Churches

Good day dear hearts, I love you. There are few words that are more misunderstood in our time than wrath. When people hear it, they imagine explosive anger, harsh judgment, or the kind of temper that destroys relationships. That is human wrath, reactive, emotional and often rooted in pride. But God’s wrath, as Scripture reveals, is something entirely different. It is His settled, righteous opposition to sin, not because He hates people, but because He loves them too much to ignore what destroys them. The apostle Paul opens his letter to the Romans by describing the human condition with a clarity that still startles us today. He identifies three kinds of people with three ways humanity tries to live apart from God and then shows how God responds to each. Yet the story does not end with judgment. It ends with grace so astonishing that Paul calls it a righteousness “apart from the law” revealed in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21). In other words, God’s wrath is real, but His grace is greater.

Paul begins with the hedonist, (Romans 1:21-25) the person who lives for pleasure, self-expression and personal freedom. “Although they knew God,” Paul writes, “they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him.” Instead, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped created things rather than the Creator. This is not simply a first-century problem. It is the story of every age, including ours. When people push God to the margins, something else always fills the center. It may be success, entertainment, sexuality, or the pursuit of personal autonomy. The result is the same, a life unanchored, drifting wherever desire leads. God’s response to the hedonist is sobering: He “gave them over.” Not in anger, but in sorrow. Human wrath lashes out. God’s wrath allows us to taste the consequences of our choices, so we might see our need for Him. It is judgment with a redemptive purpose. Next Paul turns to the judgmentalist, (Romans 2:1-6) the person who looks at the sins of others and says, “At least I’m not like them.” This person may appear moral, respectable, even religious. But Paul exposes the truth, “You who pass judgment do the same things.” Human wrath thrives here. It condemns others to elevate self. It points fingers to avoid looking in the mirror. It uses morality as a weapon rather than a guide. But God’s wrath is different. Paul says God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” His judgment is impartial, consistent and rooted in truth. He does not compare us to one another, He measures us against His own holiness. And in that light, every one of us stands in need of grace. Finally, Paul addresses the legalist, (Romans 2:17-24) the person who trusts in religious heritage, good behavior, or spiritual knowledge. This person knows the Scriptures, teaches others and believes he is a guide to the blind. Yet Paul says that possessing the law is not the same as obeying it. In fact, the legalist often dishonors God by claiming righteousness while living in quiet rebellion. Human wrath shows up here too. It creates systems of rules that crush others but excuse self. It uses religion to control rather than to heal. It produces pride instead of humility. God’s wrath, however, exposes the futility of self-righteousness. It reveals that even our best efforts fall short. The legalist, like the hedonist and the judgmentalist, stands guilty before God, not because God delights in condemning, but because sin is real and holiness is not optional.

And then, after painting this bleak portrait of humanity, Paul writes two of the most hope-filled words in Romans 3:21, “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” Now, grace enters the story. This is the heart of the gospel. God’s wrath is not the final word. His grace is. He does not leave the hedonists in their emptiness, the judgmentalist in their hypocrisy, or the legalist in their self-deception. Instead, He provides a righteousness we could never earn and could never deserve. This righteousness comes through Jesus Christ, who bore God’s wrath on the cross. Not the wrath of a temperamental deity but the holy, measured judgment against sin. At the cross, God’s justice and God’s mercy meet. Human wrath destroys, God’s wrath saves. In a world overflowing with anger, political anger, cultural anger, personal anger, Paul’s message is desperately needed. Human wrath divides, wounds and escalates. God’s wrath, by contrast, is always aimed at restoration. It reveals our need so that grace can heal our hearts. Every one of us fits somewhere in Paul’s three categories. At times we chase pleasure. At times we judge others. At times we trust in our own goodness. But God meets us in each place with the same invitation. Come to Me. Let Me make you right. Grace is not God overlooking sin. It is God overcoming sin. It is His power to take broken people, hedonists, judgmentalists, legalists and make them new. And that is good news worth sharing. At certain points in my life, I have been all three of the people described by Paul. I gave my life to Christ, and my life has changed. All I did was accept Him as my Lord and Savior. With that acceptance, I live with the free salvation Christ offers and the gift of God’s grace He gives me. That’s why I write this column every week. God Bless.

Dear Lord, we pray for your love and mercy in our little town. We have many who need you first more than anything else needed. Amen.

Join us Saturday, June 20, 12:00pm to 1:00pm for a complimentary dinner consisting of meat loaf with potatoes, vegetables and dessert at 1361 Main Street, Susquehanna, 570-853-3988.