The weight of wrath and the wonder of the Gospel
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"Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not show pity or spare them. Though they call loudly in my hearing, I will not listen to them." —Ezekiel 8:18
God's wrath is a matter of justice. It is poured out in the right measure and the right manner in the right timing. It is not capriciously tossed around like Zeus throwing lightning bolts. God's wrath arrives only after ample warning, the opportunity to change course, and the steps to realign our lives with God's heart and mind, will and ways.
It's necessary to understand this because so many people are unclear about this topic. This includes, in my mind, the famous preacher who spoke at a mission and evangelism conference at a widely influential church in the Deep South.
For forty-five minutes, he preached from an obscure text from the Old Testament somehow attempting to connect it to the Good News. It never clicked for me. Here's guessing he didn't want to preach another sermon at this conference from John 3:16 or Acts 1:8. Here's guessing I would have preferred John 3:16 and Acts 1:8.
I wonder why Christians too often make the Good News sound not so good? Sometimes, it appears as though the Good News gives us indigestion or something.
Let us acknowledge that God's wrath is real, and it is always and forever applied justly when people reach the point of no return. This particular point, by the way, is for God to decide and not for you or me to apply. His grace is greater than all our sin, even those sins we think people cannot recover from.
If you feel a need to force rank grace and wrath, start with the Good News of grace. For nearly four hundred years, God had sent prophet after prophet to tell everyone from kings to day laborers, the powerful and the powerless, to repent, to turn away from sin, away from idolatry, away from anything and everything drawing people away from God's love, grace, compassion, and mercy. For nearly four hundred years (Ezekiel 4:5), the people chose more and more to ignore the warnings and to harden their hearts toward God.
God's wrath is real, purposeful, and final.
God's grace is available, purposeful, and final.
Choose wisely.
Help others choose wisely by helping them see how good the Good News is.
Our Father, thank you for your loving patience and kindness. Thank you for grace greater than all our sin. Thank you for warnings that help us escape wrath. Make us bearers of your Good News. Empower us to rescue those in danger of perishing. Amen.
 | David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More » |
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