Tag: Wrath

The Law is Here, Now

Righteousness is through our faith in the LORD and not through our works or adherence to the law of any kind. This is shown through those introduced in God Word as being righteous before there was the described law that is known today. We have Abel, Noah, and Abraham who were all shown to us and described as righteous even as Moses had not been or been given the law from God as of yet. So, as we know righteousness and salvation, it does not require the law, but it is here now and it is to be held.

You see, we are not able to keep the law. We are sinners and will sin continually. We may minimize our conscious sin, but we will still sin subconsciously continually. I pray daily for forgiveness and ask the LORD to help keep me from sin, yet I know that I cannot avoid it.

“14For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.” – Romans 4:14-15 (ESV)

The promise of salvation and being heirs with Jesus cannot be left to our adherence to the law as we are not able to keep the law, no matter how hard we try. With that breaking of the law, or sinning, we are subject to the wrath of God. And frankly, we deserve it.

So, the law is here to guide us as much as possible. There is no escaping the law, but there is an escape from the wrath of God. That escape is thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin. That sacrifice carries from yesterday, into today, and out through tomorrow. Even as I sin, those are forgiving through my faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Abraham did not have the law to direct him and Jesus had yet to come, yet his faith in God and the work of God saved him from the certain wrath of God.

Adherence to the law today as our outward demonstration of our obedience to the LORD. We have what is right written on our hearts and we display that through our actions for the world to see. But remember adherence to the law does not our righteousness make. It is our faith in and reliance on God where we find grace. Yes, the law is here today, yet our salvation is found in Christ?

What is your view of the law today? Is the law saving us from something? What if you were reliant on your faith in God and adherence to the law is just that outward expression of what is on your heart?

Jesus Did Not Just Die, He was Crushed

This morning I was reminded through God’s Word that Jesus did not just die for my sins and for the sins of the world. HE WAS CRUSHED.

“10Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

— Isaiah 53:10 (ESV)

I often think that the weight of the death of Jesus is minimized. I am not sure that we carry the with us the shear brutality that was His death. I think that there may be a sensationalism and “martyrdom” that is brought out.

You see, Jesus did not just die, He was completely destroyed. Take His crucifying. Jesus was not just killed, He was not just put to death, He was nailed to a cross. He endured all the flogging, the carrying of the cross to the crucifixion site. He was crowned with a crown of thorns. He was stabbed with a spear.

Jesus could have been killed any number of ways. Yet, He was allowed by God the Father to die is such a gruesome manner. He was “crushed”. And for what? So that you and I did not have to die the same way.

Remember, the penalty of sin is the wrath of God. And think of that word, “wrath”. According to Merriam-Webster Online, wrath is “1 : strong vengeful anger or indignation 2 : retributory punishment for an offense or a crime : divine chastisement”. Wrath is not just simple payback in kind. It is carrying out with anger and vengeance. It is gruesome and messy. It is awful. It is the worst of the worst.

The LORD allowed for Jesus’ death to be messy and gruesome and awful. He died in the way that was meant for me. He was crushed so that I did not have to be. He was not a martyr and it was not sensational. He was crushed not as an example for me, but in my place.

What is your view of Jesus’ death? Do you see it as some sort of example or martyrdom? What if you saw it as it was, gruesome and messy, as substitution for the death that you deserve and should have received?