Hello, John and Doves,
And let us not forget the
Christian's bar of soap (to put off the garment of
denial):
If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
[I apologize that I
encountered a server error in trying to link to
the national Celebrate Recovery site.]
Find a Celebrate Recovery
near you (for example):
~Blessings,
Mike
__________________________________________
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2013/pnf66.htm
Paul N.
F. (6 June 2013)
"God’s
Wrath"
God’s Wrath
By A. W. Tozer
To understand God's wrath we
must view it in the light of His holiness. God is holy
and has made holiness to be the moral condition
necessary to the health of His universe. Sin's
temporary presence in the world only accents
this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a
moral sickness that must end ultimately in
death.
The formation of the language
itself suggests this, the English word holy deriving
from the Anglo-Saxon halig, hal meaning well,
whole. While it is not wise to press word
origins unduly, there is yet a significance here that
should not be overlooked.
Since God's first concern for
His universe is its moral health, that is, its
holiness; whatever is contrary to this is necessarily
under His eternal displeasure. Wherever the
holiness of God confronts unholiness there is
conflict. This conflict arises from the
irreconcilable natures of holiness and sin. God's
attitude and action in the conflict are His
anger. To preserve His creation God must destroy
whatever would destroy it.
When He arises to put down
destruction and save the world from irreparable moral
collapse He is said to be angry. Every wrathful
judgment of God in the history of the world has been a
holy act of preservation.
The holiness of God, the
wrath of God and the health of the creation are
inseparably united. Not only is it right for God
to display anger against sin, but I find it impossible
to understand how He could do otherwise.
God's wrath is His utter
intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He
hates iniquity as a mother hates the diphtheria or
polio that would destroy the life of her child.
God's wrath is the antisepsis
by which moral putrefaction is checked and the health
of the creation maintained. When God warns of
His impending wrath and exhorts men to repent and
avoid it He puts it in a language they can understand:
He tells them to "flee from the wrath to come."
He says in effect, "Your life is evil, and because it
is evil you are an enemy to the moral health of My
creation.
I must extirpate whatever would
destroy the world I love. Turn from evil
before I rise up in wrath against you. I love
you, but I hate the sin you love. Separate yourself
from your evil ways before I send judgment upon
you."
"0 Lord, . . . in wrath remember mercy" Hab. 3:2
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Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.