The Wrath of God

Julio Renewing Your Mind. The Ralph of God, his mercy holds back the wrath it's as though the pressure is intensifying and intensifying the longer that it held back, and when it lasts that dam of mercy gives way the wrath of God will come like a tsunami upon sinners and drown them and overwhelm them with strength is hard to imagine permitting something that we don't even want to think about this week. Dr. Steven Morrison's export many of God's attributes is good news's grace is love as hard as it is to comprehend the wrath of God is good and righteous attribute as well.

It showcases his mercy toward sinners, we come now to our last session on the attributes of God and we come to the wrath of God. I think we can say that it seems like with barely begun to study these attributes of God. And we know that there still yet so much more of God to learn, but I think this is been a good introduction for us in a refresher and a reminder of these distinguishing qualities that are in the character of God.

No study of the character of God would be complete without this study of the wrath of God. The wrath of God is an expression of his holiness the wrath of God really is, by necessity of his holiness.

Because God is infinitely sure and because God hates sin and loves righteousness. God cannot be neutral toward sin there is in God, a saddle determined indignation against all that is unholy. There is divine wrath that, by necessity, must react against all that does not conform to the purity of his holiness. I think of the wrath of God is really like a black velvet backdrop when I met my wife and it was time for us to be engaged.

I went to the jeweler I went into this store in downtown Dallas that was up on high floor in a high-rise building in walked into this room and the jeweler pulled out a diamond. This diamond looked okay to me. It was a keratin I was somewhat pleased with it, but not loud with it and then he did this he pulled out a black velvet backdrop wise man and he slid that black velvet backdrop under this diamond in there must've been overhead 100 lights, and it was as though every light in that entire room was just sucked through the diamond because of the black velvet backdrop and that diamond now suddenly looked like it was on fire like it was alive it was ready to delete off the counter. What made the difference was the black velvet backdrop that caused the diamond to glow. So brilliantly, so it is the black velvet backdrop of the wrath of God. When we take his love and we take his foreknowledge and we set it on top of this black velvet backdrop it causes the love of God to burst forth and to shine and for us to sing amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me because wretches deserve hell. Wretches deserve judgment.

Wretches deserve what this black velvet backdrop would represent as we come to this subject on on the wrath of God is necessary in order for us to be excited about the grace of God that we do not receive what we deserve. We are given what we do not deserve it causes our hearts to to leap out of our chest as we study the though love of God. If you tell me God so loved me and I did not know the bad news and I did not know about this.

I would probably almost as Jan and say so what.

But if you tell me that I'm under a curse, and that I'm condemned at the wrath of God abides on sinners every moment of every day, and then you tell me the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You just got my attention and I'm not walking on running to the cross. I am fleeing to the Lord Jesus Christ to enter into his saving wounds and enter into this receiving arms.

This study on the wrath of God and it will be intense, and it will be focused but it is a necessary part of God's holiness and it also serves to cause us to cherish the grace and the love and the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. This word for wrath. In the Old Testament there many words that are translated wrath. I'm not gonna bother to pronounce them all in the Hebrew language, but let me just give you some of these definitions just give you a feel for what this word wrath management. Sometimes we think of it is just like a well, I guess someone lost her temper or something or someone got angry this word wrath is an extraordinary word it means to become heated to burn with fury sound used in Numbers 25 verse three towards idolatry on the part of God is the word refers to a burning fierce wrath of God's anger burning against Israel when they worshiped the calf. The word means to be bitter as God who was fierce in his bitter anger toward ungodly nations. Zechariah 115. The word is also used with connotations of venom and and poison meaning it's fatal it's it's it's a lethal when it is unleashed and the word is used synonymously with fury. In fact, in the Bible. The word is often used of the, the flaring of the nostrils of an animal. It was so furious as it's ready to charge that the animal will begin the intense anger and fury. Being ready to be unleashed by all mighty God as sinners will be in the blazing hot oven and furnace of his wrath may come to New Testament the word means a fury that reaches a fever point. A fever pitch. God never loses control of himself when man becomes angry he can enter into a time of anger where he loses control of himself, God never loses control of himself and that's what makes this so scary. It is so calculated. It is so right is so holy is so necessary. Another word was used of man's breathing violently when pursuing an enemy and great rage think we have the idea. There's other words that I could share with you it's it's a very manifest word with many different words in the Bible almost as if you're holding up a diamond in no one side of the diamond can really capture the whole of it. There many cuts that make the circumference in the rounded God's wrath is so multifaceted and so multilayered and so intense towards the wicked that even no one word captures the whole order categories of God's wrath. One there is his abiding wrath that right now the wrath of God abides upon sinners.

