Sermon 237

SERMON 237 — THE PUNISHMENT OF THE UNREPENTANT

Text: Revelation 2:22–24
Date: August 16, 1942
Preacher: G. S. Kok

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever marveled at the patience and longsuffering of God? Scripture reveals it, and we experience it. Perhaps you have sometimes looked at your own life and wondered how God could continue to put up with you—how often you have provoked Him, and yet He continues to bless you. Marvelous indeed is the patience and longsuffering of God.

The wicked Jezebel in the church at Thyatira experienced this also. God gave her time to repent. There was a definite period of grace during which she was called to repent. Thus the wicked member in the church was warned and urged to repent of her sinful works.

However, if the Lord is longsuffering, He is also just, and He will not endlessly bear with the unrepentant. Eventually He will come with His judgments—with the feet of burnished brass. Thus He came also to Thyatira and to the ungodly members of that church, bringing the reward due to the ungodly.

THEME: THE PUNISHMENT OF THE UNREPENTANT
(God's oordeel over de onboetvaardige)

I. ITS THREE PHASES
(Het openbaart zich in drie trappen)

A. All dealing with punishment experienced in this life.

1. Eternal death and hell are not mentioned here, though they are certainly held in store.
2. The Lord wishes it known that He brings His judgments in this life.

B. It strikes the leader of the ungodly in the church.

1. She will be cast upon a bed of pain and sickness. Her conduct was immoral; she satisfied her lust, and her bed became the place of sinful pleasure—a place where she tried to seduce God's servants. This bed now becomes a place of torture. She will reap what she has sown; the wages of sin come upon her.
2. Her punishment seems somewhat mild compared with what others will experience. Perhaps this indicates that in this life the followers of false teachers—and their seed—are worst off. Also, part of her punishment is that she must behold the suffering of her deluded followers and of her children.

C. It brings the followers of the ungodly leader into great tribulation.

1. They too experience the wages of sin.
2. Their immoral conduct leads to suffering under the wrath of God.
3. The nature of their tribulation is not mentioned, except that it is great.
4. They who knowingly follow the deceiver are not to escape severe punishment.
5. However—they still have time to repent, and then they will escape.

D. It brings death to the seed of the ungodly.
It means death for the children of the unrepentant.

1. The children seem to receive the severest punishment—they are killed.
  a. This may not be punishment for the children themselves, but for the parents. This would especially hurt Jezebel and her followers.
  b. This also reflects the nature of sin: the next generation of the unrepentant is often hopelessly lost. The children of ungodly parents are to be pitied, for they face the consequences of their parents’ conduct.
2. The second generation is spiritually lost.
  a. They follow the example of their parents and often go beyond them.
  b. Parents who live worldly lives should not be surprised when their children turn from the church—it is the natural result.
3. If this refers literally to Jezebel’s natural children—perhaps born of immoral conduct—it may remind us that children born of such unions often suffer great consequences. Thousands of children go through life crippled, maimed, or die because they reap the dreadful results of their parents’ sins. This is why the state requires blood tests before marriage—to discover disease and prevent passing it on. But such laws are not always effective; those who know they are diseased may simply go out of state to be married. Not everyone who marries out of state is guilty—but those who are guilty may do so. For this reason, our young people should think twice before doing so; it looks bad.

II. ITS MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES

A. The Lord indicates that His dealings will be public.

1. Their sin was committed publicly, though they tried to cover it with a cloak of righteousness.
2. Her doctrine was preached and taught.
3. Thus His judgment serves a double purpose: warning and punishment.

B. It declares that Christ discovers the sins and motives of the heart.

1. A pious appearance cannot hide a guilty heart.
2. Pious-sounding motives cannot cover immoral conduct.
3. A religious explanation for breaking God’s law does not change the nature of the deed. Jezebel’s followers claimed they joined the feasts of the ungodly to “better appreciate the greatness of God’s grace,” but they were merely excusing their sin.
4. Christ searches the deep motives of the heart. He knows who holds the reins.
5. He wants all churches to be aware of this fact—and we too must be deeply aware of it.

C. It makes known that Christ rewards each one according to his works.

1. They may have said, “Our works mean nothing—we are saved by grace! It doesn’t matter how we live as long as we believe.” Some even said that the more they tasted of the “deep things of Satan,” the more they would appreciate salvation.
2. But sinful conduct receives the reward due to sin.
3. He who lives like the world will receive the wages of the world. He who joins the world will, with the world, suffer its punishment.

CONCLUSION

Remember: Christ has feet like unto burnished brass—and He uses them to trample the ungodly members in the church.

The Lord gives time to repent. He is patient and longsuffering. But He is also just. He searches hearts and motives and will reward each one according to his conduct.

Do not think it matters not how you live or that you can persist in sin and still receive the reward of grace.

Learn this also: the wages of sin are great. Jezebel suffered, her followers suffered, and her children suffered. Your children will reap what you sow into their lives through your conduct. Do not expect godly children from worldly parents—any more than you expect roses to grow on a telephone pole.