So far, we have preached about God's being holy, immutable, love, jealous, orderly, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The Bible reveals all these attributes to us because God wants us to come to know Him. He knows we cannot WORSHIP and SERVE Him if we do not KNOW Him. Now, if I was a liberal preacher I would stop with what we have already preached about. Why? Because thus far these are things we like to hear about. But now we come to the attribute that most probably wish was not there. In fact, many liberal preachers will not declare THAT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE IS A GOD OF WRATH as much as He is A GOD OF LOVE. Why?
(1) MANY LIBERAL PREACHERS ARE NOT SAVED. They know if they preach that God is going to send His wrath on the ungodly, they know they are preaching something they themselves do not want to hear. But, the truth is the truth, even if it is not preached! For example...
Illus: Suppose a man has cancer and he refuses to go to the doctor because he does not want to hear the doctor say that he has cancer. Will his not wanting to hear the TRUTH from the doctor cure him of cancer? IT WILL NOT!
Well, many liberal preachers stand in pulpits, sinners, without Jesus. They have no intention of preaching on THE WRATH OF GOD because it would apply to them and they do not want to hear it.
Another reason some will not preach on the wrath of God is...
(2) THEY KNOW THE LOST WORLD DOES NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT MESSAGE. They do not want to hear about it PERSONALLY and they know SINNERS do not want to hear it.
We have been told by the "experts" that if we wish to fill a church in these evil days the subjects of SIN, JUDGMENT, and THE WRATH OF GOD should never be preached on.
Illus: If you find this difficult to believe, I challenge you to go to a Christian book store and buy all the books you can find on church growth and read them. No longer do they, in a subtle way, suggest that preaching the Bible offends people; they come out and state it clearly. If you want your church to grow as theirs have, there are certain things that must not be preached on. A man must never mention the "H" word, never break a sweat, not be a Bible-thumping preacher. He must only speak of "positive" issues and speak in a soft, pleasant voice.
The books of the 90's do not encourage "preaching" at all. The authors feel preaching must be replaced with SIMPLY SHARING THE WORD OF GOD THROUGH TEACHING.
Now the Lord has given teaching, and we certainly need a lot of it in all of our churches, but it should never take the place Biblical preaching that tells lost mankind about a HELL TO SHUN and A HEAVEN TO GAIN! The "liberal" preacher will not preach that because he sees the church too much as a business.
Illus: That is, if a man wants to be rich he has to invent something that there is a market for and then supply what is needed for that market. The liberal preacher knows that in a wicked society like ours there is not a big market for preaching the Word of God, so He preaches what the people want to hear, not what God wants them to hear. Paul warned Timothy this day would come. Look at II Tim. 4:3-4, where we read, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fable."
The days that Paul spoke of certainly have come to America. The liberal preachers are smart enough to recognize we live in the time that the apostle Paul spoke of and they know that UNGODLY people across America are not looking for a preacher who will preach on SIN, JUDGMENT and THE WRATH OF GOD!
Still the Bible clearly reveals that God is a GOD OF WRATH as much as It teaches God is A GOD OF LOVE. God is VERY DISPLEASED with the sinner and one day he will have THE WRATH OF GOD POURED OUT ON HIM BECAUSE OF HIS SINNING. That presents a problem because we Christians also find ourselves committing sin sometimes. Every now and then you will meet a Christian who professes that he has overcome sin, but most of us recognize we are tempted by Satan every day and sometimes we find ourselves giving into that temptation.
In I John 2:1, the apostle dealt with the Christian's sin problem. We read, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." In his compassionate way, John kindly states that he was writing those things that, "...ye sin not..." Then he adds, "...If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father..." John wanted every young convert to know that once he was saved he still was not perfect. Some time he might find himself falling into sin, but that does not mean he is no longer saved. It simply means he needs to recognize he has sinned and ask God to forgive him, and turn away from that sin. John said that we have, "...an advocate with the Father..."
What is an "advocate?"
