you stand forgiven and not condemned?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the assurance that I have of eternal life because I have asked You for forgiveness for my sins and have accepted You as my personal Savior. May my words and deeds today be a testimony to those I meet that they may see their need for You and that they do not have to be condemned to an eternity in hell.