"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord". Romans 6:23
Jeremiah was a prophet with a message from God to the people of his day, and the message that he received from God was a stern warning to them in the face of a coming day in which God was going to bring His severe judgment upon a people who had rebelled against Him. But Jeremiah's message was not only one of judgment, it was also one of promise. If the people would only see their wrong, and turn to God in repentance, there would be abundant pardon. To this message of warning and hope, the people turned away from, continued in their wickedness and reaped the grim harvest of divine retribution.
He was deemed a prophet of doom, but was he truly a prophet of doom? A doomsday prophet is one who only brings a message of judgment, without hope. Such a prophet presents only a God who will punish sin, but does not equally present a message of hope in the face of an impending judgment. A doomsday preacher leaves his audience with no path of escape. He traps them in the sore displeasure of God and His wrath. Neither Jesus nor the apostles or the ancient prophets were such as this. A true prophet of God, on the other hand, will not fail to warn of the danger of sin, showing the grave consequences of continuing down the path of rebellion against God, he will also present the Way of escape from the coming judgment. This Way of escape, like the ark of Noah, is God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
The message of God, which is misrepresented as a doomsday message, is the message of the loving kindness of God warning of the grave danger of continuing in disobedience. The apostle Paul captured this message in Romans 6:23, when he wrote, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord". God's message to a sinful world bears both warning of judgement, and promise to grace upon repentance.
God loves you, and wills the best for you, but His best can only be found in Christ Jesus who suffered and died on the cross for the sin of the world. You can receive Him today, and come into the best provision of God for you. God bless you.
Toni
