“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience<\/em>” (Ephesians 5:5-6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We are not being judgmental when we simply refer people to what Scripture teaches. God is the Judge; we are not judges. However, we are able to “know with certainty” what Scripture says is the truth about God’s judgments: “no immoral person… has an inheritance in the kingdom…<\/em>“<\/p>\n This modern lack of knowing “with certainty” surely affects our efforts at evangelism, also. If we aren’t sure that people are lost, then we cannot present the certainty of the gospel message with clarity. “Repent” is a signal command of the gospel, but it is obscured by our lack of conviction regarding the problem of sin and its consequences. If “I’m okay and you’re okay” and “God just accepts us as we are,” then the message of repentance becomes repugnant and offensive. Consequently, the gospel itself loses its relevance.<\/p>\n Empty words have indeed deceived. We need to “know for certain<\/em>” that Jesus is both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), and we need to “know with certainty<\/em>” that people are lost without Him. This is the basis for the fire that ought to be lit under our feet to teach the good news of God’s grace.<\/p>\n “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men …<\/em>” (II Corinthians 5:10-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[250,713],"class_list":["post-43774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-confidence","tag-judging-others"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67907,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/has-that-which-is-perfect-always-been-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":43774,"position":0},"title":"Has “that which is perfect” always been the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a question regarding whether \"that which is perfect\" has always been the New Testament. Before the question, let's consider some verses of Scripture, Jas 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26052,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-need-to-break-up-because-we-sinned\/","url_meta":{"origin":43774,"position":1},"title":"Do we need to break up because we sinned?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, My girlfriend and I, are both Christians. and we consider our relationship to be serious because our ultimate goal is to get married. We have been in the relationship for over 2 years, and everything was great as a Christian couple, but a few months ago we started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48842,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sin-repentance-and-judging-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":43774,"position":2},"title":"Sin, Repentance, and Judging Others","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Some discussions just seem odd to me. One such oddity goes along these lines (and it seems to happen over and over, especially on social media, so this is not a reference to one particular discussion): Person A: \"People who engage in this activity are in sin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39564,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/spiritual-thoughts-spiritual-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":43774,"position":3},"title":"Spiritual Thoughts, Spiritual Words","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford The fundamental question of our faith is whether the Bible is the inspired word of God. If it is, we can rely on its contents. If it isn't, everything we believe in, from the creation to the resurrection, is built on a foundation of sand instead\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55455,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-certified-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":43774,"position":4},"title":"The Certified Gospel (Adams)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Connie Adams via\u00a0Searching the Scriptures \"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man\" (Galatians 1:11). In this statement, Paul placed the gospel he preached in contrast to the perverted gospel which some had brought to the churches of Galatia (Galatians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/certified.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":69514,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-word-of-god-and-the-words-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":43774,"position":5},"title":"The Word of God and the Words of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Jesus is identified as the Divine Word, the Logos, with all things made by Him and in whom is life and light (John 1:1-5). As the Word incarnate, Jesus is the ultimate communication of God to humanity. 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It seems that in our wishy-washy world of “don’t ever judge anyone for anything,” we’ve lost this sense of certainty that some people are, without question, lost. We’ve been deceived with empty words, thinking that we can remake God in our own image – a god who is non-judgmental and accepts everyone regardless of how they choose to live.<\/p>\n