Why the World Needs to
Fear God
Study Series on the Fear of God
Proverbs 22:4
Pastor
Craig Ledbetter
DATE: 26
Oct, 2008 AM
PLACE:
I.
Introduction
A.
The entire year we have been
focusing on knee exercises – bowing the knee that is. Learning how to live the
yielded life towards God
B.
This month we are looking at
another attitude that is vital in bowing the knee – that if the fear of God
C.
We spend too much time
worrying about what people think
D.
What does God think, and more
importantly, what should our attitude be towards God’s power – He is GOD last
time I checked!
E.
Three things we will look at
this month:
1.
We first looked at the
Humility in the Fear of the Lord
2.
Last week we studied The
Honour of the Fear of the Lord
3.
This morning, The Horrors of
Not Fearing the Lord
F.
This morning I want to prove
to you that society is broken, and is reeling under the wrath of God!
G.
This nation needs to humble
itself and seek God before it only gets worse!
H.
And people will only turn back
to God when they get back to fearing Him!
II.
Background (Romans 1:18)
A.
People make light of fear
1.
It is almost “halloween”
and people make much of “fear” and “darkness” and the devil, and witches, and
wizards, and ghosts, and demons.
2.
Funny isn’t it? They won’t
admit to believing in such things, so they make light of them, and even dress up
their CHILDREN as such, and make a big joke of “fear”
B.
But God’s word says, there
needs to be some serious fear in people. As a matter of fact, people need to
have the fear of NOT fearing. They need to worry about their lack of proper
fear!
C.
Now, I’m not talking about
fearing everything, but just having
one, absolute, all encompassing, overwhelming, terrifying fear – the fear of
God!
D.
Not necessarily just the
fear of Him as the eternal, Almighty Being that He is, but specifically, the
fear of His wrath.
E.
The wrath of the God of
heaven is such a neglected aspect of His character today. We ALL constantly hear
of His love, and long-suffering, and patience, and grace, and goodness. But He
is a consuming fire as well. What a thought!
1.
David declares in Psalm
36:1, that the open, sinful activities of sinners around us simply testifies
that they do have any fear of God at all. Not that they don’t have religion, or
education or money – that’s not the problem. The problem is that they do not
have any fear of GOD!
2.
Abraham, in Genesis 20:11
came into a wicked culture in the Promised Land and was so terrified of what he
saw going on that he asked his wife Sarai to lie about being his wife because he
saw that they had no fear of God, and would have killed him on the spot for his
65 year old wife!
3.
The thief on the cross
hanging next to Jesus got very upset at the other thief in Luke 23:40, because
he was mocking Jesus, and he asked him, don’t you fear God? They were all going
to die very soon, and should have feared facing God!
F.
Folks, there is a price to
pay when you live without the fear of God – and our society is reaping it!
G.
I know, I know… modern
people don’t worry about the wrath of God
H.
But they ought to!
1.
Rom 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
2.
Rom 2:5
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself
wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
3.
Rom 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:
for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
4.
Eph 5:6
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things
cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
5.
Rev 6:16,17
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the
face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the
great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
6.
Rev 14:10
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of
the Lamb:
7.
Rev 15:1
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels
having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
8.
"God is angry with the
wicked every day" (Ps. 7:11).
I.
Now, thankfully,
Christians are saved from the coming wrath (1Th 1:10), but the majority of this
world is paying a heavy price for not fearing the Lord God
J.
Romans chapter 1 gives us
a clear explanation of God's wrath, how it works, and why it TODAY is "revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men."
K.
When you look at the news,
and read the newspapers, and hear of modern society, you are actually seeing the
wrath of almighty God being poured out
III.
Message
A.
The Truth About the Gospel
(Rom 1:16-18).
1.
It is the power of God!
a.
It is something so
powerful it can actually save and transform anybody
b.
Jew, Greek, it doesn’t
matter what nationality, culture, or sin
c.
It doesn’t matter how good
you think you may be, or how far away from God
d.
It thoroughly saves a
sinner’s soul! Just by faith!
2.
It shows the righteousness
of God – not of us!
a.
Our righteousness,
according to Isa 64:6 are as filthy rags
b.
But God’s righteousness
has found a way to make any sinner righteous
c.
All through the perfect
life of Jesus His Son, and His sacrificial death on the cross, but especially
His resurrection three days later
d.
There is NO righteousness
in us, but enough righteousness in HIM for everyone!
3.
It shows the coming wrath
of God – not just His love!
a.
The Gospel is not really
about God trying to make your life BETTER – even though he does that…
b.
