Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“But he lingered; and the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city. It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, “Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!”“

(Genesis 19:16-17)

“On the wicked he will rain blazing coals;
    fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
For Yahweh is righteous.
    He loves righteousness.
    The upright shall see his face.“

(Psalm 11:6-7)

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!“

(Matthew 3:7-8)

God wants us to behave. And to behave according to His moral character. Lot was in a bad place, but Lot himself was righteous (2 Peter 2:7). It wasn’t a place full of just sexual sin, either. “‘“Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters. She also didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 196:49). The Pharisees and the Sadducees were certainly dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s when it came to care for the poor and following the Law. But it wasn’t their actions that were the problem (Matthew 23:23). It was their heart.

Sooner or later, this life or at the judgment seat, punishment comes on the wicked. Everyone gets what they deserve from God who is just and righteous. If you believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord, you’ll get what He deserves (2 Corinthians 5:21). If you reject Jesus, you’ll be stuck getting what you deserve (John 3:16-18). What is in your heart? Are you seeking His righteousness? Are you aligning your actions, words, and thoughts with His moral character? Accepting His correction when you miss it? Or are you going your own way? We cannot escape the judgment of God. He LOVES the righteous. Evil gets punished.

Summary

In the end, wickedness is punished. It can go on for a long time, because God seeks to give everyone all the chances they need (2 Peter 3:9). God doesn’t WANT to judge ANYONE, but He is JUST and RIGHTEOUS, so He does. If we remove ourselves from wickedness (not just physically, but in our hearts and in our thoughts), we won’t share that punishment. If we will dedicate ourselves to seeking God and applying what He says to us, we will be in a safe place: Jesus.