Hebrews 10:26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 30 For we know the one who said,
“I will take revenge.
I will pay them back.”
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.”
31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Why Are We Afraid to Refer to God's Wrath?
B.C. pastor links Haiti quake to voodoo
VANCOUVER — A B.C. pastor has found himself in hot water over comments he made on the weekend about the earthquake tragedy in Haiti.
Justin Dennison, lead pastor at Johnston Heights Church in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, said Wednesday that comments he made after a sermon on Sunday don't accurately reflect what he was trying to say.
People are being so careful to avoid calling Haiti 'a judgment from God'. As though God is only love and incapable of wrath. What a silly notion. I don't know if the recent hurricane and earthquake in Haiti are judgment from God, as I don't see why Haiti would be under any greater judgment than anywhere else in this world. But of course God's wrath can manifest itself in the physical destruction of people, whether through flood, fire, earthquake, plague, etc. The Bible is chock full of examples where God pronounces judgment on disobedient people, not the least of which were the Israelites as they were kicked out of their promised land for 2,500 years until May14, 1948.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a jealous, vengeful God, but our churches fail to characterize Him as such. Instead they portray Him as ever-patient, never angry, eternally forgiving - which is false - that's not the full picture of His character. However, forgiveness is offered now and for a short time hereafter.
Nahum 1
1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
The Lord 's Anger Against Nineveh
2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The LORD takes vengeance on his foes
and maintains his wrath against his enemies.
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power;
the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.
7 The LORD is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh ;
he will pursue his foes into darkness.
Romans 1:
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
2 comments:
HI ET,
Yep a lot of discussion about God's involvement in Haiti serial disasters. My thoughts are firstl;y, that God did not create this disaster, man did. Haiti has been a failed and decaying nation for the past 20 years. God did not do that, man did. If this 7.0 had happened in LA, there would have been a couple million dollars worth of damage but people would have been heading back to work by the end of the week! In Haiti, wew see the weakness of man in all his glory. Don't get me wrong, we must help out our suffering brother with all aour might. I'm just saying, don't blame God, blame man.
But remember what Jesus said to the deciples in John 9:1-5 --
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
As we live out the last days, earthquakes, hurricaines, and other natural disasters will continue to occur with greater frequency. It is for Christians to rise up and show the work of God in the lives of those affected.
Just my two cents....
NB
"I'm just saying, don't blame God, blame man."
I completely agree. I believe that man brings more pain on himself when he refuses to acknowledge God, and lives in opposition to Him. Many examples of that in the Bible, and that's also why future judgment is pending.
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