The Gospel is about
warning everybody about the consequences of our sins – and “it ain’t pretty!”
c.
The Gospel shows the wrath
of God that is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
4.
No Bible believing
Christian is ashamed of such a perfect Gospel. It is the very
B.
Everyone in the World
Already Understands Three Things
(1:18-20):
1.
That there is a God in
heaven!
a.
Every child knows and
believes in the supernatural – it has to be “educated out of us”
b.
Every culture is full of
religions – all people worry about their soul to some extent, and try to fix
things up with “the man upstairs” so to speak!
c.
Such knowledge is
hard-wired into us – “that which may be known of God is manifest in them;”
d.
God wired it into our
consciousness – “for God hath shewed it unto them.”
e.
All you have to do is look
and learn – “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,”
f.
Even the Trinity can be
understood by studying nature – “even his eternal power and Godhead;”
1)
"The invisible things of
him from the creation of the world are clearly seen."
2)
How are they clearly seen?
3)
They are "understood by
the things that are made."
4)
So, what you can't see you
can understand by what you can see.
5)
What you can see shows you
what you can't see.
6)
Even what? "His eternal
power and Godhead." You can even detect the Trinity.
a)
Three forms of water –
only three
b)
Three tenses of time
(past, present, and future)
c)
Three building blocks of
matter (proton, neutron, and electron)
d)
Three dimensions in this
universe (X, Y, and Z)
e)
There is One God, but
three distinct Persons in the Godhead!
2.
That No One Has An Excuse
a.
The heavens tell us God is
there (Psalm 19)
b.
The atom tells us God is
there
c.
Every cell in your body
tells the world that God is there
d.
It doesn’t matter if you
are a college professor with 3 degrees, or a naked pagan head-hunter in Papua
New Guiney – you have no excuse for not believing that there is a God in heaven
to whom you will stand and answer one day!
e.
No one can claim that they
didn’t know about God
f.
No one can claim that they
didn’t know better – no we all have a conscience that not only has the existence
of God written in it, but also the commandments too
1)
We all KNOW it is wrong to
steal
2)
We all KNOW it is wrong to
lie, and to murder, and to covet, and to dishonour our parents
g.
Nah! There is no one that
has an excuse! Every human, no matter where they live or grow up, they know
there is a God, and they know enough about Him to be worried!
3.
That Everyone is in
Trouble with God
a.
Everyone knows they are in
trouble with God – they may not know WHO God is, but they know something is not
right between them
b.
That’s why most religions
really work people over about making sure they accumulate lots of good works to
go against all the bad deeds and sins
c.
If people thought they
were fine, they wouldn’t even try to be good
d.
We all know that we are
NOT good
1)
There is NONE righteous,
no not one (Romans 3:10)
2)
All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
3)
For there is not a just
man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. (Eccl 7:20)
4.
But one thing they don’t
understand, without the Bible is just HOW much they are in trouble!
C.
The Wrath of God is Part
of the Gospel
(1:18; 2:5,6).
1.
God's Wrath is NOT “Anger Out
of Control.”
a.
An angry God bothers so many
people
b.
They have the idea that ANGER
is inherently wrong and sinful, and so, a lot of anger (the common definition of
wrath) would really be wrong and sinful.
c.
The Bible teaches otherwise.
1)
"Be ye angry, and sin not: let
not the sun go down upon your wrath" (Ephesians 4:26).
2)
Jesus was angered at hard
hearts (Mk. 3:5; Jn. 2:15-16).
a)
His anger was not irrational
like most of ours is
b)
He was angry at the abuse the
Pharisees had towards the common people
c)
Jesus saw sin ruining lives,
both now and for all eternity
d)
He saw lies and traditions
being taught as truth instead of God’s word
e)
Shouldn’t He have been angry
at the devil and the religious hustlers that fill our pulpits today.
3)
Righteousness loves light, and
hates darkness (John 3:20). Thus, every expression of darkness must be met with
righteous indignation or anger.
2.
There is a BIG Difference
between Human Anger and Divine Wrath.
a.
People think God's wrath is
like man's wrath. When people say, "God gets angry like we get angry," they only
imagine that, "His anger is bigger and more powerful."
b.
In reality, most human anger
is not righteous anger at all!
1)
"Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the
wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20).
2)
Moses learned this too late
when he was moved by wrath towards
3)
2Ti 2:24,25 And the servant of
the Lord must not strive (get angry); but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves
c.
Most human anger is more evil
than what we are getting mad at!
d.
We get angry because our egos
have been hurt, and because we did not get our way.
e.
