Heed the Warning: A Good Friday Reflection

Watch "Warnings" from Senior Women's Ministry Leader Tracy Macaluso now on Youtube

In 1965, the U.S. government began requiring a simple warning label on cigarette packaging: “Caution: Cigarette Smoking may be hazardous to your health.”

Fast forward nearly 60 years, and those warnings have evolved into graphic images and stark declarations like:

“Smoking causes fatal lung disease.”
“Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby.”
“Smoking can kill you.”

These warnings are unavoidable. They’re printed on the front and back of every cigarette pack, covering half the space. And yet, despite all of them, 480,000 people still die every year in the U.S. from smoking-related illnesses—the same number of lives lost to COVID in its deadliest years.

The leading preventable cause of death in our nation continues to claim lives.

So tonight, as we reflect on Good Friday, we’re not here to talk about physical death. We’re here to talk about spiritual death—another preventable tragedy.

The Spiritual Warning

Isaiah 59:1-2 says:

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your sins have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear."

God isn’t too weak to reach you. He isn’t too old to hear your prayers.But our sin creates distance. It builds a wall.And when we ignore the spiritual warnings—when we choose to persist in what we know is wrong—we separate ourselves from Him.

What Are the Warnings?

Galatians 5:19-21 gives us a painfully clear picture:

"The acts of the flesh are obvious..."

They include:

Sexual immorality: Any sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage—this includes porn, lust, and impurity of heart and mind.
Idolatry: Prioritizing anything above God.
Witchcraft (pharmakeia): Using mind-altering substances to manipulate or escape.
Hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, envy...
Drunkenness, wild partying, and other sinful behaviors.

Paul doesn’t mince words:

“I warn you… those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

This is more than a warning—it’s a lifeline.

So ask yourself honestly: Which of these is God highlighting in your heart tonight?

Warnings Are Meant to Save

When Peter preached in Acts 2, he delivered a similar warning:

“You crucified Jesus. But God raised Him from the dead.”

The people were cut to the heart. They asked, “What should we do?”Peter’s answer was simple: Turn back. Be saved.

“With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’”

God warns us not to shame us, but to transform us.

The Breath of Life

Let’s not forget what actually caused Jesus' death:Asphyxiation.He was suffocating on the cross—unable to breathe.

And yet, He died so that we could breathe again.

There’s a powerful idea that God’s name—YHWH—when spoken without vowels, sounds like breathing:

YH (inhale)
WH (exhale)

God is not only the Creator of life—He is the breath in our lungs.He clears out our lungs and cleans out the consequences of our sin.

From Warning to Freedom

Romans 5:1-8 gives us the hope we cling to tonight:

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”“Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us, and He now declares us flawless in His eyes.”

That’s not just a relief—that’s radical grace.