Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1916-02-10

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law. The Gospel without a promise Of
r%etribution is ~emasculated. 1t is net
only a theological mistake, it is not a
Gospel" The text proclaims that
there is wrath with God, and there are
scores Of Scripture passages speaking
of the wrath of God and many of them
are in the New Testament.
What Is the Wrath of God7
When the %ancients saw the noun.
tains that are now the witnesses of
the wrath Of man against man rocking
and Keeling, they said the gods were
mad. But we cannot SO think of the
wrath Of God. That wrath is real in.
dignation against its object, and this
Indignation carries with it the idea
that the object of the wrath will be
the subject Of Gods opposition. The
wrath of God is always based on jus.
tice and reason that take into account
the rights and prerogatives Of men as
moral agents. Yet. Gods own char
acter for holiness and Justice will be
indicated whatever may be the im7a-
thence of man with such a statement.
Whatsoever a nan soweth, that shall
he also reap'-no limitation or modi-
fication.
The Wrath Of God Against All Sinful
Men.
We know God hates iniquity and all
evil deeds. but it is a more serious
matter for us to note that the prepon-
derance of scripture testimony is
that the wrath of God is against sim
full men and logically SO. Sin is an
abstract thing, and cannot be in itself
the subject Of the execution of JUS
tice, but the sinner can be. Jesus
told Nicodemus that the wrath of God
abode on SHINING man Paul told the
Ephesian and Colossian Christians
that the wrath of God would come on
the children of disobedience. He told
the Thessalonians that the day Is COM
ing when Jesus Christ will be revealed
from heaven taking vengeance on
them that know not God. and obey not
the Gospel Of Jesus Christ.
Wrath Provoked, Slow In Develop
ment, and Fearful In Visitation.
There are three things concerning
the wrath of God that should be care
fully noted: First: The wrath of God
can be provoked or called out. The
Israelites provoked the wrath of God
repeatedly and plaques broke out on
them. In the second Psalm men were
urged to kiss the son lest he be an
cry and they perish from the way
when his wrath was kindled but a
little. The wrath of God will never
be manifested without the positive act
Of man calling it out. or provoking it,
and II of the strongest evidences Of
the love Of God is that his love has
been frequently provoked and was
most mercifully restrained. Second
development. THE Lord is merciful
and gracious, slow to anger, and plen-
teous in mercy" One of the minor
prophets teaches almost exactly the
same thing, saying: Turn unto the
Lord your God, for he is gracious and
merciful, slow to anger and of great
kindness" Thirdly: The wrath Of
God Is fearful in its visitation. The
time comes when kindness, merciful
Indulgence and longsuffering, are at
an end, and the most terrible judg-
ments fall. This was illustrated in
the destruction Of the race by the
flood, by the fate Of Sodom and
Gomorrah. by the plaques on Egypt.
by the wholesale destruction of many
Of the enemies of Israel. Not less
fearful, indeed rather more so, will
be the awful visitation of Gods wrath
in the future as indicated in 2 ThcS.
salOnians 1913.
Thank God there is a refuge, for as
Paul teaches by the Holy Spirit, that
being now justified by the blood of
Jesus Christ, we shall be saved from
wrath through him.
II eve in the history Of the world
the attention of man ought to be
called to the wrath Of God, it is now
when the wrath Of man against man
man SO glorified by himself as to be
almost a gods manifested with a
bitterness and hellish hate as
before.
In the awful experiences in the war.
swept regions there is something Of
the wrath of God.
Men have forgotten God and he is
making himself known in wrath.
John the Baptists are needed to
urge men to flee from the wrath to