January
29 - LD 5, Day 1: We Deserve Temporal and Eternal Punishment
by Rev J. Kortering
Hebrews 9:27, “And as
it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
As our catechism turns
the page to the great subject, “Of Man’s Deliverance” it does so by reminding
us that deliverance must not be separated from “The Misery of Man”. Upon
careful examination of ourselves in light of the Word of God, a conclusion was formed, fallen man is, “incapable of doing any good and inclined
to all wickedness”. This bears consequences, “God is terribly displeased with
our original as well as actual sins and will punish them temporally and
eternally.”
If we are going to
understand the truth of the gospel, God’s great love in giving us His own Son,
we must dwell a little bit more on the horrible character of our sin against
God. It is ugly in that it comes forth out of a heart that hates God and all He
represents. God responds to such action by fallen man in that he places a price
on disobedience. In one word, that price is PUNISHMENT for sin. The catechism
describes it as temporal and eternal punishment.
Think upon temporal
punishment for a moment. It is God’s response to man’s daily sin. That response
is that He is righteously offended by such conduct and moves to destroy the
sinner. It may be that God destroys a man through pride so that he
self-destructs; he thinks he can do much more than he can and makes a terrible
fiasco of his life. Other times, God may move to bring great sufferings,
diseases, wars, and all sorts of calamities. This is not a pleasant thing to
consider, but it is real. Look about you and consider the evidence you can see
for yourself.
Then there is eternal punishment, that is even worse. This is described as
everlasting torment of body and soul in the lake of fire. There is no escape
from hell and there is no relief for those who reside there. The thought is
terrifying.
Why must we consider
temporal and eternal punishment?
It is because of the
righteous judgment of God.
It is judgment because
God examines every fallen man, woman, and child and renders just verdict of
guilt. The guilty sinner must experience the punishment God reserves for such.
It is appointed unto men
once to die (temporal punishment) and after that the judgment (eternal
punishment)
How can such a sinner be
saved?