Choices Determine Destiny
By John Earp
Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Jeremiah 18:7 NKJV The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. 11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” ’ ”
Matthew 7:13 NKJV “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Romans 6:15 NKJV What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are thaat one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the above passages, we see a remarkable theme which is found throughout Scripture. That is, the ultimate choices we all must make in life. God urges us to choose life, to choose righteousness, to choose not to sin, to choose to love Him and our fellow man as we ought. God promises to bless our lives if we follow His ways, and to curse our lives if we choose to follow our own ways instead.
Not only the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy, but the Prophet Jeremiah reveals that any nation that pursues ungodliness and sin will have disaster brought upon it by God. How long, one wonders, can the United States of America, or any other nation, avoid the divine cursing and retribution that is scripturally due us for our sins?
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul narrow this principle down even further, to the individual level. While of course it is true that nations are made up of many individuals, it is unmistakable in Matthew 7 and in Romans 6 (for just two of many examples) that there are always consequences to our choices.
Today it is very popular to imagine God is a benign, Santa Claus-like person, who would never hurt a fly, but the Scriptures He inspired holy men of old to write indicate a very different story. The Bible reveals a God who has “indignation and wrath for every soul that does evil,” and that His destructive wrath will be poured out on the evildoer in the Final Judgment that is spoken of in Scripture.
Make the intelligent, wise choice, my friend—choose life. Repent of your sins today and submit to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. By His grace, He will lovingly forgive your sins and cleanse your heart, and your life will be blessed by God. You will avoid the cursing, wrath and damnation of God that sinners so richly deserve, and instead will be freely given an eternally blessed life in Jesus Christ.