It was my original intention to continue the study by examining what the Old Testament says about the sinner standing before God. What follows was to be the groundwork for the next post... however God in his providence, had lead me to chase another rabbit, and in doing so Establish a truth that has become a problem in much of what is called Christianity today.
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I. God's primary attribute- LOVE?
"Do you believe that God does anything that is not motivated by love? 'Cause love is his ontological character, it's his being." -Paul Young, author of "The Shack" from an interview with Pastor Kendal Adams.
The defining attribute of God has always been a debate among theologians throughout the ages, and in this day and age, when the "seeker sensitive/ social acceptance gospel" message is puked up by another salvo of liberal clergy and theologians, the love of God has become so all encompassing, that it overshadows and even eliminates any of his other attributes. Case in point, Mr. Young, who is a spokesman for emergent Christianity.
Young, like all others of his theological persuasion, see God as being so loving that EVERY act he preforms is motivated by this emotion, even at the expence of his other attributes. Those who hold to this have to twist major portions of scripture to promote their views. Improper exegesis is all to common among people who hold this position, as seen in his [Young's] book, which is awash with the false doctrine of "Universal Atonement."
However, Paul Young does asks a valid question. Does God Do Anything that is not motivated by Love? After all...
... "God is Love"-I John 4: 8- (intentionally wrested from it's context...)
In Answering this one question, we can see whether God's Love is His "very being", His "ontological nature," as Paul would have it. We can disprove this by simply finding one instance of God doing something that is not motivated by His love...
II. The Wine of God's Wrath
"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb"-Revelation 14:10
I want to avoid going into the nature and duration of God's punishment, and just concentrate on the metaphor that describes God's anger. It is called The wine of the Wrath of God, poured into the cup of his indignation.
The Greek words which are translated "wrath" and "indignation," testify to the emotional status of God at the time of Judgment.
Wrath- Grk. -Thumos: passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith boiling up and soon subsiding again
Indignation-Grk.- Orgay:- movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but especially anger- Thayer"s Lexicon of New Testament Greek
God's judgment is described as a cup of His violent anger, filled with His boiling wrath. This wine of God's intense anger is poured out "Without mixture" as it forced upon those who are being judged...
A little study into the history of wine Shows that throughout the Bible, it was a common beverage, used for various purposes. It was mixed with water to control the strength, and it was mixed with spices to add flavor, and also for medicinal purposes.
God's wrath and indignation are emotions in the above text, that have no mixture. There is no other emotion added to water down God's wrath... There is no other emotion to make the cup of His fierce anger more palatable.... There is no other emotion, to deaden the pain and anguish that will be experienced by the pitiful souls who are so foolish as to refuse the precious free gift of God!
Could this not be the very Cup that Jesus Christ, in His anguish, took upon himself to Drink, as he succumbed to His Fathers will, in the Garden of Gethsemane?
"Father , if thou be willing take this CUP from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done"- Luke 22:42
It was this very Cup that our precious savior, in His absolute love for us, drank deeply from as His bloody, bruised, and beaten body was nailed to a filthy cross. As the sin of every man who would Come to God was laid upon Him, Our precious savior took upon himself the fullness of God's undiluted wrath. He took upon himself OUR sin and He endured the wrath that WE deserved, even refusing the medicinal wine, mixed with myrrh, given him to dull the horrible pain of his crucifixion- Mark 15: 23 . As He hung upon the cross, wounded for OUR transgressions, and Crushed for OUR iniquities, The divine prophecy was fulfilled...God saw the travail of Christs soul, and was SATISFIED. -Isaiah 53:11 How Great the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for enduring the punishment we deserve!
Who would have the unmitigated gall to deny the penal substitutionary death of Christ? Who would have the absolute audacity to deny the love that Jesus Christ expressed in giving his very life for the lost???
Ironically the very ones who claim that God's love is his defining attribute... including Paul Young...
God's love is an emotion, it is not his defining attribute... You cannot reconcile the judgment of God on the unredeemed with his love, as His judgment is only pure undiluted wrath. - Revelation 14:10
Does God do anything that is not motivated by love? The answer is yes... But Praise be to our Most High and Loving God, that HE has provided a sacrifice, in his own son, and a Free Gift to those who will accept it.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not parish, but have everlasting life... John 3:16
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THIS will be continued in the next post: God's Defining Attribute...Holiness.