Illus: The best way to explain it is to point to a familiar illustration. When a man breaks the law, he gets in trouble with the law. When this happens he has to have a lawyer to stand between himself and the judge, to plead his case. This is exactly what the Lord Jesus is doing every day at the right hand of the Father. When we break the LAW OF RIGHTEOUSNESS we find ourselves in trouble. All of our PEACE and JOY disappears. But as soon as we sin we CONFESS OUR SINS and ASK FORGIVENESS. Then the Lord Jesus makes everything right with God, and again we have our PEACE and JOY.
The fact that we have to have AN ADVOCATE available to us tells us that we Christians sometimes find ourselves in sin. But, we have to understand that when we sin Christ will make everything right with God, the Father, BUT IF WE SOW TO THE FLESH, WE WILL REAP IN THE FLESH - GOOD OR BAD. We MUST NOT THINK though, that THERE WILL BE NO PRICE TO PAY. No, that is not the way it works. Since God is a JUST GOD, God could not be just and allow us to sin and get away with it.
I. HOW DOES HE PUNISH THE SAINTS?
Some have the mistaken idea, "Well, I am a child of God, I AM NOT A CHILD OF WRATH." If you are born-again, YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD, but that does not mean you can sin and get away with it! God is AS DISPLEASED WHEN A CHRISTIAN SINS AS HE IS WHEN A SINNER SINS!
Illus: A little girl, whose dad was a preacher, was talking to a friend one day. The friend said, "You are lucky to have a dad who is a preacher?" The little girl asked, "Why do you think I am lucky to have a dad who is a preacher?" The friend said, "Because your dad never gets upset. He smiles all the time and it seems like nothing disturbs him." The little girl said, "If you think my dad never gets upset, you do not know my dad at all!"
In other words, there was a side to her dad that most people did not know about. And, there is a side to God that a lot of folks do not know, and that is the side that is DISPLEASED when SAINTS SIN! When it comes to sin in the lives of Christians, God has chosen to deal with them in two ways:
A. Through the law of sin. There is a "law of sin" that many are not aware of. God has established this and when we Christians violate it, it costs us greatly. What is "the law of sin"? Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for what soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Often this is used in addressing sinners, but actually it is addressed to Christians. Paul was telling the Galatian Christians they were DECEIVING themselves if they thought they could live in sin and get away with it.
Illus: During those days, when Paul wrote to the Galatians, most of the people were farmers. Because of their knowledge of farming, he used these terms, "...whatsoever a man SOWETH, that SHALL HE ALSO REAP." Every farmer in the land knew exactly what he meant when he said that. They knew, if they PLANTED CORN SEED, THEN CORN IS WHAT WOULD GROW. If they planted corn they could hope to get tomatoes, but they would be surprised! It is an established law that farmers know will work every time - WHAT THEY PLANT IS WHAT THEY WILL REAP!
This is the law of the land and that law works every time. It does not just work sometimes, but every time!
Before one can say a thing is a "law" it has to first be:
-An hypothesis - (an educated observation, or guess about something.)
-A theory - has some evidence to support that educated guess.
The law has proven to be true every time.
Illus: We refer to "the law of gravity." We do this because when we throw something up into the air, if it is left unhindered, it will fall back to the earth. It will do this every time, without exception.
God was teaching people then, and is teaching us today that there is a LAW OF SIN. Many people choose to violate God's commandments, and every one who does this pays a tremendous price. In verse 8 he shows us THE LAW OF SOWING in the Christian life works in two ways.
1. It works when we sow bad seeds. A lot of Christians cannot figure out why life has become so difficult for them. They blame their troubles on being born on the wrong side of the tracks, or even on superstition, like they have seven years of bad luck because they broke a mirror. However, their punishment has nothing to do with where they were born or about breaking a mirror. It has everything to do with their having SOWN BAD SEEDS and their crop has come in. Now if that were not true, then the Word of God is not true. God says that if you sow bad seeds, you are going to reap them.
