The attitude of the world today, and even in the United States, is that anything that has to do with Christianity is to be condemned. A previously very small group of people has come out from behind closed doors and are declaring that all “love” is absolutely to be allowed. This would include same-sex, pedophilia, transgender, and whatever they can dream up. They are gaining followers daily. Because followers of Jesus will not participate in such activities, we are called “haters.” Our stance for Jesus makes others uncomfortable; therefore, in their opinion, we need to be silenced. They have made a lot of noise against us and are getting more vocal every day. (ESV, all emphasis mine)

First and foremost, I hate no one, as commanded by my Lord and Savior. That does not mean I have to accept any lifestyle that my Heavenly Father calls abominations. Those who participate in such activities have not committed the unpardonable sin and could be forgiven if they would repent and call out to the Savior for forgiveness. However, Satan and his demons are very adept at putting the desires of this world in the minds of people and turning them away from eternity in Heaven. It’s the perfect example of Isaiah 5:20; “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Matthew 10:32-33 states, “So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge before My Father who is in Heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in Heaven.” Not much room for argument here.

How about John 3:18; “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” The apostle also wrote in 1 John 5:12, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” John 3:35-36 follows this with, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

In John 10:9, Jesus says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Then turning to John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” In Acts 4:12, Peter emphasizes this with, “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” So much for those who say there are “many ways” to Heaven.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved, it is the Power of God.”

One may think that with all the evil and unrest that’s taking place today, people would be looking for a reason to be positive in such a negative setting. Jesus understands our nature and knew there would be less that would receive and accept Him over this sinful world. Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction; and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Even in His day, Jesus knew people would rather follow the masses than be put out of the synagogue. That’s the easy way. For those who decided to receive and accept Jesus, their decision was unpopular with the hypocritical religious leaders, and they would be considered “infidels” at the very least. The hard way was to go against the grain, even if it were to mean martyrdom.

This is something we are hearing of even today. In some African, Arabic, and other nations, people are being killed who profess a belief in our Lord and Savior. Some are even given the opportunity to recant and turn against Jesus, but their conviction is such that they would rather face death than go against the Savior. They are following Matthew 16:25, “For whoever would save his life would lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

What we are witnessing today seems totally foreign to us with the increased satanic activities. However, for anyone who has done any study of end-time prophecy, we’re right on schedule. Paul lists numerous attitudes and activities in 2 Timothy 3-5 about the end of this age. We are the generation that saw Israel become a nation again after about 2,000 years on May 14, 1948. That started the end-time clock ticking toward the end of this age. We could be called up in the Harpazo, or Rapture, at any moment. Our Father promised that the flock of the Shepherd would not go through the wrath.

All who are true believers who have received and accepted Jesus as Savior are looking forward to that call. Paul describes them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Prophecy experts that are far more qualified than I are proclaiming that the Rapture is imminent. The world looks at us as being crazy, but God doesn’t make idle conversations. We have to be gone from here so that the man of lawlessness can come forward. That’s covered in 2 Thessalonians 2. The restrainer would be the Holy Spirit, and to remove Him means all that He indwells must be removed also.

Those who will be left behind will face a world that will be worse than it has ever been. It will still be possible to call out to Jesus and be saved, but it will more than likely result in death. The evil antichrist will not tolerate worship of anyone else but himself. Anyone who takes his mark and worships him will not receive forgiveness. It will be eternity in the lake of fire.

To avoid this scenario, right now would be a great time to receive and accept Jesus as your Savior. Romans 10:9-13 gives the process, which is not difficult at all. The final verse (13) states clearly, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

It’s a free-will decision that the Father will force on no one. He will allow anyone to not choose His Son, but they will end up at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. He does not want anyone to fail (2 Peter 3:9). He would much rather that everyone would repent and ask Jesus to save them. Only those who do not will be condemned.

Time is getting short, and all believers could be leaving very soon. There’s room for more, and today would not be too early to choose eternal life. Meanwhile, all of us who have the gift Jesus provided for us are saying, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

Maranatha! Shalom!

huebshman46@gmail.com

Romans 1:18, Jeremiah 44:22, John 3:36, Ephesians 5:6,1 Thessalonians 2:16, Revelation 15:7

Summary: In Romans 1:1-17, Paul has presented his apostolic credentials, his desire to visit the brethren in Rome, and the power of the Gospel. His focus now shifts to the revelation of the wrath of God, a topic that too few believers and too many people in general are afraid to face.

In his multi-volume work on the book of Romans, the late pastor and Bible expositor Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote concerning the wrath of God, “It would be pleasant not to have to preach on this subject, but if one sets out to be an expositor of the Word of God, it is necessary to consider all of the revelation of truth in the order in which God has seen fit to deliver it to us. The minister has no right of choice, though there are some ministers that seek to interpose their choice in priority over the Divine Revelation” (Romans, Vol. 1: “Man’s Ruin”, p.215).

As these days continue to grow darker in this world in terms of spiritual warfare, the need to present this subject is even more profound as more ministers and their respective congregations prefer to have their ears tickled at the cost of their souls (Isaiah 5:20-21, 24; Mark 7:13; Timothy 4:1-5). One hardly hears anything from the average pulpit today on the “wrath of God” because it is either viewed as “too offensive” or gets in the way of the image of a deity they have conceived in their own hearts and minds that gladly looks the other way in terms of sin and accountability (Exodus 20:1-2). Facts outweigh feelings, especially when it comes to the truth and fact of our condition before a Holy, Sovereign, and Almighty LORD God.

