Watchman Radio Hour

David Schultz: Welcome to the Watchman Radio Hour. Coming to you from Portland, Oregon here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Schultz, your announcer. The Watchman Radio Hour is a production of Watchman Radio Ministries International, an evangelistic ministry reaching out to the peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And now, here's our speaker Alex Dodson to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Alex Dodson: For our scripture reading today, let us turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, and we'll begin reading in verse 4. Let us hear the word of God. "Brothers, loved by God, we know that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia. Your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."

Our Father in heaven, we thank You for the Bible that You have given us. We thank You that it's Your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says. And now, oh Father, as we come to study Your word, we pray that You will send forth Your Holy Spirit in great convicting power. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

We live in a society that is trying to leave God out of the picture. We don't want Him in the public square. Many live their lives as if He does not exist. John Piper in a recent article wrote, "The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived as normal, and even Christians feel it is normal, which is why absorbing the culture all around us and its priorities is so dangerous."

Not only are we living our lives in this society as if God is not there, we have no concept of a coming judgment. Whether it's a coming judgment on our nation for its great sins or the great judgment day at the end of the age when men will be punished for their sins who know not Christ. A judgment day is coming, and no one will escape it. We will all be there. Many will go away into everlasting punishment for their sin, and others will be vindicated and inherit eternal life.

The gospel is clear. A judgment day is coming, and only those who know Christ will escape its wrath. Yet we live in this society today that's blocking out all warning of such a day of judgment. We don't want to hear about it. We don't want such teaching in our public squares. We live as a nation as if we are not responsible before God. This kind of attitude can lead only to destruction for many and the downfall of our nation. The wrath of God is coming, and we need to know it and make preparations for it.

Our text today is 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 10 where it says again, "And to wait for His son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." Jesus rescues us from the coming wrath. There is a coming wrath, and there is only one way of escape which is revealed in the gospel, and that is through Jesus Christ, the only savior. We must flee to Him for refuge before it's too late.

Now let us see in the first place the wrath to come. He talks about the coming wrath. It is sure and certain that it's coming. The Bible makes it clear that that day is coming. It will be a day when Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven as judge. It will be the great day of judgment which will come upon the whole world. John Calvin writes, "Paul speaks explicitly of the wrath to come. He does so for the purpose of arousing godly minds and keeping them from sinking when they consider this present life."

And Leon Morris says, "To say that God has made man and his environment in such a way that when man sins, inevitable consequences follow, means that God is responsible when these consequences do follow." And then he writes, "The wrath of God is not only something which we see here and now. It will endure to the end of all things. It will be especially manifested in the end of all things. It is inevitable as though conveyed by the present participle, 'it is even now coming'."

And then he goes on to write, "The New Testament writers always regard the universe as God's universe. If retribution follows upon sin, then it seems impossible to maintain that this takes place independently of God. And if this should be maintained, then we would be building up a picture of a God who is personally indifferent to sin. The concept of the wrath of God is a healthy corrective to such unmoral views of the deity and it stands forever as a striking reminder that God's holy nature is totally opposed to every form of evil." This wrath of God is coming and its coming is sure and certain.

And then let us see that there's coming a great judgment day. The Bible teaches that we are all headed toward the judgment day which will come at the end of the age. In Acts 17:31, it says, "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead." In Matthew 25:41, it says, "Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels'."

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verses 6 through 10, it says, "God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you, and give relief to you who are troubled and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. And this includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." Then Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as a man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."

The Geneva Bible note 1 on this verse of 1 Thessalonians 1:10 says, "This word 'that' is not put here without cause, and by 'wrath' is meant that revenge and punishment wherewith the Lord will judge the world at length in His terrible wrath." Leon Morris writes, "Throughout the New Testament, it is clear that the advent referred to is an event which will bring this world as we know it to a decisive close. It is the consummation of the age, and it's difficult to see how we can do without the idea of this consummation."

This world is headed toward the judgment day, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. What we need to do is to get ready for that judgment day now while we have the opportunity. When death comes, then will come the judgment. It will be too late if we have not prepared. Now let us see in the second place, our refuge from the coming wrath is Jesus. Again, our text says, "And to wait for His son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."

We ought to wait for His coming. Jesus Christ is our deliverer. He is the only deliverer and savior, and it's to Him that we must go. In Acts 3 and verses 19 through 21, it says, "Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything as He promised long ago through His holy prophets."

