God Curses the Wicked

Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Deuteronomy 27:15-19 “‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’ (16) “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ (17) “‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ (18) “‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ (19) “‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

God does a whole lot of cursing.  Read Deuteronomy 27 if you don’t believe it.  In fact, God started cursing right off the get-go of creation when Adam and Eve sinned.  Of course, He does a whole lot of blessing too.  And it’s a good thing for us.  He has called us blessed in Christ.  Poured out every blessing heaven has to offer, in Christ (Ephesians 1).  But He still curses. The Apostle Paul knew this and that is why he pronounced preachers of false gospels “anathema.”  Set apart for God’s destruction.  Damned by God.

Peter knew it too.  We recently considered the reprobate in 2 Peter 2.  Listen to these curse words again:

• Will be destroyed in their destruction.
• They are blots and blemishes.
• Accursed children.
• For them the gloom of utter darkness is reserved.
• Dogs who return to their vomit.
• Pigs who wallow in mire.

God curses because He knows the evil of sin.  We don’t.  If we did, we would talk like God talks.  And in the happy-clappy climate of the church today, if anyone were to start talking like this, a shocked hush would sound out. “What did you say?” as everyone steps away.  “I said, ‘May the Lord curse that wicked man and bring him to an end.  May the dogs lick his blood from the streets.  May his name and memory be cut off from the earth.’”  Lions and tigers and bears, you say?  Oh my!

When a Christian like David is oppressed and pursued relentlessly by a wicked man, his righteous spirit begins to cry out to the Lord for justice, vindication, and deliverance.  “Lord, dash this enemy to bits.”   But what happens in our current nicey-nice evangelical climate?  That Spirit is quenched.  And I mean, right now.  Buckets of admonishments against the victim pour forth.  “You are harboring bitterness.  You must love and forgive.  That man you are saying these things about is a human being for whom Christ died.  You are just a sinner like him and it is only by God’s grace that you are saved.  You need to repent of what you said.  Christians don’t talk like that.  Christians don’t curse.”

Oh really?  That’s strange, because God curses.  He actually has quite a vocabulary of curses.  Peter knew it.  He doesn’t say anything about Jesus dying for the people he is cursing in 2 Peter 2.  Neither does Paul.  Not only does Paul use “may they be damned by God,” but he says that he wishes that the Judaizing false gospel spreaders who were teaching that to be a Christian you had to be made a Jew by physical circumcision — Paul says he wishes they would circumcise themselves, and keep right on cutting.  Galatians 5:12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! So you see, there really is such a thing as evil.  And there really are evil people.  There are people who are apostate, cursed by God.  I believe that many abusers who parade as Christians, are such.  They are reprobates.  They are cursed by God. God is not always a genteel-man.  Sometimes He is a raging warrior out of whose mouth comes a sword for the destruction of His enemies.  Are we ashamed of such a God?  Are we wiser and better than He?