A Word on Wrath
Words to Live By • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsWe are spared from God's wrath when we trust God's wrath.
Notes
Transcript
ME: Intro - Avengers
ME: Intro - Avengers
Who knows what MCU stands for?
That’s right, Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It refers to the fictional setting in which all the Marvel movies exist.
This may not be a surprise, but I really enjoy the MCU,
As many others do.
It is likely the most successful and most popular movie franchise ever.
Most of the shows and movies focus primarily on one,
Sometimes a couple of superheroes.
But when they team up as Earth’s mightiest heroes,
They are called the Avengers.
From 2008, with the first Iron Man movie,
For over a decade,
They had, I think 18 full length feature films,
All building toward a 2-part movie finale to bring an end to what is called the infinity saga.
The first of these 2 movies is called Avengers: Infinity War.
And the movie ends with the bad guy winning,
While the Avengers, and all of earth, for that matter, losing.
One of the big setups for this defeat was a falling out that happened between Iron Man and Captain America in an earlier film.
So, the dramatic conclusion of the infinity saga is called Avengers: Endgame.
It begins with Iron Man being found nearly dead in space.
When Iron Man is found, it is the first time Him and Captain America reunite since that falling out.
Captain America is trying to figure out a way to avenge what the bad guy did in Infinity War.
And when he asks Iron Man for help,
Referring back to their falling out, Iron man says:
“I said we'd lose. You said, "we'll do that together too." Guess what, Cap? We *lost,* and you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the *Avengers?* Not the Prevengers, right?”
That, right there, is what makes these films, these heroic characters, and the comics they come from so appealing.
That sense of making right what bad people make wrong.
That sense of seeking vengeance.
That sense of being an avenger.
Over 20 movies, spanning more than a decade, costing billions of dollars to make,
Culminating in a satisfying attempt for vengeance.
So, we live vicariously through superheroes like the Avengers because they are able to seek vengeance in ways we never can.
We love the idea of avenging those who have been wronged because injustice makes us angry.
These fictional characters are made up to satisfy our desire to avenge.
The reason so many of us resonate with them is because we all know what it is like to be wronged,
Or for those we love to be wronged.
Perhaps you have been bullied at different times in your life.
You may even be able to remember the names you have been called by other people.
Just thinking about twists your stomach in knots.
Maybe someone has broken a promise they made to you,
Or you have been abused or abandoned,
Perhaps someone has broken your trust, cheated on you, gossiped about you.
Maybe you have been stabbed in the back by a friend,
Or have been on the receiving end of some other deep and unrelenting pain.
We all know what it is like to be wronged,
Or for someone we love to be wronged.
That is why we love a good revenge story.
And you know what,
In a sense, it is okay that we feel this way.
Because we have been born with this innate desire for justice, right?
The Bible says that we have been made in the image of God.
And God is perfectly just!
So, we have been made in the image of perfect justice.
This is why we feel a sense of anger when people are getting away with doing wrong.
We want to see bad people get what is coming to them!
We want to see justice!
We want those who have been wronged to be avenged!
And yet, this morning, we are looking at a Word on Wrath in Proverbs where God condemns our wrath.
God made us with this innate desire for justice to be done,
So, why does He then condemn our wrath?
Because we are fallen images of perfect justice.
When we avenge,
We use our fallen perception of justice as the standard.
And as a result, we become unjust.
So, we are not meant to be the avenger.
Only the One Who is perfectly just can be the Avenger.
So, we must trust the job of avenging to God.
That sense of justice we feel is right,
But if we try to execute vengeance motivated by our own wrath,
Then God says, we are wrong,
Because we are attempting to take His place as the avenger.
We are replacing His perfect justice with our flawed copy of justice.
And when we pour out our wrath on others,
It is because we do not trust the wrath of God to administer justice the way we want.
Slide
So, our outline for this morning is simple:
God Avenges (Proverbs 20:22)
We Avoid (Proverbs 24:17-18)
God Awards (Proverbs 25:21-22)
We can be free of wrath because in Christ, the wrath of God was satisfied
Slide
A couple weeks ago, in Proverbs 10:12 we saw that it says:
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
Hatred and wrath are two sides of the same coin.
This means being wrathful stirs up strife.
When I am vengeful, bitter, quick-tempered, and unforgiving,
Proverbs says that I am being a fool and causing conflict.
But when I am loving,
When I am patient, slow to anger, and quick to forgive,
Then I am being wise and covering all offenses.
Proverbs condemns us from holding onto grudges and seeking vengeance,
While also encouraging us to forgive and be merciful.
Our problem is that we only think of wrath as extreme outbursts of physical violence,
Such as throwing things, punching things, or smashing things.
But there are far more subtle ways we pour out wrath on others.
For some, wrath is completely internal.
Imagining what life would be like if the person who hurt you were no longer around.
It may look like coldness or silent indifference to a friend or family member.
Acting as if you are not mad at a coworker while anger just festers inside you.
For others, wrath is almost entirely external.
Some will lash out with intentionally bad behavior;
A child throwing a temper tantrum,
A significant other flirting with someone of the opposite sex just to make their partner jealous,
Driving reckless to show everyone how mad you are.
Getting payback with an insulting comeback or gossip.
But Proverbs is calling us to another way.
When we try to get even by bringing up past wrongs and refusing to let them go,
We are just multiplying wrath upon wrath,
We are stirring up strife.
And what happens?
We tend to blow up in a furious rage,
Or we say things we wish we did not say,
We ultimately wreak havoc on our most intimate relationships.
Slide
So, Proverbs 17:27 counsels us:
Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
So, instead of being fueled by wrath to gossip or say something we regret,
Or keep a list of wrongs to pull out and use against others,
Proverbs says to keep a cool head and let offenses go.
WE: God Avenges (Prov. 20:22)
WE: God Avenges (Prov. 20:22)
When talking about this subject,
Some of us may be tempted to ease our guilt over having wrath,
Because we think we have never acted on it,
So, we’re okay, right?
Well, Scripture teaches that even if we never act on it,
But wrath is in our heart,
Then we are still in sin.
Because even though wrath may only live in our heart,
An honest confession requires us to admit that we want vengeance,
If we had the ability and opportunity to do so.
But you know what is sweeter than seeking vengeance ourselves?
Slide
It is when God Avenges, as we learn from Prov. 20:22:
Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
The way this proverb is worded addresses internal dialogue.
It is referring to the planning of vengeance that starts in our heart.
It reveals that our wrath begins in the heart,
And is accountable to God,
Even if we never act on it.
Slide
This is important for us,
Because instead of acting on wrath,
Most of us know in our minds that forgiveness is the right course of action.
When we hear stories about forgiveness being sought and granted between others it warms our hearts,
But when it becomes a personal situation, we think differently.
We think that God cannot possibly expect us to forgive that person after what they did.
Am I really suppose to forgive the drunk driver who killed my family member?
Am I really suppose to forgive the spouse who cheated on me?
Am I really suppose to forgive the parent who abandoned me as a child?
If God is truly expecting us to forgive those who have wronged us,
How does He expect us to do this?
Because it feels like if we let go of how we were wronged,
Then it is like we are treating what they did as if it were no big deal, right?
This feeling is strong and pervasive,
It is difficult to overcome.
But if that were true, then we are saying it was no big deal that people wrongly accused and murdered Jesus,
Because Jesus forgave them,
And He cried out to the Father to forgive them.
So, did Jesus forgive them because what they did was no big deal?
Of course not.
It was because Jesus trusted in the Father’s wrath to deliver justice,
He did not need to take vengeance Himself.
So, we forgive those who wrong us by following Christ’s example,
And trusting in the Father’s wrath to deliver justice.
This is the reason Proverbs explicitly directs us not to seek vengeance in 20:22.
This directive does not come out of thin air.
Slide
God gave the directive initially in Deut. 32:35-36
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’ For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
God avenges because God is in charge.
So, God promises to avenge His people who have been wronged.
He promises to rescue us in time.
He promises to free us from wrath.
Because in Christ, the wrath of God was satisfied.
So, we see this teaching to trust God to avenge all over the NT.
Slide
Jesus teaches this in Matt. 5:39:
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Slide
1 Thess. 5:15 takes it a step further:
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Slide
And 1 Pet. 3:9 similarly adds:
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
So, in all this, God is essentially warning us against taking the law into our own hands.
Why?
Because when we take the law into our own hands,
And seek to avenge ourselves,
We are undermining God’s established order.
Slide
Any sort of vigilante for God mindset contradicts the way God tells us to handle vengeance.
God calls us away from our self-produced justice.
God’s teaching in Scripture tells us that vigilante behavior is an expression of unbelief,
Which is the reason we do not forgive, but would rather pour out our wrath on those who have wronged us.
Forgiveness, at its core, is a belief issue.
We have been shown this throughout Proverbs,
When we are told that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
This means when it comes to wrath, fear of the Lord is still the beginning of wisdom,
And wisdom tells us to forgive instead and to trust in God to avenge our wrongs.
So, we will forgive when we believe God will avenge.
Slide
Romans 12:17-19 tells us to...
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Notice God does not give a timeline for Him to avenge,
But He does say He certainly will.
Slide
Until then, God tells us to wait,
No matter how long it takes,
We must trust that God will avenge all wrongs in the end.
Waiting on God to avenge demonstrates our trust in Him,
And really our hope in Him as our Savior.
Certainty that God avenges frees us from our need to avenge.
GOD: We Avoid (Prov. 24:17-18)
GOD: We Avoid (Prov. 24:17-18)
But God is not only concerned with our wrathful actions,
He is concerned with the wrath in our heart.
For some, when things go bad for those who wrong them,
The wrath in their heart makes them glad for their enemies misfortune.
When someone who has wronged us loses their job or has relationship problems,
We find ourselves smiling from this feeling of gladness.
Why?
Because of the wrath in our hearts.
Slide
Proverbs 24:17-18 commands that we avoid wrath in our heart.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
On its own, vs. 17 makes sense in terms of simply being compassionate to others,
Even enemies.
It is saying to never gloat when an enemy falls.
Do not rejoice when he stumbles.
It is telling people to be kind to one another.
But what is the reason given for being kind and compassionate?
Vs. 18 says that people are to be motivated by the wrath of God.
This shows that vs. 17 is not optional.
It teaches that if you withhold compassion from others,
Then you deserve God’s wrath more than your enemy does.
Slide
Being a vengeful gloater like Proverbs describes here foreshadows an eternity in hell.
In other words, those who hold onto wrath receive God’s wrath.
Why?
Because Scripture says a lack of forgiveness is sin,
It is saying that holding grudges is just as wrong as the offense that an enemy does to you.
This is what is taught earlier in Prov. 17:5,
Where it says that those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
God sees gloating over another person’s misfortune, regardless of the circumstance, as evil.
And the Bible says He will punish your gladness over their misfortune greater than His punishment for their guilt.
Brothers and sisters, this is a hard truth to accept,
But it is still a truth, nonetheless.
Why?
Because we have been forgiven for so much.
So, God’s wrath must motivate you to be kind,
Even to your enemies.
Slide
It is like the unexpected theologian, Will.I.Am, sings in his song, Be Nice:
“Be different. Be nice. Just smile, I promise it’ll change your life...Be nice, be nice. Be nice, be nice. The love you give is the love you get . So, be nice and change your life.”
What Proverbs is asking almost seems backwards.
That you are to refrain from gloating over an enemy,
So, that God might further pour out His wrath on them.
But that is the wisdom Proverbs is teaching here.
Don’t gloat, forgive, and God will avenge.
Now, this does not sound like a pure motive,
But it is, in fact, this was Christ’s motive.
Slide
1 Peter 2:21-23 teaches this:
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Jesus forgave His enemies and trusted the Father to avenge.
This once again answers some difficult questions:
How can I forgive my enemy?
How can I let go of this wrong?
How can I let go of my wrath?
How can I forgive as if nothing happened while they get away scot-free?
The answer is to follow the example of Jesus.
And trust God to avenge.
Trust God to handle it,
While we avoid pouring out our wrath by rejoicing over our enemies.
Slide
We have talked numerous times through Proverbs that Jesus is the embodiment of wisdom.
As wisdom in the flesh, He said to love your enemies,
To pray for them,
To turn the other cheek,
To not revile them!
And He never acted as if this is just something He said but did not do Himself.
Oh no, He understands first hand how insurmountable of a standard we are being held to.
He knows personally how difficult it is to do these things,
Because He was wronged far worse than you ever could be.
Yet, He carried His cross,
He was struck in the face,
He had thorns impressed into the flesh on His head,
He was whipped with a cord that peeled skin off His body,
He was publicly stripped of all His clothes,
And mocked and spit on by crowds of people.
As He went through all of that,
He looked into the faces of the assaulters and antagonizers,
And He said, “Father, forgive them, because they know not what they do.”
Now, you may be tempted to say,
Well Jesus was just being weak and is now telling me to be weak.
And if you think that way, you could not be more wrong.
No, He had the strength to trust in the Father’s justice.
It took far greater strength not to retaliate immediately,
He had the power and ability to administer justice on the spot!
But He didn’t.
He responded with mercy and grace.
He forgave them.
And He trusted in the certainty of a judgment day.
So, Proverbs is saying that if you fail to trust in God to avenge,
Then you will experience His wrath on judgment day.
So, we avoid wrath by trusting God’s wrath.
YOU: God Awards (Prov. 25:21-22)
YOU: God Awards (Prov. 25:21-22)
Because God is concerned about you not having wrath in your heart,
Proverbs teaches that resisting the urge to seek vengeance is a good step,
And you are called to take that step.
But resisting that urge can sometimes be done through willpower,
Or through lack of ability or opportunity.
So, Proverbs takes it a step further,
It says the greatest revenge is kindness to those who have wronged you.
Slide
And Prov. 25:21-22 says God Awards you when wrath is not in your heart:
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Vs. 21 says to show kindness to those who hurt you by giving them food when they are hungry,
And giving them water when they are thirsty.
But it begs the question, why show kindness to those who hurt you?
Vs. 22 gives the reason why by using the metaphor of heaping burning coals on your enemies head.
Which is great and all great, but what exactly does that mean?
Slide
Psalm 140:10 uses the same phrase to describe a punishment:
Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
But Proverbs is using this metaphor as an image of overcoming evil with good.
The reality is that being kind to enemies was not a common teaching throughout God’s law.
In fact, Exodus 23:4-5 seems to be the rare example of God’s law ordering you to show kindness to your enemy.
It says:
“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
Why does God rarely command this in His law?
It would seem that the enemies of God’s people during OT time,
Were not only opposing God and His Kingdom,
But threatened the survival of God’s chosen people.
Once you get to the NT,
God is born in this world as the Man, Jesus Christ.
So, the fulfillment of God’s plan comes to fruition,
And Jesus develops a Gospel-minded treatment of how you relate to your enemies.
That seems somewhat counterintuitive to the OT.
But is in fact, built upon the OT,
As Romans 12:20 shows by quoting Proverbs and reinforcing it’s message,
Reinforcing the idea that God punishes and God rewards.
This means, heaping coals is not meant to be interpreted as some sort of indirect vengeance on your enemy,
As if you are punishing them.
Back in Prov. 20:22, we already saw that God does not reward vengeance.
So, then heaping coals on the head of your enemy refers to the shame your enemy feels when their offenses against you are met with kindness and mercy.
But that sense of shame is what God uses to convict people of sin,
Which God then uses to invite them to be reconciled to Himself and to you.
Therefore, it is your responsibility to respond to those who wrong you with kindness and mercy.
Slide
Jesus teaches this in Matt 5:43-48:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
In other words, Jesus teaches you to show your enemies kindness and mercy.
However, if they do not respond to kindness and mercy with repentance,
Proverbs suggests that they will receive even greater judgment for their wrongs.
Slide
Psalm 11:6 seems to support this understanding:
Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
This means your kindness to your enemies will either lead them to repentance or greater judgment.
Because your kindness to enemies reflects the forgiveness and mercy displayed by Christ on the cross.
Likewise, when you repent in response to Christ’s kindness and mercy,
You are reconciled to God.
But when you do not respond to His kindness and mercy,
You receive judgment.
So, forgive and show kindness to those who hurt you,
Because they will either repent or be judged anyway,
And either way, God makes things right.
The problem for many of us is that we think this level of forgiving enemies is for those superstar Christians.
And you may doubt whether you can do that.
You may wonder how you can be expected to forgive the people who have made your life miserable.
Brothers and sister, that is a completely understandable concern.
But, despite this concern, Jesus says that your ability to forgive reflects whether you are a Christian.
Slide
He teaches in Matt. 6:14-15:
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And if God does not forgive you,
Then you are bound for hell.
Notice Jesus does not say that you have to be a good person for God to forgive you.
No, Jesus is saying that your unforgiveness shows that you do not fully trust in Christ.
Remember, when you hold onto wrath,
You receive God’s wrath.
And it is not because you are not being good enough,
It is because you are not trusting God to avenge and reward people rightly.
Slide
So, if you have been wronged, there are two possibilities for those who have wronged you.
First, if it is a brother or sister in Christ who has wronged you,
The gospel teaches that Jesus Christ has paid for their sin.
So, it is not as if their offense is swept under the rug.
God dealt with it in Christ.
God took that offense so seriously, that His own Son died for it.
But then this means if you hold onto wrath toward that person,
Then you are essentially saying that the cross of Christ may be enough to forgive sins committed against God,
But it is not enough to forgive sins committed against you.
And that is a display of unbelief in the gospel.
Ephesians 4:32 says you are to forgive because you have been forgiven,
And your offenses against God are far greater than anyone’s offenses against you.
WE: Conc.
WE: Conc.
So, the application is to forgive them as you have been forgiven.
The second possibility for those who have wronged you is for those who are not Christian.
And if they refuse to repent for their wrongs,
The Bible says they will spend eternity separated from God in hell.
So, they will suffer forever.
There is no need for us to add further wrath on top of that suffering.
God does not need our help to carry out His wrath.
So, let go of your wrath.
And pray for them.
Show kindness to those who wrong you.
Slide
Brothers and sisters, we can only live this way by constantly preaching the gospel to ourselves.
When we feel wrath simmering inside when stuck in traffic, be patient.
When your kids will not listen to you, do not blow up on them.
When someone wrongs you, be merciful.
Jesus has been infinitely patient and merciful toward us.
Our patience and mercy toward our enemies is a testimony of Christ’s forgiveness toward us,
And it may lead to their repentance.
So, when we feel wrath bubbling up,
We must remind ourselves of the gospel that forgives us of our wrongs,
And spares us from God’s wrath.
Brothers and sisters, this is vital,
Because our mercy toward others can be used by God to lead them to salvation.
When the gospel is exhibited in the way we show kindness to our enemies,
People see the gospel in action,
They are no longer just reading about it on paper,
Or hearing about it from someone,
It is being displayed in ways they have never experienced before.
So, if the watching world can see Christians forgive one another,
And avoid vengeance when we are mocked or wronged by others,
Then maybe, just maybe, they will begin to see the mercy of God and the forgiveness offered through Christ.
But when the watching world does not see Christians act this way,
Well, then they see people who act just like them.
They see people who are no different.
As Jesus said in Matthew 5, even non-Christians do good to those who are good to them.
Slide
In closing, I ask one final time, how do we do this?
Just as Peter explained in 1 Peter 2,
We follow the example of Jesus who trusted God to pour out His wrath.
Peter saw Jesus set this example firsthand.
When Jesus was being arrest,
Peter pulled his sword and chopped off some guy’s ear,
And how did Jesus respond to Peter?
He told Him to put His sword away,
He did not need Peter to be His avenger.
If Jesus wanted, He could have brought down an army of angels to fight His battle.
But Jesus was free of wrath toward His enemies,
Because He knew He was about to drink up God’s wrath for us.
And Jesus also knew that there is a day that has yet come,
Where He will return and God’s wrath will be poured out on every injustice.
We can bank on this promise!
And guess what, He does not need our help to pour out His wrath.
So, because God avenges,
We avoid wrath,
And God awards us with freedom from wrath,
Because in Christ, the wrath of God was satisfied.
Thanks be to God!
Pray.