Understanding Salvation: Escaping God's Wrath Through Christ

 

Summary

In 1968, amidst the cultural upheaval of the United States, I found myself teaching at Temple University. It was a time of protests and societal shifts, and during this period, a stranger approached me with a simple yet profound question: "Are you saved?" This question, though initially irritating, prompted deep reflection on the true meaning of salvation. Fast forward to 1991, I addressed a gathering on the theme "Saved from What?" emphasizing that salvation is not merely about being saved from life's calamities but from the ultimate calamity: facing a just and holy God without the covering of Christ's righteousness.

The New Testament uses the term "to save" in various contexts, from healing diseases to military victories, illustrating that salvation encompasses deliverance from different forms of disaster. However, the supreme understanding of salvation is escaping the wrath of God. This concept is often misunderstood or ignored in contemporary culture, where the wrath of God is downplayed or dismissed. Yet, the Bible clearly states that God, in His holiness and justice, will judge the world, and His wrath is a reality against all unrighteousness.

The events of September 11, 2001, serve as a stark reminder of human vulnerability and the need for divine intervention. While patriotism and unity are commendable, they should not overshadow the spiritual reality that God's judgment is inevitable. The "Battle Hymn of the Republic," with its reference to the "grapes of wrath," draws from Revelation 14, depicting God's judgment as a winepress of wrath. This imagery underscores the seriousness of divine judgment and the necessity of understanding God's character as both just and merciful.

In our culture, there's a tendency to view God solely as loving and merciful, neglecting His justice and holiness. This skewed perception leads to a misunderstanding of salvation and mercy. True mercy is only appreciated against the backdrop of deserved wrath. The Gospel offers a way of escape from this wrath, highlighting the profound need for salvation through Christ.

Key Takeaways:

- Salvation is not just about escaping life's difficulties but is fundamentally about being saved from the wrath of a just and holy God. This understanding challenges the modern tendency to downplay God's wrath and emphasizes the seriousness of divine judgment. [06:50]

- The biblical concept of salvation involves deliverance from various calamities, but its ultimate focus is on escaping God's judgment. This perspective invites a deeper reflection on the nature of God and the reality of His holiness and justice. [05:52]

- The imagery of the "grapes of wrath" in Revelation 14 serves as a powerful reminder of God's impending judgment. It calls for a sober acknowledgment of human sinfulness and the need for repentance and divine mercy. [13:43]

- Contemporary culture often neglects the wrath of God, focusing instead on His love and mercy. However, a balanced understanding of God's character includes His justice and holiness, which are essential to grasping the full scope of salvation. [19:20]

- The Gospel offers a way of escape from God's wrath, underscoring the importance of understanding both God's justice and His mercy. This duality is crucial for a comprehensive Christian worldview and a genuine appreciation of salvation. [22:59]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:36] - Cultural Revolution of the 1960s
[01:13] - Encounter at Temple University
[02:32] - Saved from What?
[03:13] - Understanding Salvation
[04:30] - Different Uses of "To Save"
[05:52] - Ultimate Meaning of Salvation
[06:50] - Salvation from God's Wrath
[07:39] - Misunderstanding God's Wrath
[09:12] - Post-9/11 Reflections
[10:45] - "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
[12:14] - Revelation 14 Imagery
[13:43] - The Winepress of Wrath
[15:31] - God's Justice and Patience
[18:27] - Divine Glory in Judgment
[20:44] - Misconceptions of Goodness
[22:11] - The Reality of God's Wrath
[22:59] - The Gospel's Promise of Escape

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Revelation 14:17-20
2. Romans 1:18
3. John 3:36

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Observation Questions:

1. What does the imagery of the "grapes of wrath" in Revelation 14:17-20 symbolize, and how is it used in the sermon to illustrate God's judgment? [13:43]

2. How does the sermon describe the different contexts in which the New Testament uses the term "to save"? [04:30]

3. According to Romans 1:18, what is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, and how does this relate to the sermon’s message about God's wrath? [08:20]

4. In the sermon, what historical events are used to highlight human vulnerability and the need for divine intervention? [09:12]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the sermon challenge contemporary views of God by emphasizing His wrath alongside His love and mercy? What implications does this have for understanding salvation? [19:20]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that the concept of God's wrath is often misunderstood or ignored in modern culture? How does this affect the perception of salvation? [07:39]

3. How does the sermon use the events of September 11, 2001, to illustrate the need for a deeper understanding of divine judgment and salvation? [17:37]

4. What does the sermon suggest about the relationship between God's justice and mercy, and how does this duality contribute to a comprehensive Christian worldview? [20:03]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own understanding of God. Do you tend to focus more on His love and mercy, or His justice and holiness? How might a balanced view affect your faith journey? [19:20]

2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding salvation as an escape from God's wrath. How does this perspective change your view of the Gospel and its significance in your life? [22:59]

3. Consider the imagery of the "grapes of wrath" and the reality of divine judgment. How does this influence your approach to repentance and seeking God's mercy? [13:43]

