The Just Judge

"For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth....For what can be known about God is plain to them...and they are without excuse!"  -Romans 1:18-20 (excerpts)

A. W. Tozer explains the wrath of God this way... Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that take the life of her child.

Any healthy human being hates injustice.  

Suppose someone brutally attacks, violates and kills your sweet child.  And suppose you absolutely know who the guilty person is.  He is caught, brought before a judge, and the prosecuting attorney is able to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person is the guilty party.  You are sitting in the courtroom grieving, observing the proceedings.  The jury unanimously declares the offender guilty.  It's time for sentencing.  The judge looks at the criminal, a vile man who shows no remorse, and says, "I know you're guilty.  You have destroyed a precious little girl, and you have permanently scarred her family. It's deplorable, for sure, but you know, I really don't care.  You are free to go!"  Your outrage would be hard to control!  Even those other observers, less closely linked to the victim, would be utterly shocked and angry.  This action would be completely unacceptable, and there would be cries for the judge to do what is right or give up his judgeship!  The story would be all over the news, conservative or liberal.   Bill O'Reilly would take up the cause!

Why do we expect less of God?

He is the perfect righteous Judge.  His wrath must be poured out against unrighteousness, for it is that which destroys His precious creation.  We are all guilty.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the standard of perfection that is necessary in order for His creation to be healthy and whole.  We are all doomed recipients of that thunderbolt of wrath.

But there is good news!

One day about 2000 years ago, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." -Luke 23:34.  Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in The Quiet Place," puts it this way... "In the face of heinous rejection, injustice, and abuse, we hear the words that are even more powerful than human cruelty."

A prayer of forgiveness.

Who was that prayer for?  That prayer was for Roman soldiers...It was for Pilate and Herod...It was for the wild, screaming mob...It was for His disciples...It was for the thousands on the Day of Pentecost...It was for you.  And me.  Charles Spurgeon writes, "I really like the word them because it's big enough for me to crawl inside!"

Nancy continues, "The only thing keeping us from experiencing the storm of God's righteous wrath is the fact that Jesus covered us with the shield of His grace on that day, that glorious day when He prayed, through pain made even more biting because of our treacherous sin, Father, forgive them.  (Luke 23:34).  And we are forgiven."

Christ knew the judgment had to fall.  And it did.  But it fell on Him, and Him alone.  Jesus asks the Father to divert the judgment, and our Savior absorbs it Himself.  I believe that shield of grace is the only thing that kept the whole earth from being destroyed on that fateful day in history.  The Son holds up that shield still today, inviting "whosoever" under its protection. 

The wrath of God continues to pour out against sin.  His perfect justice demands it.  But He is not only perfect justice, He is also perfect love.  So He provides a shield against His wrath.

Yes, the wrath of God does continue to pour out against sin...

But not sinners...

Not sinners who seek refuge from God...

in God!