Removed ( 1 Thessalonians 1 v 10 )

I mentioned last time the word propitiation, we have this word in Romans 3 v 25/ 1 John 2 v 2 /4 v 10. it is a controversial term to use,because it involves the removal of wrath, L Morris writes ,'Some commentators find the the concept of divine wrath  distasteful and unworthy,so they write it out of scripture'.I can assure you that the wrath of God is clearly mentioned in God's word, in many places,I mean many. CP  2 Chron 28 v 11/ Ezra 10 v 14 /John 3 v 36 / Ephesians 5 v 6.These are just some of the verses with the wrath of God in them.L Morris rightly points out ,'If there is no wrath there is no propitiation'. It means the removal of wrath,now the question is this how can it be removed from sinners?.the answer Christ would become a sacrifice ,and would bear the wrath of God for sinners.The words of Isaiah 53 which is a clear foretelling of Christ's death , speaks of Him being punished by God,pierced for our transgressions,crushed  for our iniquities, the Lord laying on him the iniquities of us all, and bearing the sin of many'.If this is not so, how then can wrath be removed? but praise God it can be removed from all who trust Jesus as there Saviour. When we do trust Him,we are no longer living under the wrath of God,following the removal of wrath,sin can then be removed .To sum it up, wrath is removed ,sin is forgiven it means our sins our sins are removed, this is expressed   wonderfully  in the words of Psalm 103 v 12,'as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us'

What does it mean?. ( Isaiah 53 )

We move on to consider the death of Christ,on the cross, we cannot escape the cross, Islam has a Christ with no cross ,there had to be a cross , so what was involved in his death ?First  it would  show his love, in 1 John 4 v 9.it would show a love that meant Him going to Calvary,to die on that cross.But there was more to his death than love,it would mean justice being satisfied,sin cannot be overlooked by a holy God.Those who sin must face the consequences ,that means everyone would be judged,and a sentence would be passed,which means facing the wrath of God. The wrath of God abides on  every person without Christ John 3 v 36, but will only come into its full effect the moment we die,as we lift up our eyes in Hell in torment,there will be no escape,no way out. In Isaiah 53 v 10 we read, 'Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;he has put him to grief,Now we will begin to understand Gods answer for our salvation.Why should he be crushed?,why should he endure punishment?,after all he never sinned. In 1 John 4 v 10 ,we read,'Herein is love,not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins'. we will continue this next time.

He didn't fail. ( Matthew 3 v 17 )

Gods answer , in relation mans dreadful condition, sin,and its terrible consequences, was Jesus, his name means Saviour.We emphasise the cross and rightly so,but we must also see  the importance of His life.He had to do something the first Adam failed to do,fulfill Gods will perfectly,In  Psalm 40 v 7 - 8 and Hebrews 10 v 5 - 7 it stresses a number of things one of the things, was, to do the will of God. For His death on the cross to be effective,his life had to completely conform to the Gods will.He would have to fulfil Gods law ,in Matthew 3 v 15 He spoke of fulfilling  all righteousness, this He  did,He never deviated one bit from doings God will ,and He never sinned ( Hebrews 4 v 15 ) If  He had failed in those two things, His death on the cross would have been pointless,but praise God He didn't.

God's Answer. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 30 - 31 )

Alright we have considered the problem that all mankind has to face up to ,it can be summed up in one word ,'SIN', unless sin is dealt with, the consequences are dreadful,awful in the extreme . Everybody wants to go to heaven,but the door is shut to those whose sins have not been forgiven,no matter who it is.  Now forgiveness is not something that you or I can resolve,people have by various means tried , but only God has provide the answer,and if we are to be saved from Gods wrath,we have to accept Gods answer. If  Gods justice could be satisfied ,then wrath could be removed,and sins could be forgiven,now the other problem is, we need to be provided with a righteousness ,that would enable them us to have acceptance with God. The answer for all these things would come through one person, whom we know as Jesus. By  His life , death and His resurrection ,He would fulfill,what was needed, to  save  us sinners..We will consider this more next time..

Important ( Ephesians 2 )

Yesterday we considered how law keeping ,and rule keeping,does not deal with sin,and that also includes the good things we do.L. Morris points out,''The good that people do is never a problem.It is something to be thankful about, not something people must be saved from.But sin is another thing altogether. It is a problem wherever it is found.'I have a friend who was brought up in a very religious family,he himself was very religious,obeying the church,but for all his religiosity he had no assurance that his sins were forgiven. This is the dilemma that many religious people find themselves in,and it is serious for them and for everyone.Because if our sins our not forgiven,we will have a price  to pay, ( 1 )We can never have a relationship with a holy God,  ( 2 ) We will experience God's judgement,  He is a just God,He cannot overlook sin, nor will He,have no illusions,to think otherwise is a false belief. I took a brief count as regards the word wrath is mentioned in the Bible ,and counted roughly a 170 times..Remember the OT God is the same God as is in the NT.   C  P; Romans 1 v 18/  2 v 5./v 8 ,  1 Thessalonians 1 v 10, speaks of wrath to come,these as I have pointed out  are just a few examples that are mentioned in the Bible.So as a preacher I am not making it up when I mention the wrath of God. If a person is not a Christian then the Bible tells us in John 3 v 36, that wrath abides on them.This is very serious for all ,whose sins have not been forgiven,so what is the answer,or should I say what is Gods answer?. We will consider this next time.

Irrelevant (Isaiah 64 v 6 )

Are you very religious?,go to local mosque,temple,church,you seek to keep  the laws of your religion  ?.I knew a Muslim lady who prayed the prescribed 5 times every day,and kept to the time table.She was a nice lady, often wanted to feed me,there many are nice Muslin's ,Hindu's.Jew's ,and one the nicest person's I knew was an agnostic.During this time many people are doing many nice things,nurses ,neighbors , and even strangers..Yet the Word of God tells us that we are all sinners and come short of the glory of God ( Romans 3 v 23 ) H. Moule writes,'The harlot, the liar,the murderer.are short of it;but so are you.Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they'. That's a challenged to all of us especially if we are religious,and seek to keep the rules and laws of our religion,we are proud  of our religious observance ,and law keeping. But the fact is religious rule keeping,law keeping,avail us ,no standing before a holy God,none of these things can remove sin,or deal with sin. Our boasting in those things is of no value,the sin still remains,and the consequences still remain.As someone has said,'pride in all these things is the besetting sin of all religious people,no matter what their religion'. We will continue to look at this tomorrow

A Superstar? ( John 3 v 36 )

I  have never seen the musical, 'Jesus Christ Superstar', written  jointly by,Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rich, it has no spoken dialogue,and traces the last seven days of our Saviours life, seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. I am not writing to criticise it, as I have not seen or heard this musical. But as regards the title',Jesus Christ Superstar,' I would take exception,as I believe that Christ was never a superstar.He could have become that if He had gone along with what Satan said in the wilderness testing,when he offered Jesus the world and it's  glory. Jesus never came to be superstar, He came to be a Saviour,  superstars there are in plenty, but there is only one Saviour, The world is a needy place,and so often the last thing they want to hear is, that they need a Saviour, but I can assure you from experience,we all need a Saviour.Superstars soon become yesterdays people, we can name  them,but Jesus never changes,His love for you and I never changes, in spite of the fact,that like me ,you are a sinner,yes we are all without exception sinners,and who do sinners need?, Jesus,is the only one who can forgive your sins,the only one who can save you from yourself.So forget about superstars,and ask Christ into your life,now.