Not many viewers come this way, or rather those who do stumble into this Blog come by because of purpose. If you are here then welcome. Much of the time the comments left to tend to are marketing devices; a tag which picked up certain words inside the message and thus takes that sentence and uses it as a tool to get your attention. There are Ten and I will repeat 10 links to which I see regularly viewed. What are these Links?
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No need to sympathize here, because I am not stressed over it. I am however looking at it in another Light. I hired a secular young man who not only showed me his work, but also: gave me references, took pictures to show me right away the need and the damage, explained to me without trying to damage the other person’s reputation the error of the individuals who worked on the projects before he got there, handed me an estimate, explained the ‘what if’ scenario, and then asked me if I had any questions or concerns. Whoah! “Who is this guy” I said as I looked upward.
It was like he came quietly, handled everything quietly, and I even paid him by putting the check under the planter outside and he left a note: Thanks for the opportunity of allowing me to work. Thanks for your generosity. I would like to ask one favor… please allow time to work it out; through the elements of the wind, rain, and heat and when several months pass please give me a call to let me know if all is well. I will leave with you my cell number. If you have any other concerns please do not hesitate to call. If I am unable to assist you I will be happy to lead you to someone you can trust to get the job done. So I waited for the elements to take place and after four months I called him. Humbly he says: I am glad you called and I am pleased everything worked out.
So help me it was like I had no Hand in any of it. The whole scene actually motivated me to buy a small container of plaster… actually some really good patch stuff called plaster. I plastered my entire room divider, because when this really good patch stuff dries it has a fantastic coloration which needed no painting. The stuff really adheres to the wall! HaH@! Yes I get a kick out of stuff like that. Ok so back on track…
I came to the Blog one day and went through it… deleting a lot of stuff and suddenly my mind went blank. Every time I would Journal I would end up deleting it. I had over twenty drafts and those I deleted also. There I was looking at this Blog wondering if I wanted to just delete it all. I decided to wait and one day after several weeks of not checking email or coming to the Blog I was asked to check email because something important was sent to me. While there I saw a comment from a neighboring blogger. She said: ‘keep writing’.
I am not sure she realized the sudden eye opening moment I went through as I read those words. She actually made a small comment on a pondering, but then at the end wrote: “keep writing”. I cannot tell you what the comment was, I only remembered those two words. Quietly she came, quietly she addressed the issue, and quietly she left. Much of the time this is how God is… Quiet. Quietly He comes, Quietly He addresses the issue and Quietly He leaves.
Back to ‘ agreeing that we just don’t agree’. The Only ONE who is able to be Righted is God… for He is worthy and He is Just. I am not understanding the phrase: “agree that we don’t agree”. I am seeing and hearing it quite often; especially in ‘christian’ circles. I believe it not only is a diversion, but also it reflects a greater need not to be bothered, not to be challenged in our Faith, and a prideful way of saying: I know what the Holy Ghost said and that is that.
Have you now just beckoned me not to TEST the SPIRIT/spirit?
Please do not ask someone to hold you accountable when you don’t allow them to hold you accountable.
You see I have not come this far in the journey to get so caught up in that emotional heartfelt place where I may say to myself: this person has been following the Lord for a long time and I can see the fruit of God’s growth in them so even though I may have some questions as to what they are hearing from God, maybe I should just leave well enough alone… would not want to get too close to the Saintly Sheep with those shears now would I?
Honestly not trying to sound sarcastic… people come and they say things you seemingly need to hear and they post what they honestly believe is God, and they come to you making promises, and giving you their word and the cost is high… the rising cost of it just seems to never end.
Billions of dollars are spent on the expense of indebtedness. I can only attest to thousands out of my own pocket. I know and understand that the money I worked for came from the Lord. He led me to the Job… my boss came quietly, addressed the issue quietly and left this world quietly; and now her husband who is not so quiet hired me. Yes God can be Thunderous too. Smile.
My Boss pays well and he knows he pays well. He thinks he has to. I actually find that funny. He is generous enough to give thousands toward someone who is going to have surgery and cannot afford it, but too dumb to ask if the person has insurance; to which may just pay most of the surgery. He was informed recently that the generous amount he gave helped this person’s family take a wonderful vacation, due to the insurance covering 95 percent of the surgery. Who told him this information? I did… because I TESTED the spirit behind the purpose. I should have done this each and every time I trusted a professing ‘christian’, just as I should with those who are secular.
