1433. The Sins of the Wicked
The Sins of the Wicked
"That every mouth be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Rom_3:19).
We have been speaking of the sins of saints and how they bring present judgment, but when we discuss the sins of the wicked, we come into another sphere. The wicked know nothing of the imputed righteousness of Christ, they know nothing of chastisement such as sons receive. They may live rebelliously, and yet they seem to prosper in the world. They spread themselves as a green bay tree. They cry "God doth not know," and they vainly imagine that they will never be brought down.
Let us see what God says about the sins of the wicked.
1. Their sins cannot be hid, for "all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do" (Heb_4:13).
2. There is not a creature that is not manifest in His sight (see Heb_4:13).
3. Whither can a man go from the presence of God? Whither can he fly that he may hide himself? If he ascends up into Heaven, God is there. If he makes his bed in hell, God is there. If he takes the wings of the morning and dwells in the uttermost parts of the sea, God is there. If he says, "Surely the darkness shall cover me," God is there (see Psalms 139).
4. Though the wicked should dig into hell, or climb up in the Heaven, or hide themselves in the top of Carmel, or in the bottom of the sea, God can reach forth His hand and take them. God can bring them out. God can command His serpent and he shall bite them (see Amo_5:19).
5. Their sins remain (see Joh_9:41). The one who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ may vainly think that, because Christ died, his sins are gone. Universalism is a lie of the pit. Jesus Christ did die for the sin of the world and through His death salvation is proffered to every man and made possible for every man, but, upon the one who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, his sins remain. It was not the blood in the basin that saved the eldest son in the days of the Passover, it was the blood sprinkled on the door. It is not the Blood of the Christ of Calvary which saves, but it is the Blood of the Christ of Calvary appropriated by faith.
6. They die in their sins (see Joh_8:24). The wicked, who believe not that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, die in their sins.
Their sins will follow after them. Some men's sins go before into judgment and some follow after (see 1Ti_5:24).
The sins of those out of Christ will surely meet them at the judgment.
7. They will be judged according to their deeds. "The books were opened: * * and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev_20:12). God has the record of every man's deeds and if they have not been blotted out by the Blood of Christ, the record will be brought to light, and the wicked shall be judged accordingly. There is not an idle word that man may speak, that he shall not give an account thereof in the day of judgment.
8. They will be shut out from the city. "For there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" (Rev_21:27). For the wicked shall lie without the city. Their part shall be in the lake of fire. "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie" (Rev_22:15).
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR