Today we consider the issue of God’s severity, the fact that He hates sin and does not play games with it. As Christians we are more inclined to choose those things we like about Jesus and hold fast to them, yet set aside those more unpalatable aspects that He presents to us, and when we think and live this way, we belittle Him. We like His kindness, mercy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, steadfast love, forgiveness, and the unbelievable sacrifice of Himself to redeem people from their sin, and give them eternal life, but we don’t much fancy His justice, fury and vengeance. We move away from texts like, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” (Romans 12:19) and “For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.” (Psalm 75:8) We do not know that of Jesus it is written, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15)
Sin is so evil, so hateful and malignant that God has gone to extreme steps to deal with it, either at the cross for all who believe in Him, or in hell for those who will not.
Why do we downplay the hardness, the fury, or the justice of God? For many reasons, one of which is that in a culture of itching ears, it is not thought to be marketable. Unpalatable truth is considered not marketable so we bring in the saccharine sweet instead. Another reason is that in our fun-loving, entertainment oriented society, we are more concerned with keeping the people happy, as opposed to well-fed with truth. Another reason we stay away from the wrath of God is that deep down we don’t really think our sin issue is that bad. Deep down many of us think that hell is over the top, and God went overboard in killing His own Son to redeem us. We think this way because we have a low view of God, which feeds a low view of our sin, which feeds a high view of ourselves. One more reason we downgrade the just retribution of God against sin is that we do not have before us loud and clear the fact that every sin we think, speak or act is done first and foremost against God Himself, and only secondarily against our fellow man. When we sin unknowingly or even willfully, or are contemplating engagement with sin, what is often wholly absent or faint is the sense that what we are thinking, saying or doing is in violation of God Himself. We are more likely to ponder how our sin might hurt another person or possibly ourselves than how our sin is a vomiting on, urinating on, defecating on God Himself.
King David however got it right, and articulated the correct apprehension of his sin and the state of his heart when he stated, “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” (Psalm 51:4) Of course he knew that he had violated Bathsheba, killed her husband Uriah and several others, destroyed a marriage, brought the nation into contempt, dishonored his parents, dishonored his position as king, and smashed down at least eight of the ten commandments. He understood that he had heaped great evil and pain on many people, including himself, but he understood more deeply and significantly that every one of those sins was done against God, and that eventually landed on him with crushing but liberating weight.
I wonder just how much we would be helped by God if we became increasingly gripped by the sheer weight of the fact that our sin is always sin done against Him.
Father help us today to believe more deeply that sin is always far more vertical in its aim than horizontal, and that it is far more evil than we can imagine. In light of this reality, increase our faith and let us understand Your wrath more as we see it poured out on Christ at the cross to save those who believe. Help us understand Your hatred for sin, what it cost You to save us from it, and the eternal cost of sin in hell for all who have spurned your holiness. We too cry out, “I believe! Help my unbelief.”(Mark 9:24)
Lord, help us also to remember that the power to conquer sin also comes from you and as such, we are able to walk in true newness by our confession and repentance through your mercy. In this way, your justice is made perfect and we are delivered.
Amen. That prayer is what I need each day.