WHAT SORROW AWAITS THE WORLD

The title suggests there's trouble ahead for those who commit wrongdoing. In Matthew 18:7, Jesus said to His disciples, "What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting." Just before Jesus made the statement, He had answered the disciples' question about who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus centered His response to their question around a little child—to welcome a little child on Jesus' behalf is to accept Him, but causing a child to fall into sin is asking for trouble (see verse 6). So, causing another person to sin is problematic.

So, how does the world tempt people to sin? The people tempted to sin are not only adults; children are also in the mix. Even school textbooks are teaching questionable topics as fact. Have you watched the news lately? If not, maybe you should.

The internet is an excellent tool for the most part, but it is also a source of evil. It has all kinds of information on how to make weapons, murder and get away with it, and trick innocent children into doing all kinds of evil. The movies and television shows are no different; many of these are filled with profanity, pornography, and the like.

The world has come out boldly against God and His Word, saying it's okay to abort the unborn child for any and all reasons, regardless of its gestation, even all the way to full term. It also says people can decide what gender they'd like to be and make changes to be what they want. Oh, and a man can marry another man, and so can a woman marry another woman. Children are being indoctrinated to do likewise. There was a time when people who behaved that way did it privately, but now society has bought into the idea so much that it's accepted as usual. Woe to the world!   

Christians who speak against it are labeled as intolerant. Still, God says, "What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter" (Isaiah 5:20). The point is, whatever God says is wrong is wrong, no matter what the world calls it or says about it.

Why was the world during Noah's time destroyed by a flood? Because the people did not take Noah's warning to repent earnestly (see 2 Peter 2:5), why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? "God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people" (2 Peter 2:6). And why is the world as we know it now going to be destroyed by fire? It is to cleanse it from evil.

The world is on a downward spiral, and if it doesn't wake up, the predicted woe will happen: "The day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment" (2 Peter 3:10). Are you ready for this? Understand that the world includes people and everything in it, so you will be included if you don't repent. Would you like to escape this horror? There's only one way!

Jesus Christ bore the punishment we deserve for being sinners when He died and rose again. If you'd like to escape the punishment God will unleash on the world, you must call on God today (the sooner, the better) for salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible expresses it like this: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Also, in the book of Romans, we are told, "God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood" (Romans 3:25).

If you put your faith in Jesus, you will be spared the punishment you deserve because Jesus was punished on your behalf. However, if you choose not to, you will pay for your own sin; understand that hell is forever for non-penitent sinners, just like heaven is forever for penitent sinners. Which place appeals to you? Choose Jesus now, and have the peace and assurance that God will never hold your sins against you because it's already been held against Jesus.

Are you still thinking about this? Don't think too long, because time is running out!