4. In light of the sermon, how can you cultivate a deeper appreciation for God's mercy in your daily life, especially when considering the backdrop of deserved wrath? [20:03]

5. The sermon discusses the tendency to overlook God's wrath in favor of His love. How can you ensure that your understanding of God remains biblically balanced and not culturally skewed? [19:20]

6. How can the events of September 11, 2001, and other historical calamities serve as reminders of the need for divine intervention in your personal life? [17:37]

7. Identify one area in your life where you might be taking God's mercy for granted. What steps can you take to address this and deepen your relationship with Him? [20:03]

Devotional

Day 1: Salvation as Deliverance from Divine Wrath
Salvation is not merely about escaping life's difficulties but is fundamentally about being saved from the wrath of a just and holy God. In contemporary culture, there is a tendency to downplay God's wrath, focusing instead on His love and mercy. However, the Bible emphasizes the seriousness of divine judgment, and understanding salvation requires acknowledging this aspect of God's character. The ultimate calamity is facing a just and holy God without the covering of Christ's righteousness. This understanding challenges modern perceptions and invites a deeper reflection on the nature of God and the reality of His holiness and justice. [06:50]

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." (Romans 1:18, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways have you personally downplayed the seriousness of God's wrath in your understanding of salvation, and how can you begin to embrace a more balanced view of God's character today?


Day 2: The Comprehensive Nature of Salvation
The biblical concept of salvation involves deliverance from various calamities, but its ultimate focus is on escaping God's judgment. Salvation is depicted in the New Testament in contexts ranging from healing diseases to military victories, illustrating its broad scope. However, the supreme understanding of salvation is escaping the wrath of God. This perspective invites a deeper reflection on the nature of God and the reality of His holiness and justice. It challenges believers to consider the full scope of salvation and the profound need for Christ's righteousness. [05:52]

"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, ESV)

Reflection: How does understanding salvation as deliverance from God's judgment change your perspective on your personal relationship with God and your daily walk with Him?


Day 3: The Imagery of Divine Judgment
The imagery of the "grapes of wrath" in Revelation 14 serves as a powerful reminder of God's impending judgment. This imagery, depicting God's judgment as a winepress of wrath, underscores the seriousness of divine judgment and the necessity of understanding God's character as both just and merciful. It calls for a sober acknowledgment of human sinfulness and the need for repentance and divine mercy. This understanding of God's judgment invites believers to reflect on their own lives and the reality of God's holiness. [13:43]

"So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." (Revelation 14:19, ESV)

Reflection: What specific areas of your life need repentance in light of the imagery of God's judgment, and how can you seek God's mercy and transformation in those areas today?


Day 4: Balancing God's Love and Justice
Contemporary culture often neglects the wrath of God, focusing instead on His love and mercy. However, a balanced understanding of God's character includes His justice and holiness, which are essential to grasping the full scope of salvation. True mercy is only appreciated against the backdrop of deserved wrath. This duality is crucial for a comprehensive Christian worldview and a genuine appreciation of salvation. Believers are invited to reflect on the full character of God and the implications for their faith and life. [19:20]

"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you." (Psalm 89:14, ESV)

Reflection: How can you cultivate a more balanced understanding of God's love and justice in your daily life, and what practical steps can you take to reflect this balance in your interactions with others?


Day 5: The Gospel's Promise of Escape
The Gospel offers a way of escape from God's wrath, underscoring the importance of understanding both God's justice and His mercy. This duality is crucial for a comprehensive Christian worldview and a genuine appreciation of salvation. The Gospel highlights the profound need for salvation through Christ and invites believers to embrace the promise of escape from divine judgment. This understanding calls for a renewed commitment to the Gospel and its transformative power in the believer's life. [22:59]

"For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8:3, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you more fully embrace the Gospel's promise of escape from God's wrath, and how can this understanding transform your approach to sharing the Gospel with others?

Quotes

"Now, if you go to the Scriptures and do a word study on the New Testament word for 'salvation' or the verb 'to save,' you will see that the verb 'to save' in the New Testament is used in every possible tense of the Greek language. And the Greek has more tenses than just past, present, and future. It has the aorist, the imperfect tense, the future imperfect and so on, the pluperfect, and all these different tenses. And every one of those tenses you will find the verb 'to save.' So there is a sense in which from the foundation of the world we were saved. And then in the past we were being saved. We are saved. We are being saved. And we shall by saved." [00:03:37]

"And so again if you trace the language throughout the Scripture you will see that the word 'to save' can refer to any kind of escape from disaster or calamity. Now in addition to these ordinary uses of the verb 'to save' there is the ultimate meaning… the ultimate use… the supreme understanding of the Biblical concept of salvation, which also means 'escape from calamity.' And that calamity is defeat in war; it's not death; it's not disease; it's not from financial ruin. But the supreme calamity about which salvation is concerned is the calamity of falling naked into the presence of a just and holy God. That from which we are saved according to the Bible is simply this -- God." [00:05:40]

