The Wrath of God

[0:00] The wrath of God. Romans 1.18 it says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven is wrath.

[0:31] Got a bit of echo there by the way guys. There's that fearful, dangerous side of God as it were. His judgment and His wrath. And wrath is anger or indignation.

[0:43] It's God's hatred towards sin. You know, Brother Jesse read the list there of numbers of sinful things. And it's a telling reminder of the world that we're living in today, is it not?

[0:57] A world full of sin. And God does not regard sin lightly. He gets angry. And it's a rightful, just anger. God wants to shock our consciences and awaken us out of our false securities.

[1:12] It says in Hebrews 10.31 that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Let's consider this subject today.

[1:24] The wrath of God. What is it? A study that concordance will show someone has said that there's more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God than there are to His love and tenderness.

[1:38] Of course, I spoke about the love of God last week, if you missed that one. But now we're looking at the other side. But really, they're not contrary. They are actually complementary. God is angry about man's sin because He cares for us.

[1:53] It says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Friends, God hates sin.

[2:04] He hates it. And we said too, shouldn't we? We hate the sin. Not the sinner, but we hate the sin. And the church, sadly, it seems, is rapidly losing its sin consciousness.

[2:16] It toys with sin. It compromises with sin. And friends, when we lose our sin consciousness, we lose our God consciousness. We lose that thirst and craving for the Word of God to be in right standing with Him, that spiritual life that He wants for us, that relationship with Christ.

[2:36] Sin spoils that and takes it away. It hinders that. And friends, every man has made God angry. We are sinners and we deserve God's wrath against us.

[2:49] As Brother Jesse read from Romans 1, from verse 21 to 23, it shows how mankind is rejected the revelation of God.

[3:00] And so we see man's rejection has these consequences of ignoring God, of reasoning against God, of replacing God. And then verses 24 through 28 tells how God has given many over to that degradation of their own minds and hearts.

[3:19] God gave them up. And you don't want to be in that camp where God gives you up. It says He's abandoned these ones to uncleanness, to immorality, to a reprobate mind.

[3:30] We see the consequence of sin. And it's devastating, isn't it? Most parents get angry at their children's disobedience.

[3:41] Loving parents discipline their children. Again, it's not contrary. God's wrath and love are not contrary. They're not contradictory. His hatred of sin is not contrary to His love.

[3:53] Rather, God's love is shown by His wrath against sin. He wants the best for you. God finds the sins of men and women to be utterly disgusting, as well as harmful to the sinner.

[4:07] Friends, sin is contrary. It's contrary to His nature. And God must punish sin. He would not be just if He did not. As there's some judge that would let a criminal go free, they would not be called a just judge.

[4:22] But our God is just. He's righteous. Friends, the Bible says that man is born into sin. Romans 3.23, All who sinned comes short of His glory.

[4:33] The human heart is sin. It's wicked. It's deceitful. And we must know His saving. Men hate the idea of being accountable for their lives to a holy God.

[4:45] They love their sin. They don't want to part with it. But we must hear sin through the eyes of our God. How awful it is. And how glorious God is. Our Lord God is infinite and eternal.

[4:57] Every act of sin is committed against an infinite holy God. And it deserves infinite punishment. Every sin, when you think of it, is a rejection.

[5:09] It's shaking your fist in the hands of God. In the face of God. It's sneering at Him. It's like we're worshipping a rival God. Sin is rejecting His rule. Think of God's holiness.

[5:22] What He would have for you. He is holy. He's just. He's perfect. He's untainted by the least of sin. God hates sin. Rightfully so. He will not tolerate in His absolute holiness.

[5:35] It says, Habakkuk 1 verse 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cast not look on iniquity. He can't tolerate iniquity. He can't even look upon it.

[5:46] And when we realise how pure and holy and awesome our God is, we realise how awful and serious our sin is, and how amazing His grace is that He would reach to us.

[6:01] Friends, this is a global problem. This is more serious than any global catastrophe of COVID or climate. This is a real problem.

[6:12] And it affects every person on the planet. It says, 1 John 5 verse 19, that the whole world liar in wickedness. This is global. And it's catastrophic, isn't it?

[6:25] We should develop a fear of sin. If we would be in tune with our God, then even the little sins, we would be careful to confess and forsake the sins of the heart, of the thought life.

[6:39] But we live in a time when many people are being taught that just about anything goes. Just about everything is okay. God just overlooks our sin. And the immoral lifestyles of many today make God sick and angry.

