What Will Become of the Sinner?
By Charles Thompson
He May Have Eternal Life if He Chooses—Not Compelled to Accept It
Against His Will—Love, Mercy, Faithfulness, and Justice
Are Blended in Paying His Wages
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4: 17. INSPIRATION does not notice an unimportant question, nor does it raise one and leave man in the field of speculation concerning its answer. The question raised is, "What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" The gospel "is the power of God unto salvation," the plan of God by and through which man may have life. If one rejects the proffered plan, what is his end to be? The only place we can take our readers for the answer is into the Book of God. It is both Scriptural and reasonable that God will settle with the finally impenitent and incorrigible from the standpoint of His declared character—"God is love." "For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man." John 5: 26, 27. FAITHFULNESS AND MERCY BLENDED
Why did Jesus become the Son of man? "Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Heb. 2: 17. He has given to Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of man, and He is the Son of man in order that He might be merciful as well as faithful. Therefore it will be expected that in the final disposition of sinners, we will see faithfulness and mercy properly blended. LOVE AND JUSTICE DIRECT THE PUNISHMENT
Love, the character of God, does not deal with the subjects of adoration from the standpoint of gratification of self, but from the standpoint of their best good. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3: 16. God so loved, that He gave. The gift is the evidence of the love. "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God loves the world. He loves sinners. He made provision that they might be saved, but He does not force any to accept. Whosoever will may come; but if one refuses to accept, and thus decides to perish in his sins, God does the next best thing He can for him. Justice forbids his escaping punishment, mercy forbids continued unhappiness or torment. Therefore when justice and mercy meet upon the case, they decide to let him after the punishment be as though he had not been. Obadiah 16. JUSTICE DEMANDS THE RESURRECTION OF ALL
"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." All men, because of the sin of Adam, have a dying nature transmitted to them. They are not responsible for this death, neither is it in any sense the punishment for sins committed by the individual. Justice therefore demands a resurrection from the Adamic death, "so in Christ shall all be made alive." "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5: 28, 29. THE WAGES RECEIVED FOR SIN
The Scriptures declare by contrast that "the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God38is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6: 23. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." Rev. 20: 6. The punishment for sin is death — the second death, the death from which there is no resurrection. Hence it is eternal. "These shall go away into everlasting punishment [not punishing]: but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25: 46. THE ELEMENT USED IN PUNISHMENT
The element chosen by the Lord to bring this punishment upon the wicked is fire. "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Mal. 4: 1. Thus we find what the end shall be. Utter destruction is the doom of the ungodly. The escape is found in accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ. The terms are most liberal: "If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3: 29. May God help all to accept of life, is the humble prayer of the writer.