something to live by

"In response to your question about what the biggest problem in the world is,

I am.

Sincerely,
G.K. Chesterton"


If we do not acknowledge our own sin, God's grace means nothing. The message at SCF last night was terrific, so let me share the highlights.

We should not neglect the wrath of God (that is, neglect to acknowledge and understand it) because:
1. Jesus talks about God's wrath. (John 3:36, Luke 21:23)

2. Divine mercy without divine wrath is meaningless (Psalm 38, Psalm 85, Romans 1:18, Romans 2:8, Luke 7:47)

3. If we do, the cross of Jesus will make no sense.

4. If we do, you will not be able to forgive. "Forgiveness is the refusal to be God in your moral universe." It is trusting in the God of justice to forgive or to make right, something that we cannot hope to do right, even though we have a sense of right and wrong. (Romans 12 doesn't exactly deal with this point, but it has a lot of good stuff)

5. If we do, we will confuse Christian love with unconditional affirmation. *Telling a sick person they aren't sick is not going to help anyone.*

6. If we lose the God of justice, we lose the hope that one day things will be made right.

7. Without wrath, we will not be wise in fear of the Lord. As C.S. Lewis wrote of Asland, "He's not a tame lion."

God's wrath is real and just as huge as his love. Jesus has absorbed and continues to absorb God's wrath on our behalf, which is why we love him so unbelievably much!

Hope that helped explain the quote at the top.