Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath - Part 4

By Justin Edwards

Last week I posted the first three parts of this series that outlined some of the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only true God.  In Part 1 it was shown that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament; that He is unchanging; that He is the Alpha and the Omega; and that He is a God of love, mercy, and grace.  Part 2 outlined that Jesus is a holy and righteous God; and Part 3 showed that He is a just judge who will pour out His wrath on those who have rebelled against Him (those who reject the Gospel or live a lifestyle contrary to it).  Yet, for those with ears to hear and eyes to see, there is Good News!

Despite His terrible and just wrath against the wicked - all born into this world who have a sinful nature - the Lord Jesus Christ is rich in mercy.  He has provided a way out for sinners to escape the wrath to come.  If you have a penitent heart for having sinned against God, pay attention to what the Bible says about the Savior.

The Suffering Servant

The prophet Isaiah gives the most detailed account of just how much Christ suffered for His people.  From a human perspective, yes, it was the Jews who murdered Jesus, and it was the Romans who washed their hands of this crime, but ultimately, it was not they who crushed the Son of God.  It was His own Father who crushed Jesus.  God killed His own Son, and it pleased Him to do so.  Why?  Because this was God's plan all along - to redeem a people for Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 2:14).  Let's turn our focus to Christ's sufferings in Isaiah 53:1-12, which was written over 700 years before the 1st coming of Christ:

Who has believed what he has heard from us?  And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet 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. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Listen to C.J. Mahaney portray the account of Christ's sufferings from the 2007 Resolved Conference message titled The Suffering Servant.

The Redemptive Savior

Why did Christ come?  He most certainly did not come to give you your "best life now", nor did He come to merely give us an example for which to live by. Scripture tells us He came to shed His blood, without which there can be no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22):

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. - Matthew 1:21

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. - Romans 4:25

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, - 1 Corinthians 15:3

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:28

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. - 1 Peter 2:24

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Love of God

Why did Christ have to die?  As shown above, the shedding of blood is necessary to atone for sin.  There is no other way.  Why is this the case?  The only answer I have is it is the infinite wisdom of God that decreed it necessary, and our thoughts are not God's thoughts, neither are our ways His ways (Isaiah 55:8).  If He said it is good and necessary, then it must be good and necessary and I accept that by faith.  But what was the motivation behind it all?  The Good News is based on love:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. - 1 John 3:16

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. - John 10:11

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:9-10

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8

Ironically enough, Love epitomized is the most hated person in the world.

Jesus the Only Way

You have no doubt heard that Christ said in John 14:6,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Whether you have heard it once or a thousand times, it remains true.  You must go through Jesus Christ by faith in order to receive eternal life.  There is no life found in Buddha, Allah, Mother Earth, New Age philosophy, the Catholic jesus, the Mormon jesus, the liberal jesus, the social justice jesus, or any other jesus who is not the Narrow Way Jesus.  This is what He says, 

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:13-14

Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. - Luke 13:24

Only those with contrite hearts will enter the kingdom of God as the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:10,

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

If you want Life and to escape God's wrath, this is what Jesus says to you:

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. - John 6:35

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. - John 4:13-14

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? - John 11:25-26

Do you want this Bread and Water?  Do you want Life?

Jesus Is Worthy

The Son of God is worthy for you to come to Him.  

He was crushed by His own Father to demonstrate His love toward sinners.  Are you a sinner?  

God killed His own Son, who willingly laid His life down for His sheep.  Are you one of His sheep?  

Jesus refrained from saving Himself so that He could save and heal the sick.  Are you sick from the disease of sin?  

Beaten, cursed, afflicted, bruised, scorned, mocked, tormented, and brutalized - is He not worthy of your worship, praise, devotion, allegiance, love, and surrender? 

A perfect man, the only one to ever grace this earth, became sin so His Father could punish Him as our substitute.  He bore the iniquities of His children.  Are you one of His children?  Is He not worthy for you to come home?  To receive your inheritance?

The angels know He is worthy and sing,

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! - Revelation 5:12

The saints exalt Him by singing,

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. - Revelation 4:11

The glorified creatures of heaven proclaim, 

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!...Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” - Revelation 7:10-12

Is the Lord Jesus Christ not worthy of you to join the heavenly choir?

