The other side of God
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men… ; ( Romans 1:18)
We wonder many times why there is so much suffering in the world. We hear of wars and famines, of poverty and sickness, the young dying, tears, pain and death, a continuous deterioration of things morally and spiritually. Many ask, where is God in all these, does He really care? Is He still in control?
When thoughts like these come, we must remember first, that this world we live in is under God’s judgment. Secondly, that the whole creation is subjected to vanity and corruption and death. The condition of things in the world is the result of the fall of Adam, but also of individual sin. Let us be clear, if it were not for God’s restraining mercies and long-suffering, this world would have ended a long time ago (2 Pet. 3:9).
Clearly there is a side to our God that is ruthless toward sin and the devil, we should not allow ourselves to lose sight of this. The fact that God is a God judgment should cause the knees of his enemies, to tremble with fear. Now, let us clarify, you are not an enemy of God if you have been reconciled to Him through the blood of His Son. If not you remain an enemy of His, subjected to the fierceness of His wrath. The 31st chapter of Numbers reveals that there is no mercy under certain circumstances. We must ask ourselves first, “is this the God we know?” Indeed He is the unchangeable One We must affirm the fact He is for a limited time, in a long-suffering restraining mood, giving man a chance to repent and be saved from the wrath to come. It is truly a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. The Midianites, in the narrative of Numbers 31, were a people that hated Israel, an attempt was made to seduce its people into acts of harlotry and idolatry. They represent the seducing spirit of this world against the children of God.
God’s judgment on a rebellious world shall be as severe in the last days. “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand (Revelation 6:15-17).
There is continuous falling away
Since Adams fall, humanity has been on a free fall away from its Maker and likeness to Him. Man is on his way down. If you let go of what you hold in your hands, it will go down, never up, the law of gravity decides. In the same way in the spiritual realm there is a spiritual gravity, man outside God’s hands can only go down from shame to shame. Only in and through Christ Jesus the Lord is there the power of spiritual ascendancy back to beauty and from glory to glory.
Even in the so-called church there is a spiritual falling, after she lost her union with Christ her head. Organised Christianity became a dead religion of laws and codes instead of the Bride of Christ sharing His life. Paul the apostle prophesied of these things, saying that before the return of Christ the falling away would develop into a confederate open apostasy against God (2 Thessalonians 2:3). It is happening now, this apostasy extending even amongst the Christian circles. “Iniquity shall abound and the love of many shall wax cold,” Jesus said, describing our times (Matthew 24:12). Without God’s restraining hand all that can go wrong for an unregenerate humanity will go wrong. If there is still any good left in the world, if many diseases can be cured, if there is an aspirin you can take to relieve pain, if the sun rises and the rain comes, if there is not yet a holocaust, if there is still bread on the table for the infidel, it is only because of God’s restraining mercy. Let those who understand give thanks to Him Who is the God of mercy! There is no power to stop evil or sin, or death, or the madness of world leaders except the restraining almighty hand of God, through Christ.
Finally Hell
Hell is the final judgment of God, the dunghill to which all that offends God is assigned. It is described as a lake of fire, where all that which did not find their salvation in Christ shall be thrown. With gnashing teeth the enemies of God, without any remorse, cursing God, shall find their way into this eternal bottomless pit. It is their final destiny, the second death, from which there is no second opportunity of salvation.
Ascendancy
The reversal of the downward fall is in Christ alone. He was subjected to the severest judgment of God for us. The moment His blood was offered on the altar of God, the reconciliation of mankind was accomplished. This great reconciliation is only effective in those who believe in Him. For them the curse of judgment is removed. The wrath of God remains on those that reject Christ (John 3:36). He became a curse for us, through Jesus we inherit the blessings of God, He became sin for us so we can become righteous. He was punished for us so we can escape the judgment of hell. He died so we can live. In Him hope replaces despair, bad things turn unto good, mistakes, stepping stones for knowing Him more. From the moment someone puts his faith in Christ, that person enters the sphere of God’s Kingdom of protection and blessings and provision and becomes a part of the Father’s loving purposes. If only people would hear His loving call and turn to him for help. Jesus said to the Jews, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that kills the prophets, and stones them which are sent unto thee, how often I would have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37). They refused to hear, instead they thought to silence Him by crucifying Him. Some year’s later Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Roman army. Yes the Lord wanted so much to save them, but they refused His overtures of love. They preferred darkness to light, self than God. We read that God desires all men to be saved, but they will not. God so loved the world, that He gave His beloved son, so everyone that believes can be saved.
