Bible Discussion Thread

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. ( Revelation 21:8)

These verses at the end of the Bible and representing the end of the wicked is the end result of those who won't heed to warnings such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; see also Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:5 and many other scriptures on the subject. We do well to heed to what was said in the last verse of 1 Corinthians 6 of this reference (v. 11) where it states that some were this but they have been sanctified and justified.

There are several issues here that I feel need to be addressed. First is the difference between a sinful lapse; a sinful habit and a sinful lifestyle. All three of these behaviors could be attributed to nonbelievers; albeit in today's society there would be few that would care about a slip up except perhaps some atheists who hold to what they consider a moral standard superior to much of society. Clearly as a Christian we shouldn't play games with God with any type of sin. The third category; however is something that must be abandoned; otherwise there is no fruit of our salvation. Also we undestand that breaking the law in one area makes us guilty of breaking it all ( James 2:10). Often one sin leads to another; whether it is abuse or abandonment of a family due to the greed of a gambling addiction (something which is being advertised currently in local media); or murder stemming from the bad fruit of adultery or fornication that usually is also tied to greed or jealousy; etc.

The word "fearful" in Revelation 21:8 is in many translations "cowardly". It results when men fear man over God which we are to have a healthy fear of and ignores ( Proverbs 29:25). Wanting the praise of men is at least equally if not worse because it compromises our bold witness against sin ( John 12:43).