God is not angry because He
has some gigantic ego that we have failed to gratify.
f.
God's anger in no way
resembles our (sinful) anger.
1)
His righteous anger is
directed at evil people who refuse to be what He made them to be and thus start
by hurting themselves.
2)
He is angry at the
senselessness of men and women who send themselves to hell because they will not
obey His commandments.
3)
God's wrath is not designed to
hurt sinful man but bring him to his senses that he will return to his maker and
be saved.
3.
It is OUR Sinfulness that
Demands the Wrath of God
a.
The Gospel demands for wrath
against sin! While many people wish to separate grace from judgment,
1)
Yes, the Gospel is good news
but it is only good news for those who receive it.
2)
For those that disregard its
saving power the Gospel reveals the wrath and judgment of God directed toward
all sin. The Gospel also reveals sinful attitudes and behaviours, as Paul will
go on to list very specifically (vv. 21-32).
b.
It may seem to be out of date,
but it is Biblical! It is interesting that in our day "fire and brimstone"
preaching is considered dreadfully old-fashioned and out of date.
1)
Puritan preachers preached
sermons that effectively suspended the audience over the very fires of hell
2)
But most preaching today seems
to shy away from even mentioning eternal condemnation, deciding never to speak
of God's righteous wrath, the day of judgment, or the plain truth that
not everyone will go to heaven.
3)
Jesus was remarkably unafraid
to discuss hell in explicit detail.
4)
Should we be ashamed of such a
truth?
5)
I agree that talking about
hell is a frightful thing, and thinking about going there is enough to make the
hair bristle on the back of your neck. And so it ought to be!
6)
God's wrath is not to be
trifled with, people will account for their deeds some day, and most folks (yes,
most folks) will be lost. Something is going to happen to everyone's soul and we
need to carefully contemplate the two possible choices that we would make the
right choice.
7)
Oh that people’s minds were
both full of thoughts of heaven and joy, but also balanced with thoughts that it
is indeed a "fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb.
10:31).
D.
Humans Have Two Root Sins! Look
at the root sins we commit:
1.
Failure to glorify God.
a.
What does it mean to glorify
God? It means to brag about God, elevate God, raise Him up. It means to show Him
off; praise Him when people try to praise you!
b.
One preacher said, “A great
way to glorify God is to just get out in a big field where nobody can hear you
and just run around in a circle and yell, "Praise the Lord!" about 15 minutes
till you're hoarse. Did you ever do that? You ought to try it. You ought to try
that; just get yourself out in a field some time, about 20 acres where nobody
can hear you, and just run around in a circle and praise God till you're hoarse,
and watch what happens. Some of you are afraid to try it, aren't you? God
deserves our “fanaticism”
c.
When someone here says “Amen”
– they are praising God, and God’s truth!
2.
Failure to Thank God -
"Neither were thankful."
a.
That's the next step.
b.
When a man doesn't glorify God
and he's not thankful, then anything can happen after that.
c.
That’s most of you at your
dinner table, or at a restaurant – no thankfulness for the meal and for health
and for your family, etc – just shovelling in the grub! Shame on you!
d.
God grew the food and gave the
rain to grow it, and gave people the strength to harvest it, and gave you the
money to buy it
e.
So when people don’t take a
moment and thank God, do you know what God will do? He'll cut off the crops. If
you really want to know why China and India and Russia have such a terrible time
with their starving population and lack of crops, it's because they've turned
down God, and God has turned them down. It has nothing to do with British
imperialism and white imperialism, and all this junk. It's the fact that if a
nation turns off God, God turns them off.
3.
You would be surprised to know
where those two “simple” sins lead (Psalm 9:17)!!!
E.
We Have Not Worried About the Wrath of God.
1.
Usually we think of God’s
judgment as being poured out at the final judgment day. Oh it will, but the fact
is, it already is being poured out!
2.
Verse 18 clearly states that
God's wrath "IS revealed" (present tense), not that God's wrath "will be
revealed" (future tense). What does this mean? How is God's wrath being
expressed even now?
a.
The answer is found in the
phrase "God gave them over," used
three times in the passages from 21-28.
b.
We are told that God gave them
(sinful people who refused to acknowledge Him as God) over
1)
To the lusts of their hearts
(v. 24) – filthy imaginations
2)
To homosexual passions (v. 26)
– filthy relationships
3)
and finally to a damned mind
(v.28) – completely filthy life
c.
This expression "gave them
over" is a term that referred to what a judge did with a convicted criminal:
1)
He or she is given over to be
punished.
