The Wrath of God

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Deuteronomy 7:6
• Hymn — O Worship the King (#219)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 49
• Hymn — Jesus, Lover of My Soul (#450)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Romans 12:9-21
• Sermon
• Hymn — How Firm a Foundation (#243)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: The Wrath of God

Scripture: Romans 12:19

I. Definition of the Wrath of God

A. God's wrath is His settled anger toward sin, expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner B. The Greek word for wrath conveys settled, not impulsive, anger C. The word for vengeance means the execution of proper judgment — to dispense justice in accordance with the core values of the judge D. God's wrath is His eternal opposition to all that is contrary to Him and His rule, namely sin

II. The Wrath of God Is Eternal

A. Daniel 12:2 — some will awake to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt B. Mark 9:43-48 — Jesus describes hell as the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched

1. Hell's fires will never go out — there will be no relief, not ever C. Mark 3:29 — blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an eternal sin, never forgiven, ruling out universalism D. Matthew 25:41, 46 — Jesus parallels eternal punishment with eternal life; both are everlasting E. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 — the wicked will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord
2. Destruction does not mean annihilation or obliteration
3. It means utter undoing — utter defeat, stripped of all that makes life good, made to be miserable forever

III. The Wrath of God Will Be Terrible

A. Matthew 13:40-42, 49-50 — the wicked are thrown into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth B. Matthew 24:50-51 — the wicked servant is cut in pieces and put with the hypocrites; weeping and gnashing of teeth

1. Warning to those who dwell in the Lord's house with an unbelieving heart C. Matthew 8:12 — the sons of the kingdom thrown into outer darkness; weeping and gnashing of teeth D. Mark 9:48 — quoting Isaiah 66:24: the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched E. On the symbolic language objection: even if the descriptions are symbolic, that should terrify more, not less
2. Symbolic language is used when literal language fails — the reality is far worse than words can express
3. The same logic applies to heaven — far better than we can comprehend F. Revelation 6:15-16 — every class of human being will cry out for rocks to fall on them rather than face the wrath of the Lamb

IV. The Wrath of God Will Be Deserved

A. Romans 1:18 — God's wrath is revealed against all who suppress the truth in unrighteousness

1. Wrath does not come without warrant — it is not arbitrary B. Romans 2:5 — the hard and impenitent heart stores up wrath for the day of wrath
2. With every act of indifference toward Christ, every affection for sin, every preference for anything over God, wrath is accumulated
3. God is just and will judge the world in terrible wrath

V. The Wrath of God Is Escapable — Through the Blood of Christ

A. At the end of the age, the full and final wrath will have been escapable — and it is escapable right now B. John 3:16 — God gave His Son to absorb His infinite wrath for the sin of all who take refuge in Christ C. Galatians 3:13 — Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us

1. Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree
2. On the cross, Christ bore the full curse of God's wrath for all who are in Him D. For those in Christ, the wrath for sin has already been poured out fully upon Christ E. Call to those outside of Christ: flee the wrath to come — today is the day of salvation