THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
A fellowship of faith, family and friendships.
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July 6, 2003
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Romans 1.18-32 (NASB)
The date was July 8, 1741, two-hundred, sixty-two years ago (minus two days). From a celebrated pulpit in Enfield, Mass, a little man with thick spectacles preached one of the most famous sermons of the last millennium.
The man’s name was Jonathan Edwards. The sermon was entitled, Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God. With a full manuscript of the message held close to his face, the preacher read to the gathered auditors a description of the awful wrath of God. He depicted God as an archer, bow drawn, arrow aimed at the sinner’s heart. He pictured the sinner as an ugly spider, hanging -- with soft underside exposed, by a single thread of silken web over the eternal fires of brimstone.
That topic is not popular today; it wasn’t then, either. Was Jonathan Edwards some unlearned stump preacher? No, he was one of the most brilliant men of his time. He later became president of Princeton University.
What happened? How did the people receive such a message? Historians of religious movements record that during Edwards’ sermon, there could be heard from this uptown, well-educated, aristocratic audience, wailing and cries for mercy. Many begged Edwards to leave off his preaching before they lost all hope. They were being brought to the brink of Hell, and could sense the anguish of being lost and forever in torment.
By the end of that prophetic word many in the audience had found Christ. The result was what has been called The Great Awakening. People changed the way they lived. Marriages were restored; the bars and brothels went out of business. Sin took a gigantic hit, and the foundation for One Nation Under God was laid. This nation had its Christian underpinnings on the heels of a Godly revival because people had to face the prospect of living holy lives, or being sinners in the hands of an angry God. Today we are facing the same charges of a heavenly court. From today’s headlines…
Bio-Technological Moral Failure. According to a recent news piece, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)….reported that…Scientists in the United States have created hybrid human "she-males," mixing male and female cells in the same embryo….
Promiscuity - Moral Failure. A news source described today’s hookup culture. "Dating and romance today has been replaced by casual, serial hookups….one-third of 11th graders who had engaged in sexual intercourse said their sexual partner was merely ’a friend’ ."
Heterosexuality Moral Failure. In Texas this week the anti-sodomy laws were put aside. One news source reported that, "Lawrence v. Texas could have implications far beyond the closed doors of private homes," The Washington Post noted in a news story Friday. ’In an unexpectedly large step, the court said traditional morality is no justification for making legal distinctions among sexual behaviors of consenting adults…. a majority’s opinion about what is or is not moral cannot justify the state’s intrusion into the most intimate details of people’s lives.’"
If time permitted the list could go on and on. We all ask the question sooner or later -- Is God mad at me? Have I offended Him once too often, or too badly? Is there any hope, or am I a sinner in the hands of an angry God?
The answer for each of us individually today is YES! And the answer for our nation today is YES! You know it, and so do I. We have all offended God. There is no hope. We are helpless spiders hanging by that thread over Chernobyl’s atomic waste heap. It is over -- the verdict is guilty, and the wrath of God is near.
Now, that’s not popular preaching today. Most people want to hear something to make them feel good and forget their problems. We don’t want to be told we are guilty.
When the verdict came in the civil suit O.J. didn’t like it ($32 million worth).
NBA superstar Magic Johnson didn’t like it when the doctor said AIDS.
Suspected Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph won’t like it if the jury says "guilty".
We all want to lessen the impact, mitigate the circumstances, and soften the blow.
The problem is we can’t:
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, Romans 2.1a
Now, the final word is that God is indeed angry over sin. He has always been that
These six things doth the LORD hate:
yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 6.16-19
We are not exempt from that list. Over 200 times the Word of God describes the anger of a righteous God.
He was angry at Moses for trying to back away from leading His people out of Egypt (Ex 4.14)
He was angry at Israel for complaining in the wilderness (Nu 11.1)
He burned in anger against Balaam for false prophecy (Nu 22.22)
God punished Israel with His anger when they tried to make political gain by worshipping the gods of their pagan neighbors. (Nu 25.3)
He was angry at the children of Israel for cowardice when He told them to go conquer the promised land (Nu 32.10) It was fierce anger (Nu 32.14)
He was especially angry over cold hearts towards Him (De 29.18-19)
You could say God was more than a little ticked at Sodom.