-SOLI DIO GLORIA!
A little study into the history of wine Shows that throughout the Bible, it was a common beverage, used for various purposes. It was mixed with water to control the strength, and it was mixed with spices to add flavor, and also for medicinal purposes.
God's wrath and indignation are emotions in the above text, that have no mixture. There is no other emotion added to water down God's wrath... There is no other emotion to make the cup of His fierce anger more palatable.... There is no other emotion, to deaden the pain and anguish that will be experienced by the pitiful souls who are so foolish as to refuse the precious free gift of God!
Could this not be the very Cup that Jesus Christ, in His anguish, took upon himself to Drink, as he succumbed to His Fathers will, in the Garden of Gethsemane?
"Father , if thou be willing take this CUP from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done"- Luke 22:42
It was this very Cup that our precious savior, in His absolute love for us, drank deeply from as His bloody, bruised, and beaten body was nailed to a filthy cross. As the sin of every man who would Come to God was laid upon Him, Our precious savior took upon himself the fullness of God's undiluted wrath. He took upon himself OUR sin and He endured the wrath that WE deserved, even refusing the medicinal wine, mixed with myrrh, given him to dull the horrible pain of his crucifixion- Mark 15: 23 . As He hung upon the cross, wounded for OUR transgressions, and Crushed for OUR iniquities, The divine prophecy was fulfilled...God saw the travail of Christs soul, and was SATISFIED. -Isaiah 53:11 How Great the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for enduring the punishment we deserve!
Who would have the unmitigated gall to deny the penal substitutionary death of Christ? Who would have the absolute audacity to deny the love that Jesus Christ expressed in giving his very life for the lost???
Ironically the very ones who claim that God's love is his defining attribute... including Paul Young...
God's love is an emotion, it is not his defining attribute... You cannot reconcile the judgment of God on the unredeemed with his love, as His judgment is only pure undiluted wrath. - Revelation 14:10
Does God do anything that is not motivated by love? The answer is yes... But Praise be to our Most High and Loving God, that HE has provided a sacrifice, in his own son, and a Free Gift to those who will accept it.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not parish, but have everlasting life... John 3:16
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THIS will be continued in the next post: God's Defining Attribute...Holiness.
-SOLI DIO GLORIA!
My dearest brother,
ReplyDeleteYour article brought me to my knees with gratitude and grief. Gratitude because I do not deserve such outrageous grace. And grief because the greatest act of love that has ever been known is being trampled by dogs and swine - God's divine mercy attacked as "cosmic child abuse." May our HOLY King of Kings and Lord of Lords show His mercy and love to those who deny Him, sparing them from His undiluted wrath which our precious Lord Jesus Christ so passionately suffered.
Christ was a man acquainted with sorrow (Isaiah 53:3-4). Indeed, the scriptures testify to the desperate sorrow and anguish he experienced in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:34). Yet, despite enduring sorrow "unto death" He willingly took upon Himself our despicable sins. Worse still, He endured God's wrath and rejection but He did so for the exceeding joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). Through the unimaginable agony and infinite love of our holy triune God, reconciliation between the Father and His children was made possible. Hallellulya!
"How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make His a wretch His treasure" [lyrics: How Deep The Father's Love For Us]
Love to you in our blessed Saviour, Dorian. I give praise and thanks to the Lord for helping me to grow through the blessed bread I receive through your beautiful words. God bless you, brother. Your sister in Christ's precious blood,
Angela
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
Thank you once again Dorian for a very insightful and moving message. I especially liked the comparison between the wine of wrath poured into the cup of his indignation in Revelations 14:10 and the same cup that Jesus took upon Himself to drink from. It really highlights the magnitude of what Christ endured; for us.
ReplyDeleteThese people who promote this one sided gospel end up missing the magnitude of what Jesus did, of God's mercy, power and love when He gave His only son to die for us. They end up dumbing it down and deny His suffering so that they can hide behind a "fluffy, nice God", and continue to live a carnal life.
I look forward to the second part of the article.
God bless you, brother.
Glenn