By Pastor Greg ...
A college graduate applied for a
spy job at the Central Intelligence Agency.
Together with several other applicants, he was given a sealed envelope
and told to take it to the fourth floor. As soon as the young man was alone, he stepped
into an empty hallway and opened the packet. Inside, a message read:
"You're our kind of person. Report to the fifth floor."
Isn’t that just like life? The dishonest person get’s the job while a
moral and ethical person is overlooked.
King Solomon observed this when he wrote, “In this life, good people are often treated as
though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they
were good. This is so meaningless”[1]
(Ecclesiastes 8:14)! Even so, Solomon
recognized that one day, the wicked will stand before God in judgment. “I know that those who fear God will be better off,”[2]
he writes.
Yes, a day is coming when the
wicked will face the wrath of God; the book of Revelation bears witness to this
truth. In Chapter 16, John writes of
God’s wrath being poured out upon humanity; these are the Seven Bowls of God’s
Wrath.
(Revelation 16:1-11) 1 I heard a loud voice
from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Pour the seven bowls of God’s
anger over the earth.” 2 The first angel poured his bowl over the earth.
Horrible, painful sores appeared on the people who had the brand of the beast
and worshiped its statue. 3 The second angel poured his bowl over the sea.
The sea turned into blood like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing
in the sea died. 4 The third angel poured his bowl over the rivers
and the springs. They turned into blood. 5 Then
I heard the angel of the water say,
“You are fair. You are the one who is and the one who was, the holy one,
because you have judged these things. 6 You
have given them blood to drink because they have poured out the blood of God’s
people and prophets. This is what they deserve.”
7 Then I heard the altar answer, “Yes, Lord God Almighty, your
judgments are true and fair.” 8 The fourth angel
poured his bowl on the sun. The sun was allowed to burn people with fire. 9 They were severely
burned. They cursed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues.
They would not change the way they think and act and give him glory. 10 The
fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom turned
dark. People gnawed on their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pains and
their sores. However, they would not stop what they were doing.[3]
Notice that these people felt
God’s judgment was undeserved; they cursed the name of God. And even now these “bowls of judgment” are
causing problems. Insisting that “God is
love,” people today protest against those who teach of God’s judgment. Insisting that “God loved me and made me the way I am,” they make no room in their lives for these biblical truths; in their single-minded
approach to God, they must deny their
sinfulness. They don’t want to be
confronted with God’s judgment; they just want to sit under the shade of God’s
love; claiming that because He loves them, they
can live in any way they desire.
In this world, many attend church and
think they are good. “Surely God will not punish a good person,”
they insist. Unfortunately, many forget
that Jesus will reject even the good person who fails to live according to the
Father’s will. In Matthew 7 Jesus says,
“Not everyone who
calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who
actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On
judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and
cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But
I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws”[4]
(Matthew 7:21-23).
God is loving, yes; but He is also holy. He offers mercy and grace to anyone and
everyone. But, those who reject the
Messiah must also accept the consequences.
Reject Him on earth, and He will reject you in Heaven. Although God does love us, we have a responsibility to admit our sin and repent of our sin.
I suspect this lesson about “God’s
Wrath” is difficult because more and more
people refuse to admit their sin. Yes,
it’s true; we are sinful people… all of us are filled with sin! Humanity is wretched and vile; selfish and
cruel. People can be downright
hateful. We hold a grudge. We are greedy. We only care about our own wellbeing… unless,
of course, the Holy Spirit has transformed us.
But if it were not for Him, I shudder to imagine how hideous this world
might become.
Read Romans 1:18-32 sometime. You will be shocked at what you see. Paul gives a lengthy list of symptoms that point to a disease called sin.
Without God, people…
suppress the truth, worship the
creation rather than the creator, and do
vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. Men and women indulge in perverted sexual
practices; men with men and women with women.
People are filled with every kind of wickedness, they are greedy,
hateful, filled with envy; they murder, quarrel with one another, deceive one
another, are malicious, and they gossip.
According to Paul, sinful people are backstabbers, insolent, proud, and
boastful. They invent new ways of sinning. They disobey their parents, refuse
to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
This list is somewhat disturbing because we know the world
is filled with sinful people like these.
But what really makes this
list difficult to read is what Paul says
at the very end. In Romans 2:1 Paul
writes, “You may
think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no
excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning
yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.” [5] Yes, it’s true. If any one thing on that list describes
me, then I am just as guilty as those who sin in another way… and I am just as
deserving of God’s punishment as they are.
I think we have forgotten this; we are
so caught up in loving ourselves that we forget
who we really are; we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23). We are sinful people who
deserve God’s punishment. We deserve His
“bowls of wrath.” But because of Jesus, a person can be spared this time of
judgment. Although we deserve to be punished, Jesus took that
punishment for us. And by placing our
faith in the work of Jesus, we are spared
the judgment. This is what makes His
sacrificial death so amazing. You see,
we deserve the punishment we see mentioned in this section of Revelation. But we are spared these “bowls of wrath”
because of what Jesus did on the cross.
Here’s the whole point. We are mistaken when we judge others (or
ourselves) as Good. None of us are good when compared to God. If being good was good enough then Jesus
would not have needed to die on our behalf.
The truth is, I should suffer the same punishment as the people who
endure these “Bowls of wrath.” Why did
King Solomon say that those who fear God are better off? Because those who fear God recognize their
sin, admit their sin, and understand that He will
one day judge that sin. Those who fear God humbly accept His offer of
salvation which is found in His Son, Christ Jesus. Believers are spared this period of judgment
not because they are good but because they have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus
on their behalf. Paul’s words are still
true today. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be
the offering for our sin, so that we
could be made right with God through Christ.”
[6]
It is our sin that keeps us separated
from God. Yet rather than leave us
helpless, Jesus came and gave His life for ours. You and I will be spared God’s wrath if we
place our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. Those who trust in Jesus will not receive
what they deserve; instead, they will receive grace and mercy from a loving God.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ec 8:14). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ec 8:12). Carol Stream, IL.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 7:21–23). Carol Stream,
IL.
[5] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Ro 2:1). Carol
Stream, IL.
[6] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (2 Co 5:21). Carol Stream,
IL.
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