Reading
Introduction
- Over the next 2 weeks we are going to be dealing with a topic we need to know about but one that most people avoid.
- It is a topic that is taught throughout the entire bible as is the love of God …
- It is as much part of God as is the love of God …
- It is as much a benefit to believers as is the Gospel of God
- Because without a knowledge of the topic we conclude there is no need for the gospel
- In the believer it generates appreciation for the salvation we have in Christ Jesus…
- In the unbeliever it generates fear and hostility.
- We are speaking about the Wrath of God.
- The frequency with which the topic is dealt with in Scripture surely tells us that it is important … X600
- Paul sums up the situation in our world very well when he says …
- There is no fear of God before their eyes …Rom 3:18, Psl 36:1
- Where there is no fear there is no restraint and consequently sin abounds.
- But in scripture we frequently find that a discussion of salvation is preceded by the mention of the wrath of God… Rom 1:18
- Look at Paul's argument in Romans 1:14
- I am obligated to Jews and Greeks … and so I'm eager to preach …
- FOR … I am not ashamed of the gospel
- Why? …as it is the power of God for salvation… 16
- FOR in the gospel the righteousness from God is revealed… vs 17
- Why do we need salvation through righteousness?
- FOR … the wrath of God is being revealed … against ALL godlessness and unrighteousness … vs 18
- Can you see the connection …
- If there is no fear of God and his wrath, there is no need for the gospel that produces righteousness.
- And where there is righteousness then and there only is there no need to fear wrath.
- For the true believer who knows real salvation there is no need to fear God's wrath …
- But for the unsaved, the unbeliever, we need only to see God's hand of judgement in the Old Testament, and tremble.
The Promises of God
- A subject often preached in this church is the certainty of the promises of God.
- Salvation in Jesus Christ alone … Acts 4:12
- We enjoy the righteousness that is of God… Rom 1:17
- Absent from the body is present with the Lord… 2 Cor 5:8
- I will come again and receive you unto myself …John 14:3
- So shall we be forever with the Lord… 1 Thes 4:17
- That is good and correct …
- That is the great hope of the gospel …
- We study prophecies in the Old Testament and can trace their outcome in the new Testament and world history.
- The history of the nation of Israel
- The birth life death and resurrection of Jesus
- History shows the prophecies to be true.
- Our entire faith hangs on the promises of God and the fulfillment of prophecy…
- Based on these truths we do not fear God but embrace him thru Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Why is it that we believe the good outcomes but mankind refuses to believe the wrath of God…
- Liberal thinkers claim a God of love can't act in wrath.
- How can a good God make a place of eternal suffering … there is no hell
- How can a man who has done good deeds all his life, but rejects Jesus, be assigned to an eternal hell.
- How can a man who does not know about God be condemned by God
- Where is the righteous judge.
- The truth is man will not accept the truths of God’s word…
- We have a very bad habit of believing what we want to hear…
- And we discard what we do not want to hear.
- That is why the mega churches are so popular…
- They preach health, wealth, happiness and don't get hung up on doctrine.
- Live your best life now …
- Because God's word promises … the wrath is coming.
- The truth is God keeps all his promises …
- In blessing he says…
- I swear by myself … because you have done this … I will bless you
- So one son became a nation under Abraham… Gen 22:16
- In judgement … my anger …
- They shall never enter my rest-Ps95:1, Num 14:30, Deut 1:34
- As promised only Joshua and Caleb went in.
- Then in the promised land…
- Despite God's warnings to follow him … 2 Kings 17:13
- They would not listen … vs 14
- So he tore (Israel) away, and they ended up in exile in Syria.
- But they persisted in their sin.. vs21
- The truth is God acts on all his promises…
- In his love and in his wrath.
- We need to be very consistent in our understanding …
- If we believe in our eternal blessings …
- We must believe in God's wrath and judgement.
- God’s wrath is as much part of him as is his love.
A Holy God who hates sin
- God is light … in him is no darkness at all…1 John 1:5
- Spirit …We talk about the Holy Spirit
- Jesus the Son …In him is no sin… 1 John 3:5& 2 Cor 5:21
- If we claim to have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie… vs 6
- If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves …vs 7
- There is no fellowship between darkness and light… 2 Cor 6:14
- Herein is a massive problem …because God hates sin …Prov 6:16-19
- In Proverbs we find 7 behaviours we practice frequently that God hates …
- Haughty eyes … arrogance, looking down on others
- Lying tongue … white and black lies and half truths
- Hands that shed innocent blood
- A heart that devises wicked schemes
- Feet that are quick to rush into evil… places and things
- False witnesses
- A person that stirs up conflict
- To a lesser or greater extent we all fall short here.
