The Christian In Modern Times – The Last Days, And How To Live In Them – Practical Issues - Part 2 Series

THE CHRISTIAN IN MODERN TIMES – THE LAST DAYS, AND HOW TO LIVE IN THEM – PRACTICAL ISSUES - PART 2

This next message continues on from Part 1 from a series given in England. I am trying to shed some light on our times so we can understand them better; and how to live in them.

[7]. THE LAST QUESTION. WHY ARE WE DELIVERED FROM THE DAY OF GOD’S WRATH?

I want to remind us of the verses already mentioned – {{1Thessalonians 5:9-10 “GOD HAS NOT DESTINED US FOR WRATH, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is, JESUS WHO DELIVERS US FROM THE WRATH TO COME.”}} Also, I want to add another verse – {{Romans 5:9 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”}} The Romans verse gives us the reason why we will never enter God’s wrath that is coming on the world. We are delivered from all God’s wrath because it has already been taken from our account. There is no more left for us. We are saved from that wrath.

Our sins could not be overlooked and the wrath of God had to deal with them. How did that happen? It is answered in the well known Isaiah verse – {{Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way but THE LORD HAS CAUSED THE INIQUITY OF US ALL TO FALL ON HIM. Then Isaiah added - Isaiah 53:5 but He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”}} The prophet is talking about substitution where the Lord Jesus took our place under the hand of a wrathful God. God’s wrath fell on Him and all the punishment against us was borne by the Lamb of God. He drained the cup of God’s wrath and not one drop remained. For those in Christ, not one inkling of God’s wrath is against us, because in God’s sight, we are fully righteous. That fact is confirmed by Paul in {{2Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”}} Every single sin will be accounted for. All are guilty. What about your punishment? Behold, on the cross, “PAID” {{John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”}}

Consider for a moment the ark of Noah. The wrath of God fell from heaven on everyone who was living at that time, but the difference was the ark. God’s wrath fell on the sinful people, and it fell on the ark. In a sense it fell on those inside the ark, but the 8 inside were protected by the vessel, but the ones outside were unprotected. The ark encountered the wrath of God too, and it endured the wrath for the sake of the ones it was sheltering. The ark was covered inside and outside with pitch – means atonement – and it was this atonement that protected the redeemed inside. We are in Christ who is our Ark, our Atonement with God. There are some who claim that the Church must go through the Great Tribulation, at least the first half of it, for 3.5 years of the 7 years. Then they say the Church is raptured. That is a great error for Christ has taken all the wrath for us.

Back to verse 9. We see in all of this study that we are not appointed to wrath but to salvation. That means we look forward to salvation, our deliverance from this present evil world. We will not experience the wrath of God, but will know His unfathomable blessings, and eternity with our Saviour. Are you looking forward to His coming?

[8]. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WRATH OF GOD, AND PERSECUTION AND TRIBULATION?

The wrath of God is His anger on an unrepentant sinner, and against sin itself, which is a response to an affront or outrage on the holiness of God. It is that wrath we have been speaking about so far. Persecution, however, comes from man, and is directed against something which certain people or groups don’t like, so they attack it. In the case of Christians, it is the opposition and mistreatment Christians face because they belong to God. Persecution does not come from God. Next, Tribulation or suffering is what all the human race faces because we are human beings in a sinful world. It means facing difficulties and tough times and hardships just because we are in the world and live lives in it. “Life is not a bed of roses”, someone said. Tribulation can come from God upon people or nations, but is reserved for the greatest of these which will be The Great Tribulation for 7 years after the Church is taken to heaven.