God's holy wrath is a perfection of His character, not a blemish, and it is essential to understanding His love. The sermon argues that the God of the Old Testament (Jehovah) is the same as Jesus Christ in the New Testament, both exhibiting love and wrath. While Jesus' wrath was veiled during His first advent, it will be fully revealed upon His return, as described in Revelation 6. Genuine love necessitates anger towards that which opposes the object of love, and God's love for His elect people means He rightly manifests wrath against those who oppose them. Mercy is not God's duty but His privilege, and understanding this is crucial for appreciating God's justice and love, especially in times of trial.
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I invite you to turn to the book of Romans chapter three. Romans chapter three, and we begin our reading today at verse nineteen. This is the third time that we're considering the subject of God's holy wrath. The last time we saw how God's wrath was demonstrated at the cross on Calvary's Hill in a most unique way. For the greatest demonstration of God's wrath is found in the person of Christ. What transpired at Calvary. God poured out his wrath upon our substitute, the Lord Jesus.
And Christ endured it on our behalf for all who will ever believe on him. Therefore God is both just and he is a justifier of him who believes on Jesus. Verse nineteen, Romans chapter three, we read, Now we know that what things, whoever the law, saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is a knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a mercy seat, a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness. for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of Him that believeth in Jesus.
Let's pray together. Father, we thank You for the Word of God, and we thank You for the great work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we ask You now that as we study together, that we'll be able to speak as of the oracles of God, and thy name will be glorified through that which he's spoken. We pray in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. God is both just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. On the cross, salvation was accomplished. Salvation for sinful men.
God remains just, man receives mercy, and God is glorified to it all. Romans chapter five, verse eight says, God commended his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And the ninth verse says, for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And we thank God for this great salvation. Today we want to examine problems that many people have when they think of God's wrath, God's holy wrath.
I would have liked to continue next week, but I couldn't. And this is the latter half of that message from last week. and I just simply had to make it number three. There is a mistake that people make that when they think of the wrath of God, they seek to contrast the God of love in the New Testament, our Lord Jesus Christ, with Jehovah in the Old Testament. They try to contrast instead of realizing that our Lord Jesus is none other than Jehovah. He is the Word made flesh who tabernacle among us.
He is the same. Often in literature Jesus is spoken of as the one who conquers Jehovah, the wrathful God, and how foolish it is for anyone to fall into that trap. That is a trap. It is a trap of the enemy. Now, Jesus is none other than Jehovah. He used the words and applied them to himself. I am that I am. And more than that, he said, I and my Father are one. John chapter ten and verse thirty.
That means that they are one in character. Christ is God. He is one with a father. In other words, Jesus is loving. The Father is loving. The Father is known as having wrath upon guilty sinners. And Jesus is spoken of as having wrath on guilty sinners. Think of the love for a moment. John three sixteen, it has reference to the Father. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. It is the Son who is given by the Father and he is given out of love.
So the Father is loving. Furthermore, when we read Galatians chapter two, verse twenty, I find that the Son is loving. The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. So we find that just as a Father is loving, the Son is loving. And just as a Father makes known his wrath, the Son makes known his wrath. his wrath. You see, he is like the Father in love, but he is also like the Father in Iran. Mark chapter three, and I'm not going to have you turn to the passage when the man came into the synagogue with a withered hand. And the Pharisees wanted to see to catch Christ whether he would heal the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day.
They wanted an occasion against him. The scripture says, He was angry with the Pharisees, for he was grieved with the hardness of the heart. Furthermore, when you turn to John chapter two and you find a feast of the Jews, the Passover, and our Lord goes into the temple, and there he found the ripoff artist of Judaism. They were selling duds, and he overturned the tables of the money changers. He manifested his anger. his anger and our Lord got angry just like his father and rightfully so now when our Lord came the first time in his first advent we'll celebrate it soon we heard the announcement that the choir is starting to work on Christmas music and at Christmas time we celebrate the first advent our Lord's coming to earth And when he came the first time, his wrath was veiled to a large extent.
He is known as the meek and the lowly Jesus. He could say, come unto me, I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your soul. His wrath was restrained. It was veiled. But it won't be when he returns. The Word of God says he's coming again. And I want you to turn with me now to Revelation chapter six. Revelation chapter six. And we want to read a portion here beginning at verse twelve. Revelation chapter six verse twelve says, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal.