Romans one and verse 18 says for the wrath of God is poured out upon sinners.

It is abiding upon sinners. Right now it's hovering over the head of sinners ready to be unleashed like a violent thunderstorm at at any moment.

Jonathan Edwards captured the imagery of this and that sermon sinners in the hands of an angry God as though it any moment the wrath of God would be poured out like a dam break right now. His mercy is holding back his wrath, but the more that is, mercy holds back the wrath it says though the. The river is building and building and building, and the pressure is intensifying and intensifying the longer that it's held back, and when it lasts that dam of mercy gives way the wrath of God will come like a tsunami upon sinners and ground them and overwhelm them to picture this is God is angry with the center some five or six as the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit in the previous verse you hate all who do iniquity, God must because he is a God of wrath. Psalm seven in verse 11. God is a righteous judge in a God who has indignation every day. God is preparing to judge the sinner and he is ready now to judge the center is fine.

Psalm two verse 12 the psalmist says do homage to the son, the King James says kiss the son, lest he become angry, and you perish in the wife for his wrath may soon be kindled, abiding wrath of God.

Romans 118 that I quoted earlier. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This is a serious that wrath is already now abiding over the heads of sinners witness they do this die and it will be unleashed. Second, not only abiding wrath but catastrophic wrath. There are individual times in human history. When God brings severe judgment upon the human race and it is an expression of his wrath. That Is Exactly What Took Pl. in Genesis six and seven when God caused the flood, a literal flood but others wrath to drown the whole world and save but Noah and his family at Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 1924 the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

Can you imagine that it was raining fire and brimstone, and sulfuric acid as it fell upon people to just literally consuming them anything like shish kebab and is burning to death before they then went into the eternal fire. God sent the plagues and death to Egypt struck dead, the firstborn of Israel was a judgment of God and others. Wrath and on and on we go. Even droughts and famines that God sent throughout human history. It was a severe judgment of God because they would not hear the word of God and because they killed the messengers who brought the word of God. God brought the hammer down hard and rightly so. And I want to say we are a nation ripe for judgment as we have been flaunting the word of God's third, there is consequential wrath, which is God's wrath revealed in the principle of sowing and reaping and win sinners, so their seeds of immorality and impurity and all kinds of licentiousness. There is a reaping and that reaping comes as an expression of wrath as there are expressions of the AIDS disease and all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases that are spreading about those who do that which is not natural and men after men and women lusting after women and there is consequential wrath of God that comes down upon those who violate his word. Do not be deceived Galatians 67. God is not mocked whatsoever man sows this.

He will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption is a 87 said before they sowed the wind and they reaped the whirlwind and Scott's consequential wrath is brought on by flagrant disobedience by an individual by culture, by society by nation.

There's a line in the sand that God draws cross which you may not go any further without reaping the consequences for their's abandonment wrath. God's wrath also expresses itself when the center after repeatedly rejecting the knowledge of God in the gospel of Christ is abandoned by God and turned over to the pursuit of his or her own sins.

The terrifying thing when a man is turned over by God to his own sins and God will no longer bring influences the bear upon that life. Proverbs 124 speaks of this wisdom, calling out in the streets. I called and you refused. I stretch out my hand and no one paid attention you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes when your dread comes like a storm in your calamity like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call on me but I will not answer, they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear the Lord, they would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof, so they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be sated with their own devices but Hosea say about Ephraim God through Hosea 8 frame is joined to idols letting alone turn out the lights parties over Romans one verse 24, because when they knew God, they did not receive him as God, they rejected the knowledge of God.

