Why the Cross
I’m taking our text for today from Romans 1, verses 18-32. But before I read the text, let’s back up a couple of verses to get a broader sense of the context of that text: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”(vv. 16-17)
Before I read today's text, let me tell you the title of the message: Why the Cross.
That's not a question. It is a statement – as in: This is the REASON for the cross. And that reason is tied inextricably to today’s text in verses 18-32.
God moved the apostle Paul to write these words of stark
warning to his readers in Rome – and these words are JUST AS applicable to
readers in the 21st century. That is why this section is an important one for
all who seek to make sense of what we see with our eyes and hear with
our ears as we scan the daily newscasts.
Here is the text:
18 For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
who suppress the truth in unrighteousness 19 because that
which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident
to them. 20 For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they
are without excuse.
21 For even though they
knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they
became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was
darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became
fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form
of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling
creatures.
24 Therefore God gave
them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies
would be dishonored among them. 25 For they
exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this
reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women
exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and
in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and
burned in their desire toward one another, men with men
committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due
penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did
not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being
filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God,
insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, 31 without understanding,
untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, 32 and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things
are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty
approval to those who practice them.
This is not a welcomed passage of Scripture for many people – including those who stand behind pulpits and who sit in pews. I have heard the lies myself too many times – even from professing Christians – who insist God’s love does NOT permit His wrath against sinners.
Henry Emerson Fosdick, (d. 1969) denied such essential
theological issues as authority of Scripture, and of the death, Resurrection,
and atoning sacrifice of Jesus. He also believed early man had a totally
archaic and corrupt concept of God, as evidenced, for example, by the
mythological God of Noah who destroyed the earth with a flood. Fosdick believed
even Jesus had a moral defect because Jesus warned about hell – a place of
eternal fiery torment awaiting those who reject His salvation. Fosdick believed
the whole idea of hell must be abandoned if humanity is to continue on its
upward curve of development.
Lord Bertrand Russell (d. 1970), the well-known philosopher and mathematician taught similarly. Russell believed Christ had one very serious defect of moral character, in that He (Christ) believed in hell.
These two heretical teachers were not alone in their dismissal of hell. Even today, from pulpits to pews and across denominations, both Catholic and Protestant, the Bible’s warning of a place of everlasting torment for the ungodly has fallen increasing into disfavor. A growing number of theologians and laity alike reject the notion that a loving God would allow anyone to suffer in hell for an eternity – despite what Jesus and the writers of Holy Scripture WARNED again and again about that eternal lake of fire being the destination of all the unrighteous.
In other words, these false teachers
tell us Scriptures don’t mean what they say about eternal death in the lake of
fire. But – they will be quick to add –
the Scriptures DO mean what they say about eternal life in heaven.
Well, we can’t have it both ways.
Either God’s word is completely inerrant, or it is not.
The
growing popular argument against the Biblical statements of God’s wrath
typically revolves around the truth that God is love. And certainly, God
IS love. He tells us that Himself.
But
when that truth is taken out of context with the whole Bible, these false
teachers erroneously conclude that the God of love in the New Testament does
not inflict wrath.
That
treacherous and treasonous philosophy is not too far off from an early church
heresy called Marcionism – which promulgated the idea that the God of the Old
Testament is not the same as the God of the New Testament.
Did
proponents of the “God is Love Not Wrath” philosophy never read the book of Revelation?
Or about Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5? Or even the apocalyptic passages in the
Gospels? Did they not read the entire New Testament?
No,
my brothers and sisters – it is a serious error to believe hell does not exist
– or if it DOES exist, that hell is empty, because God – who is love – will not
also inflict judgment against persistent and willful defiance of His
commandments.
Most
everyone who has sat in church for any time knows John 3:16 – “For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who
believes in Him will have eternal life.”
Yet, how many read the rest of that chapter?
Here is John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has eternal
life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him.”
But
let’s go back to this text in Romans because it will explain the WHY of Calvary
as ‘pressed down, shaken together, and running over’ measure of God’s love AND
of God’s wrath against sin.
God
tells us through Paul’s pen: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the
truth in unrighteousness.”