John Calvin writes, "Paul mentions here the resurrection of Christ on which the hope of our own resurrection is based. For death attacks us on every side. Unless, therefore, we learn to look to Christ, our hearts will fail us at every moment." And then Calvin goes on to write, "Since Christ rose for the purpose of making us all at length partakers of the same glory with Himself, because we are His members, Paul intimates that His resurrection would be of no effect unless He appears a second time as their redeemer and extends to the whole body of the church the fruit and effect of that power which He displayed in Himself."

Hendriksen says, "And to await His son out of the heavens. It seems that it was especially the teaching with reference to Christ's return upon the clouds of heaven that had captivated the minds and hearts of the readers. As they saw it and rightly so, a man is not truly converted unless he glories in the doctrine and shows its force in his life. For them, true conversion implied at least these two things: a turning away from the idols and turning to God and to His son who is coming out of the heavens."

And then Hendriksen goes on to write, "This coming they are awaiting. The force of the verb 'to await' must not be lost sight of. It means to look forward to with patience and confidence. It implies both in the Greek and in the English being ready for His return." And then Hendriksen writes again, "This son of God who is coming out of the heavens is none other than the historical Jesus, this very one whom God actually and physically raised from the dead."

Leon Morris says this, "The word for 'to wait' is found only here in the New Testament. And Grimm-Thayer says that in addition to the thought of awaiting someone expected, it includes the added notion of patience and trust. Finley thinks it implies sustained expectation." Morris goes on to say, "The word means something like 'rescue' rather than 'redeem' which is more specific and signifies deliver by the payment of a price and puts the emphasis on the greatness of the peril and the power of Him who delivers. The completeness of the deliverance is underlined by the use of the preposition 'ek'. We are delivered right out of the wrath."

Once we come to know Christ as our savior and Lord, we then wait for Him to return to deliver us on the day of judgment. It will be a day of salvation for those who await His coming, but a day of destruction for those who reject Him. Believers will be vindicated on the day of judgment. Those who know Christ will receive salvation on the judgment day. They will be vindicated and given eternal life.

Matthew Henry writes this, "They set themselves to wait for the Son of God from heaven. And this is one of the peculiarities of our holy religion: to wait for Christ's second coming as those who believe He will come and hope He will come to our joy. The believers under the Old Testament waited for the coming of the Messiah and believers now wait for His second coming. He is yet to come and there is good reason to believe He will come because God has raised Him from the dead which is a full assurance unto all men that He will come to judgment. And there is good reason to hope and wait for His coming because He has delivered us from the wrath to come."

"He came to purchase salvation and will, when He comes again, bring salvation with Him, full and final deliverance from sin and death and hell, from that wrath which is yet to come because it is everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, as it says in Matthew 25:41." The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible says, "Jesus died to turn away God's past wrath, but the full import of this saving work will not be displayed until the judgment day. And then through Christ's intervention, believers will be spared the condemnation and punishment their sins would otherwise deserve." As believers, we do not have to dread the judgment day, for it will be a day when we will be delivered and vindicated, though we will have to give an account and stand before the Lord on that day.

And then let us see in the third place, a warning to flee for refuge from the coming wrath. A revelation of wrath now is being given as a warning. Even today, God's wrath is being revealed and it is a warning of a greater wrath that is yet to come. In Romans 1:18, it says, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness." God sends judgments on nations for their sins in our own day. He has always done this throughout history.

Our own nation is currently under God's wrath for its great sins and we live in great danger that our nation will come under even greater judgments in the future if our sins continue to increase and if we do not repent. Our only hope is a great national spiritual revival. In a recent World Magazine article, John Piper said this concerning revival, "It is the one-sided, supernatural arrival of God to do something extraordinary to awaken people to their sinful condition and to awaken them to the reality of God, and then the reality of Christ, the reality of sin, and the necessity of repentance and faith. It moves like an inexplicable wave across the culture."

Now we haven't seen that for a long time in America. But I doubt that short of that, we will come out of a God-ignoring, God-belittling frame of mind which pretty much grips the whole nation. Our sins continue to rise and we continue to ignore God. God's wrath will increase. When pop musicians spurt forth profanity from their mouths and the culture embraces it, then we're in trouble. When we ignore the Sabbath day and worship our sports heroes no matter what they do, then the nation is in trouble. When we make Hollywood rich by embracing movies that our forefathers would have abhorred because of their immoral content, we as a people are in trouble.

