Deuteronomy 8:20 As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.
The deadly response of sinners to the Word of God is to disobey God’s voice. The result of disobedience to what God commands is: “You will perish.” To perish is to be utterly destroyed. It is more than just dying; it is to die eternally, absolutely and completely separated from God and all that is good forever.
We do not easily comprehend the terrible conditions of eternal death. We easily dismiss the serious nature of hell with our flippant use of the word. We mock the hellfire and damnation preachers, but we should instead take eternal judgment seriously. “Repent or perish” preaching is not meant to get us to change our ways and be better people (it doesn’t work), but it should lead us to Jesus and prepare us for the gospel. “Whoever believes in him shall not perish.”
Every little sin is serious, for it brings deserved judgment and eternal death: we are destroyed. How wonderful then to hear the Gospel: “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from every sin” Faith in Jesus is obedience to the Word. To believe is to obey. For Jesus kept the Law perfectly for us, Sinners cannot on their own obey, but by the working of the Spirit through the gospel He gives us faith. Faith = Life.