I hope you caught that last clause –
God’s wrath is toward those who SUPPRESS the truth – even though they KNOW the
truth, because God has made the truth evident to them. But they choose to not
believe truth – and then encourage others to also reject truth:
‘[A]nd although they know the
ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death,
they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who
practice them.” (verse 32)
Henry Fosdick, Bertrand
Russell, and every false teacher like them, fall into that damnable category of
those who suppress the truth. And whether from pulpits and seminaries, or from the
media, government or educational leaders – or just about every venue of
influence that affects our lives and the lives of those we love – when truth is
suppressed, people remain trapped in sin and death.
Why would God be angry at the suppression of truth? The
answer is not difficult to understand when we understand that God IS LOVE. And
because God is love, He wants to share His love AND His eternal home with every
man, woman, and child He formed in the womb.
Let me try to illustrate my point this way. Parents – what would do for your child? Would you give up your food so he or she could eat? Would you work a third job so your child could have clothes? And what would do if someone tried to hurt your baby? Would you do everything in your power – up to and including killing that person – to protect your child?
Of course, you would. Why? Because you love, love, love your child.
God HATES sin.
And what is the Biblical evidence of how serious God is about His wrath toward sin AND His wrath toward to sinner who refuses to repent of his or her sin?
We only have to look at Calvary. And that answer – Calvary – is the definitive answer to the question, ‘How much does God hate sin – but at the same time, love the sinner?”
We hear about Calvary so often that we often become blind to the magnitude, the horror of that cross on which the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners was slain. We hardly scratch the surface of understanding the horrific physical torture Jesus suffered because of YOUR sins and MY sins. The cutting away of slices of His flesh by that Roman whip, the electrifying agony caused by the nails hammered into His hands and feet.
But there was so, so very much more that God’s Son suffered. When Jesus became our substitute, He received in Himself the full wrath of God against sin – YOUR sin and my sin. And for the first time in eternity, God the Son, who had lived in eternity past in an intimate and cherished closeness with the Father and the Holy Spirit – when Jesus became our sin the Father turned His back on His Son.
We must get this. The Father turned His back on His Son when Jesus became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus, as our substitute, bore the full wrath of God against sin, so that WE would not ever bear that wrath for OUR sin. God turned His back on Jesus His Son, so that we can live with the full assurance that God will NEVER turn His back on any who call on Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Wow. Why does ANYONE reject such great love?
I ask it again. Does the Loving God hate Sin? Does the Loving Father pour out His wrath against sin AND the unrepentant sinner?
Look again at Calvary’s cross and answer the question. You MUST answer that question, because the wrong answer – like Fosdick and Russell answered it – puts you in jeopardy of minimizing the cost of sin and diminishing in our minds the meaning of God’s wrath against sin and the unrepentant sinner.
No wonder the writer to the Hebrews warns
us, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
(Hebrews 10:31).
Notice that God tells us three times in today’s text: 24God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity . . . 26 God gave them over to degrading passions . . . 28God gave them over to a depraved mind.” (verses 24-28)
When anyone persists in rejecting God’s truth time after time after time, God will ultimately give that person over to their sins. He did it with Pharaoh. He did it with ancient Israel. He warned of it in the New Testament. And He does so today. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change according to the culture.
God is love. Yes, yes, ten thousand times yes. But that does not mean God does not mete out wrath against those who obstinately persist in their rebellion against a Holy and righteous Judge.
Calvary demonstrates God’s love. Calvary also demonstrates God’s wrath against sin.
How then should we live, knowing all that we now know of God’s love and His wrath? I talked about this two weeks ago, and this is a good time to bring it up again as I bring this message to a close:
1. Believe God LOVES you. He is NOT looking for ways to send you
to hell. Believe the Holy Spirit when He tells us, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.” –
Romans 5:8
2. Also believe that God is serious about sin. It is a frightening thing to fall into the hands of the living God. That is why you must repent of your sins – your past sins and the sins you commit every day. Don’t nitpick with yourself about small and big sins, about venial and mortal sins.
Listen to what St. Paul wrote in Romans 2:4 - “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
3. If you have not yet done so, be baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as Scripture commands (e.g. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:37-42)
4. Follow and obey Jesus for the rest of your life, repenting of
your daily sins as often as you commit them.
God loves you. He created you so He could love you. All He asks is that you, and I, love Him in return.
No comments:
Post a Comment