No Rest for the Wicked

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Terry James | Prophecy Line

One would think that the victories the ideological, political, religious left has apparently won just within the past months would have them settled into a comfortable cultural and societal residence. Anything but that settled condition is the case.

Rather, the demeanor of those who have chosen a godless path becomes observably more tumultuous by the hour. The Scripture that describes what we’re witnessing in these days, which almost certainly seem to be last days of the Age of Grace, encapsulates this generation infected with a true pandemic—the virus called sin. The word “peace” in this passage is translated as “rest” in many translations of Scripture—thus, the saying, “There is no rest for the wicked,” has been made part of the American lexicon.

But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. (Isaiah 57: 20–21)  

Every hour of every day, the leftist news media regurgitates billowing waves of unrest–hatred and anger. The unhappy rebels of this sin-darkened planet display the opposite of the peace described within the lyrics of the famous hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.”

 

When peace like a river attended my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Until one knows the One the writer of this song is addressing, his or her soul will never be at rest. And, sadly, the vast majority of this generation across the globe has no knowledge of the God who created them. Even more sadly, the great majority of those who have been made aware of the God of Heaven have chosen to reject Him and His merciful, gracious offer of salvation—the only peace that can put their souls at rest.

So the rage and roaring grows and crashes in huge sea billows of unrest. Their storm-driven agitation is described in the following:


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But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. (Jude 1:10–16)

Now I realize that those who are not believers in Jesus Christ will look at these scriptural condemnations and say that they and others who aren’t believers are not all “wicked.” They don’t belong within those condemnations.

From the fallen world’s perspective, this is the case. But the sin that separates God from fallen mankind is a deadly infection that makes the soul of the unbeliever contaminated, thus unworthy of entering Heaven where sin cannot exist. Sin—all sin—is wicked in the holy eyes of God. He sees only wickedness and evil when looking at mankind in our sinful, unredeemed condition. There is no one good—no, not even one, His Word tells us.

He accepts only those who are “good” into His family and into Heaven. That is why He sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to shed His blood on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin–the sin that separates lost mankind from Himself.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. By simply believing in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection from death, and upon confessing with the mouth that a person believes can he or she then be redeemed—that is, made “good” in the holy eyes of God the Father.

Only then can the soul truly have peace…have “rest.”

From the moment one knows the Lord for salvation, he or she can be assured of living forever in Heaven and experiencing eternal bliss that will move ever upward in an existence that is beyond imagination.

As believers, we who know the Lord for salvation and are in His family forever must convey to the lost and dying world that time is short. A time is coming when believing will almost certainly cost them their lives. And if they are allowed to live as an unbeliever, the fate that awaits them is as unbelievably horrendous as eternity in Heaven is unimaginably magnificent.

Here is the old tried-and-true “Roman Road” formula that can lead lost friends and others to the salvation found only in Jesus.

Roman Road to Salvation

  • Romans 3:10: “As it is written, there is none righteous no not one.”
  • Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
  • Romans 5:8: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
  • Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
  • Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

These Scriptures mean that none of us is worthy, nor can we earn the right to go to Heaven when we die. But Jesus loved us so much that he died for us to pay the price for our sin so that we can be with Him forever. All you have to do Is ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior, then follow him. Then will your soul truly be at rest.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views the Virginia Christian Alliance

About the Author

Terry James
Leading biblical prophecy expert Terry James is an author, general editor, and co-author of numerous books on Bible prophecy—hundreds of thousands of which have been sold worldwide. His latest release is Rapture Ready…Or Not? 15 Reasons This Is the Generation That Will Be Left Behind, is for this generation of readers who are confused and look upon a world that seems to have destroyed opportunity for a bright, abundant future. The Rapture is about to catastrophically strike an unsuspecting world of both unbelievers and believers. Jesus Christ is the shelter from the coming Tribulation storm of God’s wrath and judgment.