“Depart”
DEVOTIONAL
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”
Matthew 7:23 NASBS
Dear reader, let us take a journey into the future to an event that has not taken place yet, but as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning, it will take place. You do not have to believe me, that is fine, but you must consider that there have been things in your life that you didn’t believe and later found that you were wrong. It is an event that has been appointed by God when He will judge all who refuse to come to a saving faith of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Whom He sent into this world to bear the judgment of His broken law that has condemned all of humanity from the time of their birth.
The scriptures tell us, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Because of sin that has marred your soul, you are under the wrath of God’s perfect legal system, you have already been tried, and you have been found guilty. Do not be deceived oh man; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Let me also say to the religious, apart from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon your heart and its sanctifying work, God will judge you even harsher, as it is written, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say to you that it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.”
What a horrifying day that will be when screams will echo through the land as the Son of God puts a stop to your tyranny by saying, “‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” It is a day when the Almighty will take vengeance upon all who tread upon His precious Son, Who poured out His life flowing blood upon this earth. The Lord will rid the world with you, and you will be cast into the sepulcher of the dead to be tormented day and night. How dreadful it will be to hear the haunting voice of demons all around you engulfed in flames as you cry, “Holy, Holy are You Who is True, for my punishment is just, for I spurned the Lamb of God while His nail-pierced hands were extended to me. You are Just O Lord, You are just.” Isaiah cries, “Behold, they shall be as stubble. The fire shall burn them. They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.” Who will be able to stand on that great day when the wrath of God’s fury is released upon the wicked, and He treads them down in His indignation?
I beg you, reader, for if you are reading this, this day has not yet arrived for you; today is the day of salvation. Turn to Jesus Christ, for there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. You must understand, for those who are in Christ, the law is no longer binding upon them because they have been acquitted and set free from its penalty through the provision of Jesus’s sacrifice. You see, Jesus offered Himself upon the cross in the place of the sinner so that He might be the just and justifier of those who have faith in Him, for where there is no law, there is no violation. The scriptures also tell us, “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Can you not see that external sin is a result of an internal problem with your heart, for an adulterer doesn’t want anyone looking at their spouse as well as a thief doesn’t want to be stolen from? You see, we are all guilty. There is no set of people who will escape divine judgment apart from Jesus Christ. Will you allow your heart to be hardened continually? AWAKE, AWAKE, oh sleeper, rise before it is too late!