“Willing to Show His Wrath” (Rom 9:17-24)

“What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory” (Rom 9:22-23)

I have disturbing thoughts about God in His sovereignty: why did He create a world where MOST people will die eternally in hell? Why do believers have to fight against our natures and resist sin? Why must we do things God’s way, and they be so hard?

The answer I received is from God’s character: He is a God of LOVE and HATE, both (Rom 11:21-22). He is not merely love, but He WILLS to make His power and wrath known in punishing sin, so He created a world where man would fall by the hand of Satan, a fallen angel, and the elect only would be redeemed, while the REST of mankind and all fallen angels will be damned, having spurned mercy (Jude 1:6). God is in control and wants us to see His glory, which is love (heaven by grace) and hate (hell eternal by God’s rejection of sin and sinners), and we have TWO simple choices: believe on Christ and love God for mercifully saving you, or REBEL against the Light, find fault, and hate God for who He is. But, pain exists because God WILLED for there to be pain, to show His power and anger at sin. Heaven exists to show God’s glory in saving sinners by the sacrifice of His Son.

You and I can’t CHANGE God; we can be saved, or we can be damned, but this is who God is (Rom 9:21).

I’m comforted that I have an answer, for now, that helps me. I will believe, because I cannot overthrow Him, and He is BETTER than imagined and perfect. He will save ANYONE who wants salvation, even the most sinful of all sinners, and He will do EVERYTHING in this salvation, giving faith, strength, repentance, forgiveness, and all that we need.

Faith is THE EASIEST thing imaginable; it is DOING NOTHING; it is ONLY believing God to do what He has said - “But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness“, even as Abraham “was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, [God] was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness“, so that BELIEVING God is believing all that He says, and He declares RIGHTEOUS those that do (Rom 4:5, 20-22). If you trust God to save you, the helpless and rebellious sinner that you are, then He will. If you SEE His glory in Christ Jesus, then He will put strength in you and me, both (Heb 11:11-12). God will make you and I do what we cannot do, simply by believing that Jesus and God‘s own word are SUFFICIENT for God to do as He has said, to all that believe. We don‘t need anything else, and we need not bring anything to the table. “Only believe“ is His counsel to us, and He is WILLING in heart, so that He yearns over you and DESIRES that you and I be saved (Mark 5:36). He is not far off, indifferent, or unwilling. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if ANY MAN hear my voice, and open the door”, receive me as who I am, both Lord and Savior, “I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20). He wills for you and me to be saved FAR MORE than we can imagine, & He delights to receive all that come, having paid for our sins and covenanted to save you from eternity. But, we CAN’T be saved by unbelief. He chose faith: you & I will believe God to be worthy of worship & praise FOR His mercies, or we will be vessels of wrath that He afore appointed & eventually perfected unto hell (Jer 18:15-16). The choice WAS God’s, and it is yours now. Your decision will manifest His decision for you.

I ask, are you willing to be saved by God who is willing to show both His love and hatred? If so, then you shall be saved, no matter how evil you are or how tempted. You shall be saved by God, as He says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13).

Why Was Zedekiah Roasted in the Fire (John Piper)

The horrors of physical suffering correspond to the horrors of moral and spiritual outrage. Sometimes this means that people's suffering is directly correlated with their immorality and belittling of God. This will be the case, for example, with the eternal suffering of hell. It will correspond in perfectly just measure with the outrage of an individual's sin.

But often the correlation is indirect. Everyone suffers physically because of the outrage of Adam's sin, and because of God's subjecting all of creation to futility (Romans 8:20). But these sufferings do not all correspond to an individual's particular sins. All physical suffering corresponds to moral and spiritual outrage, but not all suffering corresponds directly to individual sins.

What is stunning and essential to see is that physical horrors correspond to spiritual horrors. God knows that we do not feel horrible about the spiritual horror of our sin. We take it lightly. But we get very angry and very agitated and very indignant about the horrors of our physical suffering. So God correlates the two in order to make plain to us how horrible sin is. Belittling God feels like a light thing to us. Being burned feels huge.

So hell will be physical, not just spiritual, even though the greatest outrages of life are not physical. The greatest outrages of life are spiritual—the demeaning of God by unbelief and indifference and rebellion is the greatest outrage in the universe. It may produce the holocaust or it may produce self-exalting philanthropy. But the magnitude of the moral horror in both cases is mainly Godward. Belittling God's infinite worth is the ultimate outrage.

Here is a picture of what I mean.

God says to the exiles in Babylon concerning the false prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah:

Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire," because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. (Jeremiah 29:22-23).

I am shocked by the term "roasted." Why such a description? It actually happened, that's why. Nebuchadnezzar roasted them. And why did it happen? Why such an outrageous physical horror and why such an outrageous physical word used to describe it?

Because speaking false things about God and committing adultery does not feel outrageous to us. But roasting someone in the fire does. So God correlates the two so we would learn what is really outrageous in the world. Demeaning God and breaking covenants.

The physical suffering of this age is God's warning: This is how horrible and outrageous sin is. Flee it while there is time. Turn to Christ for forgiveness.

The physical suffering of eternity is God's judgment: This is how horrible and outrageous sin was. Now there is no fleeing. It is too late.