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Colin Smith: There is a self-righteous kind of perversion of Christianity out there that speaks something like this: Sin is in these people out there, but it's not in us in here. And a person who thinks like that has really never come to terms with what we're learning from the Bible about sin.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller, glad you're listening. And Colin, today we come to a huge topic, and that is the problem of sin.

Colin Smith: The question today, Steve, is really why is it that sin is a problem? There are a lot of answers to that. It's a problem because of the conflict that I experience in myself. It's a problem because of the difficulties that come into relationships and all the ways in which the world is not as we would want it to be.

None of these get to the real, ultimate big reason why sin is a massive problem, and that reason is the wrath of God. Being sinners and being part of this sinful world places us by nature under the wrath and the condemnation of God. It's very popular, especially in our day, to say there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ.

That's wonderfully true, and that's where we're going to get in this message. But it's only meaningful to say there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ because the condemnation that once was has been removed. We have to take seriously the fact that the Bible speaks about our liability to the wrath of God.

We're going to look at what that means. Here's the amazing thing, Steve: although this is an unattractive subject, it might be that someone would say, "Why would I spend this time listening to this program right now?" Here's why: because when you grasp what it is that you have been saved from, you will love Jesus Christ more than ever before. You'll say, "I always thought it was great to be a Christian, but I never realized you saved me from this." That's what the gospel does. It gets us to the heart of the deliverance, and today we're going to try and plumb the depths of it so that we can see the heights.

Steve Hiller: We're going to do that from God's Word. If you can, join us in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 3, as we begin this message, "Children of Wrath." Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: We're looking at the inside story of human life, and we began in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 29. We read there that God made Adam upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. Adam fell, and his children were born in the likeness of their fallen father. From that foundation, we turn to Ephesians chapter 2, where God speaks in verse 3 about the cravings of the sinful heart or the sinful nature.

These are cravings that find expression in our thoughts and in our desires. As we looked at that, here's what we discovered it means for Christians: when God's grace enters the heart, sin is forgiven, but sin is not expelled. Christians may be called saints, as some folks like to point out, but we do not cease to be sinners. We are always, therefore, dependent upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is ours only by relationship with him through faith.

That's very important to grasp because there is a self-righteous kind of perversion of Christianity out there that speaks something like this: sin is in these people out there, but it's not in us in here. A person who thinks like that has really never come to terms with what we're learning from the Bible about sin. By the way, you can be sure that where that is the case, such a person will not know much about the love of God either, because these two things always go together.

We're learning in this series that the problem of sin runs deep in all of us. As Christians, we are forgiven sinners, but we are still in the process of being redeemed. To be in Christ means that your sins are forgiven and your condemnation is removed, but none of us are yet what we one day will be. God's work of restoration in us has begun, but it is not yet complete. That is why the nature of the Christian life is a daily battle. We are always in conflict against the allurements of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and the snares of the devil.

The impulse of sin erupts from our flesh in all kinds of surprising and unexpected sorts of ways, so that none of us ever gets to a place where we could say, "I will offer my Christian life to God as a kind of reason why I should enter into heaven." No, we always stand only on the mercy of God which is ours in Jesus Christ. Now, that's where we've got in the series. I hope you're now with your Bible at Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 3.

Here's where we've come to: "Like the rest," the scripture says, "we were by nature objects"—or literally the word there is children—"we were by nature children of wrath." This may be one of the most disturbing verses in all of the Bible, but its meaning is surely clear. The default position of every human life is that we are under the wrath of God. We are all born sinners. The impulse to sin runs in the bloodlines of every race, every person, every generation.

If you have come to believe what we saw last time with regards to the Bible's teaching about sin, it really should not surprise you to read what follows: that we were by nature children of wrath. To help us grasp the importance of this truth today, I want to tell you a story. I've called it the "Parable of the Biggest Problem." Come with me in your imagination for a few moments.

I want you to picture an ancient church in the center of the city of London. The building goes back to the 15th century. Visitors come into this old church and they view the stained glass and they look at the ancient walls. Below the area where the people gather, there is a crypt, a kind of basement where great men and women from the past lie buried beneath the stones. Pastor John walks through the church. A kindly and a godly man, he has served there for 30 years and more.

Wearing his long gown is often a means of help and comfort to people in need. He's supported by his tireless assistant and the elderly church caretaker. A wise and kindly man, John is the sort of person you feel you could talk to, the kind of pastor you would want to talk to when you know that you're getting into trouble. One day, a man came into the church looking for Pastor John. Ben was troubled. He needed to talk.

"How can I help you, Ben?" asked Pastor John as they sat down in his office. Ben looked at the floor for a long time and then he said, "Pastor John, how can I become a more generous person?" Pastor John smiled. "That's a great question, Ben. Why do you ask that?" "I don't know," said Ben. "I've made some bad investments. I don't have peace with what I'm doing with my money. Maybe it's that I need to give more."

