Escaping the Wrath and Curse (Q87-90)

Introduction

Connection:

A low view of God and a low view of sin leads to low delights in God’s grace, low joys in the Gospel, and low zeal to love and serve.

Theme:

Escaping the Curse of the Law (87-89)

Need:

“What’s our biggest problem in the church today? We don’t know who God is” - RC Sproul.

Salvation isn’t merely salvation from the devil—or even our our sin (though both of those things are true).

Biblically speaking: salvation is from God’s wrath, by God’s grace, and for God’s glory. God saves us from Himself, through His Son, and in His Spirit. Salvation is of the Lord—because salvation is from the Lord and by the Lord.

The modern church detests in such a sentiment—but to detest such a saying is to remove the Gospel of any true saving power.

Purpose:

To humble us in our persistent law-breaking, to warn us of the wrath of God for law-breakers, to show us the way to escape the curse of the law, and to comfort us in the Saviour for Law-breakers.

PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY

Q87. Is. any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? A87. No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God (Ecc. 7:20; 1 John 1:8, 10; Gal. 5:17), but doth daily break them in thought, word, or deed (Gn 4:5, and 7:21; Rom. 3:9-21; James 3:2-13).

First, no man is able to perfectly keep the commandments of God.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

1 John 1:8 ESV

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:10 ESV

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Galatians 5:17 ESV

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Second, we break the commandments of God daily in thought, word, and or deed.

Romans 3:9–21 ESV

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

James 3:2–13 ESV

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Matthew 26:41 ESV

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Isaiah 64:6–7 ESV

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

Romans 7:21 ESV

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Q88. Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? A88. Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others (Ez. 8:6, 13, 15; 1 Jn. 5:16; Ps. 78:17, 32, 56).

Ezekiel 8:6 ESV

And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

Ezekiel 8:13 ESV

He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

Ezekiel 8:15 ESV

Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.”

1 John 5:16 ESV

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

Psalm 78:17 ESV

Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

Psalm 78:32 ESV

In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

Psalm 78:56 ESV

Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,

John 19:11 ESV

Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

Q89. What doth every sin deserve? A89. Every sin deserveth God’s wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come (Eph. 5:6; Gal. 3:10; Lam. 3:39; Mt. 25:41; Rom. 6:23).

Ephesians 5:6 ESV

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Galatians 3:10 ESV

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Matthew 25:41 ESV

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 90:11 ESV

Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

Thomas Watson says: God’s wrath is terrible. The Spanish proverb is, ‘The lion is not so fierce as he is painted.’ We are apt to have slight thoughts of God’s wrath; but it is very tremendous and dismal, as if scalding lead should be dropt into one’s eye. The Hebrew word for wrath, signifies heat. To show that the wrath of God is hot, therefore it is compared to fire in the text. Fire, when it is in its rage, is dreadful, (as we saw in the flames of this city): so the wrath of God is like fire, it is the terrible of terribles. Other fire is but painted to this. If when God’s wrath is kindled but a little, and a spark of it flies into a wicked man’s conscience in this life, it is so terrible, what will it be when God “stirs up all his wrath?” Ps. 78:38. How sad is it with a soul in desertion! Now God dips his pen in gall, and ‘writes bitter things;’ now his poisoned arrows stick fast in the heart, Ps. 88:15, 16., “While I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted; thy fierce wrath goeth over me.” Ps. 75:8. Solomon saith, “The king’s wrath, is as the roaring of a lion,” Prov. 19:12. What then is God’s wrath! When God musters up all his forces, and sets himself in battalia against a sinner, how can his heart endure? Ezek. 22:14. Who is able to lie under mountains of wrath? God is the sweetest friend, but the sorest enemy. To set forth the fearfulness of this wrath. 3d. The wrath of God is eternal. So saith the text, “Everlasting fire.” No tears can quench the flame of God’s anger; no, though we could shed rivers of tears. In all pains of this life, men hope for a cessation, the suffering will not continue long; either the tormentor dies, or the tormented; but the wrath of God is always feeding upon a sinner. The terror of natural fire is, that it consumes what it burns; but this makes the fire of God’s wrath terrible, that it doth not consume what it burns. Sic morientur damnati ut semper vivant, Bern. The sinner shall ever be in the furnace; after innumerable millions of years, the wrath of God is as far from ending, as it was at the beginning. If all the earth and sea were sand, and every thousand years a bird should come and take away one grain of this sand, it would be a long while ere that vast heap of sand were emptied; but, if after all that time, the damned might come out of hell, there were some hope; but this word ever breaks the heart.

Nahum 1:2–8 ESV

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

Zephaniah 1:14–18 ESV

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. 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, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 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. 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.

Mark 9:43 ESV

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

Mark 9:45 ESV

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

Mark 9:47 ESV

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,

Luke 12:5 ESV

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Revelation 6:12–17 ESV

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Revelation 14:8–11 ESV

Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Revelation 20:7–10 ESV

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

“What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?” … God holds sinners over the pit of hell, like one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire. God abhors sinners, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards them burns like fire; he looks upon them as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire ... they are ten thousand times so abominable in his eyes, as the most hateful and venomous serpent is in ours.”

Psalm 1:5 ESV

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

Psalm 2:12 ESV

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 3:7 ESV

Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

Psalm 5:5 ESV

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

Psalm 6:10 ESV

All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Psalm 7:11–13 ESV

God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.

Romans 9:13 ESV

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

“Who needs a fireman when there’s no fire? Who needs a Saviour when there’s no clear and present threat of judgement? People today simply do not believe that there will be a day of judgement. But if we believed it, really believed it, the energy of our evangelism would increased a hundredfold. In the OT, the fundamental difference between a true prophet and a false prophet was that the true prophet proclaimed the day of the Lord as a day of consuming wrath. The people didn’t want to hear that, so the false prophet received applause by promising the people that the day of the Lord was a day of brightness and light and joy, that there was nothing to worry about. ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life’. But the reality is that God does not have a wonderful plan for the unbeliever. To such people, God will speak in fury and judgment … When we consider even for a moment the frightening dimension of the unbridled outpouring of God’s wrath, we tremble in our souls. When we consider that we deserve to be consumed by His fury and realize that His fury has instead consumed Jesus in our place, when we recognize the greatness of the peril, we then are able to see the greatness of the salvation that He has bestowed upon us. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.” - RC Sproul

BUT GOD!

Q90. What doth God require of us that we may escape his wrath and curse, due to us for sin? A.90 To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life (Acts 20:21), with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption (Pr. 2:1-6, 8:33 to the end; Is. 55:2, 3)

Firstly, to escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, we must have faith in Jesus Christ and repentance unto life.

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Acts 20:21 ESV

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:21–26 ESV

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Galatians 3:10–14 ESV

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Hebrews 2:17 ESV

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Colossians 2:14 ESV

by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

1 John 4:10 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Isaiah 53:5–6 ESV

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Romans 5:8–9 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Secondly, we must have a diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.

Proverbs 2:1–6 ESV

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 8:33–36 ESV

Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Isaiah 55:2–3 ESV

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Acts 2:42 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 20:32 ESV

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

1 Corinthians 10:14–17 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Ephesians 5:18–20 ESV

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Conclusion + Big Idea

Read the Q+A’s Again:

Amen, let’s pray.