"Now that strikes us a little bit because on the one hand we're clearly aware that it is God who is the Savior. God is the One Who institutes and brings about salvation. But the salvation that He initiates is salvation from Himself. And that's because the New Testament as well as the Old speaks about God's having appointed a day of judgment in which He will judge every human person according to the standard of His holiness, according to the standard of His righteousness. And he promises that that day of judgment will at the same time be a day of wrath." [00:06:57]

"Now, part of the reason why people struggle with this idea of being saved from God is because in this day and age people and particularly in what we call American civil religion no longer believe in the reality of the wrath of God. Now, as we examine different worldviews I've been saying all along that the key issue in establishing your worldview is coming to an understanding of the nature of God and the nature of people and how the two relate. And the God of Christianity is a God Who is holy. He's a God Who is altogether righteous. And He is the God who judges the world. And He's a God Who reveals His wrath according to the Scripture against all unrighteousness and all ungodliness of men." [00:07:45]

"Now, with the events following the terrorist attack on the Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, as well as the other events of terrorism that we have known along the way -- that people are rallying behind America, drawing together in a kind of unity following the slogan, 'United We Stand.' And as I've said already, everybody is saying, 'God Bless America.' And I've seen more American flags flying in this country than I've seen since World War II. In fact when my wife and I are traveling, we like to play games. We look at different license plates and count how many different states we can see or cows in a field. Our new game is to count flags. How many flags are on her side? How many flags are on my side? And I'm overwhelmed by how many flags I see flying in the United States of America." [00:09:12]

"And here's the irony. I hear songs constantly of patriotism that include, 'God Bless America.' But another song that I've heard more often than I've heard in a long time is the song called 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic.' And 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' was really the fight song of the union army in the civil war. And you know the words to 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic.' We know the refrain, 'Glory, glory hallelujah…' and all of that, but it begins, 'Mine eyes have seen the glory…' of what?… 'the coming of the Lord.' Then what? 'He has trampled out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.' Now, the words to 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' are drawn directly from the pages of the New Testament. The words 'the grapes of wrath' that became the title for one of the most famous literary pieces ever written in the country are drawn from the 14th chapter of the Apocalypse, the 14th chapter of the book of the Revelation of Saint John." [00:10:45]

"The image of the winepress in which the grapes are thrown is the winepress of divine wrath that operates on the grapes of wrath. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the horses' bridles for 1600 furlongs. Over this vast distance blood flows in the streets up to the level of the horses' faces, you know. And it's not grape juice. The grapes represent those persons who live in constant impenitence and disobedience. Where God is patient and longsuffering for generations after generation, but He promises that there will be an end to that patience and there will be a time of the visitation of His wrath against human wickedness. The grapes of wrath. We still sing the song, but we don't believe the content of the song in our day." [00:14:23]

"Now, one of the things that we learn about God in Scripture is that He is the Judge of all of the earth. And if a judge eternally tolerates wickedness without exercising judgment, he is not a just judge, but he's an unjust judge. He himself is part of the context of evil. Ladies and gentlemen, God is not indifferent to the way in which people commit violence to each other. God is just not passively acting as a spectator to all these things. But we are tempting Him day and night by our unrestrained wickedness. And he has promised to bring judgment to the world. He also promises a way of escape from that." [00:16:17]

"Now, notice that the celebration of this event in the battle hymn of the republic is a celebration that is extremely foreign to our cultural way of thinking today, because it is a celebration not of the nastiness of God, not of some dark, shadowy, demonic element within God, but rather it is a celebration of the divine glory. 'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.' That His coming in judgment is a manifestation of His divine glory, of His divine perfection. We see the wrath of God as somehow being an impediment to our view of the character of God. And that's simply because our view of the character of God in our country is an idol. It is a God who has been stripped of His true attributes. Who's a God Who is defined simply in terms of love and mercy and grace, but we've negotiated and thrown into the garbage can any idea of His being just and holy and wrathful." [00:17:57]

"But if we are going to be faithful to the Biblical understanding of God, we have to understand that He is among other things, a God of wrath. I know you're thinking -- oh, but He's also a God of mercy, yes, and that will be the theme of our next discussion. But right now, there can be no understanding of mercy except against the background of the reality of wrath. When God holds back that wrath, when God circumvents that wrath, then we understand true mercy. But there's not much mercy if we think that God is incapable of wrath, because there is nothing from which to be saved." [00:19:20]

"Because bad things don't happen to good people. The real question is … Why do good things happen to sinful people such as ourselves? And the Scriptures tell us that there is none righteous -- no not one. And you need to be very, very careful when you assume that God is on your side, particularly if you make that assumption based on your evaluation of your goodness. Because the Scriptures tell us -- if the Lord would mark iniquity none of us could possibly stand. But what salvation is about is rescue from the wrath of God, which is just wrath and the reason why it's so exciting to us is that because we deserve that wrath." [00:20:44]

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Transcript
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