March 15, 2023
Passage Read: Psalm 11-14
Meditation Verses: 11:5-7
Thought
The Lord loves the righteous but hates the wicked. The truth is, there are those who love evil and will not turn from it. There are such things as wicked men, and God hates them from the bottom of His heart. He will destroy them and they will have no remedy. Those who exist presently have a purpose to play in God's bigger picture, if nothing else than to cause the righteous to shine brighter in their response to the wicked. While God desires all to repent and takes no joy in the death of anyone, He still hates wickedness and wicked men with a passion. He knows exactly who will repent and who will not, but the best we can do is discern to some degree a person's state by their response to God, His Gospel and His Word.
Application
I don't have to hate anyone, because God's got that covered, and He makes no mistakes. But neither do I need to be naive and deceive myself into thinking that anyone can be saved if only...something. Jesus condemned the Pharisees who carried on in their rebellion after He had taught the people publicly for years. Paul reacted strongly whenever the Jews threw him out of their synagogues, whether after a few hours' teaching or a few weeks'. They were rejecting their only hope of salvation; they were rejecting the rightful King of Israel and the universe. At that point, their blood was on their own heads; Paul had done his part and they didn't want to hear any more. He was acting in the same vein as Jesus' instructions in Matthew 10, when a city or village refused the Gospel. The idea that if I'm just nice enough and long-suffering enough and not too dogmatic with the Gospel, even hard people will be softened actually condemns Jesus and Paul, and also somehow does an injustice to Jesus. Believing in Him is not actually optional, as if those who reject Him will be fine in their own little world. He is God and He will reign over all of Creation; anyone who rejects Him is cast out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth! I need to be less afraid of offending people and more afraid of offending God by presenting Him as soft or wishy-washy. He's loving and gracious to the humble and contrite, but to the arrogant and rebellious, He is furious.