“Vengeance is mine says the Lord, I will repay,” comes from Hebrews 10:30. The more difficult statement is the verse that follows. “31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
I have heard that second verse quoted over the years but I never looked at its context until tonight. The person who is falling into the hands of God is not a Christian seeking to do the will of God, but one the Lord is repaying with vengeance as He has promised. Therefore, you do not want to be the one who deserves vengeance. No one and I mean no one can rescue you out of the hand of God. There is nowhere to go. Hebrews 4:13 tells us that “…no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” That is not ever a place you want to be.
That also means we cannot hide our desire for vengeance from him and unless we repent, he will deal with us accordingly. How many times have you heard people say, “He/she needs to pay for what they did”? There is a delicate line between the desire for justice and the desire for vengeance. Even when justice is being meted out, we cannot allow it to become for us vengeance by the hand of another that we then relish and enjoy.
Our cancel culture is a form of vengeance, making someone pay for acting in a way that you deem unacceptable so you try to cancel them. It is social vengeance of the worst kind and it is running rampant in our social environment today.
As Christians we have to ask ourselves if we are guilty of this sin, and yes, it is sin. If so, repent and ask God for forgiveness for you have stepped over a boundary you did not want to cross; one that God takes very seriously, and its rectification is not a pretty thing. Think about where you are in this matter. It is no small thing.