Yet we pray for revival to come, to sweep the nation and to bring it to its knees. This can happen and it has happened before. During the First and Second Great Awakenings, things happened in this country that are unheard of today. The Holy Spirit did sweep the nation and brought its people to their knees. And for this we must pray. Yet remember that God's judgments warn us of the greater judgment to come from which we must flee.

John the Baptist gave a warning in his day. In Luke 3:7 and 8, it says, "John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance'." Today, that same warning comes to us. There's a great wrath coming and we need to repent as a people. We need to flee to Jesus before that day comes.

John Calvin writes, "Christ by His death has delivered us from the wrath of God. But the meaning of that deliverance will be made plain on the last day. The wrath of God and eternal destruction are hanging over the human race because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The second is that there is no way of escape except through the grace of Christ." William Hendriksen says, "Jesus delivers all those who embrace Him by living faith."

During the time of the First Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards called on people to flee from the wrath of God. In one particular sermon which was entitled "Wrath Upon the Wicked to the Uttermost," which he preached in May 1735 in the final stages of the revival in Northampton, Massachusetts, he talked about the awfulness of the wrath of God. And this is what he said, "How dreadful the wrath of God is when it is executed to the uttermost. To make you in some measure sensible of that, I desire you to consider whose wrath it is. The wrath of a king is the roaring of a lion, but this is the wrath of Jehovah the Lord God omnipotent."

"Let us consider what can we rationally think of it? How dreadful must be the wrath of such a being when it comes upon a person to the uttermost, without any pity or moderation or merciful circumstances. What must be the uttermost of His wrath who made heaven and earth by the word of His power, who spoke and it was done, who commanded and it stood fast? Sometimes when God only enlightens the conscience to have some sense of His wrath, it causes the stout-hearted to cry out. Nature is ready to sink under it when indeed it is but a little glimpse of divine wrath that is seen."

"This hath been observed in many cases. But if a slight taste and apprehension of wrath be so dreadful and intolerable, what must it be when it comes upon persons to the uttermost? When a few drops or a little sprinkling of wrath is so distressing and overbearing to the soul, how must it be when God opens the floodgates and lets the mighty deadly deluge of His wrath come pouring down upon men's guilty heads and brings in all His waves and billows upon their souls? How little of God's wrath will sink them." Psalm 2:12 says, "When His wrath is kindled but a little, blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

Today we hear almost no sermons like Edwards preached. Yet he warned his people of the wrath to come as John the Baptist did, and multitudes in Edwards' day fled to Christ for refuge. Now this is what we need today for men to come under great conviction of sin and to flee to Christ for refuge. There is a wrath coming that we cannot even imagine, and yet few today are ready for it. We must flee to Christ, who alone can save us.

What about you today? Have you considered that great wrath that will come on the last day, on the great judgment day? Have you considered the warning judgments that God is sending on us even now? These judgments point to an even greater judgment to come. Are you ready for that judgment? So few are today. So many have turned away from God and are going their own way.

But what about you? Have you turned away from God? Are you going with the world instead of going with God? Your sins are great. Your judgment will be great if you do not repent and turn to Christ. Flee the wrath to come. Don't wait another moment. Repent at once and turn to Christ. Only in Him is refuge from the coming wrath. Are you ready to meet your maker? Once you die, it's too late. And then you will only face judgment. There are no second chances. It's appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment. Are you ready? Flee from that awful wrath to come. Flee to Christ. Come to Him now.

Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Jesus Christ, for sending Him to die on the cross for our sins to deliver us from the wrath to come. We thank You, oh Lord Jesus, that all who put their trust in You are saved and have eternal life and will be vindicated on the great judgment day. But oh Father, we fear that so many are not ready today. We fear that there are so many who do not know that the judgment day is coming. And we pray for them, that they may come under great conviction of sin and that they may know that that judgment is coming and that they will flee to You that they might be saved. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

David Schultz: We hope this week's podcast has been a blessing to you. If you have any questions about Mr. Dodson's message, please write us. You may email us at info@watchmanradio.org. Our mailing address is Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251, Portland, Oregon, 97213. That's Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251, Portland, Oregon, 97213.

You may listen to this broadcast at any time on the internet at www.oneplace.com. In the list of ministries, just select the Watchman Radio Hour. This week's program and previous programs are always available there for listening. Our web address is www.watchmanradio.org. That's W-A-T-C-H-M-E-N-radio.org, www.watchmanradio.org.

Alex Dodson: 1 Thessalonians 1:10, "and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."

David Schultz: For the Watchman Radio Hour, this is David Schultz. May the Lord bless you.