2)
So Paul tells us that modern
day, smooth talking, religious, lying, deceiving, porn addicted, lustful,
adulterous, money loving sinners are being punished right now by God "giving
them over" to what they are wanting
3)
God's wrath is expressed
presently by this decision of God's to "give them over."
3.
The crime these are guilty of
is rejecting the knowledge of God (v. 21) and the punishment is God giving them
over to do as they wish to do.
a.
When people turn away from God
He will not force them to come back and serve Him (though He has the power to do
so).
b.
No, instead God releases
people to do as they want. God gives them over to the evil desires in their
hearts (v. 24), to do things that not even animals would do and which only
debase humanity (v. 26), and to minds so infected with sin that they will
rationalize and justify every kind of iniquity (v. 32).
4.
In some ways this may seem
like a punishment that anyone would enjoy.
a.
Most children would love to be
told "Since you were naughty I'm going to allow you to do whatever you want to
do."
b.
But what would the end result
of such a punishment be? Would it teach the child self-control, discipline and
endurance so that they can be productive and useful in life?
c.
Or would the child ultimately
end up a mess of uncontrolled passions, completely dominated by selfishness and
hate?
d.
Look at what people become
filled with, when they are not filled with God! “Being
filled with all unrighteousness…”
1)
Fornication – porn in
almost every magazine and on almost every TV show
2)
Wickedness – the promotion
of evil instead of good
3)
Covetousness – 90% of
everything we have is because we were coveteous and had to have it
4)
Maliciousness – we think
about hurting people and seeking revenge
5)
Full of envy
6)
Murder – look at the
murder rates, ALL OVER THE WORLD (90 a day in
7)
Debate – unable to discuss
and disagree
8)
Deceit – never telling the
truth
9)
Malignity - a bad
disposition, a bad attitude
10)
Whisperers – can’t tell
someone to their face what you are thinking
11)
Backbiters – attacking
people behind their backs
12)
Haters of God – the norm
in society – “where was God?” “If there is a God…?”
13)
Despiteful - defiant
attitude
14)
Proud
15)
Boasters
16)
Inventors of evil things –
most of today’s inventions are evil, not beneficial
17)
Disobedient to parents –
HELLO! That is a 20th century phenomenum, and it is the judgment of
GOD on our society for turning away from God!
18)
Without understanding – no
mercy or compassion
19)
Covenantbreakers –
divorce, treaties
20)
Without natural affection
– homosexuality and lesbianism
21)
Implacable – inflexible,
stubborn
22)
Unmerciful – unable to
hold back from hurting each other
e.
Man decides that he does not
want to know about God or serve Him, so God will allow men and women to do as
they please, push God far from their thoughts and live exactly as they want to.
The end result is that humanity is in a sorry state, miserable beyond words,
totally trapped in its own evil deeds, and without any concern for their sins.
f.
So the listing of sins
concludes: "who, knowing the righteous
judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not
only do the same but also approve of those who practice them" (verse 32).
F.
Three Steps Away from God.
Watch how God is simply acting like a mirror.
1.
Start Denying God
(1:21-24)
a.
Denying Him authority over
your life and decisions
b.
Denying your need of his
help
c.
Denying that you were made
by Him
d.
Change God into someone
more acceptable: “And changed the glory
of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to…”
1)
corruptible man – and
today, women’s bodies!
2)
and to birds
3)
and fourfooted beasts
4)
and creeping things.
5)
All are idols – almost all
world religions have idols
e.
So, God gave them up to
uncleanness
(1:24). Just as people gave up on God, God gives them up! When people turn to
idolatry (1:21-23),which is physical they can make no clearer statement than
they do not want God (John 4:24)
1)
Because they did not
glorify God, and were not thankful!
2)
Driven by
lusts - No longer a matter of what is RIGHT and WRONG, but what FEELS
good (you see, when you throw God out of your conscience, and throw His word out
of your life, there is only YOURSELF to say what is good and bad)!
3)
So what do people end up
doing? Dishonouring their own
bodies between themselves (Heb 13:4)
Sow dishonour toward God, and you will reap dishonour in your home!
4)
Here God judges people’s
bodies - physical damnation (as in a ‘physical time-bomb') - early
death, overt troubles in the home, in the marriage, in their health - brought on
themselves! This is the high price of loving sin!
2.
Start Rejecting Truth
(1:25-27)
a.
That’s what Satan did to
Eve – changed God’s word, and rejected God’s warning… “ye shall NOT surely die”
b.
Start saying God used
evolution, and we are all really just accidents in the universe, and that there
is nothing really true and absolute, etc
c.
