A Secret No Longer Sermon Viii: Choosing The Right Path Not God's Wrath Series

The Path You Chose vs The Wrath Reserved for Those Who Oppose

When Mrs. Morris, our next door landlord, looked out her kitchen window and saw me taking hold of the well bucket attached to the end of a rope - the bulk of which was wrapped around a spindle with a handle attached - then saw me let go of the bucket so that the spindle went crazy as it unwound, and the bucket fell to the bottom of the well, making a huge splash, she came huffing and puffing across the backyard, yelling, “Charles Cunningham, if you do that one more time, this old woman is gonna take hold of you and drop you down that well!”

Now, folks, if you had known this dear “old woman” and had seen her the way I saw her – the only female I had ever seen with a mustache, and one of just a few who never shaved their legs - with a body weight of about 290 pounds – then you understand what I mean when I say: I felt like “The Wrath” was about to be unleashed on me!

Mrs. Morris’ threat scared me so bad that, as much as I wanted to, I dared not pull that stupid stunt again. So, early in my life I learned of the existence of an intense emotion conveyed by the word wrath. Thus, in reading the Bible, whenever I come across the phrase “the wrath”, no one has to convince me to take it seriously.

Against the backdrop of our previous session when I reframed the suggested topic to point out three truths about a lovely Christian life, let’s reframe our lesson today to contrast the path you in your wisdom chose versus the wrath reserved for those who oppose the way of Christ. And I suppose Paul had this contrast in mind when he composed this part of his letter to the Romans - Romans 1:18-25 . . .

Some folks consider the concept of wrath “too hot to handle”. So I defer to one of the great all-time theologians whose interpretations of scripture have stood the test of time and received the acclaim of a broad base of Christian scholars.

To better understand the essence of the contrast between the path you chose when you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and the wrath that awaits those who reject the Way of Christ, I turn to C. S. Lewis who, like me, cannot be pigeonholed by a label such as fundamentalist or conservative or moderate or liberal.

As an independent thinker endowed with the gift of intellectual discernment as well as spiritual insight, the conclusion this great theologian reached concerning “the wrath to come” was this: There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, “thy will be done”.

Folks, the sum and substance of “the wrath” (the judgment) prescribed by God . . . preached by Paul . . . applicable to all people, can be stated in a brief sentence which no one should find difficult to understand: “All people that on earth do dwell” must choose between the path that leads to heaven and the wrath that is hell! Notice what Paul says:

(1) God’s wrath is being revealed. The initial stage of the wrath is seen in the here and now in the lives of people who persist in doing evil. Some live out their days in prison - others, in prisons of their own making, in the sense that their manner of living turns out to be “hell on earth” - and, who would disagree with the obvious: persistently evil people - Saddam Hussein . . . murderers . . . fornicators . . . blasphemers etcetera ad nauseum - either have been, are being, or one day will be, held accountable . . . unless they choose “the path” before it’s too late!

(2) God’s judgment is reserved for the ungodly – as rendered in the 1st Psalm . . .

Would you believe that some folks joke about it as if to say, “Bring it on”? I read an article about hundreds of bikers who gathered in Texas to pay their last respects to a founding member of the feared Bandidos gang. One biker yelled: “Give ‘em hell, Grandpa.”

Another remarked: “The Devil’s in the unemployment line now that you’re there!” Some even joked about what a good time they are going to have when they join their biker friend in Hell.

You know, there’s a lot of misinformation out there concerning “The Wrath”.

Apparently some folks believe that God has changed His mind about the plight we invite upon ourselves; or they choose to relegate God’s wrath to the Old Testament while pointing to the New Testament’s focus on “love” – a concept interpreted by some to mean, “God so loved the world that He would not send anyone to Hell!”