Purchased to Be Set Free

Jesus tells us in John 8:34-36

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Dear friend, do you want to be set free?  Do you want to know and have true freedom?  Freedom from the bondage of your sin, freedom from the god of this world, freedom from your enslavement to your flesh, freedom from the love of the world and the things of this world?  Do you want this freedom?  This is why Christ purchased His people with His own blood - to set them free!  He bought us to set us free!

Jesus, a holy and righteous God of love and wrath, will set His people free.  If you are of His people, and you are weary from the chains, cry out to Christ to be set free.  Don't wait any longer, today is the day of salvation.  To illustrate this point, that Christ bought us to set us free, listen to Paris Reidhead below.  Truly, when our freedom is purchased by One so worthy, we will want nothing more than to be His slave.

Won't you be a slave to Christ?  That is the Good News, dear friend.  The freedom is yours for the taking - become a slave to the worthy and glorious risen King.  Yield your life to Christ, and be free. 

Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath - Part 3

By Justin Edwards

In that day the Lamb shall become a Lion.  A lion captures its prey by its mighty jaws, and once it is caught, he crushes his prey and conquers his prey and consumes his prey.  So it will be in this last day for the Lion of the tribe of Judah as He will capture and crush every unbeliever outside of Himself.  So terrifying... - Steven Lawson

In a day where most people believe that God has only three attributes - love, grace, and mercy - it is imperative that we effectively communicate all of God's attributes, including His holiness, righteousness, justice, and wrath.  By excluding any of these attributes or denying them, one is preaching, teaching, or believing in a different god altogether - one that doesn't exist.  God is all of these things, and most emphatically He is holy, holy, holy (Revelation 4:8).

Part 1 of this series briefly outlined from Scripture that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, that He does not change, that He is the Alpha and Omega, and He is gracious, merciful, and loving. We'll get into these latter three attributes later, but not without first discussing his other attributes.  Part 2 briefly outlined God's holiness and righteousness, and this post will discuss the justice and wrath of God, who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

I remind the reader that if you do not base your understanding of Jesus Christ on the Word of God, then you have no objective standard from which to base your opinion.  And that is all you have - opinion.  You have built your house on a bed of sand, and in the end it will fall.  You must trust in the Jesus of the Bible, the whole Jesus, lest you never receive His enduring love and face the fury of His wrath. 

Let's continue our understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ as found in Scripture.

Sin Is Lawlessness

Before we discuss the justice and wrath of God, we must first take a look at sin.  Sin is simply defined in 1 John 3:4 as

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

Sin is breaking the law of God, and living a sinful lifestyle is living in lawlessness. It is rebelling against God's commandments.  Because God is holy and righteous, rebellion against His wisdom provokes Him to wrath as we see in Deuteronomy 9:7:

Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.

The Law that He has given us to love is found in the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-21), yet we are a rebellious people and do not love the ways of the Lord as we ought.  Some of us hate the commandments, others dismiss them, while others try to live by them as if doing so will earn them a ticket to heaven by their own self-righteousness.  However, the Bible says it is impossible for unbelievers and religious hypocrites to submit to the Law of God:

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. - Romans 8:7

We therefore stand as men and women condemned under the Law of God.  There is nothing that we need to do to be condemned nor is there anything that God must do to condemn us as we are condemned already (John 3:18).  We, by nature, are sinners, and as sinners we do what naturally comes to us - sin.  As such, God has appointed Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ as sovereign judge to carry out the sentence of condemned sinners.

God Is Just

God doesn't do things because they are good, something is good because God does it.  Because He is a good judge, He will leave no crime against Him unpunished.  He must carry out justice for every sin that has ever been committed by every human that has ever walked the planet (Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 16:27; 1 Corinthians 4:5).  Sin is a violation of God's holiness, therefore His holiness must be vindicated by punishing every single sin that has violated His holiness. Every injustice will be brought into account.

