09-07-2025 The Wrath of God

Text: Job 36:18; Romans 1:18; 2:5

                    There are two subjects that Christians don’t often think about.  They are  that God’s love is beyond our knowledge and that God’s wrath is beyond our complete comprehension.  There are a lot of pastors who wonder if it’s right to talk about God’s wrath and tend to shy away from it.  But when  you consider that it’s right to warn people to run from a burning building or right to point out the warning signs of a deadly disease, it’s the obligation of preachers everywhere to warn their parishioners about the real dangers about the wrath of God.  So this is the subject of this morning’s message.  The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that the wrath of God is real and it’s important that we learn about it in order to understand what it means to us.

                   Recall the story of the suffering of Job caused by Satan with the approval of God.  Job’s friend Elihu claimed to have perfect knowledge about what was happening to Job and why.  He said in Job 36:18, “Because there is wrath, beware, lest He take you away with His stroke; then a great ransom cannot deliver you.” Elihu is saying that God is so angry with Job that He has taken away all his possessions, his family, his health, was very close to taking his life, and there was nothing Job could do to stop it.  The only thing about what Elihu said to Job that was true was that the wrath of God is real and it can cause great pain and harm to those that experience it firsthand.  However, he was completely wrong about the reasons behind the suffering Job was experiencing.  Those reasons are a subject for another message, but for today’s purposes, the point is that the wrath of God is real. 

                   The book of Psalms offers many references to God’s wrath.  Psalm 2:5 says:  “Then shall He speak to them in His wrath.”  Psalm 21:9 warns: “The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath.”  And Psalm 78:31 says: “The wrath of God came upon them.”  John the Baptist warned in Matthew 3:7 when he said:  “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  In John 3:36 he further warned: “He who believes on the Son has everlasting life; and he who believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.” 

                   Throughout the Bible, the wrath of God is revealed repeatedly.  It was revealed in the great flood found in Genesis 6-8.  In Genesis 19 His wrath caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  In Exodus 32:10 we see it directed toward the nation of Israel when they sinned at Sinai.  And in Ezekiel 25-26 He directs it against the wicked Gentile nations.  But there is a way for us to escape God’s wrath if we choose to take it. 

                   Romans 5:9 reminds us that because of the blood of Christ spilled at the Cross, we can be saved from God’s wrath.  In Matthew 27:46 when on the cross Jesus said:  “My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me?”  He wasn’t questioning God, He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22 – which was a deep expression of the anguish He was feeling as He took on the sins of the world, which required Him in His humanity to experience temporary separation from God, His Father.  This was what Jesus was dreading as He prayed in the garden asking God to take the cup from Him.  The physical agony Jesus experienced was horrible, but the separation was even worse.  Nevertheless, Jesus endured this terrible suffering and death so that we would never have to experience the separation from God that is the result of His wrath against our sin.  

                   But there’s good news.  The Bible also tells us that the wrath of God is reserved; meaning He withholds His wrath to give us the opportunity to turn our lives around.  In Matthew 6:20 Jesus says we are to store up our treasures in Heaven.  This doesn’t mean that all we need to do is attend church regularly and support it with our offerings.  It also includes doing acts of service to support the church and to help others.  Giving our time and money to accomplish God’s work here on earth is an investment in our Heavenly home because it helps more people hear and respond to the Gospel.  We should seek to please God both in our giving and in our fulfilment of God’s purposes in everything else we do.  But we shouldn’t use the reserved nature of God as a way to escape His wrath.  Paul wrote in Romans 2:5:  “But after your hardness and impertinent heart treasured up unto yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God.”  He’s reminding us that eventually God’s wrath will reveal itself in His righteous judgment against our refusal to repent from our sins. 

                   The Bible warns us in Revelation 6:17 that the day of God’s wrath is coming to the entire world..  He will show it during the Great Tribulation as described in Revelation 14.  He will send seven plagues (Revelation 15), pour out seven vials (Revelation 16), and will execute judgment at the great white throne (Revelation 20).  From our study of Revelation, the world is not going to be a haven of rest to those who experience the Great Tribulation.

                   But we don’t have to experience any of it.  God has prepared the path we can take to escape His wrath and all the destruction it will bring to this world as we know it if we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior of our life through faith.  This morning on this first Sunday of the month we will once again commemorate the event that paved that path for us:  the death of Jesus on the Cross.  He willingly gave up Heaven to come to this world in human form to take on Himself the punishment for our sins.  All we need to do is trust Him through faith, sincerely ask Him into our heart, and then live a life that shows the world that He is our Lord and Savior.  It’s as simple as that.  Yes, it’s true that living a Christian life in this world will not always be easy but we are promised that it will be worth it in the end.  Accepting Jesus ensures that we are never alone and that we will always have help to deal with the problems that will certainly present themselves in our life.  We will have comfort in times of grief and pain, we will find peace when our life is in total chaos, and we will be able to look forward to the time when the world will finally become the place God intended when He created it in the beginning.  By accepting Jesus, we are assured that we will have a place in the coming new world for all of eternity.  There will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more sickness or sadness.  That’s the world that awaits all those who have Jesus in their lives.  All that’s required is an exercise in faith to accept Him into your heart.  Remember what Jesus said in John 3:16:  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.  God wants us to be in eternity with Him, but it is a choice we all must make on our own.  Don’t be afraid if you haven’t already made the choice, and don’t wait any longer. 

                   Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.