Verse 24 therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. Verse 26 for this reason God gave them over that's abandonment, God gave them over to degrading passions women exchanging the natural function for that which is unnatural as lesbianism and then in verse 28 and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper. There is no way back to God. When God abandons a person a culture and nation.

You want to go in that direction.

God says I'll give you a shove in that direction and you may go the way of your own choices.

Fifth, there is eschatological wrath. That means the wrath of the last days.

That means the wrath surrounding the final hour of human history immediately preceding the return of God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That last time in history is known as the great day of God's wrath. The great day of the wrath of the Lamb and they will run in the caves and sites fall on us and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of their wrath has come. Who is able to stand with the day that will be as Jesus comes back. You know the hallelujah chorus is in Revelation 19 is all of heaven is rejoicing mainly the wrath of God is being poured out the martyrs under the altar of God crying out how long. Oh God, how long until you avenge our blood as if to say, they took our blood, God, you take their blood but they will, the second coming of Jesus Christ that the door will open in heaven. And there will be a white stallion that will come out of that door and him who sat upon it is faithful and true, and out of his mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword, and on his garment is stained with blood and is not the blood of Calvary. It is the blood of his enemies hit as inescapable as he comes back and he will tread down the nations with a fierce wrath of God the Almighty when he comes back there will be a display of wrath like this world has never seen the global flood. In Genesis 7 will seem like a Sunday school picnic compared to the fury that will be unleashed in the last day at sixth and finally there is eternal wrath.

There is the wrath of hell. There is eternal fire in hell. Hell is a place of eternal fire will be the torment of the damned will long for just one drop of water to touch the tip of their tongue read the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. There will be a Holocaust that will go on forever and ever and ever. Sinners are thrown into the furnace of his fury and into the oven of his rage as he will pour out his wrath. He will say to those on his left.

Apart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

These will go away into eternal punishment. Revelation 2014 then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire and if anyone's name was not written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. I cannot conceive of a more terrifying imagery than drowning, yet never drowning, yet ever drowning in the lake of fire. I said this was the last wrath, but there is one other wrath.

There is redemptive wrath is Jesus upon the cross. As he bore our sins suffered the wrath of God for you and me that you and I would never be subject to the condemnation into the wrath of Almighty God. So strong was this wrath upon Calvary's cross. Thousands of men had been crucified only one suffered the eternal wrath of God upon that cross. So great was it Jesus cried out my God my God why have you forsaken me as he suffered the torment of the day and in that three hour period of time from noon until 3 o'clock in the afternoon as he bore my sins to pull the veil of darkness over the entire universe in the whole universe went black as he suffered in her place upon the cross. Great is the wrath of God. Every soul will either be damned in hell will be pardoned in Christ that eternal wrath will be poured out upon every person their sins, for we who are the elect wrath was poured out upon our representative head the Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered in our place so that you and I like five to an unbelieving world the wrath of God seems unreasonable yet is Dr. Steven Lawson said today. The dark campus of God's wrath. Best displays the splendor of his saving grace were glad you joined us today for Renewing Your Mind as we wrap up Dr. Lawson series the attributes of God.

We veered only five of the messages from the series this week the entire series will cover 16 attributes including God's mercy, his goodness and his holiness would be happy to send you the two DVD set for your donation over the about the wood dinner ministries you can make a request online@renewingyourmind.org or you can call us with your gift at 800-435-4343 today is the last they were making this offer available, so be sure to contact too soon it reserve your two DVD set. Again, the title of the series is the attributes of God by Dr. Steven Lawson and again to order just go to Renewing Your Mind.org or call us at 800-435-4343. Our goal is to help you understand what you believe what you believe it how to live it and how to assure it. We do that through daily messages that reveal the glory of God against the backdrop of culture, philosophy, apologetics, ethics, and church history, you'll find an archive of past Renewing Your Mind programs plus articles, videos, and daily Bible studies, when you download our free up just search for Lincoln here in your app store. We understand God's attributes in and see him for who he really is.

We naturally want to live in a way that honors next week.

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson joins us to explain the basics of the Christian life. We hope you make plans to join us. Beginning Monday here on Renewing Your Mind