Sermonette for Saturday
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6
Do you know what wrath is? One type of wrath is what you feel when you have to slam on your brakes to avoid hitting the person who cut in front of you in busy traffic. You might also feel wrath against the person who stole your credit card and used it. The Greek word for that kind of wrath is ‘thumos’, and it refers to the explosive rage you feel when something nasty happens. But ‘thumos’ is not the Greek word used in today’s text; the word here is ‘orge’, and it refers to the type of wrath that applies to God. Unlike us, God does not blow up in sudden and uncontrolled rage at somebody who is sinning, and then apologize for His outburst. The word ‘orge’ applies to the kind of wrath that is a strong, settled opposition to all that is evil, arising out of God’s own nature. It is God’s holy revulsion against that which contradicts His holiness. His wrath is a slowly building revulsion toward everything that is against His holiness. It is a wrath that, when it reaches its capacity, is poured forth on those who deserve it, as occurred at the time of the Noahic flood and as will occur during the Great Tribulation. In our text, it applies to wrath that is coming against ‘these things’ that are listed in the previous verse.
Verse 5 tells us that ‘no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God’. If we go to Colossians 3:6, we find essentially the same list and the same warning of wrath. This is serious! God does not take this kind of behaviour and these types of people lightly. His wrath against these is building, and will soon be poured out. Of that, we can be certain. Because God says it, regardless of the vain words of those who would try to deceive us.
And people are trying to deceive us today with vain words. Look at all of the vigorous campaigns underway these days to try to convince us that pornography is beneficial, that homosexuality is normal and right, that drug abuse and marketing are acceptable, that murdering the unborn is a human right to be promoted, and so forth. As Christians, we need to see these things for what they are: sin. And we need to make sure we don’t get swept up in the vile flood of the world’s opinions and attitudes. Because the wrath of God is building against all of these things and against all of these people. If we allow ourselves to be deceived, we may also face judgment as well.
We are not the children of disobedience. But we can become disobedient if we allow the vain words that are swirling around us today to deceive us into accepting that which God declares is worthy of His wrath. -Jim MacIntosh