- And in doing these things we offend the Lord who dies for us.
- To fear the Lord is to hate evil …
- I hate pride and arrogance, evil behaviour, perverse speech...Prov 8:13
- These verses reveal God's attitude to sin …
- The arrogant can’t stand in your presence, you hate all who do wrong … Psm 5:5
- But your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear… Isa 59:2
- God refuses to listen to our prayers because our hands are tainted–Is1:15
- I will punish the world for its evil … the wicked for their sins … Is 13:11
- These and many other verses speak of God's total unacceptance of sin.
- Sin offends him, to him it is abhorrent, he detests it, loathes it.
- He separates himself from us … because of it … Isa 1:15 & 59:2
- Yet men in their wisdom say God will not act in wrath.
- But John says you can't walk in darkness and claim fellowship with God …
- He is always in the light.
- In fact Paul tells us that we are in fact ENEMIES of God…Rom 5:10
- The sinful are HOSTILE to God. They do not submit … Rom 8:7
God's wrath revealed
- God's wrath is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and ungodliness… vs 18
- God does on occasion act against sin immediately but not always.
- In his great mercy he withholds action for a time only
- So that we can respond to his powerful gospel that saves…
- Consequently we conclude that he does not act at all.
- Therefore no need for salvation …
- In the scriptures we see 5 ways in which God's wrath is revealed …
- Eternal wrath … Future
- This is after the great judgement seat of God as found in Revelation
- If you do not belong to God thru Jesus your destiny is fixed.
- Eternal separation from God in the lake of fire …Rev 20:14
- It is a time to be feared.
- Escatological Wrath …Future
- The book of Revelation makes the End Time a time of massive carnage and suffering for the world and the Jews… Rev 6-19
- Ending with the Battle of Armageddon.
- It is a time to be feared.
- Calamity …Historical and ongoing.
- Throughout history there have been acts of God that have been calamitous …
- Noah's flood …
- My spirit will not content with man forever …mercy reigned for 120 years …Genesis 6:3
- Sodom and Gomorrah … Genesis 19
- Is a story of God's mercy followed by judgement…
- Jerusalem in A.D.70…History books…. Luke 21:24
- What about the fires in the USA???
- Consequential wrath…The now.
- What a man sows so he reaps…A life truth … Gal 6:7& Prov 22:8
- There are always consequences to bad choices …
- Addictions, broken relationships, greed etc.
- Foundation of this is always a rejection of God’s truth.
- Abandonment wrath …Now …Rom 1:24, 26, 28
- This comes on individuals, groups and nations.
- Due to their rejection, God abandons people to their own way
- We do this as parents with our children.
- The world that we live in does not recognise these truths …
- If you preach this message you will receive a hostile response …
- You will be accused of being narrow minded, a bigot, fanatical, simple and idiotic even…
- They fail to recognise history …which proves the truth as with the flood, Sodom, Jerusalem and the dispersing of the Jews into all nations.
- In their wisdom they become fools … vs 22
Saved by grace alone
- So where does this leave us …
- Have I given you enough information to persuade you to understand that God comes in love and in wealth.
- Are we going home filled with doom and gloom … maybe even unable to sleep.
- The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom …Prov 9:10
- Fools despise wisdom and discipline … Prov 1:7
- The fear of the Lord appears X14 in Proverbs …
- It can describe everything from dread (Deut 1:29) to awe and reverence (Lev 19:3)
- When used of the Lord it causes us to shrink back as we recognise his being and holiness and in awe we worship his greatness.
- Reverential fear is not a dread that paralyzes all action, but results in worship and obedience.
- Look at the Gospel of God preached by Paul … 16
- It is the power of God unto salvation …
- It is the righteousness of God.
- We have righteousness from God who comes in judgement against …unrighteousness.
- Can you understand that we do not fear the wrath of God because he has declared us righteous in Christ.
- By accepting Jesus into our lives we are no longer Godless but made Godly …in fellowship with Him.
- Do we understand that this is not something we can achieve but is gifted to us who believe in Jesus' sacrifice for sin.
- It is a work of God's power in us.
Challenge
- As a Christian where are you …
- In a daily relationship with the Lord …
- Reverencing him in all he says.
- Is your life a life of obedience …
- Because each sin causes him offense …
- You come each week and hear the challenge of scripture …
- How do you respond to the word of God
- Are you still doing your own thing …
- For any who have not given their lives to Jesus there is a need to fear God…
- It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God … Heb …
- Because his promise of judgement is as real as his promise of blessing.
- But faith in Jesus changes our standing before God …
- No longer enemies but blessed children.