"I know, I know," you say. Preacher, I have heard all this before. I know about God’s anger and judgment. I just want to know if it is personal; is He angry at ME? What does He do with that anger? What will He do with me?
The answer to these questions lies within each one of you, beloved. Simply answer honestly these few questions:
Does God punish sin?
Have you sinned?
Ouch! That doesn’t leave any margin for mitigating circumstances does it? Why not?
Preacher, you didn’t know the rough place I grew up. I had to lie, cheat and steal just to get along. Can’t God cut me some slack?
Hey, preacher, I didn’t know about God. My parents divorced when I was young, and I never got to go to Sunday School. Besides I was abused when I was a kid. I was denied having Nintendo and Super Mario. Doesn’t God know I’m not responsible for my mistakes in judgment?
Mister Preacher, listen, I really didn’t mean to lie to my fourth grade teacher about that homework -- hey, what’s a little white lie? What harm did it do? Preacher, God doesn’t really understand my circumstances -- Why should He be mad at me?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that God understands quite well. The Bible tells us that He understands even the intentions of my heart. And he knows we are not basically good -- we are wicked at the core. Sin is first degree, and there is no appeal, no mitigating circumstances, no mistrial or hung juries. Satan is the cosmic District Attorney, and he goes right for the jugular -- we are, as Isaiah said, all guilty --
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
Isaiah 53:6a
Now, I know the comparison of God’s people to sheep isn’t easy to take. That’s because sheep are stupid. They wander into all sorts of trouble. They stray from the Shepherd’s protection. That is the picture. We have all wandered away, doing our own thing, not paying any attention to living the life of a perfect sheep; we couldn’t in a million lifetimes. Paul the Apostle said it very plainly --
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 3:23
All leaves no room. We have all sinned, been judged guilty, and all sentenced to an eternity as sinners in the hands of an angry, judging God.
End of discussion
End of hope
End of meaning.
Except for one thing...
and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:6b
Yes, God is angry at sin. Yes, we are sinners. But God took all our punishment and transferred it to someone else. There is a last minute pardon for all these guilty sinners.
There we are, hanging like so many spiders, dangling over a summer campfire. Night twinkles in the sky above. Hope seems as distant as Jupiter. God has that judgment stick in His hand, and we stand no chance at all. He knows we deserve the fire; He knows we don’t deserve anything less. It’s worse than having your terrible report card mailed to your parents. It’s more like having your Father as the principal. The stick could fall at any moment, cutting that one thread between us and hellfire. It will certainly fall. God has that angry look in His eyes.
Then, suddenly, without any warning, God, himself becomes one of those helpless little spiders. He has left heaven and he’s been born in a manger. He grew up without a sin. He became a man and helped everyone, and taught us how to live. And he is accused unjustly of being the enemy.
He too hangs by a thread, hung spread-eagle on a rough-hewn cross. He is hanging in our place. And then the stick falls, swoosh! It snaps the thread, and Jesus is the only one who falls -- straight into the fires of hell.
He took our place. All our sins, our iniquities are laid upon Him. He never participated in sin -- He hated sins, but he became a sinner-spider for us. He was our substitute.
Something else. He not only became sin and experienced the fire for us; he moved it away from us. He left his thread on a cross. We can swing to safety on it, far from the punishment. Grab on, He says. Follow me, He offers. Swing far away from that angry fire!
This is good, great news. Sinners, spiders in the hands of an angry God, can become children in the embrace of a loving God. In stead of a bow string, with an arrow poised and pointed at the heart of my life, there is offered a saving string, dangling from a blood-stained old rugged cross. All who kneel there find forgiveness.
Our country has swung on that thread. Once, long ago we used it to form one nation under God, and there was revival that blessed the land, and through it the whole world. Now, the thread has swung back in the other direction, away from God, away from our moral underpinnings and common sense; we have swung away from Godliness and holiness. As a nation we have trampled grace. It is time to be humble and come to the foot of the cross, America. It starts with each American who will bow to Christ. Will you be one?