Like the late Dr. Barnhouse and other faithful preachers of the Word, I don’t particularly enjoy bringing up the subject of God’s wrath, but I cannot be faithful to my calling as a minister of the Word if I neglect to address this serious issue (Ezekiel 3:18-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:14), if only to shake some sense into the growing flock of mind-numbed sheep following everything and anyone but the Good Shepherd and the salvation that He provides (John 10:11; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25, 5:4; Revelation 7:17). Any man of God (1 Timothy 2:12, 3:1-8; Titus 1:8-9) who preaches only on the “love of God” without presenting the fact of His anger towards sin and our rebellious attitude towards Him is not doing anyone any good. The messenger is to deliver the message, which is precisely what I aim to do from this point going forward.

Starting with Romans 1:18, Paul lays out the prosecuting case against humanity in terms of our sin and perpetual condition of hopelessness. Before there can be a remedy, there has to be an initial diagnosis, and before that, a case history.

As part of the case history, we need to establish the meaning of the term “the wrath of God.” What does the Bible mean when it describes this part of His Holy character?

In the New Testament, there are two Greek words used to refer to the wrath of God. The first word is “THUMOS,” meaning a sudden explosion of anger. We see this in Luke 4:28 when the citizens of Nazareth wanted to harm the Lord Jesus. The word used in Romans 1:18 is different. It is the word “ORGE,” meaning to become “red-faced,” picturing someone who is holding in his anger as it builds up inside of him, implying that there will come a time when the anger comes forth. God demonstrated this built-up wrath that came in the flood (Genesis 6-8), the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), and at the Red Sea where He destroyed the armies of Egypt (Exodus 14).

When God’s wrath is described in Scripture, it is always done in a manner that is just, fair, balanced, and within the boundaries of His Holy, omnipotent, omniscient, sinless nature. When the wrath of God falls upon a person or a nation, it is because they deserved it, and it was executed in perfect, divine justice. He can bring the inevitable discipline to people as well as bring their doom due to their wickedness. As the days grow darker and the return of the LORD draws near, this discipline and judgment will increase and be more obvious to those who can truly see and who have ears to hear (Matthew 24:4-14; Mark 13:3-13; Luke 21:7-19). It is wickedness and sin on our part that gives the reason for why the wrath of a Holy God even exists.

In our present sinful condition, we are His enemies (Romans 5:10, 8:7; Ephesians 2:3). Due to our willful rebellion, we do not want to be under the rule and guidance of God. Therefore, every civilization and person outside of God’s redemptive grace has been more than willing to fashion a deity into their own liking and image that will not mind their behaviors and actions, even if they decide to deify themselves and deny the existence of the true God altogether (Psalm 14:1-3, 51:1-3).

Generations of foolish and arrogant civilizations have either believed, advocated, or assumed that their self-conceived “gods” would never demand an accounting from them at the end of life but welcome them into whatever sense of ethereal bliss their respective mythologies presented.

This present world is no different as people and organizations from all walks of life have come to decide that “God is love,” a blanket term to demand acceptance for their beliefs and lifestyles without any fear or consequences. Never mind the fact that they cannot seem to define the term “love” except as a combination of physical gratification and some kind of self-centered emotional idea that is in total conflict with the standards God has decreed in the Scriptures. In turn, these same corrupt souls will condemn the God of the Bible for having the “nerve” to send people into eternal hell.

The wicked are content in sin and depravity and do not want to face the possibility that they are wrong and blind to anything that might interfere with their lives. They do not want to hear or be confronted with their unrighteousness.

And as Paul will present in Chapters 1-3, this degrading behavior and its rotten harvest brings about the certainty of the judgment of God.

A good doctor will be blunt and open with any patient who is exhibiting the symptoms of a fatal disease. He will not prescribe a placebo or give a pain reliever that temporarily soothes discomfort. The caring physician will show their patient how the disease originated and the seriousness of what will happen if no treatment is given. Jesus is the Great Physician who shows us the terminal effects of our sins and rebellion towards God, and He provides us the cure by surrendering our diseased, sinful lives, which are bound for death and hell, to Him to cleanse us from our sins, and to give us eternal life that will be forever free from the curse of sin, death, and hell (Matthew 11:28-30; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6-11; Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 1:6-10, 2:1-2).

Do not listen to confused friends, psychics, secular psychologists, nor the irritating empty heads and flapping gums of talk show hosts, political pundits, or even some so-called “ministers” who peddle the idea that we are not all that bad, that our “best life is now,” and if we “think good thoughts” or produce some other type of self-remedy, all will be well. The Bible makes it clear that we are not “good” in the eyes of a Holy God, and if you care to face the facts of reality, then continue to see how Paul lays out his case as he progresses through these verses. The Doctor is in, and he is waiting to give you the cure.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com

My book, The Scope of Biblical Prophecy, is now available at www.parsonsporch.com.

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Donald was born and reared in the authentic “Cajun Country” of southern Louisiana. He is a graduate of Louisiana College (B.A. in History Education/ Biblical Studies, 1984), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. In Christian Education, 1994), and Andersonville Baptist Seminary (Doctor of Ministry, Biblical Exposition, 2000). He has been in the Gospel ministry since 1986, serving as an evangelist, interim and supply pastor, hospital and rescue mission chaplain, high school and college teacher, and pastor in churches in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

In 2018, he began to devote his time to the rich field of internet and social media evangelism and outreach. In 2021 he became a member of the Oklahoma Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, using his skills as a writer to contribute articles and sermons to websites such as Rapture Ready, Sermon Central, and Inspirational Christian Blogs. He also writes Bible studies and curricula for churches in southeast and central Asia and Africa, the locations of which are anonymous. He can be contacted at: donaldwhitchard@gmail.com for inquiries, information, and speaking/preaching engagements. A copy of his resume is also available upon request.