We are not flawless, no matter:
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how close we adhere to God’s Word,
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how much we pray,
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how much scripture we memorize,
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how much we think we know God
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how much we have protected ourselves from the world
Thanking Jesus there is forgiveness for our ignorance.
I am not perfect, and I don’t expect to be, nor do I expect you to be. We are sinners. We who believe in Jesus and have been Born Again are being renewed everyday in our minds, and in our hearts. The issue here is that we who profess to be following Christ should be showing some fruit, and some of this fruit should be embedded inside the conscience. I speak out of my own conscience… that constant awareness that really nags at me daily. Not to do what I believe is right, but to do what I believe God would desire that I do; even when everything else around me seems like whatever I touch falls apart in my hands. I love God in His thunder… those words in scripture which describe a Thunderous God, having eyes like fire is a vision I cannot seem to erase. Sounds odd, yet I love that portrayal of Him and one day I hope I get to see it. While here on this earth I will be ever so content with His coming to me quietly, addressing those issues quietly and leaving quietly. This is why I changed the Title to the Blog… Relentless Jesus… He isn’t giving up or giving in… but we do.
I desire to be liken unto Him; not you. I already am liken unto you; for this reason I look to Him.
Thanks McArthur I now realize what the Elders of the church are listening to…
and people do not think that once Born Again one is able to Fall into Deception.
… well these two have.
Robert Schuller and Billy Graham have opened their heart to the twisted lie… that sentimental emotion of reasoning which says: God is a good God; therefore those who have not been reached through the Word or if they know not Jesus yet they are separate from the World then they must be saved.
People… Jesus told us many would come in His name, but believe them not. No one… no one comes to the Father except through Me.
You see, I believe people like Abraham knew Jesus. God gave glimpses of Himself in the Son who was to come. People like Abraham and the prophets believed God for the promise of the One who would come. And I believe Abraham understood the Seed God Blessed… to which was the SEED of the ONE who CAME; Jesus, and all those who believe on this SEED shall be blessed.
Another set of ministers (Schuller and Ghraham, like Hagee), who once preached the Gospel of Jesus now are separating themselves from the Truth… Jesus was and is the spokesperson of God; who was manifested in flesh, Jesus is the Living Word of God; who stands at God’s right hand… The Sword, and Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life…
anyone who shall believe on Me should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I take this literally; not metaphorically, no figuratively, but literally.
Amazes me how even most catholics do not know what they worship, because denial to Mary worship is so commonly argued. Hootie even priests openly deny that they worship Mary and pray to the dead. Actually they believe those people they pray to aren’t dead. Only Saints go straight past purgatory and up to Heaven. Liken unto the Jews who would rather hear from Moses than to hear from God, they would rather pray to the grave than to have Jesus as their mediator.
Actually this is making unto yourself an Idol to Worship … Erected Idols which could not move, speak, touch, hear, nor see. My grandmothers were catholic; devout catholics, but so help me if Jesus did not change their heart then I most likely will not see them upward bound… no matter how good they lived their lives here on earth.
You want to tell me how people get saved even tho they have never heard of the Word of God, a preacher preach the Word of God to them, or have never heard of Salvation through Jesus? Unless Jesus came to them like He did with Saul/Paul then I cannot believe one was Born Again. And if you believe that someone can actually be Born Again without ever hearing anything of the Word then you must believe that God made another way for them and Jesus lied.
NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus has many names… not necessarily Jesus as spelled in the English language. All I have to do is ask the question: what does that word mean and who is He to you? This is how I have found out if someone believes in Jesus; the Son of God. The spelling of His name is different, the pronunciation of His name is different, but the Gospel Message never changed. The language was hard to understand until we began to speak of God’s Only Son.
Example:
* Yohanes 14:6
LAI TB, Kata Yesus kepadanya: “Akulah jalan dan kebenaran dan hidup. Tidak ada seorangpun yang datang kepada Bapa, kalau tidak melalui Aku.”
