The Lord is coming. He is coming with power and great glory. And "our God is a consuming fire." Of the times and seasons, you have no need that I should speak; for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. And though it is true that of the times and seasons you need not that I should speak, there is that connected with his coming, of which it is altogether essential to speak, and to think upon, all the time; and that is, the effect of his coming; for he comes "in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And all these will be "punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9.

Again, it is written: "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 2 Thessalonians 2:8. So when he comes in his glory, it is a consuming glory, burning up all the wicked, and all that have any wickedness about them.

Yet again it is written: "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, today the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. . . . And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity." Isaiah. 13:9, 11. And "who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?" Malachi 3:2. That is the question. As he is a consuming fire: and as, when he comes, we shall see him as he is, we shall have to meet him as that consuming fire that he is, and there is no escaping it.

When he comes, he is no more of a respecter of persons than before he comes. "There is no respect of persons with God." Just as certainly as he is as he is; as certainly as he comes as he will; and as certainly as we shall see him as he is, so certainly will we all—each one of us—be dealt with as we are. There is no change of character, there is no room for change in us in that day.  

However, in that day, as in all other days, it is not upon men themselves that God’s wrath is visited; but upon the sins of men, and upon men only as they are identified with their sins. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven," not against all ungodly men, not against all unrighteous men, but "against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Romans 1:18. And only as the man clings to his ungodliness, only as he holds down the truth in unrighteousness, shall it be that the wrath of God will be revealed from heaven against him: and even then not against him primarily, but against the sin to which he clings, and will not leave. And as he has thus made his choice, clinging fast to his choice, he must take the consequences of his choice, when his choice shall have reached its ultimate. So it is written, and I read it again, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth [who hold down, who press back the truth] in unrighteousness."

Continuing from where we read a moment ago, "Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is a after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceiveableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." "Believed not the truth." They knew of it; it was presented to them; their hearts told them, the Spirit of God told them, that it was the truth; their own consciences approved of it all: but they would not believe the truth; they "had pleasure in unrighteousness," and held down, and pressed back, the truth in unrighteousness; and "for this cause" it is that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, and strikes them.

Yet, as already stated, the wrath of God is not primarily against them, but against the thing which they love; against the thing which they cling to, and will not be separated from. And at last, in that great day when the judgement is set, and on the right and on the left are all the people who have ever lived, those on the left will depart "into everlasting fire, prepared"— not for them, but "for the devil and his angels." The Lord has done his utmost that they might never see it. He gave his Son to save them, that they might never know it. It was not prepared for them. He does not desire that they should be lost; but they have to go there because there is the company which they have chosen; that is the place with which they have connected themselves, and from which they would not be separated. Therefore, he says, "depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."  

Not prepared for you. God in that day,—the Lord Jesus Christ in that hour,—when that word shall be spoken, will be just as sorrowful as he was in the hour of the cross. He will be just as sorry that these have to go into that place, which was not prepared for them, as he was in the hour of the cross. It is not his pleasure that any should be there. They are there because of that sin to which they have inseparably joined themselves. And that being their irrevocable choice, they simply have the opportunity now of receiving indeed, and to the full, that which they have chosen. They always had their choice; they made their choice; they stuck to their choice: and when they receive the consequences of their choice, indeed there is no room for complaint. God has done all that he could do, but they would not have it.

So, though it is a fact that the Lord does not desire any of this to come upon any man, yet, as "God is a consuming fire," that is the way that he must come. Being a consuming fire, and coming as he is, he comes in flaming fire to visit upon wickedness that which is due; and whoever is joined with the wickedness has to go the same way.

"Taking vengeance on them that know not God." They had an opportunity to know God. Multitudes professed that they did know God, but in their works they denied him. They had the form of godliness,—the profession,—but they denied the power thereof. You know the words: "In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts . . . reprobate concerning the faith." And destruction comes to them, not because they had no chance, but because they despised all the chances they had: not because they had no opportunity to know God, but because they rejected every opportunity that God ever gave them to find him out, and know him when he revealed himself.

God is altogether clear; for Jesus said: "If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him." John 12:47, 48.  

Now let us find out that "one." It is not Jesus Christ: he says it is not. It is not God; for the Lord Jesus said, "If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not." That is not the "one." But there is "one" that judges him, and I think we can find him out. Look again: "if any man hear my words." That word is the word of God. It is the word of life of God, because it is the word of God. The word of life of God is eternal life, because eternal is the life of God. Then there is the word of eternal life. That word is spoken. All men hear it. "If any an hear my words, and believe not;" and "he that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words,"—
that word being the word of life, when it comes to you, or to me, or to that other man, eternal life comes to you, or to me, or to that other man. In the "words of eternal life," eternal life comes to him to whom the word comes. And when he rejects the word, he rejects eternal life. And in choosing to reject eternal life, he chooses eternal death. It is his own choice to reject eternal life; and in rejecting that, he chooses death.

