The Bible warnings are not addressed to God's people.

It is our practice, as Christians, to apply the Bible warnings to those who have not received Christ as their Savior. However most of the Bible warnings are addressed to God's elect.

The verse above is an example.

In the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans, which is one of the clearest statements of the Christian discipleship to be found in the Bible, we Christians are told that now that we have been baptized in water we have a choice. We can choose to serve righteousness or we can choose to serve sin.

If we choose to serve righteousness, to be the slave of righteousness, we will live spiritually.

If we choose to serve sin, to be the slave of sin, we will die spiritually.

The same is true of the following verse which often is applied to the unsaved:

How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. (Hebrews 2:3)

The entire Book of Hebrews is an exhortation to seasoned Christians who were growing cold. They were neglecting to press forward to the rest of God, to the place where they were abiding in untroubled rest in the center of God's Person and will.

By no means is Hebrews 2:3 addressed to the world.

A third example:

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD."Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

One might assume there is no problem addressing these three passages to the unsaved. The problem is the Lord's elect do not realize the Spirit of God is reproving them. They throw off the warnings as being to the unsaved and go on their way in their lukewarm condition.

Almost all the dreadful warnings, such as the possibility of being thrown into the outer darkness or being left behind when the Lord returns, are directed toward the Lord's servants. "Depart from Me, I never knew you" is addressed to those who work miracles in the name of Jesus Christ and also are wicked in their behavior.

If we are wise we will cease applying the Bible warnings to the unsaved, recognizing that it is we who are standing in the need of prayer.

Every person the Lord loves He will rebuke and chasten to prepare him or her for the Kingdom of God.

I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:11,12)

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. (I Corinthians 10:11)

Who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:6)

But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebrews 6:8)

We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. (Hebrews 3:14)

If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. (II Peter 2:20,21)

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. (Jude 1:5)

To be continued.