Deuteronomy 7:10~ And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
This means that EVEN THE WICKED deserve reward for their good deeds according to God, and God does not deprive anyone of what is rightly his. The wicked are rewarded with riches, exquisite foods, great jobs, lasting marriages, “the best” that the world has to offer according to their good deeds, but they will not share the everlasting bliss in the WORLD TO COME- GODS KINGDOM. Instead, God rewards the wicked quickly, in this world, so that they will not survive to enjoy the great rewards that await the righteous.
It may seem that the wicked prosper exempt from Divine punishment, However, a deeper and broader perspective reveals the emptiness and futility of their glamorous lives.
Psalms 73:1-28 is the testimony of Asaph’s struggle with the fact that God does allow the wicked to prosper and was envious when he actually witnessed the prosperity of the arrogant, wicked people (73:3). He realized that not only do the wicked prosper, but “they increase in riches” seemingly as if exempt from judgement of their evil deeds(73:12). Asaph pondered on how he labored for the Lord everyday and yet didn’t have the riches that the wicked had, he asked himself if keeping himself holy was in vein recalling of how he was plagued and chastised for serving God (73:15). He was angered in retrospect, comparing his lowly life as a laborious servant of God to the tranquil, glamorous, wealthy lives of the wicked who do their evil in secret and mock God – until he thought of the Eternal World To Come (God’s Sanctuaries) where the righteous receive their true reward. By comparison, the fleeting pleasures of this world are insignificant (73:17).
The saying that “God rewards good with good and punishes evil” is absolutely true, just keep in mind that God rewards ALL GOOD, even the good that is done by evil people– and God punishes ALL EVIL, even the evil that is done by good people unless they truly repent ( having remorse/sorrow for the evil they have done and begins to obey God) never returning to evil again.
That’s the word! That’s the funny thing about Christians…. Everything that you’ve written came straight from the Bible, but they act as if it’s not there!
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This is the word! Not popular, but true.
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They dont want to talk about stuff like this in church which is why I stopped going! I want to be SAVED not ENTERTAINED!
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Thanks for this! This is the type teachings that people need. If the truth is taught to people who really love God and fear Him they will walk in that truth in love and fear of Him.
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I choose righteousness over riches ANY DAY. This world is temporary and everything in it will be destroyed. I don’t want to loose my soul to enjoy temporary pleasures of this world.
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It’s good to be reminded of things that God tells His people. It’s easy to get caught up in this life as if this life is forever. We have to hold on to God’s word, His words are words of encouragement. It’s good to be set apart and then big beautiful homes and expensive cars, etc. will be easier to resist or just be plain unappealing to one who’s mind is on pleasing God and being holy, knowing that this world and everything in it is temporary. I mean, it’s not wrong to want a nice house, car, etc. I honestly don’t think so, but for those things to control to the point of committing sin to obtain these things means you’re not grounded in what God says. I like to say don’t love any thing so much to where you can’t give it away, that’s easier said than done at times. Sometimes when you have little money or have to sell your nice things to make ends meet it feels as if God has abandoned you or is punishing you for something. I have to remember also that I am a Hebrew descendant and am still under the curse of my forefathers for disobeying God, so…. when I reflect, I am humbled.
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Right! so many people get it so twisted! They think that people with lots of money, toys, houses, etc are “blessed”, I’m not saying that it’s not a blessing to have those things but there’s far more to the picture than that. When all that you’ve been taught in church your whole life is prosperity prosperity prosperity, and that’s the only definition of being blessed that you’ve ever heard of (coming from the pulpit) you kind of get lost in that. This is a different perspective that I appreciate.
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