This issue is frequently brought forward as a reason for rejecting the God revealed in the Bible but it discloses a misunderstanding of both the nature of God and the problem of man.
God is a Holy God
There are several times in the Old Testament Scriptures that we read of God killing of people. In the flood in Noah’s time (Genesis 6-8) a whole civilisation was destroyed. The reason is given:
“God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.. . .” Genesis 6:12-14
It was sin that led a holy God to enact judgment against rebellious man.
In the days of Abraham God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the people in them. We are told the reason:
“Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous . . .” Genesis 18:20
No culture is entirely righteous and no society completely sinful, but it is possible to distinguish between cultures and societies that reflect more of God’s intention for humanity and those that are more distant from it.
The Canaanites were a people known for their godlessness The extreme sin of the Canaanites was connected with their religious practices and the effect these had on how they lived. God saw what was happening in Canaan and was concerned that His people should not follow their practices:
“You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates”. Deuteronomy 12:31
Details of the many sinful practices of the Canaanites are described in Leviticus 18. These included child sacrifice to the god Molech, incest, bestiality, homosexuality and cultic prostitution. God has always detested such immorality and it is for these reasons that God’s judgment comes.
2. God desired to preserve Israel from the practices of the Canaanites
When the children of Israel invaded that land of Canaan, God commanded the Israelites to kill everyone in the cities of the Canaanites. The reason He gives is that,
“Otherwise they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshipping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God”. Deuteronomy 20:16-18
The moral purity of Israel was not only important because they were God’s people and must therefore demonstrate his character, but also because of God’s intention that they would act as witnesses to His power and goodness to other nations.
“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” Genesis 18:18
This is why it was vital to God that Israel start off their life in the Land without the influence of false religions that would lead them away from Him. Sadly, because of the failure of the Israelites to obey God’s command they were influenced to follow the false religious practices of the Canaanites.
This involvement in Canaanite religious practices can be seen in the book of Judges, but reaches its peak in the period of the kings. Although there were times when Israel was effective as a witness to God’s power and goodness (examples include Rahab in Joshua 2 and the Queen of Sheba in the time of Solomon in 1 Kings 10), they ultimately failed in this responsibility for two reasons:
Their lack of faithfulness to God. This meant that they lost their distinctiveness and forgot why God had chosen them.
They developed a nationalistic sense of their own superiority. They became disinterested in bringing truth about God to other cultures because they thought that God and His blessings should belong only to them.
The church today needs to learn from these twin dangers. This may lead to a failure of being effective in our mission to persuade the world about Christ. We must ensure that we are distinctive but also that we do not retreat into a ‘holy huddle’ in which we are isolated from those who need to know about Christ. Effective mission depends both on distinctiveness and cultural engagement.
God has always been a holy God and he will bring to judgment those who fail meet his standards or who refuse to accept his solution. The following passages explain this clearly:
“It is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you.” Deuteronomy 9:4-6
“. . . because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.” Deuteronomy 18:12
“Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” Leviticus 18:24-25
The wrath of God against sin and His righteous judgement of sinners are fundamental biblical principles. Without understanding that God must judge sin we cannot understand the wonder of God’s forgiveness and grace or the amazing truth of the cross, where Christ endured the wrath of God for our sin.
The ultimate judgement of God against human sin, our rebellion against him, is reserved for the future day of judgment:
“. . . when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed” Acts 17:31
When God judged Sodom and Gomorrah and decided to destroy those cities, Abraham said,
“. . . will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25
Abraham correctly understood that the key issue in judgement is the character of God, and his question expressed a confidence in God’s righteousness.
Scripture consistently maintains that God is fair in His judgements. Paul explains this:
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’” Romans 2:5-6
When we reject God’s offer and conditions of forgiveness we will all have to face God’s judgment for the way we have behaved and have treated him.
Could it be that people are concerned about what they think is injustice in the Old Testament and in the world today have overlooked the fact that we all fall far short of God’s standards. The bible is clear:
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless, there is no one who does good, not even one.” Romans 3:11-12
“. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. . .” Romans 3:23
There is however one hope, as this last verse continues
“. . . and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24
God’s judgment in the New Testament
Jesus and his apostles also teach that for anyone to reject God’s Son and his way of living will face God’s eternal judgment.
“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come - sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23
Paul said something similar:
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
The New Testament warns across multiple texts that rejecting Christ's rule results in eternal death and judgment. The severity and nature of this final consequence are detailed in several key passages.: Jesus contrasts the eternal destinies of the righteous and the unrighteous at the final judgment,
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:46
Paul warns that when Jesus returns, He will inflict vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel,
“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
The Gospel of John states that whoever rejects the Son will face God’s judgment,
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” John 3:36
Jesus himself warns that those who reject Him and His words already have a judge, and the words He spoke will be the standard of judgment on the last day.
“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.” John 12:48
The Book of Revelation depicts the final judgment, often referred to as the ‘second death’:
“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15
It is therefore clear that the message of the Old and New Testaments carry similar warnings - rejection of God’s rule will carry awful consequences. Ridiculing these warnings is very foolish indeed.
BVP
