'God Will Repay



"God Will Repay!"

Nahum 1:1-7

KEY VERSES: Nahum 1:2-3

INTRO. In 1994, in Union, SC, a twenty-three-year-old mother strapped her two young sons in their car seats and drove them into a lake and drowned them. Then she appeared before national television news broadcasters and lied, saying a black man jumped into her car, made her get out, and drove off with her two sons. Later when they found the car with the little boys in it, she confessed that she had done this terrible thing herself. When it was revealed that she had done this horrible thing, people all over this nation were shocked! People were asking, "How could a mother do such a thing?"

Just a week and a half ago, a certain individual or individuals, set off a bomb at a government building in Oklahoma City. Over 500 people were in the building at the time, including several small children in a daycare center there in the complex. The death toll is believed to be over 200 people. Our Nation is asking itself, "How could someone do such a horrendous thing?" If you ask the Psychologists, they in both cases, would probably explain that these tragedies occured because of a deep emotional problem that stemmed back to the perpetrator's childhood. If you asked the Liberal Politicians they would probably reply that society had let these people down. If you asked their friends and family, they would say they were simply baffled that they could do such a thing.

But the WORD OF GOD gives us the answer to the question of "why?" The BIBLE makes it clear in Jer. 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: Who can know it?" That is true of each man's heart! That is why when the LORD saves us, He gives us a new heart. Ez. 36:26-27 declares, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye will keep my judgments, and do them."

It is only after we receive a new heart that we can do the will of God and please Him! We mortals do what we do because (1) We have Godly hearts within that want to please God, or because (2) we have evil hearts that desire to please the devil!

God will repay the wickedness of man! Ps. 116:5 says, "Gracious is the LORD, and Righteous, yea, our God is merciful.” All through the WORD OF GOD we see the Righteousness of God displayed! Here in Nah. 1:2-3, we also see His Justice! God will repay the wickedness of man! Why? Two reasons the SCRIPTURES give us:

(1) Because Of Righteousness

Ps. 145:17--"The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works."

*“Righteous”HEB.-"Just and Lawful"

*Our LORD is just and everything He does is Just!

*Matthew Henry said, "To be Just is to render to all their due; now we don

not render to God His due, nor are we Just to Him, if we don't

acknowledge His equity and kindness in all the dispensations of His

providence toward us, that He is righteous in all his ways, and that,

however it be, yet He is good." (1)

Matt. 5:45b--"For He maketh the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust"

*Our God is a loving Creator that provides for the needs of mankind, but

He also will repay the wickedness of man be -cause He is Righteous!

*"The wrath of God is simply the rule of the universe that a man will reap

what he sows, and that no one ever escapes the consequences of his sin.

The wrath of God and the moral order of the universe are one and the

same thing." --William Barclay (2)

*Because God is Righteous and cannot stand wickedness, thus He will

repay the wickedness of man (vv. 2-3)!

Job 34:10-12

*Not only will God repay the wickedness of man because of His

righteousness, but also:

(2) Because Of Retribution

Gals. 6:7--"Be not deceived, God is not mocked: For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap"

Hebs. 10:30, 31--"For we know Him that said, I will recompense, saith the LORD. And again, the LORD will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"

*"Retribution" Means "The act of giving justly deserved punishment."

*God could not be God and allow evil to go unpunished!

Is. 3:11--"Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him: For the reward of his hands shall be given him"

Jer. 32:18-19

*The Righteous God will make sure every evil deed will be given account of.

Why? Because when a man sins, he commits sin against more than just

himself.

a) When a man sins, He sins against Society

*That is why we have jails and prisons. Criminals cannot be allow-

wed to run freely and continue to break laws! Righteousness de

mands that criminals pay for the crimes they have committed

against society! Why? Because their crime affect Society in two

ways:

1) Their Sins Affect Our Nation Morally

Proverbs 14:34

*Every time a criminal sins he is making Society unfit to live

in!

*What a reproach it is to any nation when people allow Justice

to be thrown out the window! But this is precisely what is

happening in our country and because of it we are losing

certain freedoms we once had!

Ps. 33:19

Ps. 44:20-21—Our Nation is in a moral crisis because

We have forsaken God.

*Sin and wickedness not only costs a nation morally, but:

2) When a man sins, his sins affect the national economy

*Every year we, taxpayers, provide billions of dollars to provide

food, lodging, and clothing for incarcerated criminals!

*Our insurance is so high because men cheat insurance com

panies with false claims!

*Medical treatment is outrageous because of ridiculous law

suits by trifling people who are too lazy to work and want live

off the money we pay to insurance companies!

*Everyday, all across this nation, we are paying a tremendous

price morally and economically for sins that ungodly men

and women commit!

b) When A Man Sins, He Sins Against God, Who Created Him

*One day all wicked people who have ever committed a wicked or vile deed, whether they have escaped retribution or not, will face the retribution of almighty God! Man cannot escape God!

Jer. 23:23-24

*Ultimately, all sin is against God, the Creator!

ILLUS. We see that so clearly in the life of Joseph. In Gen. 39:7-10 we

read, "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's

wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But

he refused, and said unto his master's wife. Behold, my master

wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath

committed all that he hath into my hand. There is none

greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back

anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: How

then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? And

it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he

hearkened not unto her, to lie by her or to go to be with her."

*The BIBLE shows that ultimately all sin is against God! Joseph could have sinned against God, but chose not to. He realized that he could not do as she requested and God not know about it! He also recognized that God would punish him if he did such a thing!

*As of yet, it is not known for sure, who committed the heinous crime

of bombing the federal building in Oklahoma City, But God knows and

He will repay!

CLOSING: Our God is a God of Righteousness and Justice. He will repay the

wickedness of man! That puts all of us on shaky ground! Because

apart from the righteousness of Christ, all of us are wicked, vile

sinners! And God says in Roms 6:23, "The wages of sin is death…”

However, He gives us Good News! This God of Righteousness sent His only Son to pay the price for our sins on the Cross. Jesus took our and the Judgment of God fell on Him and we took His Righteousness and now the blessings of God fall on us. John 3:16!

God can still maintain His Righteousness and allow us to enter Heaven, If we have accepted His Son as our Saviour, because Jesus paid the Price for our sins! Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? If not, you will face the Retribution of God!

NOTES: 1. Matthew Henry. The Quotable Matthew Henry. Pg. 115.

2. Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary &

Classical. Pg. 80.

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