I think it can be said that modern Christianity suffers from many blind spots. One of the most troubling is our failure to understand the wrath of God.
A. W. Pink noted; “A study in the concordance shows that there are more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God that there are to His love and tenderness. Because God is holy, He hates all sin; because He hates all sin, His anger burns against the sinner.” (See Psalms 7:11). *
If there is so much biblical voice given to the wrath of God, should we not spend more time giving it our study? How important it is that we would understand why God manifests wrath amid His other characteristics.
The wrath of God sounds archaic to our modern, politically correct ears and herein lies the problem, we are not biblically correct. John the Baptist was sure to preach; “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? The ax is already laid at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7-10).
The average Christian seems to think that the wrath of God no longer applies to modern man because the modern God has somehow moderated from the biblical version of God. How could this happen? Simply because preachers have stopped preaching the Word of God like John, Jesus and the Prophets did. Today a great percentage of preachers are preaching as they would like God to be… not as He really is.
To quote Arthur Pink again; “The wrath of God is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin.”* This is an incredibly powerful observation that requires our deepest consideration.
Oh, the massive subject of the holiness of God! The Scriptures proclaim that the angels around the Throne cry; Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts! They are not saying; love, love, love, or any other attribute we ascribe to God. Isaiah’s vision of Christ on the Throne brought down massive conviction upon his uncleanness as He saw himself in the unapproachable Light of the Throne. Oh the agony and the ecstasy of standing before the Glory of the Lord of Hosts! How different our present day theology would be if we started with the incomprehensible holiness of God!
When God created man and the earth, it was good in His eyes. It pleased Him. What we see in the earth today cannot please God because the world is completely at odds with Him morally and spiritually. The world is at enmity with God. He will not tolerate this forever. His holiness will soon be stirred into action against sin and His wrath will come forth.
So, if we think that God has moderated and His wrath is something of the past, we are saying that God has ceased to be holy. God cannot change and therefore His dominion must reflect His moral excellence. “Be Holy as I am holy; says the Lord.” This is why John and Jesus preached; “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The precursor of the Kingdom is the wrath of God that puts all His enemies under His footstool.
The greatest problem facing man is not global warming or the economic crisis. From God’s point of view, it is sin and what God and man must do to be reconciled. In other words, the wrath of God hovers above us and the Gospel offers the only means by which we can be saved from the wrath of God.
One last quote from A. W. Pink: “God has often forgiven sinners but He never forgives sin; the sinner is only forgiven on the grounds of Another having borne His punishment as Hebrews 9:22 states; “There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood.”*
Judgment for sin was never arbitrarily canceled as some would like to think. God demonstrated His wrath at the Cross and His Son bore the weight of His wrath and judgment against sin. Isaiah 53:6 states; “We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to His own way; and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.” There is no such thing as forgiveness or salvation apart from the only Provision that God approves of; that being the Blood of Jesus.
The world will always make light of sin and say it is no big deal. They even celebrate it in the media and the arts. But in the courts of heaven, sin, righteousness and divine justice are of central importance and attention. Everything in heaven points to the Cross.
By the permissive attitudes of many American Christians, sin has lost its utter sinfulness and no longer provokes conviction or shame. This must never happen because our forgiveness did not come without a terrible price being paid. Oh if we could only consider this when temptation presents itself. Our forgiveness is only possible because Jesus pays our debt and dies our death. “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
As John preached; “Who warned you to flee the wrath of God?”
Amen.
*All quotes are from The Nature of God by A. W. Pink, Moody Press, 1975-1999.
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