Scripture often uses righteousness and justice as synonyms, so let's look at a few more verses displaying this attribute:

God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. - Psalm 7:11

Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” - Genesis 18:25

Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? - Job 8:3

Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. - Job 34:10

To declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. - Psalm 92:15

But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. - Psalm 9:7-8

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! - Romans 9:14

And I heard the altar saying,  “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” - Revelation 16:7

Jesus Christ the Judge 

Because God is upright and good, He must punish wickedness as it is an affront to His holiness.  In order to carry out justice, there must be a judge.  The Lord Jesus Christ is that judge, and Scripture is clear that He will not allow the wicked and those who disobey Him to go unpunished.  This is what the Bible says:

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed. - 1 Samuel 2:10

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. - John 5:22-23

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. - Acts 10:42

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. - Acts 17:30-31

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. - Romans 2:15-16

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: - 2 Timothy 4:1

The Wrath of Jesus

So how will Jesus carry out God's justice in the future (as opposed to his present judgment per Romans 1:18-32, etc.)?  A survey of the Revelation of Jesus Christ reveals many judgments will come upon mankind through wars, plagues, famine, natural disasters, and other supernatural terror.  Angels and demons alike will carry out these judgments, and it will be known by mankind who is judging them.  On that day, the wicked will seek refuge, but there will be no escape from the wrath of Christ:

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” - Revelation 6:15-17

In that day, we see how this Great King will come in glory:

...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. - 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

When Christ comes, the One who is called Faithful and True, He will come in righteousness to make war as He judges the wicked.  He will strike them down as the Lord treads the winepress of the fury of His wrath:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus Christ is not coming as a gentle and meek Lamb, He is coming as the fierce Lion of the tribe of Judah to destroy the wicked and their works, and this includes everyone who disobeys the Gospel and rebels against His righteousness.  All sinners who remain on that day will be 

...slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. - Revelation 19:21

After Christ establishes His earthly Kingdom and reigns for 1,000 years, He will resurrect from the dead those who rebelled against Him.  This is what the Bible says is in store for the wicked as they face the final, righteous judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:11-15

Will that be you on that great and terrible day?  What Jesus do you profess to know today?  Is it a jesus you have crafted with your mind, who is corrupt by overlooking sin?  Is it a jesus who loves, loves, loves, yet is not holy, holy, holy?  Is your jesus more concerned with social justice and solving people's problems than he is with the salvation of men's souls?  I tell you, if your Jesus is none other than the Jesus that has been revealed in the Bible, then you are worshiping an idol and you will face the wrath of the Lamb of Almighty God.

This is no day to be playing with your eternity.  In Part 2 I posted a link to a message by Dr. Steven Lawson on the Great White Judgment, and I think it's important enough to post it again here.  You can find the article at this link, or for convenience, you can view the video below.

There is still good news to be discussed, please continue to Part 4.

Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath - Part 2

By Justin Edwards

Is the Jesus you know the Jesus of the Bible?  Or is the jesus you know a figment of your imagination - one that you have crafted to be palatable with your lifestyle and worldview?  If you do not have an objective and absolute source of truth from which to base your understanding of Jesus, then all you are left with is your opinion, the consequences of which will leave you condemned.

What do you know of The Great White Throne Judgment?

There are many types of jesus' in the world today - there's the mystical jesus, the prophet jesus, the good teacher jesus, the good example jesus, the philanthropic jesus, the liberal jesus, the social gospel jesus, and the "love wins" jesus.  These jesus' are mere figments of people's imaginations because none of these jesus' exist.  They are false christs and have no power to save because they are dead gods created after man's own image.  They base these jesus' on mystical experiences or on loose interpretations of Scripture, cherry-picking verses while ignoring the rest of the Bible.

The Jesus of the the Bible, on the other hand, is the glorious and sovereign King of the universe.  He is Lord of lords and there is none like Him. He is supreme ruler of creation, robed in glory, majesty, power, and honor. This Jesus is beautiful and pure, and He is worthy of praise and worship.  No, there is none like Him.  And as yesterday's post clearly showed, the Jesus of the New Testament is the God of the Old Testament, and this God does not change.  He is the First and the Last and He is a God of compassion, mercy, grace, and love.  But His attributes do not stop there.  The same Jesus who is compassionate, merciful, gracious, and loving is the same Jesus who is holy, righteous, just, and wrathful.  Without understanding this Jesus, the One represented by the whole counsel of God, then one cannot know Him, or worse, one is not known by Him.

