If we don’t understand the significance and relevance of God’s laws, or are ignorant of them, then we really can’t have a clear understanding as to what ‘sin’ is. (1 John 3:4).

If our understanding is limited as to what sin is… then we won’t understand what God’s judgements are all about. (John 5:14; Rom. 6:23).

Failure to recognize God’s judgments on sin would be the primary reason there is an absence of the ‘fear of God’ these days. (Rom. 3:18)

And where there is no healthy ‘fear of God’, then we are truly lacking in knowledge; because the ‘fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’ (Prov. 1:7).

Which then leads me back to the question you should know this answer by heart to- ‘Why are God’s people destroyed’, according to Hosea 4:6?

Welcome back to my ongoing study where I am reviewing the three main components of an outline that focuses on three areas of truths found in our Bibles that unfortunately…many sincere believers are lacking an understanding in these days. The past few days have centered around the first pillar, which I refer to as ‘the law’. In yesterday’s message, I touched on who God uses to enforce His laws, or to ‘punish’ law-breakers. They would actually fall under the 3rd pillar or part of my outline which I refer to as ‘the devil’; but we can circle back to that later.

Contrary to what many have been taught to believe… God’s wrath still remains on the earth today, as cited in John 3:36, Romans 1:8, Eph. 5:6 and Col. 3:6. And as I pointed out at the close of yesterday’s message, it was the ‘wrath of God’ that Jesus came to save us from, as mentioned in Rom. 5:9 & John 3:18.

With over 400+ ‘Christian denominations’ today, it’s anyone’s guess what you were taught to believe when it comes to God’s wrath and salvation, but chances are you heard some form of teaching that informed you that we were all on the ‘fast track to hell’ because of our sin problem along with being separated from God. But then, this is where the ‘remedies for salvation’ began to vary when it comes to teaching how one can actually be ‘saved’.

Growing up as Catholic, I had no concept of what God’s wrath was, or what it meant to be ‘saved’ or ‘born again’. I had little if any true Bible teaching. I just showed up every Sunday and just assumed that whenever I died…that God would be happy to welcome me in to His eternal kingdom. And depending on how you were raised and were first introduced to Christian doctrines, your understanding of all this probably varied from my experience. My goal in these lessons I share is simply to point out more scripture for you to look at and study and meditate upon, as opposed to me trying to tell you how to believe.

If you have more of a fundamentalist/evangelical background, you were probably taught that you needed to ‘accept Christ as your personal Savior’…which may have involved reciting a ‘sinner’s prayer’ followed up by asking Jesus into your heart. Upon the completion of saying that prayer, you may have been assured right there on the spot that all was well with your soul and if you were to then die…you would go straight to heaven, no questions asked as it was a ‘done deal’. Some of you may have been told this was ‘guaranteed’ as in you could never ‘lose…your salvation’, like it was some golden ticket to be held on tightly to.

Other groups would have you to ‘tap those brakes’ before letting out a 'sigh of relief' until you were baptized in water (full immersion) before you could say your ‘conversion was complete’. Then there is the crowd that would make the case that you were not truly ‘saved’ until you had ‘received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues’…and ‘then…you were saved’. No wonder unbelievers stand on the outside of our churches scratching their heads in confusion. Seems that everyone is building a tower into heaven telling you how to get there, but they are all saying different things. Almost reminds me of the ‘tower of Babel’ mentioned in Genesis 11; but now I digress.

So…exactly how….does Jesus ‘save’ us from the wrath of God? Well, let’s hear what He has to say about it; and it includes just a little bit more than repeating some words where you affirm your belief that Jesus is the ‘Son of God who died on a cross for your sins’. Jesus was the one who stated: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)

His message was pretty clear throughout the gospels, as it was a message that admonished us to ‘repent and follow Him, seasoned with those pesky reminders to ‘keep the commandments’ which we touched on the other day. And unless we ‘repent’, Jesus was pretty clear on the outcome we can expect: “You will all likewise perish’. (Luke 13:3,5). You might also want to make sure that Hebrews 5:9 is underlined, since we are told there that Christ became the source of eternal salvation to ‘those who obey Him’. As He asked one group in Luke 6:46….why bother calling Him ‘Lord’…if we are not going to do the things He says?

And do you remember the connection we made the other day about who is ‘under grace…and Not the law’ (Rom. 6:14 and Gal. 5:18)? It’s the ones who are ‘led by the Spirit’ who are no longer ‘under the law’; a law, I should point out that still brings ‘wrath, a curse, condemnation, and death’. (Rom. 4:15; Gal. 3:10; 2 Cor. 3:7,9)

Couple of quick passages to close out today’s lesson with, and it has to do with what it looks like to be ‘led’ or to ‘follow’ the Spirit of God, which is what true children of God do (Rom. 8:14). Those who are truly ‘walking in the Spirit’ will NOT be fulfilling the lusts of the flesh nature, which we’ll study again as part 2 in our outline (Gal. 5:16). The reason they are no longer doing this is because that is what the Spirit of Christ leads us to do…to ‘put to death this flesh nature (Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5), and those who truly belong to Christ have done this (Gal. 5:24).

Now, go back and read Romans 8:1-4 for more insight where we learn that there is no longer any ‘condemnation to those who are ‘in Christ’ (as opposed to anyone who simply attends church services regularly) and they (those who are 'in Christ')... walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh’. And in doing so…what are we told is happening, in Romans 8:4? - All of the righteous requirements of the law are being fully met in us, just as they were when Jesus fulfilled the law. And let me be clear…nobody can do this unless they are truly ‘abiding in Him’ (John 15:1-8).

“Anyone who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.” (1 John 2:6)

Join me tomorrow?