God has given to men a declaration of His character and of His method of dealing with sin . " The Lord God , merciful and gracious , long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth , keeping mercy for thousands , forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin , and that will by no means clear the guilty ." Exodus 34:6 , 7 . " All the wicked will He destroy ." " The transgressors shall be destroyed together : the end of the wicked shall be cut off ." Psalms 145:20 ; 37:38 . The power and authority of the divine government will be employed to put down rebellion ; yet all the manifestations of retributive justice will be perfectly consistent with the character of God as a merciful , longsuffering , benevolent being .
God does not force the will or judgment of any . He takes no pleasure in a slavish obedience . He desires that the creatures of His hands shall love Him because He is worthy of love . He would have them obey Him because they have an intelligent appreciation of His wisdom , justice , and benevolence . And all who have a just conception of these qualities will love Him because they are drawn toward Him in admiration of His attributes . The principles of kindness , mercy , and love , taught and exemplified by our Saviour , are a transcript of the will and character of God . Christ declared that He taught nothing except that which He had received from His Father .
The principles of the divine government are in perfect harmony with the Saviour ' s precept , " Love your enemies ." God executes justice upon the wicked , for the good of the universe , and even for the good of those upon whom His judgments are visited . He would make them happy if He could do so in accordance with the laws of His government and the justice of His character . He surrounds them with the tokens of His love , He grants them a knowledge of His law , and follows them with the offers of His mercy ; but they despise His love , make void His law , and reject His mercy . While constantly receiving His gifts , they dishonor the Giver ; they hate God because they know that He abhors their sins . The Lord bears long with their perversity ; but the decisive hour will come at last , when their destiny is to be decided . Will He then chain these rebels to His side ? Will He force them to do His will ?
Those who have chosen Satan as their leader and have been controlled by his power are not prepared to enter the presence of God . Pride , deception , licentiousness , cruelty , have become fixed in their characters . Can they enter heaven to dwell forever with those whom they despised and hated on earth ? Truth will never be agreeable to a liar ; meekness will not satisfy self-esteem and pride ; purity is not acceptable to the corrupt ; disinterested love does not appear attractive to the selfish . What source of enjoyment could heaven offer to those who are wholly absorbed in earthly and selfish interests ?
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