How can we be saved? “By nature we are all children of wrath like everyone else (Ephesians 2:3), “we are enemies of God”(Colossians 1:21). If God had left us to our own choices none of us would come to Christ. “As Isaias said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrah”(Romans 9:29). The drawings of the Father is that way that we come of Christ, (John 6:44). These drawings begin early in life for some of us and to others, the moment they hear His call. This is what grace is all about for by grace we are saved!
Grace
God’s will for us is that we might know Him. To become His companions for ever. The Christian life is not an uphill struggle to observe the new Christian commandments and duties, but the manifestation of the life of Christ. We do not follow Christianity as the best of religions, it is not trying to attain the new laws given on the mount. It is a living relationship with God that causes rivers of joy and peace to flow out of us. God, we read, has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world unto adoption. In time He sent His Son into this chaotic world in order to find the rest of His sons and bring them to their inheritance. When we are found, with we confidence we declare: ¨We are no longer slaves but sons and heirs of God in Christ “(Galatians. 4:7). During our short stay in this world as His children, we are called to learn God through Christ, not theologically but experientially, through sufferings and sorrows. Our spiritual stature is measured, not by what we do for God, but by our increase in the knowledge of Him and His grace (2 Peter 3:18).
Why is salvation by grace and not of works? We must ask ourselves this question and deeply embrace the answer. Salvation by grace dethrones self the enemy to God and His ways. The egotistical boasting self is humbled and through Christ and His cross is denied. No longer is the ‘self’ acknowledged as the the source of anything good, instead, that ‘self’ knows that only God is good and that everything we have or are is from Him alone. Grace is the manifestation of God’s mercy and goodness to people, in contrast to what they deserve. Grace is the giving God pouring out upon the undeserving the fullness of His own Life. Grace is sharing in the wonder of eternity with God instead of His severe judgment and punishment!
The more the true Christian grows spiritually, the more he is aware of his human depravity, of the total devastation in his soul outside of Christ. Such who are living in Christ are ever more sure the only answer lies in the grace of God given to us in Christ. Yes ,there is a great problem with man, but the solution lies not with us, but with God. The restoration (salvation) and ascendancy of the soul can be found only in Christ, not in efforts of our own.
Everything concerning this salvation has been prepared in Christ by God, and it reaches those He calls, not as a wage but as a gift.
The suggestion that grace was given to us when we believed is short sighted. No, we believe because of His grace. He is the One Who draws us to Christ. Grace, Paul tells us, was given to us from eternity, “Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9).
How wonderful to be freed from the burden of sin! Being clothed with the righteousness of God, we may approach His throne, to be given the Spirit of adoption! Yet these are the first tastes of His grace for there is no end to God’s grace! We look back, and in wonder we realise that God formed us from our mother’s womb, His Spirit hovered over the darkness and chaos of our lives from the moment we were born. We finally understand that we are where we are, not because we succeeded, not because we added a centimetre to our spiritual stature, but because we are the vessels of His election, that God loved us with an everlasting love from which no one can separate us.
The understanding that God’s grace covers our imperfections, our inadequacies, our weaknesses, is the wonderful truth. It is grace that makes up for our every shortcoming, meets our deepest needs. He turns even things meant for evil into good, our mistakes into stepping stones for spiritual growth, stabilises our steps, gives strength to live according to His pleasure and pass through the deepest sorrows. ”What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (Romans 6:15). Shall we labor less because we are under grace? No, of course not, “But By the grace of God I am what I am, but this grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
As the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Grace expands within us, our hands cease to be stretched out to give human solutions to problems, to change or weigh situations, instead, we gladly abandon ourselves in confident trust to Him who cares for us, thanking Him for all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