Also, when it comes to sowing seeds...
2. It works when we sow good seeds. Verse 8 also says, "...but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." That is, if we, as Christians, spend time sowing good seeds, we are going to reap the benefits for eternity. This is why He said in verses 9-10, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
Notice the words in verse 9, "...we shall reap, if we faint not." Some folks will go out and SOW TEN GOOD SEEDS and then THEY GET TIRED OF SOWING GOOD SEEDS AND THEN SOW TEN BAD SEEDS. God says not to be "weary in well doing." It is possible for Christians to cancel out all the good seeds they planted by giving in and planting bad seeds. God is pleased when we sow GOOD SEEDS TODAY and when on through the rest of life we CONTINUE TO SOW GOOD SEEDS. God also deals...
B. Through the judgment seat of Christ. The children of God will not be with sinners at the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, but they will stand before THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST and give account of the way they have lived their lives. There God will reward us for living the kind of life He is pleased with, but we are DECEIVING OURSELVES if we think we will be rewarded when we refuse to obey His Word.
God's displeasure is shown to THE SAINT who lives a sinful life. Saints will be punished in two ways: (1) The law of sin will work as they reap what they sow, and (2) At the Judgment Seat of Christ they will have to give account for those sins, and will find out that many of their bad seeds have cancelled out good seeds and they will receive no eternal rewards.
Also, God's displeasure is shown to a second group - sinners.
II. HOW DOES HE PUNISH SINNERS?
If you are a sinner today and have the attitude, "I can live my life however I please and one day the GOD OF LOVE is going to say, "I was not happy with the way you lived your life, but come on into heaven and let's forget the whole thing," YOU ARE MISTAKEN! YOU DO NOT KNOW THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!
Illus: If God's pouring His wrath out on Noah's generation teaches us anything, IT TEACHES US THAT GOD'S SPIRIT WILL NOT ALWAYS TOLERATE SIN. God is patient, but one day He will say, "That is enough," and He will send His wrath!
The Christian, who has been washed in the blood, saved by the marvelous grace of God, can choose to sin, BUT HE WILL REAP THOSE BAD SEEDS, IN THIS LIFE, AND WILL GIVE ACCOUNT TO GOD BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST FOR THOSE SINS! Lost person, not only are you going to reap THE BAD SEEDS YOU HAVE SOWN IN THIS LIFE, you will REAP THEM FOR ETERNITY. Why? Because you never would come to Christ for salvation.
In Matthew, chapter 3, we read about the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These were "religious" people, but they were wicked people. They had come to Jesus' baptism and the Lord turned to them and said, "...O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from THE WRATH to come?" (V. 7)
Illus: A pastor, who had been very good to a man, discovered that the man had gone behind his back and tried to literally destroy his ministry. The situation distressed the pastor and he sought the Lord to defend him. Months went by and it seemed like the man who had done the evil deed, was prospering. The pastor, who was still hurt after many months, told his wife, "I do not understand it, this man had done me so wrong, and I have prayed and prayed and seems like he is only prospering." The pastor's wife spoke these words of wisdom, "Honey, there is coming a day when God will take care of him."
And did you know that is exactly right. Jesus looked at these Pharisees and Sadducees, who persecuted Him so much, and said, "...O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME?"
Lost person, you may be sinning and it may seem as if you are getting away with it. You may think you have pulled it off! But, I am here to warn you, as a preacher of God's Word, that unless you confess that sin and accept Christ before it is too late, you will know one day that what I am telling you is true - GOD IS A GOD OF WRATH AND THAT WRATH IS SURE TO COME.
Conclusion: There is nothing smoother than the calm sea. Some refer to it as a sea of glass. But, that same sea, when stirred in a tempest, is a raging, destructive force! There is nothing as sweet as THE LOVE OF GOD, but there is nothing so terrible AS HIS WRATH!
I. HOW DOES HE PUNISH THE SAINTS?
II. HOW DOES HE PUNISH THE SINNERS?