[6:54] But many churches and ministers approve of immorality. Friends, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

[7:05] And the wrath of God rightfully will fall on those who willfully ignore these mighty warnings of the Word of God.

[7:18] Thankfully, God's wrath and His love met at Calvary. And the result was forgiveness and eternal salvation for all who believe. Think of our loving Father God, that He loves, He understands us, but as judge, He must condemn our sin.

[7:37] Yet at Calvary, these two things meet. Like prisoners on death row, people are guilty and condemned, waiting for the execution of God's wrath.

[7:47] Romans 2 verse 5 says, of the sinner, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up thyself, unto thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

[8:08] It's telling us here in this verse that men are storing up wrath. It's accumulating in some kind of account that we'll have to give. For that day of God's judgment, there's an accumulating, a storing up, a treasuring up of wrath.

[8:22] For that ultimate day of wrath, of the judgment of God. Friends, God's wrath is real. And we ought to take heart in the terrifying reality of God's anger, in His response to ungodliness and wickedness.

[8:38] God's wrath is as real as His love. And it places us in a serious, desperate state. We should be frightened because we deserve to be condemned.

[8:52] Our love of unrighteousness makes Him furious. It says, Isaiah 65, 6 verse 5, hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word. That's the bad news, the wrath of God.

[9:05] But now for the good news. It's the gospel of God. In Romans 1, 16, we see Paul says, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

[9:21] Paul tells about the gospel. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone, that believer. To the Jew first and to the Greek.

[9:33] Verse 17, it says, therein, in the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed. From faith to faith, as it is written, the just are led by faith. So we saw the wrath of God as being revealed.

[9:46] Now we see in the gospel, the righteousness of God as being revealed. God provides the answer to His own wrath. Friends, as much as we are due His righteous judgment, He's given us His righteous pardon if we all trust Him.

[10:04] He's taken His own wrath upon Himself. His own wrath against our sin, He's taken it upon Himself. And Romans 5, 8 says, but God commanded His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[10:20] Think of the amazing grace this morning, brothers and sisters, that rather than leave us in that hopeless, helpless, desperate state, God has demonstrated His love.

[10:31] He's reconciled us through Christ so we can stand in His presence without fault and free from accusation. We deserved eternal torment in hell.

[10:42] Instead, He gave us eternal life in and through His Son. Friends, today we can flee the wrath of God and find refuge in the precious power of the gospel.

[10:53] Our Lord wants the very best for us. Spiritual life. It says, herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

[11:10] We've got no claim for the grace that He's granted us. It's not that we love God, it's that He sent His Son to take our wrath, to take the wrath that was due upon our sin.

[11:27] Romans 1.17 talks about the gift of God's righteousness is by faith. God's punishment of us was poured out on the Lord Jesus who died in our place.

[11:38] Friends, how can we describe this awesome blessing that is salvation today in our place for us, the one who took our very place and took our very sin.

[11:59] It's something that staggers me to think as the Scriptures tell us, He bore our sins in His body on the tree.

[12:12] Think of that. All of the sin that is in me was on Him, on the cross. And all of your sin, it was on Him, on the cross, in His body.

[12:24] And He died in our place. Romans 8.1 says, Now no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

[12:39] In Christ, we see that balance between God's love and anger. The love of God and the anger of God. It was then so that the cross in Christ the anger was poured out there upon the beloved Son, the perfect One, the Holy One.

[13:03] Friends, God's anger is real and we ought to be mindful of it. Our Lord cared enough to be angry. We read about how He went to the temple of God in Matthew 21, verse 12.

[13:17] What did He do? He cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple. He overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them that sold us. He had a righteous anger.

[13:28] He was driven by this reverence of God, this holiness of God, this rightfulness of what is honoring and pleasing to God.

[13:40] And anger was the result when He saw that which was lacking. His anger is a good thing as it was here in this case.

[13:50] He loves us enough to warn us of coming judgment. John 3.36, the warning of everlasting judgment. His love is equal to His anger.

[14:02] As we know, John 3.16 as was quoted, that His love is what took Him to the cross for us. Friends, He's done everything possible to keep us from hell.

[14:14] Someone has said, someone had to take the punishment for mankind because the penalty for sin was death. A person without sin had to die in mankind's place.