Let's begin with the holiness of God.

God Is Holy, Holy, Holy

And one called to another and said:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” - Isaiah 6:3

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,  “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” - Revelation 4:8

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? - Exodus 15:11

There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. - 1 Samuel 2:2

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! - Psalm 99:1-3

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. - Luke 1:35

What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God. - Mark 1:24

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” - Luke 5:8

What does it mean to be holy?  Most simply, it means to be set apart.  God is totally set apart from man.  There is none like Him.  He is totally "other".  Note too that no other attribute of God is so elevated than that of His holiness.  To make this point, R.C. Sproul says in The Holiness of God,

Only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love; or mercy, mercy, mercy; or wrath, wrath, wrath; or justice, justice, justice. It does say that he is holy, holy, holy that the whole earth is full of His glory (source).

We must begin with the holiness of God; we must begin with the holiness of Christ, who is God.  Jesus Christ is holy, holy, holy, and there is none like Him.  Let us now look at the righteousness of God.

God Is Righteous

The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. - Psalm 129:4

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. - Deuteronomy 32:4

Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. - Psalm 97:2

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. - Psalm 119:142

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ - Jeremiah 23:5-6

What is righteousness?  This attribute of God defines His goodness, rightness, perfection, and justice.  Psalm 18:30 says,

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

His standard for good is perfection and is revealed through the Law.  This is why we all fall so short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  This is what is revealed about the Law of the Lord in Psalm 19:7-9:

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 

Yet, those who hold contempt for the perfect Law of God will by judged by the perfect Law of God. If you find yourself being one who has rejected the Word of God or dismissed it for any reason, or perhaps you love your sin more than the righteousness of Christ, know that you will be held accountable for your contempt of His righteousness.  Psalm 1:5-6 tells us,

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

And perish you will if you are not reconciled by God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  You will perish by the justice of God and under the wrath of God.  You will perish under none other than the wrath of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come.

This leads us into Part 3 that covers the divine justice and wrath of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath - Part 1

By Justin Edwards

Opinions may be hazardous to your soul - read the source of Truth.

Who exactly is Jesus?  Was He merely a great teacher that provided us an example for which to live by, or is He God Himself who was manifest in the flesh 2,000 years ago to save His people from their sin?  Did Jesus come to merely show us how to love, or did He come to testify to the Truth, proclaiming a message of salvation rooted in repentance and faith?  Did Jesus come to tell us that "love wins" in the end, or has He commanded all men everywhere to repent unto Life lest they remain condemned under the wrath of divine judgment?  Who really is Jesus, and how can we know He is who He says He is?

The opening paragraph provides a brief contrast between today's liberal and missional postmodern jesus that has plagued the visible church and the Jesus who is clearly shown to be God in the inerrant and sufficient Holy Scriptures.  The false jesus of postmodernism tells us the church should be only concerned with social justice and healing the world with a positive message of "love".  They aim to redefine Christianity so to rid it of the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).  The god of this world has blinded them to the glorious Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4) and they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).  They are ignorant of the One True God of Scripture:  the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of both the Old and New Testament.

Let's take a look at Scripture to see who Christ really is.  By observing just a few verses (not exhaustive by any means), we can easily see that neither the God of the OT nor Jesus changes, we see that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, we see that both God of the OT and Jesus is Lord, and we see that both are one in the same - the Alpha and Omega. If we do not base our understanding of Christ on the Word of God, then all we are left with are opinions based on the figment of our imagination, the consequences of which are fatally hazardous to the soul.

God Does Not Change

For I the Lord do not change... - Malachi 3:6

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. - James 1:17

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind... - Numbers 23:19

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8

God of the OT and Jesus Are Both Lord

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. - Deuteronomy 10:17

They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” - Revelation 17:14

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. - 1 Timothy 6:13-16

Jesus Is God

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” - Exodus 3:14

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” - John 8:58

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. - Colossians 2:8-9

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1

The Alpha and Omega

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. - Isaiah 44:6

“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. - Isaiah 48:12

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last - Revelation 1:17

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. - Revelation 2:8

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” - Revelation 22:13

Now having established that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, let's take a look at a few Scriptures showing God having compassion and showing grace toward His people (even to the wicked) in both testaments.

