God's delay of Justice and the choices of man

Open: show of hands by the students: “raise your hand if you have done something wrong and gotten away with it.”

Adults: “raise your hands if you have ever done something wrong and gotten away with it.”

What reaction was caused by the realization that you were “safe?” Did guilt and remorse set in? Were you thankful? Did you promise yourself (or God) that you would never do that thing again? OR were you just flat out relieved that you got away with it?

Transition: Choices have consequences. Even what we consider to be small or harmless actions have consequences that have the power to shape our lives for good or bad. Thankfully, in God’s providence and mercy, most of the time, not all of our sinful actions result in immediate justice.

Let’s look at God’s word together and see how this principle is carried out in life: READ Eccl. 8:11-13

The Delay in God’s Justice can lead to greater sinful actions (Eccl. 8:11)

Explanation: Solomon is relating the thought process that many people go through when they do not immediately face the consequences of their actions. He states that many will simply turn their hearts to even more wickedness. They think, “I got away with it once, I can get away with it again!)

Illustrate: Roberto Rangel has a drinking problem and he had been charged with six (6) D.W.I.’s in Texas. In Texas, the law states that the first two convictions for DWIs are misdemeanors. The third and fourth convictions are felonies with offenders facing two to 10 years in prison. The fifth DWI conviction can cost someone life in prison. He was still a free man after six DWI’s and on his 7th DUI in December 2022, he killed two young adults.

Argument: We use the phrase, “we learn from our mistakes.” Not necessarily true. Some never learn. A more precise truism is found in Scripture: “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

I can almost see the conversations in some of your heads right now, “well, yeah, but this guy is a hardened criminal with an alcohol problem. I’m not going to end up like him. I’m just doing little stuff - like lying to my parents, or vaping, or looking at some porn now and then and well, yea, I do listen to some hardcore ungodly music, but none of that is going to wind up with me killing innocent people or going to prison!”

Think about this: Roberto Rangel is 51 years old, but he got his first DWI when he was only 17.

This leads us to ask the Question: Why doesn’t God give wicked people like Roberto what he deserves?

The delay of Justice can lead to repentance and forgiveness (Eccl 8:12)

Explanation: God’s delay in carrying out the sentence against rebellion can lead to greater wickedness, but it can also lead to restored lives for many people. Most Christ-followers who are walking with the Lord in the present did not surrender and bow the knee to Jesus the first time they heard the Gospel message.

Illustrate: The Apostle Paul heard Stephen’s impassioned defense of Jesus when he was a witness to his death (Acts 7). Paul probably heard the Gospel from many of the Christians he persecuted and cast into jail. It wasn’t until His encounter with the Risen Christ on the Damascus road that he repented and believed (Acts 9)

Argument: God is gracious and long-suffering and everyone of us should thank Him for that. If He carried out a just sentence against all forms of rebellion as soon as they happened, the world would be empty.

2 Peter 3:9 KJV 1900

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Application: Solomon points out that it “will be well with those who fear God.” If you are not IN Christ at the moment, realize how much God loves you. Repent of your rebellion and receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, for He is your only hope. If you are IN Christ, draw near to Him and ask Him to keep you from evil and to live for His glory

The Delay in God’s Justice can cause anxiety and confusion among believers (Eccl. 8:12a)

Explanation: Solomon acknowledges that the wicked are sometimes allowed to keep on sinning. “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times and his days be prolonged. . .” This is something that must be acknowledged by Christian leaders, teachers, and parents: the wicked do prosper.

This world is full of people who are in full rebellion against God and they are doing very well in material terms. They deny the very existence of God and have great jobs and live in nice houses. They live deviant lives, curse God, and fill concert halls.

This reality can cause confusion and anxiety among the faithful. Don’t kid yourself that you are not ever going to compare your life as a believer with some of these godless people who are living life in the fast lane.

The psalmist struggled with this concept and he wrote about his confusion in Psalm 73.

1-3 I almost got messed up in my thinking because I was looking at the prosperity of the wicked. I saw what they had and I was envious

13 I even started to think what a waste of time it was to serve God. All this effort of living for Him and i was getting nothing!

17 But, then I went to Church and listened to your word and understood their end is destruction

24 You guide me now on earth and then I get to be with you in glory! God, you are worth it!!

Concluding thoughts:

Solomon gives the outcome of the wicked: it will not be well with them (Eccl. 8:13) We know from the NT that the end of the wicked will to be cast into the Lake of Fire at the end time. The reality is that no one gets away with anything! The prosperity of the Wicked is an illusion - it is NOT real and it will NOT last. God does not settle all accounts in this world, but He DOES settle ALL accounts.

Reminder to the Christian young people: You are growing up in a world that is increasingly hostile to the things of God. You will be mocked and ridiculed for your faith, and you very well may face real persecution for being a Christian in your adult years. Rest in the knowledge that Solomon shared: “I know that it will be well with them that fear God.”