The Gospel as Warning

Nahum 1:2-8

2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;

the LORD is avenging and wrathful;

the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries

and keeps wrath for his enemies.

3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,

and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

he dries up all the rivers;

Bashan and Carmel wither;

the bloom of Lebanon withers.

5 The mountains quake before him;

the hills melt;

the earth heaves before him,

the world and all who dwell in it.

6 Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7 The LORD is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
8 But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

“God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” Hmmm… does He now? Yes, the LORD is good and is a stronghold in the day of trouble for whose who take refuge in Him, but what about those who do not take refuge in Him?… well, his plan for them does not seem so wonderful.

We must take care in how we present the gospel. God does love all people. God does want all people to repent. But we must be clear that God first and foremost is Holy and his wrath is already upon those who are not in Christ (John 3:36; Romans 2:5).

The gospel call is motivated by love; our love for the lost and certainly God’s love for the lost, but we must present God in his fullness. To speak only of his love to the lost is to diminish his hatred of sin.

Our message of hope in Christ IS hope because God offers salvation from his wrath if we will submit to Christ as LORD by repenting and receiving the grace of forgiveness. We cannot fully explain God’s love until we first explain why we are desperately in need of his forgiveness.

So, the gospel is good news, and it is a warning. “Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?” The answer is no one. Even Christ, the Son of God, had to die in order to appease his wrath toward his chosen people. Jesus was able to take his life up again by his own authority (John 10:18), but God the Father still required that his wrath be appeased. It is not merely wiped away or forgotten.

God’s forgiveness of our sin means that He forgives US for committing the sin, and He is willing to reconcile us back to Himself, but the penalty for our sin must still be paid. And Christ endured God’s wrath for us on the cross.

Therefore, the gospel message we share must include a warning about God’s wrath, for that is why Jesus died: to take God’s wrath away from his children who believe in Him. So, God’s wrath will either be satisfied by Christ’s death on the cross for all whose who believe in Him OR it will remain on the unrepentant for eternity. We must warn people of God’s wrath.

The LORD is good! He offers refuge from his wrath. That Refuge is named Jesus Christ. By God’s lavish grace and mercy He promises to forgive us our sins and receive us into his family if we will repent and love Him.