The Christian Arsenal
Exposing the Liberal Lie
Chapter 18: They Sow the Wind and Reap the Whirlwind
Exposing the Liberal Lie:
What the Bible Says About Political Correctness
by Jim Alexander
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000. (see text)
Chapter Eighteen:
They Sow The Wind And Reap The Whirlwind
Ezekiel 12:21-28 -- The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, what is this proverb you have heard in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'? Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious house, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign LORD.'" The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.'" "Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: None of My words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign LORD.'" (NIV)
One of the most damning lies of liberalism, accepted even in many quarters of professing Christendom, is the belief in universal salvation. A doctrine found nowhere in all of Scripture, it affords many a false sense of security, while preventing them from accepting the true gospel of Christ.
Matthew 7:13-14 -- (Jesus speaking) "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Luke 13:23-25 -- Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from.'"
From these passages it is clear the Lord Jesus never condoned the heretical teaching of universal salvation. To the contrary, He is here quoted as saying "many" will enter through the gate that leads to "destruction", while only a "few" will find salvation.
The words of John the Baptist, as recorded in the third chapter of Luke, relate that the Messiah is coming -- "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." (Luke 3:17) Likewise, the thirteenth chapter of Matthew records the words of the Lord, in speaking of the endtime harvest where the wheat is gathered into His barn, but the weeds tied into bundles and burned (chiefly Matthew 13:30).
Matthew 13:41-42 -- (Jesus speaking) "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 13:49-50 -- (Jesus speaking) "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
That "wailing and gnashing of teeth" business isn't exactly conducive to the theory of a universal salvation of mankind. And, this isn't the only time Christ employed such language (see Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30, Luke 13:28).
Matthew 24:50-51 -- (Jesus speaking) "...the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
So much for the wimpy, turn-a-deaf-ear-and-blind-eye-to-sin Jesus of liberal lore. And, for those who falsely believe the language utilized here is in some way exaggerated, I refer to such phrases as "the fire of hell", "eternal fire" and "hell, where the fire never goes out", spoken by the Lord, as recorded in Matthew 5:22, 18:8-9, Mark 9:43-48.
Revelation 20:15 -- And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
And, to all who insist such punishment is merely temporary in nature, I urge them to take particular note of the word "eternal" as used by Jesus in both Matthew 18:8 and 25:46. It is the Greek word aionios, meaning perpetual, everlasting or eternal.
Hebrews 10:28-31 -- Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
"But how can God do that to us? I thought God was loving, compassionate and merciful?" God is loving, compassionate and merciful, but as evidenced throughout the entire Scriptures, He is also holy and just, and will not acquit the guilty. If any doubt this, they need only look at Deuteronomy 28:15-68 to see what God would do to His own cherished Israel if they forsook and disobeyed Him. It is only through repentance of sin, by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, that we can find mercy at the judgment seat of a holy and righteous God. All who refuse to acknowledge their sin, repent and receive the forgiveness of sins purchased not through anything we've done, but through the sacrificial work of the Messiah, will be cast into eternal fire with no one to blame but themselves.
Isaiah 66:3-4 -- (the LORD speaking) "Just as they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations, So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight."
Jeremiah 2:19 -- (the LORD speaking) "Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the LORD your God, And the fear of Me is not in you," Says the Lord GOD of hosts.
Isaiah 3:9 -- The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.
Proverbs 29:1 -- He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
It is clear from these passages that all judgment and punishment is our own fault. We've chosen our own ways and must give account for them. Final responsibility and accountability will lie with the offender, despite liberal protestations to the contrary.
"But, there's always tomorrow." It is the favorite excuse given by those not choosing to repent today. "There's no hurry for salvation." "It isn't convenient today." To declare such is to tread the thinnest ice above the abyss of eternal destruction, for the time we have is uncertain. While, for some, there may yet be decades, for others it may only be minutes before they find themselves facing the God they've forsaken and denied. For the grace and mercy of our just and holy God will not be extended forever. He will tolerate our sinful disobedience for only so long and then all opportunity for salvation will be erased.
Jeremiah 14:11-12 -- Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence."
Jeremiah 15:1-2 -- Then the LORD said to me, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall be, if they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the LORD:'" "'Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.'"
Jeremiah 15:6-7 -- "You have forsaken Me," says the LORD, "You have gone backward. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of relenting! And I will bereave them of children; I will destroy My people, Since they do not return from their ways."
These words of the LORD God, as spoken to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the sins of Israel, portray an aspect of God's character most would prefer to ignore -- for they indicate a limit to His patience. Judgment will not be deferred indefinitely. Wrath will be poured out, without mercy on all who are disobedient and refuse the LORD'S salvation.
Deuteronomy 7:9-10 -- Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face.
Deuteronomy 32:39-41 -- (the LORD speaking) "See now that I Myself am He! There is no god besides Me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of My hand. I lift My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me." (NIV)
Micah 5:15 -- (the LORD speaking) "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury On the nations that have not heard."
Nahum 1:2-3 -- The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and maintains His wrath against His enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet. (NIV)
II Thessalonians 1:6-10 -- ...since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in the Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
The LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. God is just. They are sentiments echoed throughout the whole of Scripture. The LORD God will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him.
Isaiah 66:24 -- (the LORD speaking) "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against Me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
The words of the LORD God, which here close the book of Isaiah on this note of somber warning, nowhere endorse the folly of universal salvation. Contrarily, the Scripture speaks throughout of the destruction of the earth and the eternal punishment of the wicked who refuse to repent and accept the salvation of the LORD.
Isaiah 24:1-3 -- Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word.
Zephaniah 1:2-3 -- (the LORD speaking) "I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land," Says the LORD; "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land," Says the LORD.
It is difficult to imagine how liberals deal with passages such as these, reconciling them with their belief that God will somehow graciously "overlook" all sin and rebellion against Him, treating everyone as if nothing at all was ever amiss. For if they choose to simply dismiss these passages, they must then dismiss all of Scripture, and indeed all of Christianity, for the whole of Scripture unifiably proclaims the coming of God's wrath on the unrepentant, and the final destruction of the earth as judgment for sin.
Isaiah 24:5-6 -- The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.
Zephaniah 1:17-18 -- (the LORD speaking) "I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse." Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD'S wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.
Isaiah 24:19-20 -- The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again.
Of the new, heavenly Jerusalem, the Apostle John wrote: Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.(Revelation 21:27)(NIV) Hardly a confirmation of universal salvation, the above passage underscores that only those cleansed by the blood of the Lamb will be allowed to enter the New Jerusalem. "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars -- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)(NIV)
Revelation 20:15 -- And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
How can one escape such terrible and everlasting torment at the hand of our just and holy God? As the prophet Zephaniah adjures: Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD'S anger.(Zephaniah 2:3) (NIV) Likewise, the prophet Joel admonishes a return to the LORD: And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. (Joel 2:32)
Joel 2:12-13 -- "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So rend your heart, and your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
The word of God declares that all who resist the LORD God will endure eternal punishment. For those who die in their sins, uncleansed by the blood of the Lamb, there is no second chance, no acquittal, no suspension of sentence, leniency or parole. They "will be thrown outside into darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12)(NIV) -- "where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched". (Mark 9:48)(NIV) But for those who turn to God in repentance, and by grace through faith, receive forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of the Messiah, Jesus our Lord, there will be life eternal.
Isaiah 51:7-8 -- (the LORD speaking) "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation."