For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)

Delivered From The Wrath To Come

The coming of Jesus Christ to save the lost is the greatest gift a loving God offers. There is no measure of repayment that man possesses to match the gift of God’s only beloved Son. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He died forgiving those who killed Him as an example of divine love. Only through the grace of God can a man begin to unravel the mystery of why God loves man so much. Through the mercy of the Father, redemption is granted through the blood of Jesus Christ. In the church, the blessings of salvation are found in forgiveness, sacrifice, remembrance, worship, and praise. The Holy Spirit gave humanity the Bible to read and understand what the will of the Father is. Everything man needs for hope in eternal life has been given in Jesus Christ.

There is another side of the divine equation that must never be lost sight of. While the salvation of man is embedded in grace, mercy, love, redemption, forgiveness, and sacrifice – there is a reality that Jesus came to deliver humanity from the wrath of His Father. Jesus did not come to earth because the state of man was pleasing to God. When Adam and Eve sinned, the wrath of God could have destroyed them both. The Lord had a plan to save sinful man. There was a time during the days of Noah the wrath of God killed every human on earth save eight. Many nations over the centuries have felt the wrath of God, such as Egypt, Israel, Assyria, Babylon, and many more. God’s wrath came against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Nadab and Abihu, Korah and his rebels, thousands of Israelites, the people of Caanan, and Ananias and Sapphira, to name a few.

The wrath of God is the most terrible thing man can know. There is nothing in the military might of all the nations combined that compares to the awful wrath of a vengeful God. Jesus delivers the fate of humanity from the wrath of God that is coming. There is a divine anger upon the souls of those guilty of rebellion and ignoring the will of God. Satan convinces men that God is only full of love and compassion. Like all lies of the devil, the half-truth of God’s love and compassion ignores the divine justice against those who will not accept the rule of God in their lives. There is a place where the divine wrath of God will be meted out against all ungodliness. Jesus came to deliver us from something real, not what was imaginary.

Jesus gave His life as one standing between God and man. The Son of God is the advocate, the propitiation for the sins of all men. He became the veil, that is His flesh, which unites man and God. The sacrifice of Jesus brings about a stay of execution from the wrath of God to those who will obey Him. There is boundless joy in knowing what it means to be saved from sin. It is the grace and love of God, and it is the absence of the wrath of God. Sadly, most of the world faces the wrath of God as disobedient, unbelieving, and rebellious people. Jesus died to take away God’s wrath. Without Jesus, there is only wrath. With Jesus, there is peace.