KJV, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
TR, λεγει αυτω ο ιησους εγω ειμι η οδος και η αληθεια και η ζωη ουδεις ερχεται προς τον πατερα ει μη δι εμου
Translit Interlinear, legei {berkata} autô {kepadanya} ho iêsous {Yesus} egô {AKU} eimi {ADALAH} hê hodos {JALAN} kai {dan} hê alêtheia {KEBENARAN} kai {dan} hê zôê {HIDUP} oudeis {tidak seorangpun} erkhetai {datang} pros {kepada} ton patera {BAPA} ei {jika} mê {tidak} di {melalui} emou {AKU}
Even the Jews who have come to know Jesus:
The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach says to him, “I am HaDerech, HaEmes, and HaChayyim. No one comes to HaAv except through me.”
Don’t profess it if you don’t believe it.
Don’t deny it if you don’t believe it.
God told the believer He would bring all darkness into Light.
As I listen to this young gal speak of a once lived life it takes me back to my own. I honestly believe people who can look … really look at someone’s story and see themselves inside of it they are the ones God knows can be changed into a New Creature through His Son.
P4CM Blair Wingo
Not everyone out there in the world preaches like Wilkerson
but I am sure the message is clear. I do believe he has been there.
Blessings be upon you in the Name of our Lord Jesus.
http://www.joshharris.com/2008/11/praying_for_president_elect_ob_1.php
No matter who you voted for–or whether you voted at all–it’s important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).
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We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
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We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
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We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
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We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).
There are many qualifications to add to these exhortations–for example, see this excellent post by John Piper –but it’s still important to remember that these are requirements for all Bible-believing Christians.
http://maxlucado.com/president/
It’s time to pray.
It’s time to pray for the leaders of our nation.
They need our prayers. The times are turbulent: economy in jeopardy, nations in conflict. How can leaders lead during these days of bail-outs and bombings? Only with God’s help.
Ask God to inspire, direct and protect the leaders of the United States. Use your worship time, family time and private time to ask God’s blessings on Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and all the men and women who serve and lead our country. It’s time to pray.
Let’s do just that.
Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can
have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God.
(1 Timothy 2:2 NCV)
http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/
THIS WEEK’S PRAYER CONCERNS
All requests updated regularly!
Let the Holy Spirit guide your prayers for our President and our nation as you intercede for the following concerns.
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Post 9/11 GI Bill. President Obama has introduced a new GI Bill for those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the most comprehensive education benefit offered to veterans since President Franklin Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill for World War II veterans in 1944. In the next decade, $78 billion is expected to be paid out. Already, more than 100,000 claims have already been processed.
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Guantanamo replacement in U.S.? According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration is investigating the possibility of a courtroom-within-a-prison complex in either Michigan or Kansas to house suspected terrorists now jailed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It would be a combo military and civilian detention facility at a single maximum-security prison.
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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” review. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has announced that the Senate Armed Service Committee will hold a hearing this fall to review the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Signed into law by former President Clinton, the policy forbids openly gay and lesbian personnel from serving in the military.
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Spending up, incomes down. U.S. consumer spending rose for the second straight month in June, but incomes dropped more than expected. An Associated Press analysis also reports that government tax receipts are due to drop 18 percent this year, the biggest single-year decline since the Great Depression, while the federal deficit grows.
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More layoffs. Planned layoffs at U.S. companies rose in July for the first time in six months, indicating more uncertain times for workers and a continued slowing on the overall economy. Transportation companies announced the most layoffs with nearly 28,000.
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Iran’s Ahmadinejad begins second term. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn for a second term as Iranian president nearly two months after a disputed election triggered violent protests and divided Iran’s clerical leadership.
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Fire danger in the West. U.S. Forest Service officials say continued drought and the possibility of major lightning storms should make for an above-normal summer wildfire season, especially in northern California. The worst drought conditions are currently found in California, western Oregon and Washington state. The Pacific northwest is seeing record high temperatures.
http://www.examiner.com/x-19527-Raleigh-Baptist-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Christians-and-Goverment
Psalm 16
1 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
Verse 1… Preserve me Oh God! I must pause to giggle. The Lord is good to do this if we shall ask. “for in YOU I put my trust!”
Not of ourselves or of our heart, but the believer shall put his Trust in the Lord. The believer shall question his own desires before the Lord, in whom he trusts. Are these desires pleasing to You and if they are not change my heart God that they may be pleasing to You.