And lo, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. And the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree, cast as her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when they lived together. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
When our Lord came the first time, John the Baptist said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. When he returns, it's not as a meek and lowly lamb. But as a lion of the tribe of Judah, and his wrath is going to be known, and men will be praying to rocks and the mountains in order that they may be hidden from him who sits upon the throne. And that last verse there in Revelation six says, And who shall be able to stand? God's wrath, friends, is a holy wrath.
You see, one of the grand themes of the New Testament is the coming again of the world. Every time we have the Lord's supper, as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we show forth his death till he come. The Lord Jesus, who came the first time, he's coming again. In John chapter five, our Lord revealed that it is he, not the Father, who is going to judge all men when he returns. John chapter five and verse twenty-two, and it's very important. In fact, when Peter was preaching in the house of Cornelius in Acts chapter ten, in verse forty-two, he speaks of the Lord Jesus as the judge of all.
Furthermore, the apostle Paul, when he was on Mars Hill in Acts chapter seven and verse seventeen and verse thirty-one, he says, God has appointed a day. in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, for that man that he hath ordained, and he hath given witness to all, in that he raised him from the dead. The Lord Jesus is a judge of all. All never mistake, my friend, and presume upon God's grace by thinking that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is different than the Lord Jesus of the new. They are one. And the same.
Now, judgment, friends, is not a blemish on the character of God. We don't need to apologize for the word of God that speaks of judgment. Judgment is not a blemish on the character of God. It is one of the perfections of God. And I'm so afraid that it is because we hear so much of the love of God and so little about the wrath of God. that we seem to have wrong ideas about the Almighty. Now, we must of necessity note, genuine love necessitates anger.
I want to say that again. Genuine love necessitates anger. In this world, if you truly love somebody, you will hate anything and everything. that is opposed to the object of your love. In other words, if a dog bites your child, how are you going to feel about that dog? How are you going to feel about it? Oh, you're going to say, oh, puppy, you're just so nice. No. You're going to manifest anger toward that dog if you love your child.
Furthermore, I hope you would feel that way. We have a group called Mad Today, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Any mother who lost a child or anyone else, a brother or sister, you can't love drunk drivers who die without any consideration of anybody else. We manifest our anger. Genuine love must. Manifest anger. Remember our definition of wrath? Wrath is sin in the presence of divine holiness.
That's wrath. Parents hate drunk drivers. Now I have a question. What kind of love does God have for his son? Whosoever opposes the reign of Christ over their life falls under the wrath of God. John three thirty-six, he that hath the Son hath life, but he that obeieth not. And that's the Lordship of Christ. He that obeieth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Whoever opposes the Son of God becomes the enemy of God. But you see, we can take that a step further. God has set his love upon his elect people. The elect of God. In the Old Testament it was Israel. And God protected Israel time and time again. And he spoke of them as his elect people. In the New Testament. It is those who have placed personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. You and me, if you believe in the person of Christ, whoever opposes us brings God's anger upon himself.
Turn to First Thessalonians, excuse me, Second Thessalonians chapter one and verse six. Second Thessalonians one verse six says, seeing, it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. Who is the you there? The elect people of God. In this chapter, it is the saints of God at Thessalonica. So we read in the opening verse of this first chapter. And it's a righteous thing, and they're talking about God's holy wrath.
The Jehovah of the Old Testament is our Lord Jesus Christ in the new. The Word became flesh and tabernacle among us, and we beheld His glory, the Apostle John says in John chapter one and verse fourteen. But there is a second mistake that people make when they can talk about the wrath of God. People view God's mercy as his duty rather than his privilege. Let me say that again. People view God's mercy as his duty rather than his privilege.
We must remove from our minds the idea that God is required to forgive sins. God does not always have to show mercy. And people have the idea that anything other than that is not God-like. You see, we have a little cliche that we use. You know, to err is human, to forgive is divine. Now, you've heard that, you've seen it in print, time and time again. Well, God, and that cliche puts God...
The God of the universe in the role of the great partner of anything man does. Oh, divine to forgive. Just go ahead, live any way you want. And that's the idea behind it. In other words, the idea has made God's grace and God's mercy ought to be something other than what it really is. They have mistaken His grace and His mercy for His justice. The only reason that God can forgive sin, friends, is because He already judged it.
And that's what we studied last Lord's Day morning. God is both just and a justifier. And the reason He can justify a sinner is because the sin was born by His substitute, the person. of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins. You see, and when we say these things, we come to a realization that this is why man hates the doctrine of election. For out of the world of sinners, God was pleased to reach into the family of mankind and choose a people for himself, any sovereignly and powerfully save some.
