For at least 3 reasons, God is justified in His condemnation of sinners...
1) God is justified because all men, through their lineage from Adam, share in the guilt of original sin and in the moral and spiritual depravity it produces (Rom 5:17-18).
2) God is justified in condemning sinners because every person is born with an evil nature (Eph 2:3).
3) God is justified in condemning sinners because of the evil deeds their depraved natures inevitably produce (Rom 2:6-8).
Because of sin, the unregenerate have no future to look forward to except eternal damnation in hell.
Because our God is infinite in power and love, 'We confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?'' (Heb 13:6). Because our God is infinite in power and love, we can say with David, 'When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you' (Ps 56:3) and, 'In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety' (Ps 4:8). Because our God is infinite in power and love, we can say with Moses, 'The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms' (Deut 33:27). Because our God is infinite in power and love, we can say with the writer of Hebrews, 'This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast.'
(From John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, 396-97, 518)
Remember: this divine condemnation upon all men leads man to despair in and of himself and to trust in the only hope of salvation that God has made available — salvation in Jesus Christ and in His substitutionary work at Calvary (2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13)!
1) God is justified because all men, through their lineage from Adam, share in the guilt of original sin and in the moral and spiritual depravity it produces (Rom 5:17-18).
2) God is justified in condemning sinners because every person is born with an evil nature (Eph 2:3).
3) God is justified in condemning sinners because of the evil deeds their depraved natures inevitably produce (Rom 2:6-8).
Because of sin, the unregenerate have no future to look forward to except eternal damnation in hell.
Because our God is infinite in power and love, 'We confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?'' (Heb 13:6). Because our God is infinite in power and love, we can say with David, 'When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you' (Ps 56:3) and, 'In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety' (Ps 4:8). Because our God is infinite in power and love, we can say with Moses, 'The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms' (Deut 33:27). Because our God is infinite in power and love, we can say with the writer of Hebrews, 'This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast.'
(From John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, 396-97, 518)
Remember: this divine condemnation upon all men leads man to despair in and of himself and to trust in the only hope of salvation that God has made available — salvation in Jesus Christ and in His substitutionary work at Calvary (2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13)!
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