Verse 2… O my soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.”
We as believers must remind ourselves… my goodness is nothing apart from You.
Verse 3… As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
This is the verse which makes me stop to ponder… they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. One needs to stop and ponder over that statement. So I did. Even an apostle shared with us how he boasted of a certain group of people in whom he delighted. In my pondering I had small glimpses of those with whom I have come in contact, or have heard, or watched on video. These people have delighted my soul, my heart and my mind. These people have generated tears, moments of joy, and have encouraged me in Faith. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet with those who have actually fed me spiritually. I attribute such feeding to God. I always say He will send them and He will make their messages clear and He will encourage us in our Faith if we take the time to listen. I also was brought to mind those who God put in my path to help guide me. These people truly are set apart from those who I come in contact with regularly at church… what we call church. I don’t know about you, but I always need encouragement in one way or another and I am realizing… as for the saints who are on the earth… the TRUE saints…
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
Verse 4… Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.
I wonder what we as professing believers offer up today? Those who chase after other gods; yet group themselves as Christians. They tend to offer things like blemished sacrifices, unholy fire, burn incense that is not pleasing to the Lord. They use loud instruments of distraction. Their encouragement is geared toward the praises of men and they display a prideful humility. What an oxymoron. How could we be so pleased with ourselves taking up their names… professing to be liken unto them? I am a Baptist, a Pentecostal, a Lutheran, a Catholic, a Mormon, a Jew, a Muslim… as if this is something to proud of. I will not take up their name or will I boast of such. I am of Christ… born again unto Him and He is worthy to boast of. As one was shown inside the hole in the wall wickedness resides. Even in priestly houses and pristine temples wickedness resides. Have no fellowship with the works of darkness. Facts show that in our society many unbelievers extend themselves for the sake of humanity. Yet when one involves themselves in the effort one will soon find out there will be works of wickedness.
Verse 5… O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.
God is my inheritance and my cup. He shall give the cup to you and from it you shall drink. He maintains your lot. He gives to you the lot and if you seek Him He will get you through. He has made every possible way for you… are you seeking His continued guidance? The inheritance which He promises is not to be taken lightly. Cain, Esau, and even Judas never came to fully understand what was given to them was an eternal promise; not earthly.
Verse 6… The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.
Verse 7… I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
When darkness falls we shall keep our heart fixed on God. For truly we all shall experience at least one night season if not more than one. It is harder to see the glimpses of Light when there seems to be no light. Devils and demons aren’t the only shadows to be seen when the night falls. Loud thunder, flashing lights, and strong winds aren’t the only things to be seen and heard when the storm comes. Noise, dusty streets, busyness, high flying vehicles, screaming kids, barking dogs, and even chatters in the grocery isle aren’t the only things to see and hear outside our little space. And while sitting in the pew of the Hallelujah, pride, selfishness, programs and such are not the only things to pay attention to… if God truly is abiding inside of you then He is there with you. Take your eyes off the DISTRACTION… and fix your heart on Him. This my dear one goes with the next verse…
Verse 8… I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Verse 9… Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;my flesh also will rest in hope.
Verse 10… For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Verse 11… You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Mercy is for the Believer… God will not leave your soul in Sheol… the dark place. Remember: mercy is applied if you are crying out to God for His mercy. Mercy blended with Truth of God’s Holy Word cries out Forgive me! The Right Arm of the Lord is His extension of Mercy. Truth deals with the Heart. Truth is saying to me: Jesus is at God’s right hand and through Him mercy is extended to the believer. Humbleness opens up the heart to receive God’s Truth. Repentance changes the Heart. Mercy, Truth, Repentance… important Pearls of Wisdom and Understanding. Repentance finds its way into the heart and suddenly all those fears and weights seem to fall off and we rise up in praise and say: Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. With Christ’s Blood upon us… we now are Holy as He is Holy. Jesus shows us the path of Life and in His presence there is fullness of Joy.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.”