He does not save all. That is quite evident as we just look out over the world. The elect received grace and mercy. The non-elect receive justice. And man cries out in the words of Romans chapter nine verse fourteen and God anticipates the thinking of man and the question is asked is there unrighteousness with God? Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair? And the answer in Romans nine fourteen is God forbid.
No. God says I will choose to have mercy upon whom I will. I will have mercy, he says, upon whom I will have mercy. You see, mercy, friends, is God's privilege. It is not his duty. And because we don't understand that, we hate, naturally so, the doctrine of election. God is fair with everybody. And with some, he is more than fair.
He is merciful. You see, that's what David recognized when David had sinned so grievously. In Psalm fifty one and verse four we read the words, That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgeest. Mercy is not God's duty, friends. Mercy is His privilege. A lady said to me one day in Chapel Hill, she said, God owes it to man to save him.
I said, oh, never say that another time. Never make that statement again. The word of God says, God spared not the angels that sinned. Did he owe the angels salvation? God spared not Sodom and Gomorrah. Did he owe Sodom and Gomorrah salvation? I said, God owes man nothing. Mercy is not God's duty. Mercy is God's privilege. Let me illustrate that. R.C.
Stroll, the theologian, once was a college professor, and he taught English literature. And on the first day of English literature class in college, he told the students, there are three term papers required in this course. I expect them on time. the greatest part of your grade will depend upon the term paper. Here are the times when they are to be given. The first term paper is due September the thirtieth. The second one is due October the thirtieth.
The third term paper is due December the sixth. I expect those term papers to be finished on time. Remember, The greatest part of your grade depends upon it. Well, September the thirtieth came. First one was due. Twenty-five percent of the class said, Dr. Sproul, we were so busy. After all, you realize that they're football games in September. And we were so busy. Can't you have mercy upon us? He said, yes. He said, I'll give you another week.
Give you another week. So he gave them a week. He had mercy upon them. October the thirtieth came. The second term paper was due. Forty percent of the class were late. And oh, they were so busy. There were more football games in October than September. And other things. He said, can't you have mercy? He said, yes, I'll give you a week. I'll give you a week. The third term paper was due December the thirtieth. and, or excuse me, December the sixth, and fifty percent of the class didn't have it done. And he said, I'm sorry, no more mercy.
Oh, boy, you sure heard the uproar. You're not fair, Dr. Sproul. Wasn't he fair? He told them exactly what he demanded before. He told them the results. He expected it to be on time. Just because he had mercy twice didn't mean that he had to extend mercy the third time. You see, mercy is not a duty. It is a privilege. And God extends to you today mercy. Today's the day of salvation. You put it off.
It doesn't mean that He will extend mercy to you tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. Mercy, friends, is not a duty. It is a privilege. You see, mercy is not the prerogative of the one who offers it. And it is God who offers mercy. And the God who offers mercy cried out to men, Whole everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. Is God just? Is God fair? Yes, he's just.
And God is fair. Turn over to the thirteenth chapter of Luke. Luke chapter thirteen. Verse one. There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Oh, what an awful thing happened. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? Were they worse than you? See what he's really saying? Do you think that because that happened to them, they're worse than you?
And then he says, I tell you no, but except you repent, you will likewise perish. And the fourth verse, or those eighteen upon whom the tyrant Siloam fell and slew them, were those thousands of people who were slain in the earthquake in India this week worse than you? Because such a thing happened to them? God's word to us is no, except you repent. In other words, what he's saying concerning the tower, he didn't say, no, I just slipped up and left that tower fell and I made a mistake. No, God didn't say that. He says, the problem is not, why did they perish?
The problem is, why are you alive yet? That's a big problem. Not why were they taken, but why wasn't I? You see, that's the mercy of God. And that's the real thing. The only time God could be accused of injustice, friends, is at the cross. Take a good look at it. It's at the cross where he can be accused of injustice. For there is a sinless son of God. He who knew no sin became, was made sin for us. That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And friends, I like what Mr. Darby says. In his synopsis of the books of the Bible on Romans chapter nine, he says, God, if I may use this term reverently, he retreated into his sovereignty and chose to save some. Otherwise, all would be lost. My friends, The only thing that keeps me out of, that ever keeps the sinner out of hell is God's mercy.