Who changed the truth of
God into a lie,
d.
Worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
e.
For this cause God gave
them up unto (worse) vile affections (1:26,27):
1)
Vile affections deal with
the heart and soul of a person
2)
They begin to have
unnatural affections
a)
Woman CHANGED to go
AGAINST nature
b)
Men turned away from the
natural pattern of marriage relationships to an ungodly form of sexuality -
homosexuality
c)
This is a statement that
when people become homosexual, it is because they are reaping God’s judgment
(1:26,27)
d)
But compare with 1Cor
6:9-11 (Whew!)
f.
“and receiving in themselves that
recompence of their error which was meet” (GAIDS)
1)
These are only reaping
what they sow - “receiving IN themselves that recompense of their error” - This
is the very reason for why God removed the cities of
2)
So, when this stuff is
going on TV, radio, in magazines, and in HOMES day in and day out, it
demonstrates that people have already started going WAY DOWN the path to God’s
judgment!!!
3)
Involves the damnation of
the soul! - Emotional time-bomb
3.
End up Completely
Replacing God (1:28)
a.
Total rejection of God at
all – end up atheists
b.
God gave them over to a
reprobate mind
(1:28) Abandoned, rejected, damned, lost, convicted criminal, abhorred of God!
1)
God gave them over to a
reprobate mind – free to do and think and desire anything they way
(unrestrained)
2)
This is complete
abandonment - the worst thing that God could ever do toward a person is to leave
them alone! EX: wives, leave your husbands for a couple of weeks and then come
back into your home. EX: parents, leave your kids alone all day long.
3)
The problem is with people
not wanting to keep God around (“retain”). So God leaves (Cf Rev 3:20).
4)
Satan’s primary goal is
not only remove God from the university, from the government, and from the home,
but to remove God from everybody’s CONSCIENCE!!!
5)
Spiritual abandonment -
spiritual damnation! Spiritual
time-bomb!
4.
Look at where you find
them after they have taken these three steps away from God? Unconcerned – “Who
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”
5.
Principles:
a.
Sin is progressive.
Without external intervention, it is unstoppable!
b.
People desperately need
the Good News of Jesus Christ if they are going to escape the wrath to come (Heb
2:3)!
c.
You see, there is ONE
thing that the Gospel (as powerful as it is) cannot do - it cannot save a person
unless he or she sees themselves as a guilty, lost and damned sinner, in
desperate need of a Saviour!
G.
The Only Cure – Repentance
(Romans 2:4)
1.
Jonah proved it (Jonah
3:1-5, 10)
2.
John the Baptist demanded
it (Matthew 3:1,2)
3.
Jesus commanded it
(Matthew 4:17)
4.
Paul insisted upon it
(Acts 17:30)
5.
A brokenness, a sorrow, a
turning of the heart away from your sin, and towards God
IV.
Conclusion
A.
Folks, there is a price to
pay when you live without the fear of God – and our society is reaping it! When
you look at the news, and read the newspapers, and hear of modern society, you
are actually seeing the wrath of almighty God being poured out
B.
The Three-fold Truth About
the Gospel (Rom
1:16-18).
1.
It is the power of God!
2.
It shows the righteousness
of God – not of us!
3.
It shows the coming wrath
of God – not just His love!
C.
The Wrath of God is Part
of the Gospel.
D.
We Have Not Worried About
the Wrath of God.
And so we reap!
E.
Salvation Starts with the
Fear of the Lord!
1.
The problem to begin with
was that people didn’t think they had to worry about God.
2.
But the truth is, when you
simply and only worry about God, you will really have nothing else to worry
about (Matthew 6:33)
3.
Fear The Present Wrath –
every evil in our society is the wrath of God poured out because we do not
glorify God, and instead only honour sin, and filth – so God leaves us to our
own filth
4.
Fear The Future Final
Judgment – hell
a.
It’s real folks
b.
And it’s eternal
c.
And you need to worry
about going there
5.
Christian… you had better
Fear The Chastening of the Lord
a.
Christians need to fear
the chastening hand of God in their life
b.
You can blow your future –
early death
c.
You can lose rewards
d.
You can lose your health,
your family, your mind
e.
All because you forget
about God
F.
Thankfully, Christians are
saved from the coming wrath (1Th 1:10), but the majority of this world is paying
a heavy price for not fearing the Lord God
G.
At this time of year, be
very afraid – not of witches, and demons, and wizards, and ghosts, but of God
Almighty, who repays us our sins, unless we have looked to Jesus for complete
and full forgiveness!