Why Will You Die? God's Call to Life

Summary

The preacher opens with Solomon's warning in Ecclesiastes 7:17 - do not give yourself to sin or die before your time. He recalls visiting his father's grave back in Russia, where his cousin pointed out how many of the graves belonged to young people lost to the wave of drugs, crime, and alcohol in the 1990s. Sin, he insists, is never harmless: it brings death, breaks up families, and burns up lives.

God makes His good, pleasing, and perfect will known in two ways - through His written Word, and through the conscience He has placed in every heart. Drawing on 1 John 3, Romans 2, and David sparing Saul in the cave, he shows that God often speaks quietly yet powerfully through our conscience, leading us to repentance and steering us off the wrong road.

A large part of the message warns about the tongue. Death and life are in its power (Proverbs 18:21); a word can wound, kill joy, or bless. He urges us to keep our lips from evil, to speak like choice silver, and to fill our mouths with praise. He closes with the heart of God in Ezekiel 33:11 - God takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner but longs for him to turn and live - and with Christ, sent not to condemn the world but to save it.

Key Points

• Sin is never harmless; it leads to death, broken families, and wasted lives, just as Solomon warned.
• God reveals His good and perfect will through His written Word.
• He also speaks through the conscience - quietly, yet strongly - calling us to repentance.
• Like David sparing Saul, walk wisely and carefully, refusing to act against God's voice within.
• Death and life are in the power of the tongue; guard your words so they bless rather than wound.
• Speak like choice silver: pray first, and if you have nothing worth saying, stay silent.
• God does not desire the death of the sinner but sent Christ to save us and give us life.