Why Did God Destroy Only Certain Sinners?

Last month, I wrote about the judgement which happens to every one at death. God's grace period for us ends when our earthly lives end. We then await Judgement Day either in heaven or hell.

But why do some sins get judged while people are still living? The heavenly Father uses the consequences of human sin as a warning to the rest of us.

The Apostle Peter made this abundantly clear in 2 Peter 2:6 (KJV) "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorra into  ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an  ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;"

The Lord also uses the consequences of our sin to bring us back to him. Christ's parable of the prodigal son and his elder brother is a perfect example. The younger brother took his part of his father's estate and lived it up until the money was gone. When he worked in a far country on a hog farm and wished he could eat some of the pods which the animals ate, he realized how good even day laborours had it back at home. His father joyfully welcomed him when he returned.

Some might think that God is only wrathful but Christ's parable of the ninety-nine sheep says otherwise. After showing how the good shepherd searched high and low for the lost sheep and then carried the animal home on his shoulder, Jesus summed up the story in Luke 15:7 (KJV). "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."

As thousands of testimonies dramatized on UNSHACKLED! demonstrate, the heavenly Father often uses tragedies to bring folks to their senses. If you're going through hard times, step back and examine why. Christ could be calling you through those hard events to repent and follow him totally.

But how did we become sinners from the womb? That's for next time.