“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Romans 1:18-20, NLT God is righteously indignant when it comes to sin. Sin and God are like oil and water - they don't mix. God is holy and sinless. He has never sinned and never will sin!!! His only natural reaction to sin is to reject it. Sin is polar opposite of God. In the beginning, Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God created the heavens and earth. He gave us governorship over the earth (see Genesis 1:28 - the KJV word subdue means to govern). What an awesome privilege and responsibility we were given. Life was extraordinary. There was no sin, sorrow, sickness, or suffering. However, things changed. God didn't change. We did. You see, God gave man a free will. He didn't make us robots or puppets. He gave us the standard to uphold and it was up to us to keep it. (See Genesis 2:15-17). In Genesis 3:1-7, we read the unfolding of the fall of man to sin. Sin, simply defined, is disobeying God's standard (see I John 3:4). The corresponding result of Adam and Eves transgression was immediate spiritual death (God's Spirit left them - see Genesis 3:7-8) and eventual physical death (see Romans 6:23). In Genesis 3:14-19, we read the curses that came upon the serpent, the woman, and the man. From that moment forward, darkness invaded the ranks of human existence. Wickedness now had a bed to lie in. Righteousness would be locked in battle against the forces of darkness. In the sheer mercies of God did He allow us to continue to live. He could have completely destroyed us and left us in eternal damnation, but oh, how He loved us!!! (John 3:16). He refused to let us go to be dominated and eternally destroyed by wickedness. Through the process of time, God provided a way for our sins to be forgiven. In the Old Testament, He provided instructions concerning acceptable sacrifices to be offered for the covering of sin. The High priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year to offer sacrificial blood, for the sins of the people, upon the mercy seat (space between the Cherubim - Winged Angels) which was on the lid of The Ark of The Covenant. The book of Hebrews goes into great detail concerning this subject. In the New Testament, Jesus (God who became man) took our sins upon the cross in order to, once and for all, as the High Priest, pay the debt of man's sin as a substitutionary sacrifice. His blood, unlike that of an animal, was Holy, sinless, pure!!! His blood was the eternal, acceptable payment for the sin of Adam. Now, through His blood, we have redemption (see Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:14 and I Peter 1:18-19). The only hope of forgiveness is to accept, by faith, the blood of Jesus as the substitute for our wickedness. Should we choose to reject this, it is to our own eternal damnation. This is why God's righteous anger (justified wrath) is kindled against those who know the truth and yet disregard it to the point that they trample it under their feet. (See Hebrews 10:26-31). God is left only one alternative if you reject His Perfect Son as your Lord and Savior. He must unleash His wrath against your sin. His Holiness requires it. Sin cannot exist in His presence. The only way to come into His presence is Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1Timothy 2:5). Are you under His blood? The choice is yours! He awaits, mercifully, your response. Since the beginning, man has known that there is a God. To deny this fact is to undermine the simplicity of logic, reason, and our own insatiable yearning to know Him. Why does the most remote tribes of the world worship something if there is no God? It is because there is an innate (naturally placed instinct) part of us that is inseparably connected to the knowledge of God. Let's stop resisting and start receiving!
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March 2020
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