What does the Bible say about hell? Is it a real place? Will God actually send people there? If so, why would a loving God do that? And what about heaven? Is it real? If so, will everyone eventually go there? If not, who will?
And what about nations? Does God bless whole nations? Does He judge whole nations, as well? If so, could our nation be under judgment, or could it be fast approaching?
Why does God let evil people get away with it?
We read about people who abuse children, traffic human beings, sell drugs to teenagers, destroy families, ruin reputations, and prey on the weak for money or power.
Then there are school shootings, terrorist attacks, hate crimes, and acts of violence so horrific that we struggle even to understand them.
And sometimes the people responsible seem to prosper.
They have money.
Influence.
Freedom.
Power.
No apparent remorse.
And no immediate consequences.
It can leave us asking:
Where is God?
Why doesn’t He stop them?
Why doesn’t He judge them now?
Ezekiel’s message reminds us of something we can easily forget.
God’s patience is not indifference.
His delay is not approval.
Israel had been warned again and again, and for a time it may have seemed as though judgment would never come.
But it did.
And Scripture tells us the same is true for every person who persists in rebellion against God.
No one ultimately gets away with sin.
But before we become too eager for God to deal with everyone else, there is another uncomfortable truth we need to face.
We tend to want justice for their sin—and mercy for ours.
So today we’ll ask two questions:
Why does God sometimes delay judgment on evil?
And:
What should that delay teach us about His patience, our own sin, and the urgency of the gospel?
Have you ever heard someone say:
“I might as well live it up. I’m going to hell anyway.”
Sometimes it’s said jokingly.
Sometimes defiantly.
And sometimes it comes from a much deeper place:
Hopelessness.
Maybe someone knows he is living contrary to God’s Word but has decided change is impossible.
Maybe he believes he has sinned too much.
Gone too far.
Made too many bad choices.
Or perhaps that person is you.
Jeremiah encountered people with a strikingly similar attitude.
God called them to turn from their evil ways.
Their response?
“That is hopeless!”
So they decided to keep going in the direction they were already headed.
But was their situation really hopeless?
Or had hopelessness itself become another excuse not to repent?
That question matters because our hearts can deceive us in more than one way.
They can tell us we are fine when we are not.
But they can also tell us there is no hope when God is still calling us to turn to Him.
Today we’ll look at whether anyone can truly go too far for God to forgive, what genuine repentance involves, and why hopelessness should never be allowed to have the final word.
We’ll also see God’s faithfulness to those who continue following Him in an evil world, the danger of trusting our own hearts, and why giving and receiving encouragement matters so much.
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