Counsel #5 — God’s “Strange Act”
Picture: Counsel #5 — God’s “Strange Act”CFL 87.1
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (see Ezekiel 33:11). To our merciful God the punishment of the rebellious is a strange act. Since Adam and Eve’s sin in Eden, all heaven has focused on the redemption of humanity. Every possible effort to redeem humanity has been extended. The cross of Christ is God’s ultimate demonstration of His love for sinners.CFL 87.2
“For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon—that He may do His work, His awesome work, and bring to pass His act, His unusual [strange KJV] act.” Isaiah 28:21 NKJVCFL 87.3
“The severity of the retribution awaiting the transgressor may be judged by the Lord’s reluctance to execute justice.… After God has done all that could be done to save men, if they still show by their lives that they slight offered mercy, death will be their portion; and it will be a dreadful death, for they will have to feel the agony that Christ felt upon the cross. They will then realize what they have lost—eternal life and the immortal inheritance.” Ellen White in The Faith I Live By, p. 338CFL 87.4
Reflect: What more could God possibly do for fallen humanity than to give His only Son to die for sinners so they could choose to live instead of die?CFL 87.5