And the sinner tempts him every day by opposing that mercy. Oh, the love that grew salvation planned. Oh, the grace that brought it down to man. Oh, the mighty gulf that God did stand. at Calvary. Mercy there was great, grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary. Mercy, friends, is not a duty, it is a privilege.
Now we need to apply these truths Application number one. If you're here and you're outside of Christ, you don't love Jesus. He is not the Lord of your life. You're doing your own thing. You make your own decisions. He's not the Lord of your life. His word doesn't mean anything to you. You may give a little credence to it, but it really doesn't regulate your life. The word of God says to you, except you repent, you will likewise perish. You will perish. You will perish.
On judgment day, friends, only hell will be deserved. Heaven is received as a free gift. Heaven is a free gift. Hell is deserved. and the words of our Lord. He didn't get all shook up when they told him about the Galileans whose blood pallet mingled with their sacrifices. He didn't get all shook up when they told him about the eighteen upon whom the Tar and Siloam fell. He just simply said, now look, that's not the problem. What are you doing with the mercy that's extended to you day by day?
In other words, it's like that final exam. It's like that term paper that had to be handed into Dr. Sproul. Are you presuming on his mercy because it has extended thus far? He's going to continually do it. See, the Word of God teaches just the opposite. So in the final analysis, friend, if you're presuming upon the grace of God, you really don't love Jesus. You may sing about it, but you really don't. the one who loves him obeys him. If you love me, keep my commands. Application number two. We as a Lord's people need to rest in God's judgment in times of trial.
We need to rest in God's judgment in times of trial. You see, in times of trial we need to rest in God's holiness and in God's justice. What are times of trial? It's in times of trial that we ask the question, why? Why is my child sick? Why did I lose my job? Why did my baby die? Why must I suffer like this? You see, here's where we rest in the justice and the holiness of God. And like Abraham, when he stood before the Lord intercession, For Sodom and Gomorrah, as he entrusted this to God, he said in Genesis chapter eighteen and verse twenty-five, shall not the judge of all the earth do right.
You see, when I look at God with his justice, he's always right. Why did I lose my job? Why did I get kicked out? And I can ask any question I want about what happens to me. You see, my God is in control. I rest in the justice and judgment and holiness of God. You see, God doesn't answer those questions. Why did my baby die? He doesn't answer the question, why did I lose my job? He doesn't answer these. What did he do? He does the same to me as he does to everybody else. He has given us his word.
And we study his word, for in his word we have the revelation of who God is and what God does. You see, the justice of God is an article of faith, and faith trusts where sight cannot help us. We rest in times of trial upon the justice of God. Application number three. Because God is just and holy, you and I can rightly praise Him for His love and mercy. My friends, until you understand the holiness and wrath of God, you will not truly understand and appreciate the love of God.
If when I understood His holiness, and his wrath. Then, like Horatius Bonar, I understood something of his love. We sing occasionally at the Lord's Supper. Done is the work of faith, once and forever done. Finish the righteousness that clothes the unrighteous one. The love that blesses us below is flowing freely to us now. And I love that second stanza. The gate is open wide. The new and living way. It is clear and free and bright.
With love and peace and day. Why stand we then without in fear? The blood of Christ invites us near. And you see, friends, this is why I marvel at how few of the Lord's people attend the Lord's Supper. For it's at the Lord's Supper that we have that unique privilege of giving thanks and praising God and expressing our appreciation not only for God's holiness but also for his love.
What a privilege. It is to sit with our Lord and in the congregation of the saints to give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. There's another hymn we sing, Peace with God is Christ in glory, God is just, and God is love. Jesus died to tell the story. to bring to God above. I who once was an enemy have been made brought near by the blood of Christ.
Have you? Are you in him? Can you, from the heart, sing the first hymn that we sang this morning at the Lord's Supper, Lord Jesus, I love this. I know thou art mine. My rock and my fortress, my surety divine, my gracious Redeemer, my son shall be now, to thou who art worthy, Lord Jesus is thou. Let's pray together. Our Father, in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we bow to thank thee.
Thou art indeed all that you claim to be, thou art holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Jehovah of hosts. We would say to thee today, the God of Abraham prays, truly thou hast promised, thou hast performed. And now as we come to the close of this meeting, we ask you that your grace your mercy and your peace may rest upon us and a new sense of your holiness and unto thee we'll give the praise for we ask this for each one who truly loves thee with a pure heart for jesus sake