Divine Wrath in the New Testament, Part 1

Driving home: Because the gospel is the only divine remedy for sin, any distortions of, additions to, or omissions from that gospel are ruinous to the souls, any distortions of, additions to, or omissions from that gospel are ruinous …

The gospel is likened to a chord of music with certain notes placed by God for full harmony, some of which are tragically missing in contemporary preaching.

but rather a number of portions of the Word of God, and the unifying principle of those portions which we shall be studying tonight and in subsequent Lord's Day evenings, God willing, is the theme, Some Myths. Some missing notes in contemporary gospel preaching. Some missing notes in contemporary gospel preaching. If we view the gospel under the figure of a chord of music, there are in that chord certain notes which God has placed for the full harmony of truth,

0:50 - 1:32 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The fact is that the subject of divine wrath has become taboo in modern society, and Christians by and large have accepted the taboo and conditioned themselves never to raise the matter.

Martin quotes a paragraph from J.I. Packer's 'Knowing God' to introduce the subject of divine wrath and highlight its neglect in modern Christianity.

And as we begin our study tonight, I believe I can give no better introduction to this subject than to quote a paragraph, that is found in Dr. J. I. Packer's classic work entitled Knowing God.

6:29 - 6:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains two reasons for focusing on the New Testament first: to counter the liberal theological misconception of a different God in the Old vs. New Testaments, and to…

The Bible is contrasted as either a human document reflecting growing consciousness of God (liberal view) or a divinely inspired revelation of an unchanging God, to explain the unity of its content.

Several generations ago, the notion was made popular that the God of the Old Testament was one God, and the God of the New Testament was quite another God. You see, men began to view the Bible not as a divinely inspired revelation of God concerning Himself, but basically a human document in which men reflected their own growing consciousness and understanding of God. You see the difference? If the Bible is God revealing Himself through human authors, its content will have a basic unity,

10:01 - 10:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: John did not preach a Jesus who negated or neutralized the concept of the wrath of God John preached a Jesus who would not only have nail prints in his hands and his feet as the Lamb who would not only have a crown when …

The process of threshing and winnowing grain, including the use of a fan to separate wheat from chaff, is explained in detail to illustrate Christ's judgment and separation of the righteous from the wicked.

Now what is he talking about when he talks about the fan in his hand? Now if we lived in Bible times we would understand immediately those people who heard John preach they knew exactly what he was referring to. That was before the days of combines that would harvest and bundle the grain. When the reapers would go out and cut it down with their sickle or their scythe and then they would bring it first of all to the threshing floor and there by various instruments sometimes just oxen trampling on the grain there would be a separation of the head from the stalk the actual kernel from the what we...

28:29 - 29:10 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Challenging the common misconception of the Sermon on the Mount as merely 'lovey nice,' Martin demonstrates how Jesus upholds the seriousness of God's law, expanding its scope to…

Martin addresses the common misconception of the Sermon on the Mount as a 'simple religion of Jesus' devoid of doctrine, often reduced to platitudes like 'God helps those who help themselves.'

of an infinitely holy and an infinitely pure God well where should we go to see these demonstrations well let's start where a lot of people would think the wrath of God surely would not be found in that lovely lovely portion the sermon on the mount you hear people say well you know I am not much for this doctrine business I am just a simple person I just love the simple religion of Jesus as expressed in the sermon on the mount and what they mean by that is they have got a notion that somewhere in the sermon on the mount there is something that probably says God helps those that help themselves...

37:14 - 37:58 Read in full sermon

The point: If your understanding of Jesus does not include his teachings on hell and judgment, you need to 'get rid of your Jesus' and embrace the biblical Christ.

Martin illustrates how religious leaders of Jesus' day taught a superficial understanding of the commandment against adultery, focusing only on the external act, which Jesus then corrected.

as long as you don't bed down with your neighbor's wife, you've kept that commandment. Oh, you can sit on your porch and watch her as she go by and undress her in your mind and go to bed with her in your intention. But if you don't actually commit the act, you've kept the law. You can sit in the privacy of some secret place and flip through the pages of a girly magazine. That's all right. So long as you don't violate the marriage bed

42:13 - 42:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Take whatever radical steps are necessary to avoid sin, even if it feels like 'plucking out an eye' or 'cutting off a hand,' to avoid hell.

Martin uses the example of 'evangelical gay churches' to highlight a modern distortion of Jesus' teaching on sexual purity, contrasting it with the radical demands of Christ.

in the enforcement of the strictness of divine law by the Lord Jesus Christ himself now who is this Jesus of modern evangelicalism who not only permits promiscuity between consenting adults but who even puts his approval upon committed homosexual relationships so that there are evangelical gay churches throughout the country that Jesus not this one Jesus but this one Jesus who has the power to make them to make them to make them to make them to make them to make them by my genes

45:28 - 46:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin examines Jesus' parables of the kingdom, specifically the tares and the net, to show Christ's teaching on final judgment, the separation of the wicked, and their casting…

Martin addresses the misconception that Jesus' parables are merely 'lovely little religious stories' for a 'simple religion,' arguing they contain profound truths about judgment.

then will I profess to them I never knew you depart from me you that work iniquity then we turn over to the parables very quickly because again people say well I love the simple religion of Jesus he told lovely sisters stories he just made religious truths so down to earth I mean these preachers that all the time dabbling in doctrine I mean let's just be simple Jesus of the Bible is the parable telling Jesus well let's turn to that collection of parables in Matthew's gospel chapter 13 these parables of the kingdom what place does the wrath of God if any have in these nice

49:08 - 49:51 Read in full sermon