Warnings from God

The Main Idea of the Lecture

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about how God, in His love and mercy, does not leave a person walking in the wrong path without warning. Instead, He sends many warnings so that the person may awaken, review himself, and return to the right path. These warnings may come in the form of events, hardships, illnesses, advice from others, or spiritual words that lead the person to repentance.

The Meaning of God’s Warnings

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that a warning is a sign of God’s mercy, because God gives a person an opportunity to think about his life, examine himself, and care about his eternity. A warning is like an alarm bell that awakens a person from negligence so that he does not continue in sin.

Biblical Examples of Warnings

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III presents several examples from the Holy Bible showing how God sent warnings to people:

• The warning God gave to Adam about the danger of eating from the tree.
• The warnings that came before the Flood when Noah called people to repentance.
• The warning given to the people of Nineveh which led them to repentance.
• Many warnings given to people such as Judas, Cain, and Samson, yet they did not benefit from them.

The Importance of Responding to the Warning

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III emphasizes that the value of the warning is not in its existence but in the person’s response to it. Some people hear the warning and awaken and repent, while others ignore it because of stubbornness, desire, or negligence.

The Ways God Awakens People

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that God uses many means to awaken a person such as:

• disasters or hardships,
• illness or failure in life,
• advice or rebuke from others,
• the words of the Holy Bible and spiritual sermons.

The Attitude of the Wise Person

The wise person is the one who quickly responds to the voice of God and awakens from the first warning without needing repeated warnings. A sensitive heart needs only a simple voice or one word to return to God and repent.

The Spiritual Message

The main message is that God desires the salvation of all people, and therefore He sends them many warnings out of His love. A person should be watchful and sensitive to God’s voice, respond to these warnings, and return to the right path before it is too late.

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