[14:29] He had to come down from heaven and come and live as a perfect man, the sinless life in perfect obedience to His Father. When He died on the cross, He became a sacrifice for our sins.

[14:41] Once and for all, paid the price for our rebellion against God. Will you ask Christ to save you? If you've yet to do that, I urge you, the wrath of God is coming on mankind because of their rejection of His love.

[15:04] Think of the cross. Three hours He was enshrouded in darkness. God punished Him for being the wicked person who was guilty of the sins of the world. This one who was guiltless took our guilt.

[15:17] This one who was sinless bore our sin. The primary purpose of the cross was to appease God's righteous anger, His wrath towards sin. And it fell not on us who deserve it but on the Son.

[15:32] What grace! What grace today! The Lord Jesus didn't just save us from our sin, He saved us from God Himself. There was a well-known preacher who gave a shocking sermon.

[15:50] His name was Jonathan Edwards and in part he says, O sinner, consider the fearful danger that you are in. It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath that you held over in the hand of that God.

[16:07] His wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you as against many of the damned of hell. You hang by a slender thread with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it and ready every moment to singe it.

[16:20] And of course he was using quite colourful language here. But the amazing thing is Jonathan Edwards quoted these many Bible verses he talked about the anger of the God that we will have to face and a warning of that.

[16:37] And these terrified men and women who heard him preach they began to see their desperate, desperate need of the forgiveness of God. And the preacher went on and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter and Peter went out and wept bitterly.

[16:54] So shall it be. But in a different sense with sinners at the day of judgment the eye of Jesus as their judge shall be fixed upon them and that look shall awake their sleeping memories reveal their burden of sin and shame the countless incursive crimes denials worse than Peter's since lifelong and unrepented of despisings of mercy that called them all these shall pierce their hearts as they behold the look of Jesus and they shall go out and flee from the presence of the Lord go out never to return flee even into the outer darkness if so be they might hide them from that terrible gaze and he goes on and they shall weep bitterly weep as they have never wept before burning scolding tears such as their sorrow never knew weep never to be comforted tears never to be wiped away their eyes shall be fountains of tears not repentant and healing but bitter and remorseful tears of blood tears that shall rend the heart entwain and dull the soul in fathomless woe now this was very strong words from Jonathan Edwards words of warning of loving warning of genuine love truly because love warns doesn't it what a stark contrast with a believer the comfort that we can have it says in 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9 of the comfort of God it says for God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord

[18:42] Jesus Christ it says God has not destined us who are saved to suffer wrath but to receive salvation God's great love gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ God has not appointed us to wrath likewise in Romans 5 verse 9 says since then we have now been justified by his blood how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him it's a repeated thing wrath punishment for sin it's required divine justice has to be satisfied and thank God it was at the cross you that believed it was satisfied for you Christ absorbed the wrath of God for you at the cross friends we live in perilous times some care little for such truth and the love of pleasures is rampant in our culture the sports stadiums are filled today but the piers are mostly empty or scarcely filled and Matthew 24 12 it says because the iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold many care little for the gospel for the truth that they will have to face their maker some of a shallow love for God that it's superficial but the commandments of God have not been changed into the suggestions of God

[20:08] God still commands you he commands you to love him with all your heart not in your spare time not for little now and then not in pleasing yourself in between but with your whole heart your soul your mind your strength and the word of God friends it still says John 3 36 he that believeth on the sun have everlasting life and he that believeth not the sun shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him you know we would love to quote John 3 16 some miss John 3 36 it's just a telling is it not there's a believing there's eternal there's everlasting life but there is the wrath of God and it's abiding on those who refuse him friends these are telling truth if you're not saved then you face abiding wrath think of that abiding wrath it says God's wrath abides on everything outside of

[21:11] Christ God's wrath will will stay upon you friends but this side of eternity you can trust him you can know everlasting life it tells of a time when our Lord is in judgment in Matthew 7 he says he's angry against those who enter into his presence and say Lord Lord because they're fakes not real it tells in Romans 1 18 some hold the truth in unrighteousness so they're not real they're not fair dinkum they're careless it tells how our human righteousness are us filthy rags they just don't they don't hold up and friends the devil would love to give you some such clothes to clothe yourself with the devil would clothe you with respectable robes of religion with such finery and make you look like royalty even on the such a time when you think of some royals getting buried they would clothe the devil would clothe people in respectable robes of religion and they would look fine to the outward eye but God knows they're filthy rags you cannot clothe yourself you cannot cover yourself from his wrath by righteousness of your own making it must be his it must be his