I underlined “my flesh will rest in HOPE”. We need to understand that we as believers will not be changed until Jesus returns. We fall due to our own deceptive heart. We who profess Christ must understand that Grace isn’t something to be taken lightly, just as we should not take our inheritance lightly. One can go about their business day in and day out always leaning upon the idea of Grace always following them no matter what they are doing. One may slip up in their flesh and say casually with a grin “father, or daddy, or papa forgive me for that”… yet once started one tends to become content with themselves and as time passes it becomes a habit… as some would say: using grace as a greaser. Actually grace won’t grease your way through even the tiniest of cracks where sin is concerned. You now have neglected Mercy to the believer… Mercy at the Right Arm of God; Jesus. The One in Whom we are suppose to Trust and Lean on. The One in whom Holiness is achieved.
In the book of Job the Leviathan is described as having scales so knitted together not air nor water could penetrate it. Do not allow those scales to grow upon your eyelids. Casually taking a lighter approach to your sins by putting them into major or minor categories will add up.. seriously add up. This isn’t about who is counting or keeping track. Do not approach it with: ‘ oh grace covered me’. Actually this is in part why we go to the altar at churches, cry out the twinge of guilt, and head back out the door UNCHANGED. Sometimes I wonder to myself if someone else sitting in the house saw them or heard them doing something and now they are up there crying so the person who saw or heard them will now think they are ok. You may ask: ‘ but how can you say something like that, and who are you to Judge”? Actually I am able to Judge as long as I have asked God remove the mote out of my eye; therefore I am able to Judge righteously and accordingly to God’s Word. Also, I am able to Observe. And lastly, I have done this myself. My goodness I have even seen people make a schedule for their salvation and have heard that sanctification is a choice and when one gets down and asks for sanctification by golly it is done, that is it, I am Holy. Sorry, but that sounds again like the old motor needing an oil change to work when the head is cracked. Eventually the vehicle won’t operate to move forward.
Sanctification is done through the continual reading and hearing of the Word. The Word is Truth. We should never fear to come to God and ask for Him to extend His Right Arm to us, deal with us in Mercy with Truth, search our hearts and make known to us our unpleasing desires and sins, and there find Repentance so that we then could say: my flesh also will rest in HOPE! My Hope is in the Lord Jesus. My Inheritance is in Him; for in Him I will one day see and hear and rejoice with Him in the Heavenly Place we call Home.
Be Blessed with knowing ALL that which God offers.
Really enjoyed listening to this…
still amazes me how God put together what He in His wisdom knew was needed to be inside what is known today as the Holy Bible.
All knowledge is of God, although even this shall one day cease.
One of the reasons why I like this tid bit of information is that no matter what knowledge was obtained to capture a small glimpse of God’s glory it only reveals to me what God tells us is so true… if anyone thinks he has knowledge think again.
Our minds are so tiny compared to His wisdom.
Many more Scriptures could be appealed to, but sufficient evidence has been produced to show that the witness to the idea of the wrath of God is pervasive in the Scriptures.
When the doctrine of the wrath of God is denied, other great truths are affected by this denial. First among these is the historic doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures.
I. THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES
Anyone who denies the wrath of God strikes a blow at divine revelation — for, as we have seen, God’s wrath is plainly revealed in His Word. His holy indignation against sin is one of the great ‘burdens’ of Scripture, one of the Bible’s great oracles; and he who denies this holy indignation is flouting the verdict of the Judge of all the earth, a verdict repeated times without number in His Word. Professor T. J. Crawford was right when he said: ‘A great part of the Bible would need to be written over again before we can expunge from it the broad and palpable evidence of God’s holy displeasure against sinful men and of His righteous purpose to inflict judgment for their iniquities.’ The effect then of the denial of the divine wrath then would be devastating in its effect upon the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures.
II. THE DOCTRINE OF GOD
If we preach the wrath of God, we are sometimes accused of representing God as a Being of fitful passion and vindictive fury. In other words, we are accused of blackening the character of God. But we plead ‘Not guilty’. The God of the Bible is not subject to sudden and irrational fits of anger. His wrath is His settled indignation against sin. Dr Leon Morris rightly speaks of it as ‘a burning zeal for the right coupled with a perfect hatred for everything that is evil’.
When men reject the idea of the wrath of God, it is evident that they really do not believe in the perfect holiness of God, for that holiness involves a settled and burning indignation against sin. Moses could say of the adversaries of Israel: ‘their rock is not as our Rock’ and we can say the same of men who reject the divine wrath. Their god is a flabby sort of being, not the God who is holy in all His ways and righteous in all His works.
