I’ve said it before and will say it again: God is not out to ‘get you’. And yet...He came to ‘get you’. There really is a difference, you know? (John 3:17; 2 Pet. 3:9; Luke 13:3,5)

We are talking, yes...once again, about this uncomfortable topic centered around God’s ‘wrath’. It’s not a popular message and to be quite honest, I understand why. It is a subject that has been maligned, twisted, distorted, and often misused when teaching/preaching about it...if/when that even happens. And this is unfortunate given the fact it is the ‘wrath of God’ that Jesus came to ‘save’ us from (Rom. 5:9); hence the expression we believers like to toss around all the time and even debate regarding what it means to be ‘saved’ and ‘stay saved’.

Many pastors will tell you there are certain subjects they prefer to avoid or ‘water down’ because it makes their congregations ‘feel bad’ or uncomfortable. And we all know that there is enough bad news out there these days so for goodness sake- why make people ‘feel worse’ when they come to our church services when we should be encouraging them and building them up hoping they will ‘feel better’ when they leave, right?

No wonder Paul warned Timothy of a day coming when people would ‘no longer endure sound doctrine’...rather they would be drawn to those who tickled their itching ears, filling them with ‘fables’ that do them no good at all. (2 Tim. 4:3-4) But then, it’s not like this is some ‘new thing’ with God’s people either... if what Isaiah had to share was legit. (Isa 30:1-2, 8-13)

Do you recall what the angel of the Lord told the apostles when it showed up to release them from prison after they were arrested for preaching the gospel? “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people ALL the words/message of this life.” (Acts 5:20). Paul would later remind the church at Ephesus that he had not ‘shunned to declare the WHOLE counsel of God’ to them. (Acts 20:27). But can I just tell you now that when one shares this knowledge in a loving and balanced manner...there should be no label of ‘fire and brimstone’ attached to the one teaching others about it. Understanding the wrath of God is not about ‘threatening sinner folks’ that an angry God is ‘out to get’ them. And it is the ‘lack of knowledge’ pertaining to this subject that is most likely why ‘God’s people are destroyed’. (Hosea 4:6)

I would submit to you that the reason we have failed to truly understand this topic is because what Paul warned might happen to us...actually did: We ended up being deceived by ‘another gospel, following another Jesus, and even received ‘another spirit’. (2 Cor. 11:2-4). And it happened in the same way that Eve was deceived by the serpent.

Yep...remember I told you yesterday how two of the more ‘challenging stories’ found in the OT that many believers admit struggling to believe actually happened? This one about the serpent in the garden who ‘deceived Eve’ was the one I was referring to. The fact that Paul uses it as an example should be a good reminder that this story was not some ‘metaphor’ or poetic language where we might derive good, practical lessons from.

So, this serpent who deceives the whole world (Rev. 12:9)...what was his lie he used to deceive Eve? (Gen. 3:13). He told her that she could eat off the very tree God told them NOT to eat off...or they would ‘surely die’ (Gen. 2:17)...and he convinced her that she ‘will surely NOT die’. (Gen.3:4). And how did that work out for her and her husband...and the rest of mankind? Join me tomorrow?