[22:39] Colossians 3 verse 6 it's another warning there the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience friends I don't want to shrink this subject lightly but I don't want to overwhelm you here but I must tell you what the word of God says the wrath of God is coming it is coming John said to the crowds who came to be baptised of him Luke 3 verse 7 O generation of vipers who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come John saw through them they were coming to be baptised but they weren't really fed in he says who's warned you to flee from the wrath to come friends we've got to take the word of God seriously there is a time coming of God's wrath it is coming and it's something we ought to flee from and friends where do we flee to Christ he is the only place the only one we could find his shelter clean to the

[23:40] Lord Jesus Christ here's the one who saves from the wrath to come think of the days of God's wrath the day coming as compared to the days of Noah and of Lot of the flood of Sodom and Gomorrah in both cases God's people were protected Noah and his family were in the ark Lot and his family were led out of the city by angels God is angry it's a theme right through the word of God he's angry with sinfulness of sinners the flood of Noah's time what an example that is the destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah God does not tolerate sin it seems these days even professing Christians seem to treat sin lightly carelessly sinfulness to sinfulness to 1 Corinthians 13 6 it says charity rejoices not in iniquity the love of God doesn't delight in evil brothers and sisters one day there will be an accounting and this world will experience the judgment of

[24:54] God the outpouring of his wrath where do you stand today it says in Psalm 7 11 God judges the righteous God is angry with the wicked every day he warns us in his compassion he warns us Matthew 10 fear not them which kill the body but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell we need the gospel friends we've talked about the wrath of God is going to be revealed from heaven it talks about how the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel the good news we need the gospel we need Christ to say and the wonderful blessed glorious glad good news is we can be spared from the wrath of God by his grace his nail pierced hands are open still he's full of mercy if you will but humble yourself and trust him you can be spared the wrath turn to him while mercy's door is still open his anger means he cares too much to ignore the harm of sin to ourselves and to others

[26:17] God loves enough to hate evil he cares enough to be angry with the religionists who trivialise sin in themselves while they spurn those who need mercy he cares enough to be angry with those who reduce sin to legalisms while ignoring the needs of others he sees right through us doesn't he and one day you'll step through death's door into eternity and it will be just you and God and you'll give your account to you and it's a telling truth the ones witnessing as we did some yesterday some would just laugh it off say I'm good no you're not there is none good no not one you're not good at all and there's no hope outside of Christ for you the reality of hell it's real it's terrifying

[27:22] I urge you today I don't know everyone present here it's between you and God you must make peace with God through the blood of the cross God's wrath is going to be revealed it's going to be a terrifying consuming fire Isaiah 30 talks about the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone you shall not escape hell sinner unless you trust Christ you're in great danger it says the hardness and impenitent heart it traces up wrath many are on the way to hell and they don't realise it they don't know it the word says sanctify the Lord of hosts himself let him be your fear and let him be your dread there's a sense where there's a healthy fear of God in this world where it's all lightness and frivolity and carelessness and she'll be right mate let him be your dread get right with God there's a healthy fear of God which leads to joy and blessing

