God's Wrath In Our Day Series

By Greg Johnson

August 27, 2006

http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org

God’s wrath is His reaction to sin and evil. Many today have a misunderstanding of God’s wrath in that they compare God’s wrath to man’s anger. Man’s anger is manifested in fits of rage, retaliation, screaming, shouting, abuse and acts of violence. God’s wrath is His reaction to sin and evil due to His righteousness. Don’t compare God’s wrath to man’s anger. Man’s anger is sin. God’s wrath is the result of His righteousness.

Under the old covenant, God’s wrath or His reaction to sin and evil was revealed beginning in the garden when Adam and Eve were separated from His presence because of their sin. His wrath was revealed in the flood that came upon the earth in Geneses chapters 6-8. In the Old Testament, His wrath was revealed through famine, pestilence, drought and annihilation.

The wrath of God displayed under the old covenant describes and points to the wrath of God that is to come at the end of this age. Daniel has a vision concerning it given to us in Daniel chapter 8. (Daniel 8:19 NIV) "He said: "I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end." Jesus said (Matthew 24:21 NIV) "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again." Revelation chapters 5-19 gives a vivid description of the wrath of God that is to come at the end of this age on all those who do not love Jesus.

It is important that servants of Jesus understand the wrath of God that is to come. That is why we are given Revelation. Revelation begins by saying (Revelation 1:1 NIV) "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place". Why is it so important that servants of Jesus understand the wrath of God which is to come? First of all, an understanding of the wrath to come will motivate us to a life of holiness through allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. Second of all, an understanding of the wrath to come will motivate us to proclaim the good news of God now so that “whosoever” will come to Jesus and be saved from the wrath that is to come.

Signs of the end of this age are all around us. I believe it is crucial today that servants of Jesus understand what is coming. Jesus has laid on my heart to take Loving God Fellowship through Daniel and Revelation in our Wednesday night Bible Study that will begin on September 27, 2006 at the Shilo Inn in Salem, Oregon. We will also be making the messages available to the worldwide LGF Internet church community at http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org and http://www.LGFinternetChurch.org . Please share this important news with your friends and family. It is going to be a valuable series and will be very relevant to our day.

In Paul’s conclusion of Romans chapter 1, he is not talking about God’s past wrath or God’s future wrath. Paul is talking about God’s present wrath. He is referring to God’s reaction to sin and evil in our day; right now; in the present.

HOW GOD’S WRATH IS BEING REVEALED IN OUR DAY.

(Romans 1:18-32 NIV) "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, {19} since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. {20} For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. {21} For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. {22} Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools {23} and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. {24} Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. {25} They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. {26} Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. {27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. {28} Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. {29} They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, {30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; {31} they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. {32} Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."