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
Did you ever wonder why the religious practices of the heathen are so violent and bloody? Why did they offer human sacrifices? Why did the Hindus fling their children into the Ganges River? Why in times of great famine or pestilence did the heathen seek out someone to blame the problem on and kill them? It’s because they believed that their so-called gods were angry and needed to be appeased. The gods they worshipped were false. But they at least grasped the reality of wrath against sin. And that is something that modern-day ‘Christianity’ is trying to ignore or dispose of. They tell us that there is no wrath of God. In this they are far more foolish than the heathen.
Those who reject the principle of God’s wrath against sin have no foundation for their error, certainly not in the Scriptures. The Word of God makes it clear that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11), and contains many warnings to flee from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7). Job 36:18 contains this warning: ‘Because there IS wrath, beware lest He take thee away with His stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee’. Is it any wonder, then, that our text describes the denial of God’s wrath as vain words? And yet, those vain words are deceiving many who love to have their ears tickled by words of love and sweetness and an overlooking of sin. As Christians, we need to be careful that those vain words don’t deceive us, too. Make no mistake, it is because of their sin that people don’t want to be reminded of the wrath of God.
The previous two verses tell us what ‘these things’ are that result in the wrath of God. These verses refer to sexual sins, impurity, covetousness, and filthy and foolish talking. It is hard to imagine a period in history when these things were more prevalent than today. Fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah for the same sins that are saturating our modern day society. God’s wrath was not withheld in the day of Abraham and Lot, and we deceive ourselves if we think that God will overlook today what He demolished then.
Who are the children of disobedience? What have they disobeyed? Let me answer that with another question, this time from the Scriptures: ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?’ (1 Peter 4:17) If we look into our own hearts, we must admit that we are no less sinners than the worst around us. We have disobeyed God’s laws and rebelled against His Word. But there came a point in which we ceased our disobedience to the Gospel of God. Acknowledging our sinfulness and our deserving of God’s wrath, we appreciated that the Lamb of God bore that wrath for us. We are no longer the children of disobedience. The wrath of God cannot come upon us. And for that, we are thankful today.
Those around us desperately need to hear the Gospel message. Because if they don’t hear it, they can’t obey it. And they will face the wrath of God, whether they believe that or not. – Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/cT-95Wa1ck4