[28:35] God will not always strive with men you that are lost this morning you can turn to God and trust him you have opportunity to know him mercy is still offered you need not go to hell if you will but trust Christ but one day the opportunity will be gone Francis tells us how 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 10 Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come there was a chief of a great island tribe in the south pacific he was a just and honest man and he was a great chief of the tribe but one day a member of the tribe came to the chief and said someone had stolen some things some of his tools and food and the chief was outraged this had never happened in the village before they had so much prosperity no one was needy there's no excuse for anyone to take anything and he demanded that the culprit make himself known everyone feared the great chief and no one came forward to admit the crime so this angered the chief even more and he made the declaration if anyone was caught stealing in his village he would be tied to the tree in the centre of the village and whipped a hundred times by the village's mightiest warringer it was going to be a terrible fate for anyone a punishment so severe it could be fatal at the very least it would really hurt and wound anyone who was unfortunate enough to receive this sentence it was the chief's hope that his warning would stop anyone from doing this again he did not want to sentence anyone in his tribe to such a thing he wanted his people but he didn't want his people to live in fear of a thief a few days later some angry villagers came to the chief's home with the lawbreaker they caught the thief in the act to the shock of the chief and everyone else in the tribe the criminal was the chief's own elderly mother her head fell in shame when her son asked her if it was the truth and her silence confirmed the truth everyone in the tribe debated if the chief would go through with sentencing his mother his frail mother surely she couldn't survive the harsh punishment the chief told everyone to come home and he would make his announcement in the centre of the village the next day everyone gathered in the centre of the village to see what the chief would do a handful of villagers thought the chief may go through with the punishment since he was just not showing favouritism with anyone in regards to keeping the law most however believed that as the chief was a good man he would find a way to prevent the punishment from being delivered for his mother's sake the chief arrived and made it plain to all that he was deeply grieved by these events but the law needed to be fulfilled the chief in a loud ominous voice directed to warriors to bind his mother to the tree in the centre of the village and to wait his command before proceeding with the punishment the onlookers gasped at what was about to take place as the mighty warriors quickly bound the frail arms of his mother to the tree and her back would receive the full force of the torturous whipping when the warriors had finished securing the chief's mother and the one to deliver the punishment was in place a thick silence fell on the crowd everyone waited for the chief's command to begin the whipping then something happened that astonished everyone even the close advisers of the chief the great chief stepped forward from his place of honour he stepped down from his throne he removed his cloak he walked to his mother and wrapped his muscular frame around his mother's body and ordered

[32:36] the warrior to commence with the punishment and in this way he saved his mother and fulfilled the law friends in an even greater sacrifice the Lord Jesus took the full brunt of the wrath of God against our sin he suffered for our sins on the cross he fulfilled the law the great day of his wrath is coming revelation 6 verse 17 now we don't know the timing of that I know there's a matter for conjecture of some different schools of thought as to the timing of that day revelation 6 verse 17 the great day of his wrath is coming will you be able to stand where will you be unless you turn to Christ unless you flee to Christ who is your only hope you shall suffer his wrath but you that trust him you shall never die it says 2 Corinthians 7 verse 1 having therefore these promises the word of

[33:49] God having the promises of God let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God Paul says let's cleanse ourselves that cleansing comes as we trust Christ it's not the waters of baptism it's not any affecting of our own effort but that cleansing comes as we trust Christ he cleanses the heart by faith you can know his cleansing deep down within today you can know that your punishment was paid you know there's the sunshine and the shadow of the cross we see the shadow of his wrath but we see the sunshine that he's taken the wrath for us that trust him and we've heard of the wrath of God we've heard of the gospel of God says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

[34:50] Francis it's close the wrath of God and individually it's close if you're outside of Christ and you die without him then wrath is upon you but you that trust him you can know the righteousness which is by faith the righteousness of God is revealed which is by the gospel and lastly it tells how there'll be a glory revealed Romans 8 verse 18 the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us in Romans it talks about the wrath is revealed in Romans it talks about the righteousness of God revealed that he would take your sin mine and pay for it the gospel the good news the righteousness of God is revealed and one day the glory of God is going to be revealed he's going to reveal the glory one day we'll see his face that will be glory amen and when we see the things that God has prepared for those who love him we can't paint a picture beautiful enough can we we can try to take some photos of sunsets so there will be nothing compared to the glory that shall be revealed heaven's glory and I urge you today you can know the glory of

[36:20] God as you receive this grace I urge you to that let's pray Lord we thank you for your word that it's words of hope and comfort for we that believe we pray that each one might likewise be mindful of the warnings of your word that we might know the place to flee is under the shelter of your wings Lord Jesus that there at the cross you took the wrath that we were to our sin you took that we can be free of its burden Lord we pray each one might know that wonderful blessing of the burden lifted that we can cast our burden of sin upon you we pray for everybody here present right now Lord God if any have yet to trust you that they will know the wrath can be paid for and taken and it need not fall upon them if they can but trust your redeeming power that you took our wrath our payment the punishment of it at the cross we pray bless each one

[37:31] Lord bless each one that we might have that comfort personally today and not to walk headlessly or carelessly when we might see sin for the sinfulness of it the exceeding sinfulness of it and we might endeavour Lord to have the righteousness of God revealed in us through the gospel not of our own doing but in the wonder of your saving we want to live that way that would honour honour you and that one day we'll see the grace we'll see your face we'll see the glory revealed as you welcome us with those nail scarred hands you'll welcome us into your very presence Lord we pray each one might know the comfort of the wrath paid for by virtue of your saving power in Jesus name Amen Amen