Defendant: Timothy McVeigh
Crime: Destroying a federal building and killing 168 people with
a bomb.
Verdict: Guilty on all
counts.
Penalty: Death by
injection.
Many people
worldwide followed with interest the trial of Timothy McVeigh. The jurors had a
heavy burden upon them. Based upon the evidence presented at the trial they had
to decide whether Timothy McVeigh was guilty or not. If Timothy McVeigh was
found guilty of breaking the laws of the land then he, as a responsible person,
would be subject to the penalty that the law prescribed:death or life
imprisonment.
There is
another verdict that has been passed upon every individual in the world. The
evidence is in and has been presented before the Judge of all the earth.
Defendants: You and me.
Crime: Sin—moral and
spiritual.
Verdict: Guilty on all
counts.
Penalty: Physical and spiritual death!
For what does
God hold every responsible person accountable? SIN! Every moral sin (for
example, murder, idolatry, adultery, fornication, lying, stealing) has been
recorded in God’s record book. Also every spiritual sin (for example,
pride, jealousy, hatred, anger, envy, greed) has been recorded. God’s Ten
Commandments express to us the standard that God has set. These commandments
are recorded for us in Exod. 20:3-17. The Lord Jesus summed up these Ten
Commandments for us in Matt. 22:37-40:“You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This
is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.”
This is the
standard that has been set by God. Have you, dear reader, met that
standard? Have you loved the Lord our God with all your heart, soul, and
mind? If you have ever taken God’s name in vain, then you are guilty.
Have you loved your neighbor as yourself? If you have ever coveted anything,
then you are guilty. Have you ever hated someone or stolen something or
told a lie? If so, then you are guilty.
How Many of Us Are Guilty?
God has
answered that question in the Bible:“Now we know that what things soever the
law says, it says to those who are under the law:that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). “All
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (verse 23). We all have
broken God’s law and are all guilty before God.
What Is the Penalty?
The penalty is
death and judgment:The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). “It is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”
(Heb. 9:27).
When Does This Take Place?
Death as a
penalty for sin may take place at any age and at any time. “Boast not yourself
of tomorrow:for you know not what a day may bring forth” (Prov. 27:1).
We will see later on that it is possible for you to escape this penalty.
The final
penalty for sin will take place in the future at the great white throne
judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Here is a summary of that judgment:
1. Each sin
that has been committed will be brought before the one standing before the Lord
Jesus Christ.
2. There will
be no defense lawyer to argue against the charges that have all been recorded
in God’s books.
3. Each person
standing before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne at this awful
moment will be pronounced:“Guilty on all counts.”
4. Each one
will then be cast into the lake of fire.
Here is what
God has said about that awful time:“And I saw a great white throne, and Him
who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there
was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God; and the books were opened:and another book was opened, which is the book
of life:and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the
books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it;
and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them:and they were
judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15). It
is possible for you to escape this penalty too.
The Good News!
God has
provided a way of escape from the penalty of death and judgment. “For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God in
His wonderful love for us provided what His justice demanded. God so loved us
that He gave His own beloved Son to die for our sins on the cross of Calvary.
God does the loving and God does the giving. You and I must do the believing.
How Do I Escape the Penalty?
1. Admitting
that I am a sinner. I must come as a hell-deserving sinner, confessing my sins
because Christ “came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance” (Luke 5:32). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
(1 Tim. 1:15).
2. Believing
that Jesus Christ died for my sins on Calvary’s cross. “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). “By Him all who believe
are justified from all things” (Acts 13:39).
3. Coming
to the Lord Jesus just as you are. “Come unto Me, all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “Him who comes to
Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).
The above is
the ABC of the gospel. Dear reader, if you have not already come to the
Lord Jesus, you may come to Him right now. No matter where you are at this
present time you may simply bow your head and confess your sins to the Lord and
accept Him as your own personal Saviour. God has said, “If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
What Will Happen if You Do
This?
1. You will
escape the penalty of death. Instead of death being a penalty for the
Christian, it will be a happy release from earth to heaven:“Absent from the
body, and present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).
2. You will
also escape the penalty of judgment. You will be able to rightly say that your
penalty was paid in full by Christ when He suffered on the cross for your sins.
“Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree … by whose
stripes you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). “There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
3. Nothing will
ever be able to separate you from the love of God (Rom. 8:38,39).
4. Your future
is secure and as bright as all the promises of God (John 14:1-3).
The Danger of
Procrastination!
“Behold, now
is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).
Do not put off the salvation of your soul until tomorrow. Tomorrow may never
come for you. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?”
(Heb. 2:3). Come to Christ today and be saved.
Remember:
“The Lord is
not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
(From Scripture
Almanac, 1998.)