God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 7:11
We had several excellent pear trees on the farm, and their fruit was important to us. One summer, a serious overpopulation of squirrels resulted in these pesky critters targeting the pear trees. They would eat a few bites from each pear, and leave the rest to rot. My father saw the destruction, but he was busy with other farm duties and did not have time to deal with the squirrels. But one Saturday, he decided that enough was enough. He exhausted the most of his ammunition, but by the end of the day, squirrels were no longer a problem. Judgment Day had come for them. Judgment Day is also coming for the wicked who do not realize how angry God is at their sin.
Why do we have Gospel meetings, children’s meetings, and Sunday schools? We are not seeking church membership, and we certainly are not raising money! No, we spread the Gospel because there is wrath against sinners. And we do not want people to fall into the hands of an angry God. We must faithfully present the need for repentance, because that is an absolute element of God’s salvation.
The wishy-washy, feel-good, ‘God is love’, and ‘Give your heart to Jesus’ gospel is gaining in popularity these days. It has been very successful at getting more church pews filled and more pledge cards filled and more money raised. But it hasn’t saved any souls. Its converts are not converted from sin to receive salvation, they are not saved from wrath to receive blessing, they are not delivered from hell to receive Heaven, they are not translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. If God is angry with the wicked every day, how much more must He be angry with those who would deny His anger and peddle false security to sinners?
There is a haste about the Gospel, because we never know when God’s anger will fall on sinners. There is also a need in the Gospel, to make sure sinners know about God’s anger, and then about His love. -Jim MacIntosh