Then when that death comes to him which he has chosen—who brought him to it? Who counted him worthy of death? Who judged him? Who sentenced him to death?—Only himself. Nobody else is concerned in it at all. God did all that he could: he set eternal life before him; he surrounded him with every possible inducement, and every persuasion, to receive it; he made it attractive to him; it was adorned, decorated, made as beautiful as God’s truth itself could be made, and his own heart approved of it; the Spirit of God said to him, "That is the right thing, that is the truth:" but he "had pleasure in unrighteousness." He rejected the word, and in rejecting the word of eternal life, he rejected eternal life; and in that he chose eternal death. And when he receives eternal death, it is only what he chose. He himself is the only one who counted himself worthy of it.

When Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch, and the Jews contradicted and blasphemed against those things which were spoken by Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles, these men of God waxed bold, and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Acts 13:46. Mark; it was not said, We judge you unworthy of eternal life. No; you "judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life." Every man who meets destruction passes upon himself the judgment of that destruction.

All the Scripture is founded upon this thought,—that it is not against the person, but against the thing to which the person has fastened himself, that the wrath of God comes. Then as the Lord executes vengeance primarily only against sin, as his wrath is only against ungodliness and unrighteousness, and he has done everything he could to get the people to separate from sin, then in that burning day when he comes, and reveals himself to the world, and the world sees him as he is, it will still be only sin against which he will execute vengeance.  

What more could God do than he did do to take away sin? He gave his only begotten Son; Christ gave himself, that whosoever would believe on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He pledges himself to every soul who will believe, that he shall not perish. The word does not read, as too often it is misread, God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. No such thing. The next verse has the "might" in it: "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." It may be, too. When God gave his Son, in that gift he established the eternal possibility that every soul in this world might be saved. But there is where the "might" is. There is where the "maybe" is. Because, whether any one is saved, depends upon what he chooses. The Lord will not save us in spite of ourselves. He has made it possible, in the gift of Christ, for every one of us to be saved. It depends upon us whether we choose the salvation that he has given; whether we will take the cross, and adopt the means, that will make it certain to us.

But when one has chosen Christ, and believes in him, there is no "maybe" about it any more. It shall be, then. Then the verse comes in where the shall is, and reads: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not [not, "might not"] perish, but have everlasting life." Believing in Jesus Christ takes away all the "maybe" that there ever was in it, and makes it an eternal shall be. So, then, to every soul who believes in Jesus, God says, I pledge myself that you "shall not perish." To every soul in this world, wicked as he may be, God’s message is that the has made the provision, he has established the thing, and so firmly fixed it that just as certainly as a soul believes in Jesus Christ, that soul "shall not perish." That is a good offer. It is infinitely fair, and infinitely generous. It’s as fair and generous as is God. 

Destruction of sin is the only way of salvation. His name shall be called "Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins." So when I accept his offer, as certainly as I believe in Jesus I shall not perish. And in that, I accept the provision that I will let sin go. I agree that I am willing to be separated from the sin, and that I will separate from sin. Listen: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed." Then the object of the cross of Christ is the destruction of sin. Never miss that thought. Hold fast to it forever: the cross of Jesus Christ—the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the object of it—is the destruction of sin. Thank the Lord, that object will be accomplished. Now let us read the whole verse: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6:6. Not only is there destruction of sin, but freedom from the service of sin. "For sin shall not have dominion over you." Verse 14. Let us follow that thought briefly right through the chapter. There is in it a whole world of Christian victory and joy.

"For he that is dead is freed from sin." He who is crucified, he who has accepted the death of Jesus Christ, and is crucified with him, he it is that is freed from sin.

"Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." But where does he live? Does he live in sin?—He never did. Then as certainly as we live with him, we live with him free from sin.

"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." It could not hold the dominion which it had. It had the dominion, because he gave himself up in surrender to the dominion of death; but death could not hold him, because he was separated from sin. Neither can death hold anybody else; even though it has dominion, it can not hold the man who is free from sin.

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you."

There the apostle says that sin shall not have dominion over you. Let not sin therefore reign in your flesh, in your members. Then coming down a little farther: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" The next verse reads: "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

The cross of Christ gives not only freedom from sin, but makes men servants of righteousness. The next verse tells us that the service of righteousness is "unto holiness;" the end of holiness is everlasting life; and without holiness "no man shall see the Lord."

PART TWO