And so it is today with God’s promised coming judgment upon the earth. He has warned us that, “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10).

In even greater mercy God tells us how we may escape: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for . . . new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (vv. 11-13).

So when wars, tsunamis, terror, earthquakes, AIDS, volcanic eruptions, crime, storms, genocide, or landslides and floods, come upon us, look for mercy mixed with judgment. In the midst of suffering may God use us to show right attitudes, and to help folks perceive hope through repentance, so that they may escape the real coming apocalypse.

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me” (Psalm 86:5-7).

The judge is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, “who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1).

Who is the convict? What has he done? He’s the man that has broken God’s law. (See Matthew 5—7). The good deeds he had thought might save him are the rags now draped over his shriveled soul. Unrepentant in life, he never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who would have saved him from his sin, and stood by him at this moment. He never received Him as Lord and Saviour, nor did he follow Christ in daily life. Now there is no more opportunity to repent.

The poor man departed this life today, as thousands do every day. He stands at the judgment bar of the sovereign, righteous God, where justice is always done.

Like him, you too will one day give account of yourself to God. “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:11, 12).

“I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:12, 15). May you be found with the godly who “have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the [heavenly] city” (Revelation 22:14).

- Dallas Witmer

Some call it higher law, universal law, natural law, or the code of conscience. By whatever name, it is God’s law, and we all know it’s there.

God’s law is the ultimate expression of common sense. It rewards well-doing, and condemns the wrong. It speaks in propositions: Do this and you will live. If you do that, you will die.

Everyone can do God’s law. “God [sent] his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3, 4). Jesus taught the spiritual meaning of God’s law, then died to redeem us from the curse of breaking it. He sent His Holy Spirit which writes His laws in our hearts and minds, making us able, and happy to live them (Hebrews 8:10). We may come to judgment without fear.

God’s law is what we need. Every line applies perfectly. When governments allow fornication, divorce, abortion, and lawsuits, for instance, it takes guns, jails, and an army of police officers to keep sin in check. God draws the line where the soul that accepts Him can rest in safety. It seems strict to the unconverted, but when God’s law converts the soul, we scarcely notice its restraints.

God’s law is in wide circulation today, known as the Holy Bible. Read, believe, and obey it to really be free. Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word [obey my teachings], then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31, 32).

by Dallas Witmer

God gave us marriage and the home as soon as He had made us male and female (Genesis 2). His gift of sex cements the bond of marital love, providing the secure environment in which children can grow from helplessness to usefulness. For such a gift to bless us, God had to establish moral parameters. But Satan, ever the tempter, suggests that, in establishing moral restrictions, God is withholding some good from us. And too many people believe him.

But when God thundered from Mt. Sinai, “Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet . . . thy neighbour’s wife” (Exodus 20:14, 17), He was looking out for our children. Did you know that 80% of murders grow out of the jealousy ignited by some form of immorality? When we indulge God’s gift of sex while rejecting His moral restraints, the home becomes a shambles, hatred grows where God planted love, and children are scared whom God meant to be secure and happy.

God afflicts the conscience of the young man who fails in personal purity, and leaves him feeling vile. Heed your conscience, men! Avoid greater sin, and avert the wrath of God.

Our “wicked and adulterous generation” (to quote Jesus–Matthew 16:4) plans not to have children, and kills those that are conceived. Many children that survive birth bear the physical and mental scars of their mothers’ addictions. Others, born healthy, fall victim to the immoral lifestyles that our “sexual revolution” and “new morality” afflicted them with. It would seem that men and women today hate children, but . . .

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.
Red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

And because He loves children, God gave us His moral laws. Jesus died for all the children of the world, but He died for their parents too. If you are burdened with the guilt of moral sin, the blood Jesus shed on the cross can wash that sin away. For faith and repentance, you can become a new creature in Christ Jesus—a moral person, and one who may well be able to mend the hurts you once caused by your moral transgressions.

–Dallas Witmer

Surprise! Skeptics are as religious as the rest of us. Religion doesn’t have to be practiced in a church. It need not be defined by a name or written creed. What defines religion is devotion to a person or system of thought powerful enough to dictate the way one lives. Skeptics are devoted to their skepticism. They worship the great First Skeptic whom we’ll name later. They have definite beliefs and live their religion. But the tenets of that religion are scary indeed.

Their cult does not acknowledge the all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, righteous, holy God. Which is not to suggest that skeptics are true atheists. Theirs is a reactionary religion. With them, if God said it, it’s open to question. For six thousand years now, they have echoed and reechoed the great First Skeptic, Satan, who challenged Eve in the Garden of Eden: ‘Yea, hath God said?’ (Genesis 3:1) It’s the theme that runs consistently through their talk, reasoning, and literature — rebellion.

Skepticism is dangerous. Only a sovereign, righteous God can restrain man’s foolish, destructive impulses. Man is not capable of saving himself. Where skepticism runs rampant, and Christianity is at a low ebb, crime soars.

For all its intellectual veneer, skepticism thrives on ignorance. The neatly packaged philosophies of skepticism would unravel, and its foundational flaws be quickly exposed, should skeptics develop the graces of listening, teachability, and love of the truth.

The skeptics’ religion is intolerant, cruel, and oppressive. God would have spared the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had He found ten decent people there. But skeptics will rave long and loud against one Christian who dares to speak up for creation or eternal absolutes, or who calls into question their pet sin. Their legislative agenda is packed full of liberties for their unbridled lusts, and the suppression of God’s truth and moral values.

Skepticism is bondage. Christ sets the captives free. While we cold-shoulder God, we quickly become the slaves of our own self-will, intemperance, and vanity. But when we confess Christ and our need of Him, and are born from above, we are given the keys of self-discipline, and experience the blessings of living for God and others instead of ourselves.

No, you won’t find The First Skeptics’ Church listed in the yellow pages of the telephone directory or the religion page of your local newspaper. You won’t find skeptics burning incense to Satan. Still skepticism is many folks’ religion today. Note the ritual sneer when God is named in reverence. Many of the great First Skeptic’s followers are also members of religious denominations. Might even you or I have worshipped at his altar? Have we questioned what we once knew to be God’s truth? Are we already practicing skeptics, having adopted attitudes, lifestyles, and beliefs that are opposed to the truth of God’s Word? Have we paraphrased the First Skeptic, Satan’s words, like this: “Does the Bible say that? God couldn’t have meant it!”

-by Dallas Witmer