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Romans 12:19 - Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but
rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will
repay, saith the Lord.
I. Introduction.
A. The text is a blessing to me in this life, because it teaches me that I
do not need to take vengeance on anybody for anything.
1. All of us have had things happen to us that make us angry, and makes
us want to retaliate against those that have wronged us.
2. But I do not have to worry about retaliation, or getting back at
anybody.
3. God will take care of both them and me.
4. All I need to do is what God tells me to do.
5. God will take care of everything else, including my enemies.
B. A. W. Pink in his book, The Attributes of God, defines wrath as:
1. Eternal detestation of all unrighteousness,
2. Displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil,
3. Holiness of God stirred into activity against evil,
4. The moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evil
doers.
C. I define the wrath of God as another of his divine perfections that
reveal his love for righteousness.
II. The Wrath of God Examined
A. Many love to think of God as a God of love, mercy, grace, help and
forgiveness, but completely reject the fact that God is also a God of wrath,
vengeance, and hate.
1. The love of God, and the wrath of God are not as our love and our
wrath.
2. In God these attributes are perfect, in us, they are imperfect, and
incomplete.
3. In God they are totally right and balanced.
4. If God had no wrath, that would be a blemish in his character, because
he would be indifferent to sin.
5. Romans 11:22 speaks of this balance by stating, Behold therefore
the goodness (love) and severity (wrath) of God: on them which
fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
6. God is a very just and equal God, loving that which is holy, right,
good, just, and fit and hating that which is unholy, unrighteous, bad,
unjust, and unfit.
7. Heaven is a testimony to God’s love for fallen mankind, and hell is
a testimony to his wrath and hatred against sin.
B. God is not vindictive, nor is God’s anger against sin a bitter,
malignant or malicious retaliation against his person.
1. God’s being angry with the sinner every day, Psalm 7:11, is not
because the sinner has attacked God’s person, but because the sinner has
rejected principles of righteousness.
a. Psalm 7:11-12 states, God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry
with the wicked every day. 12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he
hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
b. God is as ready to destroy the wicked, as he is to forgive them.
c. God is not "out" to get sinners, but continually stands
ready to grant forgiveness of their sins, and welcome them into his open
arms.
2. When Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself on the cross of Calvary,
God turned his back on his only begotten son.
a. Jesus Christ is God incarnate in the flesh.
b. God could not stand to look upon himself when he died that we might
have life.
c. Jesus Christ bore the wrath of God in himself that God might look
upon believers through the blood of Christ and be accepted in the beloved.
III. The Wrath Of God Rejected.
A. Many people can’t understand how God can be both a God
of love and a God of wrath.
1. These people accept Deuteronomy 32:4, He is the
Rock...
2. But reject Deuteronomy 32:41, ...I will render
vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
B. Some compare the anger of a "mad" man to the
wrath of God.
1. They think God "loses His tempter" and loses
control of His actions.
2. But the wrath of God is not like that.
3. God is able to be angry, but sin not, Ephesians 4:26.
4. Any time God pours out His wrath upon sin, He is
always justified in what He does.
5. He never punishes the innocent, or puts more
punishment upon the guilty than they deserve.
C. Anger is considered to be a "blemish" on the
character of God.
1. But if God didn’t get angry at sin, He would either
approve of sin or be indifferent to it.
2. How would it be possible for God to delight in that
which is pure and good, and be indifferent to that which is impure and evil?
IV. The Wrath Of God.
A. God’s wrath is longsuffering.
1. Ecclesiastes 8:11, Because sentence against an evil
work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is
fully set in them to do evil.
a. Many people believe that if they sin today, they will
be punished today.
b. But this is not the way God works.
c. Gal. 6:7, ...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap.
d. We don’t know when he shall reap, but he shall
reap.
2. I Peter 3:20 tells us that ...the longsuffering of
God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,
that is, eight souls were saved by water.
3. In Genesis 18, God revealed His plans to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah.
a. He listened patiently as Abraham sought mercy on
those wicked cities, agreeing not to destroy them if there were ten
righteous souls living there.
b. But ten righteous souls could not be found.
4. II Peter 3:9 - God is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish,
a. Rom. 10:13-17 - God sends preachers to declare the blessed gospel of
Christ and forgiveness of sins to a lost and dying world.
b. He has withheld his righteous wrath from those who reject His free
gift so they will have no answer when the Day of Judgment comes.
B. God’s wrath is sure.
1. At this present time, the wrath of God against
wickedness is not evident.
2. The wicked seem to receive more blessings than God’s
children, Psalm 73, Job 21:7-26.
3. But one day, God will judge all sin.
4. Then everybody will know that God is a God of wrath.
C. Examples:
1. I Kings 21:17-26, Elijah told Ahab that the dogs would
lick up his blood and eat the body of Jezebel.
a. This judgment didn’t come the very next day.
b. It was two years before the death of Ahab (I Kings
22:34-40) and fifteen years before the death of Jezebel (II Kings 9:30-37).
2. God did wait a hundred years while Noah build the ark
and preached about the coming judgment of God. Genesis 7:11,12 reveals that
the worldwide flood did come, just like God said it would.
3. God waited until Lot and his wife and two daughters were
out of Sodom before he destroyed those wicked cities. Genesis 19:24,25 says
that God rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
D. God’s wrath is eternal, Revelation
20:10,14,15. When the lost are cast into the Lake of Fire, they suffer the wrath
of God forever.
V. Conclusion: Wm. Gurnall wrote in 1660,
When I consider how the goodness of God is abused by the greatest part of
mankind, I cannot but be of his mind that said, The greatest miracle in the
world is God’s patience and bounty to an ungrateful world. If a prince hath an
enemy got into one of his towns, he doth not send them in provision, but lays
chose siege to the place, and doth what he can to starve them. But the great
God, that could wink all His enemies into destruction, bears with them, and is
at daily cost to maintain them. Well may He command us to bless them that curse
us, who Himself does good to the evil and unthankful. But think not, sinners,
that you shall escape thus; God’s mill goes slow, but grinds small; the more
admirable His patience and bounty now is, the more dreadful and insupportable
will that fury be which ariseth out of His abused goodness. Nothing smoother
than the sea, yet when stirred into a tempest, nothing rageth more. Nothing so
sweet as the patience and goodness of God, and nothing so terrible as His wrath
when it takes fire."
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