God Is Merciful, Gracious, and Love

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. - Exodus 34:6

For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. - Deuteronomy 4:31

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. - Psalm 86:5

For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. - Psalm 108:4

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. - John 13:1

He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. - Acts 14:17

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. - Luke 6:35-36

Yet even though Jesus is a God of love, grace, and mercy, Scripture reveals He is also a holy, righteous, just, and wrathful God.  We'll take a look at these attributes of God later this week.  Please continue to Part 2.

The Express Image of God

By Mike Ratliff

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2 ESV)

I heard a sermon once a long time ago in which the preacher defined a cult as any religious group that called itself Christian but denied the orthodox view of any person of the our Triune God. That means that those who deny the Doctrine of the Trinity, according to that definition, are not Christians, but heretics. The man-centered part of each of us, that is the flesh, rebels from such a strict “legalistic” view, but as our faith becomes more and more God Centered in all its aspects, that view becomes entirely justified in our hearts because as we come to know God as He reveals Himself to His children, we will not doubt His Word nor will we attempt to overlay His truth with “altered” truth nor will we add to it nor subtract from it nor take it out of context in order to make it more man centered. If we compromised and did those things we would do so in order to become more acceptable to the majority and not be excluded and hated by the world and those who call themselves Christians, but who are really just part of the world system.

᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. (John 1:1-2 GNT)

Above is John 1:1,2 from the Greek New Testament. I placed the ESV version of this passage at the top of this post. I remember writing a post once in which I exegeted this passage, focusing primarily on the Apostle John’s use of Λόγος or logos here, which the ESV translates as “Word” to refer to our Lord Jesus Christ. The discussion was very good, but I was amazed at the contact I received from so many who were upset that we were focusing on our Lord Jesus Christ this way as being eternal and God even though there was absolutely no way they could refute the exegesis of the passage without doing serious damage to context. The reason I brought this up before we go to our primary text for this post is that we must understand that not everyone who claims that they are Christians or Christ followers or whatever they call themselves nowadays, is truly in Christ because in their theology, He is not God.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

In the first four verses from Hebrews 1 in order keep v3 in context. I wanted to make sure that everyone would understand who the “He” is that the writer of Hebrews is referring to. As we can see, it is the Son, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is v3 from the Greek New Testament.

ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ καθαρισμὸν ποιησάμενος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, (Hebrews 1:3 GNT)

The ESV says that our Lord is, “the radiance of the glory of God” this is wonderful and we have already looked at this. The Apostles witnessed this when our Lord was Transfigured before them just prior to His crucifixion. In any case, let us concentrate on the next phrase, “and the exact imprint of his nature.” This is a translation of the Greek words, “καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως.” The KJV translates this as “and the express image of his person.” Of course the “his” there is referring to God. The ESV’s rendering of “exact imprint” and the KJV’s rendering of “express image” are attempts to translate χαρακτὴρ or charaktēr. I am sure you can see that our English word “character” is a direct transliteration of χαρακτὴρ. This word is used in the Bible only here in Hebrew 1:3. The history of this word’s development in Greek tells us that it always referred in some way to an engraving process or the impression made by a carver or the stamp for making coins or a character in writing. However, eventually it came to refer to the basic bodily and psychological structure with which one is born, which is unique to the person and which cannot be changed by education or development. Of course, the Word of God is telling us here that our Lord Jesus Christ is the χαρακτὴρ of the person of God and as we see in John 1, He was not created or born, but was there as God in the midst of the creation of the Universe. Jesus Christ is God because His the χαρακτὴρ of the person God.

The next part of the phrase “ὑποστάσεως” or hupostasis speaks of that which stands under something else, that is, the foundation of something, the true essence and substance of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the express image of God and of the exact same essence and substance as Him. Our Lord is not a created being. He is not a glorified angel or man. He is God. He and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are the Triune God whom genuine Christians love and worship and serve daily with their all. Jesus Christ became incarnate as a man and when we go to be with Him in eternity, we will be with Him and He with us forever. This is what I live for now. Do you?

Soli Deo Gloria!

(HT: Possessing the Treasure)