III. THE DOCTRINE OF SIN
There is a close connection between the denial of God’s wrath and a light view of sin, as Dr J. G. Machen said: ‘The modern rejection of God’s wrath proceeds from a light view of sin which is totally at variance with the teaching of the whole New Testament and of Jesus Himself’. It is the sight of the infinite holiness of God which leads a man to a true sense of his sin and depravity. When Isaiah viewed God as sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and worshipped as the perfectly Holy One by the seraphim, then he cried ‘Woe is me, for I am undone’. When men see God’s righteousness and His wrath, it is then that they become earnest seekers after grace.
Once when Whitefleld was preaching at Norwich, a thoughtless youth was led by a gipsy’s forecast of his future to go and hear the great preacher. The sermon was based on John the Baptist’s appeal to the Sadducees to flee from the wrath to come. As he preached Whitefleld burst into a flood of tears and then cried with all his might: ‘O my hearers, the wrath is to come, the wrath is to come’. The words sank into the young man’s heart; they followed him for days and weeks and he could think of little else but ‘the wrath to come’. He later became, as Andrew Fuller tells us, ‘a considerable preacher’. Such conviction of sin followed by genuine conversion is not likely to occur where the note of divine wrath is muted; sin is no longer regarded as ‘the abominable thing which God hates’.
IV. THE DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT
In his commentary on Romans chapter 1, Dr Dodd denies divine wrath. It is small wonder that he proceeds in his commentary on chapter 3, verse 25-26, to repudiate the idea of ‘the propitiation of the wrath of God’ and of ‘the satisfaction demanded by His justice and afforded by Christ’s vicarious endurance of the penalty of sin.’ Small wonder too that the word ‘propitiation’ was removed from the New English Bible as well as from the Revised Standard Version. One of the RSV translators, Dr C. T. Craig of Oberlin School of Theology, commenting on the omission of the word ‘propitiation’, said: ‘Any attempt to show that there was something in the essential nature of God that demanded satisfaction for sin ends only in blackening the character of God.’ So the doctrine of the atonement must go in the interests of the Modernist view of a flabby deity!
Dr Dodd admits that in classical Greek and in the Koiné [or Hellenistic Greek] the word ‘propitiate’ has the idea of placating or appeasing wrath. But he seeks to argue from the Septuagint [the Greek translation of the New Testament made a few centuries before Christ] that a change had taken place in the meaning of the word. Dr Roger Nicole of Gordon Divinity School has produced 21 arguments against Dr Dodd’s line of reasoning [see the Westminster Theological Journal, Vol. XVII, No. 2]. Dr Nicole’s article is simply devastating in its force; he seems to have shot Dr Dodd down entirely.
Dr Leon Morris in his The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross says that Dr Dodd ‘totally ignores the fact that in many passages there is explicit mention of the putting away of God’s anger, and accordingly his conclusions cannot be accepted without serious modification.’ Indeed, Dr Morris produces arguments to show that ‘it is manifestly impossible to maintain that the verb [propitiate’] has been emptied of its force.’
One must be supremely thankful for the labours of these two fine scholars of a younger generation for their labours in putting up such a capable defence of, and devastating argument for, the historic Christian doctrine of the atonement as a propitiation of divine wrath and a satisfaction to divine justice.
V. THE DOCTRINE OF THE LOVE OF GOD
Those who reject the wrath of God often plead that their rejection is in the interests of the love of God; but actually their rejection of divine wrath inificts a grievous wound on the doctrine which they profess ardently to espouse. This is so because Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and propitiate God’s wrath is the greatest exhibition of divine love. We read in Scripture: ‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins’ [1 John 4.10].
Dr James Denney said: ‘If the propitiatory death of Jesus is eliminated from the love of God, it might be unfair to say that the love of God is robbed of all meaning, but it is certainly robbed of its apostolic meaning’ [Denney’s Death of Christ, p 152]. And this is the meaning that supremely matters.
VI. THE DOCTRINE OF THE JUDGMENT
If there is no wrath of God, then the tremendous terrors of the judgment are eliminated. Then that ancient hymn loses its significance which says:
That day of wrath, that dreadful day
When heaven and earth shall pass away!
What power shall be the sinner’s stay?
