Saved From What?

Have you ever been to a foreign country, where you do not speak the language?

Have you ever heard the phrase: “you need to get saved” or “you need to be saved”?

How many of us, if we had not grown up in the church would know what those words actually mean?

Let’s just say, we know at least part of what it means…many people hear these words and have no clue of their meaning.

As a matter of fact, they may have heard the words and asked the question, “Saved, on a floppy disk, jump drive, desk top, the cloud, CD, or external hard drive.

Or maybe they may ask the question “Saved from What?”

Is something wrong with me

Is something or someone going to get me

Is there something amiss, etc.

Some folks who have been in the church for years still struggle with the answer to the question “saved from what?”

1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 ESV

9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Saved From What?

Wrath to Come!

The text answers the question explicitly.

The only question is to define what wrath is?

What is “Wrath”?

1: strong vengeful anger or indignation

2: retributory punishment for an offense or a crime : divine chastisement

But how about the Greek word here defined:

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (Chapter 1)

ὀργῆς —wrath; anger; natural impulse or propensity

So let’s talk about the definition of these words Greek and English:

vengeful anger/indignation

wrath—natural impulse or propensity

So if we consider vengeful anger, we might think of God in a way as to believe this is not good.

Think of it this way, we do not normally honor vengeance.

But we look at the work of God in a different way as we consider the word “Indignation”

You see indignation—it implies a sense of righteousness.

Vengeance in not normally deemed in a good light because of the one carrying out the vengeance is not any more worthy than the receiver of the vengeance.

Not so with God…He is the worthy One.

He is the One with value

He is the One who is complete

Genesis 14:18 ESV

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)

He is the one who is righteous (when we look to Amos and the picture of the day of judgement)

Amos 5:24 ESV

24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

He is the on who is Holy.

Isaiah 6:3 ESV

3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

With the Character of God we can look with understanding towards the wrath that is to come.

Zephaniah 1 describes the day of the Lord as follows:

Zephaniah 1:14–18 ESV

14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 17 I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

So what is the outflow of this knowledge:

Stop Making gods from Created Things!

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV)

9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

What is an idol?

Any thing and every thing we place in the seat of God or ahead of God.

“Anything I put before my God is an idol Anything I want with all my heart is an idol And anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol And anything that I give all my love is an idol”

—Jimmy Needham

Idolatry is self worship rather than God worship!

Turn to the One Who Delivers!

1 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV)

9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV)

10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Walking Away, But In...

Wrath is real.

Wrath is deserved.

Wrath is avoidable.