Scripture tells us that the root cause of pain is humankind's rebellion and sin. When we look out at the world we can see so much human sin that is the direct cause of evil in people's lives. Seeing and hearing the cries of those who suffer, we get angry! And that's okay! After I preached last Sunday one of our perceptive 8th graders asked "Is it okay to be angry at injustice...?" and, in response, I wrote a sequel to my sermon on anger. You can read it by clicking here.
It's also okay to pray for God's vengeance. Psalm 28, for example, is of the many godly prayers that cry out for God to DO SOMETHING about the evil in the world.
Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward! (Psalm 28:4)The "wages of sin is death." That's the first part of how God deals. He does not let us go on sinning forever. We meet our maker and the judgment!
BUT WAIT! You must hear this! In the end, God pours his righteous wrath out on himself, on the cross! And God says "COME TO ME!" Come under my blood! You do not need to take revenge on yourself or on anyone else. I love you so much that I would rather die than lose you. And then he dies and rises again to give us sinners the promise of a new and perfect life.
This was the theme of last Sunday's preaching. Click here to listen to 11:00 a.m. version or here for 8:30. You can also read a short summary posted Friday at "Angry?". May the Lord deliver us from his wrath and allow us to see his justice and his peace in this suffering world.
P.S. - our Lenten series on the Seven Deadly Sins continues tomorrow night here at church with a message from Nate Bendorf. Come if you can!
www.equalsharing.com
No comments:
Post a Comment