Saturday, August 12

God's Wrath

Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Sin is why sinners need to be saved, Satan is involved, and hell is the final destination for unsaved sinners. But, what are sinners saved from? In Romans 5:9, Paul teaches that sinners are saved from the wrath of God. From Romans 1:18 through Romans 3-19 Paul explains the bad news about mankind and God’s wrath. The popular thinking that man is basically good is not the conclusion Paul presents. Paul makes the point that sin is pervasive, effects 100% of mankind and that God is very much offended by sin. Man may be considered basically good by human standards, but by God’s standard of perfect obedience to the moral law, man falls very short indeed. Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, taught that observing the law of God goes much deeper than outward observance (Matthew 5-7). He taught that the inward condition of the heart mattered and compared anger with murder and looking at a woman lustfully as adultery. With those kind of standards it is obvious that everyone is born under the condemnation of God’s wrath….All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). It is also obvious that man, by himself, is powerless to save himself and have peace with God. Paul came to that conclusion and said…..What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:24-25)! God’s wrath is real, and although man cannot save himself, faith alone in Jesus Christ alone can save completely…..Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus saves completely. It does not take Jesus plus baptism, Jesus plus works, or Jesus plus anything. Praise God for his Amazing grace.

4 comments:

mark pierson said...

Great post! You are one fine writer.

Malchymist said...

Jazzy
Beauty must be in the eye of the beholder. I personally didn't consider this to be a "hideous" growth on this tree.
Then again, having been a carpenter I got to make things with the much coveted results of what is shown here. These growths are known as "burls" and the resulting designs in the wood are fantastic.

jazzycat said...

Thank you Mr. Bluecollar. I really enjoy illustrating points with photographs.
W.H.

jazzycat said...

Malchymist,
That is an interesting point. I hadn't thought about that but I think I have seen those in finished furniture and they are beautiful. I will keep an eye out for another photo to illustrated this point.

Jazzy