Pastor John was a wise pastor, and he sensed that Ben wasn't getting to the point of what he needed to talk about. "Is there something else you want to tell me, Ben?" There was a long silence. "Ben, where did you get the money that you regret spending?" "It came from the pension fund," said Ben. "You've taken money out of your pension fund?" "No, I've taken it out of other people's pension fund. It's my job to manage the pension fund for my company."

Pastor John strokes his chin. Ben has been talking about becoming a more generous person. Now there's a bigger problem. Ben was guilty of a crime that could see him behind bars for the next 20 years. Pastor John took a deep breath as he prepared to tell Ben what he must do and then to try and help this man find the courage to do it.

He was just about to speak when the two of them heard the most awful shouting. Pastor John knew the voice. It was the old caretaker. The office door flew open. "Pastor John, Pastor John! There's a bomb in the crypt! It's about to go off! We have to get out now!" What's the biggest problem? Ben wants to be a more generous person, but there's the bigger problem that he's stolen two million dollars from the company's pension fund and he's really facing a long stretch in jail.

But even that takes a secondary place to the biggest problem, which actually neither Ben nor Pastor John had even been aware of until the caretaker burst through the door. There's a bomb in the building, and if they do not get out in the next minute, all of Pastor John's wisdom about becoming a more generous person and all of Ben's fear about what it will mean to actually go and confess to the police—the whole lot will be a supreme irrelevance.

Think about that parable in relation to yourself. You may have come here today in your heart thinking, "I want to become a better person." You may have come here in your heart thinking, "There is some stuff within my life that I know that I need to deal with." But towering over all the stuff that you may need to deal with in your life, towering over all the growth that we may want to see in our lives in the coming year, there is a problem of altogether different proportion. A problem of which most people are not even aware, and it's right here in this verse: "Like the rest, we were children of wrath."

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Children of Wrath." We've been looking at the wrath of God and how we deserve it, why the world needs it, and next time we'll continue to see how Christ bore it. If you ever miss a program, you can always come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free.

You can also listen if you have the Open the Bible app, and that's a great way for you to listen on demand whenever it fits your schedule. Whether you listen to Open the Bible on the radio, online, or through the app, it's all made possible because of your generosity. As you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to say thank you and send you a copy of Lincoln's Daily Devotional.

This is a devotional book that President Abraham Lincoln used, and it's a simple devotional where you're taking a look at a Bible verse or two for every day of the year and then three or four lines from a hymn that's connected to the theme of that verse. We'd love to send you a copy as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Or again, the website is openthebible.org. Back to the message. Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: There are three things, friends, that all of us need to know about the wrath of God. Let me state them as simply as I possibly can. Here's the first thing you need to know about the wrath of God: the world needs it. I have to say that the greatest problem in my mind with evolutionary theory is that if it were true, this world should be a better place by now. If it were really true that we're all getting better and we're all getting better, surely by now war should have ended.

Surely by now, after all these centuries of human history, if this was true, we should be beyond murder. We should be beyond hatred. Surely by now we should live in a world where children are safe and women should be treated with dignity and respect. Surely by now we should have achieved world peace and wise government and freedom and justice for all. Why can't we get there? Why can't we get there ever?

The history of the world shows us that sin is a problem to which there is no human solution. Sin is a monster, and our only hope of the life that every human heart longs for is if it should be defeated and destroyed utterly and completely. That is why you find throughout the scriptures this great longing that rises from the hearts of those who are inspired by the Holy Spirit to long for a day when sin and evil and wickedness will be no more.

Let me quote to you, for example, from Psalm 55. The prayer begins, "Listen to my prayer, O God, don't ignore my plea. Hear me and answer me." And then the psalmist goes on to speak in Psalm 55 about his own fear, about the oppression, about the darkness that's out there, the threats on his own life. In Psalm 55, verse 9, he says, "So confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, because I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night the wicked prowl on its walls, malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city, threats and lies never leave its streets." That was written 3000 years ago. It could have been written yesterday. Nothing has changed. And so here's where Psalm 55 ends, and there are so many other Psalms that are on the same theme. I'm only picking one. "But you, O God," says the psalmist, "will bring down the wicked.

You will bring the wicked down into the pit of corruption." That's the hope that the psalmist sees. He does not see any other hope for the world except that God will destroy the wicked. That's why I say the world needs this. A God who cannot destroy evil or who does not have the moral will to do so is absolutely of no help in this world in which we live today. Period. And the good news of the gospel is that David's prayer will be answered.

God will bring the wicked down to the pit of corruption. He will create, the Bible says, a new heaven and a new earth. Sin will be no more. And this heaven and earth, this new heaven and this new earth, will be the home of righteousness. This is our hope. And if it were not true, folks, there would never come a time, no matter how long human history would extend, there would never come a time when there would be a world with peace and freedom and prosperity and justice and joy for all.

So the first thing that you need to know about the wrath of God is this, and never forget it: the world needs it. The second thing you need to know, and I'm going to put this more personally: I deserve it. I'm putting this in the first person and in the singular, not only because it is true, but frankly because it is easier for me to speak this way. It is easier for me to speak about my deserving it than your deserving it, though as you have the Bible open, you will want to include yourself with me, I'm sure.

Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. Now, notice what he's saying. This is very important to grasp. He is not saying that if I do certain bad things, the wrath of God will come on me. He is saying that we are children of wrath by nature. In other words, this directly follows from everything that we learned last time. By nature, I'm absorbed with self. By nature, I am drawn to sin. By nature, I want to be my own God, just as Adam and Eve did in the garden.

By nature, I therefore am under the wrath of God. Period. Did you notice when we read from John chapter 3 a few moments ago, these marvelous words: that whoever believes in the Son of God has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life? And then notice why: for God's wrath remains on him. You see, John doesn't say if you reject Jesus, God's wrath will come on you. That's a big mistake.

People say, "I can't possibly believe in a God who pours out wrath just because people didn't happen to believe the right things about him." That is not what the Bible is saying. It's not saying that if you reject Jesus, God's wrath will come on you. He says if you reject Jesus, God's wrath will remain on you. You see, it's already there. It's like a cloud that's hanging over us, and it's not taken away apart from Jesus. Why is it there?

Because by nature we are children of wrath. Quite candidly, your reaction to this difficult truth in the Bible will tell you whether you have really embraced the truth that we looked at last time about our sinful nature. Because very simply, the reason that all people are liable to the wrath of God is that God must destroy sin. The future hope of the new heaven and the new earth depends on it. God must destroy sin, and sin is in us by nature. That's the problem. That's the issue. That's the rub. So the first thing that we need to know about the wrath of God is that the world needs it. The second is that I deserve it. I deserve it.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Children of Wrath." We've been looking at the wrath of God and how we deserve it, why the world needs it, and next time we'll continue to see how Christ bore it. If you ever miss a program, you can always come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen if you have the Open the Bible app, and that's a great way for you to listen on demand whenever it fits your schedule.

Colin Smith: Yes, it seems a strange thing to say, but the reality is that God will deal with evil, and that is the hope of the world. There will be a new heaven. There will be a new earth. The creation is not going to continue under the curse of human sinfulness and fallenness forever. That is the great hope of the gospel. This world will not be as it is forever because God has determined to renew it.

So there is actually a great hope. The problem, though, that comes with that is, if God is going to deal with evil, what then about the evil in me? Why would I not be swept away because of the evil that's in me? If he sweeps away all evil, where does that leave me? That is why it is so wonderful to say not only will God deal with evil, but in Jesus Christ he has dealt with evil. In the Redeemer, he's able to sweep sinful folks like us into a salvation that enables us not by right, but by his grace, to be redeemed sinners who will be part of the new creation, the new heaven and the new earth, for his praise and for his glory forever.

Steve Hiller: Colin, thank you. And while that is good news on one hand, it can also be a word of warning for us as well. Something to encourage us, something to motivate us to go out and to share our faith and to tell people about Christ. And that's one of the things that we are privileged to be able to do here at Open the Bible. If you want to find out more about this ministry, I hope you'll come visit our website. That's openthebible.org. That's openthebible.org. Well Colin, it's Friday and the weekend's coming.

Colin Smith: Yes, and I want to encourage you to get to church on Sunday. Across the country, people who love Jesus will be gathering to praise him. If you love Jesus, that's something you'll want to be part of. So find a church where the Bible is opened. And if you live in the Chicago area and you don't have a church home, I'd love for you to join us at The Orchard. There are six locations in the northwest suburbs. For more information, go to theorchard.church. That's theorchard.church.

Steve Hiller: Well thank you Colin, and thanks for listening. I'm Steve Hiller and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: This is Pastor Colin, and I love the story of the thief on the cross because it's the best story we have to help people understand grace. Many people have the idea that if a person was to get into heaven, they'd get there by living a good enough life. Well, the thief on the cross hadn't lived a good life, and he wasn't in a position to start living a good life either.

But Jesus said to him, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Well, if the thief could get into heaven, so can everyone you know and will ever meet. "Heaven, How I Got Here" is a compelling 60-minute film in which Stephen Baldwin portrays the thief on the cross in a one-person play. We've seen God use this film to help many trust in Jesus as the thief did. So who is there in your life who needs to understand grace? For more information or to watch this film for free, visit openthebible.org/heaven. That's openthebible.org/heaven.