The most fashionable refuge of lies at present

Charles Spurgeon, "Refuges of Lies, and What Will Become of Them"

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

"You boast: We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us; for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place!" Isaiah 28:15

"I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place!" Isaiah 28:17

The most fashionable refuge of lies at present, is the production of theories with regard to the future punishment of the wicked. False prophets prophesy smooth things, and talk of a "larger hope"--which being interpreted is this: that men may live just as they like; but somehow or other, the wicked will not be punished in eternal Hell. This is the old falsehood which the rebellious sinner imagines, saying to himself, "I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart."

That God will punish sin, has been doubted from the very beginning. The father of lies said in the garden of Eden, "You shall not surely die!" By this "larger hope," the deceitful serpent tempted the woman, and ruined our race! Pleased with his success, he continues to use the same artifice, asserting either . . .
  that sin is trivial,
  or that religion can remove it,
  or that Hell is temporary,
  or that the soul will be annihilated,
  or some other form of the same damning lie.
His perpetual cry is, "You shall surely not suffer the punishment that God threatens! You may sin as you desire, and yet never be punished in Hell."

When an unsaved man thinks about his eternal state, as a general rule he finds it convenient to adopt some novel theory, in order that he may feel comfortable living in sin. So far as my observation goes, all of these modern notions are compatible with a wicked life. But it will soon be seen that they are all a soul-damning refuge of lies.

"How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8

 

"Refuges of Lies, and What Will Become of Them". In this sermon, Spurgeon exposes many refuges of lies, all of which are still current in our culture, in our churches, and in many professing Christians.