How shall he meet that dreadful day?Take away the concept of the wrath of God and we strip the great day of assize of much of its tremendous awe.
VII. THE DOCTRINE OF HELL
In 1930 there was a book issued with the title What is Hell? There were twelve contributors. Among them were two novelists, a Spiritist, a Theosophist, a pagan, a Roman Catholic, a Congregationalist who became a Roman Catholic two years later, an Anglican bishop and an Anglican dean. The dean, Dr W. R. Inge, though not thoroughly orthodox, could be quite caustic and penetrating in his comments on the Modernists and he had many true words to say about hell. Indeed, he was the one in this volume who came closest to the Scripture doctrine. He said that ‘heaven and hell stand and fall, together’ and pointed out that our Lord spoke in perfectly plain language about its duration. He added: ‘Modernist Protestantism, though it may be reluctant to admit it, believes in Purgatory, but not in hell.’ When Dr Inge ceased to be dean of St. Paul’s in 1934, his successor was Dr W. R. Matthews and it is interesting to note that he says in his book The Hope of Immortality that to him purgatory ‘has great attractions’; he also says that he believes it ‘right to pray for the dead’ and it would seem that universalism also has ‘attractions’ for him. So it again appears, as we have already noted, that many of the objectors to the concept of God’s wrath are really universalistic in their outlook. A distinguished theologian of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., who is a member of his Church’s Permanent Theological Committee stated in a church paper: ‘God does not have two different purposes for men — that is, punishment for some and reward for others — but only one’. This is just brazen universalism.
In conclusion, I would point out that when men deny the wrath of God, they are cutting one of the vital nerves of evangelism. It was the thought of the wrath of God, as well as His love, that lent such earnestness to the pleadings of the preachers of the gospel. The thought of the overhanging cloud of God’s wrath lent earnestness to the preaching of Paul. Knowing the fear of the Lord, he persuaded men. It was the same with Whitefield and Brownlow North and R. M. M’Cheyne and Henry Martyn. Of North his biographer wrote: ‘The immortality of the human soul and its endless existence in a state of holiness and blessedness, or of corruption and misery, were subjects constantly on his lips.’ Listen to M’Cheyne also as he says: ‘As I walked in the fields, the thought came over me with almost overwhelming power, that every one of my flock must soon be in heaven or hell. 0 how I wished I had a tongue like thunder, that I might make all hear; or that I had a frame like iron, that I might visit every one and say, ‘Escape for thy life’. Ah, sinners! you little know how I fear that you will lay the blame of your damnation at my door.’ And it was he who said that the preacher should never speak of everlasting punishment without tears.
What gratitude should surge in our hearts because God has not appointed us unto wrath but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus! R. M. M’Cheyne stressed this too when he wrote:
Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Saviour’s side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love how much I owe.By nature we were once ‘children of wrath’ — exposed to the dread wrath of God [Eph 2.3]. But we have been saved by grace through faith, that we might do the good works which God has before ordained for us [Eph 2.8, 10]. We are under a tremendous obligation. This was how Paul saw himself. He said: ‘I am debtor both to Greeks and barbarians . . . So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also . . . . for I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation . . . . : for therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith . . . . for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men’ [Rom 1.14-18]. Note the four ‘for’s’, especially the last one — ‘for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven’. The divine wrath was revealed in God’s judgments on the heathen world of that day and it overhung that world like a dark cloud. That same wrath is evident in the world of our day and overhangs it like a dark cloud. We too should have the tremendous sense of obligation which Paul had. We too are debtors — debtors to men of every race and condition. May the spirit of concern fill our hearts as it filled the heart of the apostle — that we may give an account of our stewardship one day with joy and not with grief. Amen.
http://www.the-highway.com/wrath.html
My Saviour was relentless in His struggle
My Saviour was relentless in Truth
My Saviour was relentless in Faith
My Saviour was relentless in Purpose
My Saviour was relentless in Mercy
My Saviour was relentless in Compassion
My Saviour is God
God is relentless in His Longsuffering
God is relentless in His Patience
God is relentless in His Perserverance
God is relentless in His Judgment
God is relentless in His Wrath
God is relentless in His Love
This is my Relentless Jesus… My Chosen King.
as He is relentless in His Love for me, as He is for you, then why I shouldn’t I be too.
