Punishment for Unbelief, and Not Just for the Sins Mentioned Here, Comes Originally from Holy Biblical

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Nov 20, 2008 at 16:35

Interestingly, here in the declaration, nay proclamation, of the previous post we read of the religious inferences against those who practice same sex relationships, which anyone who has read the Holy Bible knows, are specific causes for Almighty God to render judgment against such activities as He did to Sodom and Gomorrah, mentioned in the previous post. Since these premises of scripture predate the Quran by centuries and are the original WORD of such things, let us consider this from a Biblically based disciple of Jesus Christ's perspective. To be sure, such activities are prohibited in the Holy Bible (see Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:21 – 32, etc.), yet they are representative of a rebellious nature, for which repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for forgiveness of sins.

We can start with what Jesus Christ said, and work our way back. We read in Matthew 12, starting from verse 2:

2) Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3)And said to him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

4) Jesus answered and said to them, Go and show John again those things which ye hear and see: 5) The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6) And blessed is [he] to whom I shall not be the cause of his falling into sin. 7) And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind? 8) But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft [clothing] are in kings' houses. 9) But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

10) For this is [he] concerning whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. 11) Verily, I say to you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he.

12) And from the days of John the Baptist, until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14) And if ye will receive [it], this is Elijah who was to come.

15) He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

16) But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like to children sitting in the markets, and calling to their fellows, 17)And saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; We have mourned to you, and ye have not lamented.

18) For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. 19) The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.' But wisdom is justified by her children.

20) Then he began to upbraid the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they repented not. 21) Woe to thee, Chorazin; woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22) But I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23) And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24) But I say to you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25) At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. 26) Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27) All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [He] to whomsoever the Son will reveal [Him].

What can be seen here is that, as bad as it was for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah to suffer (the evidences indicate more than just an earthquake) the penalty of Divine judgment for their abominable activities, what was worse was the unbelief of the people of the days in which Jesus Christ appeared to His people as their Messiah, and they did not believe! (By the way, John the baptizer was the last of the old testament prophets, immediately preceding the arrival of Jesus Christ).

As long as anyone keeps minimizing and diminishing the true personality of Jesus Christ in unbelief, they are in just as much danger as those in Sodom and Gomorrah for their unbelief. If a person involved in those activities repents, receives in faith the salvation of Jesus Christ, they will be justified for their faith and forgiven of their sins. This can only be accomplished because of the nature of the mission, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of Almighty God, the Holy One of Israel.

Now as we have mentioned, there is salvation in Jesus Christ, by whose authority all things are brought into submission, from eternity to eternity. We read prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham is approached by three individuals (Genesis 18:1 et seq), two of whom we are shown in the following verses (Genesis 19:1 et seq)to be angels. But to whom did Abraham address as LORD (Genesis 18:3), none other than the Person of Yeshua, hundreds of years prior to His visit to Israel. In the discussion we see the patience of the LORD to save, and yet in the following chapter, we also see no hesitation to render judgment. So it is today.

Unbelief is the reason for judgment, and faith in Jesus Christ is the means to have judgment handled through believing in Him for salvation. Jesus Christ, in His own words, not currently believed by anyone who is not a full and true disciple of Jesus Christ, will be the One who renders the verdict. We know from the salt pits at the south end of the Dead Sea that Judgment is inevitable and will happen.

The choice to believe in Jesus Christ, in full faith of Who He is, is available now, but not for very long. Either death in this mortal life, or His imminent return, can cut short the opportunity. There is no more waiting. Just as Mary responded to the Holy Spirit as presented during the visit by the angel Gabriel, each person can respond by prayer by asking Almighty God for forgiveness and accepting Jesus Christ into their hearts. Then what happens to Chorazin and Bethsaida, worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, will be the unbeliever's problem, for Jesus Christ will save those in whom there is faith in Him.

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