If you would like to receive Pastor Harris’ weekly sermons via e-mail, Click Here)
(If you would like to download the PowerPoint presentation for this sermon, Click here)
Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
March 29, 2009
Spiritual Warfare, Pt. 12: Girded with Truth, Pt. 9
Lies Against God’s Jealousy & Anger
Introduction
Four months ago we began examining the subject of Spiritual Warfare with Ephesians 6:10-17 as our key text of scripture. We will continue in that study this morning. Since it has been several weeks since my last sermon, please turn again to that passage and follow along as I read.
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.] 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil [one.] 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Let me quickly review some of the key points from the first four verses of this passage. First, we cannot engage in spiritual warfare in our own strength or by our own strategies. We must rely on the Lord’s strength working through us and we must prepare ourselves in the manner that He commands. We must put on the full armor of God in order to stand firm in spiritual battle. Second, we must understand that our adversary is a schemer that seeks to exploit our every weakness. He is well informed by his many years of observing human behavior in general as well as us as individuals to know what strategy to use to cause us to fall into sin. Satan’s desire is to usurp God, and he will use any means and method he thinks will work to get us to have a diminished view God resulting in either the worship of something other than God or at least an improper worship of the true God.
One of the devil’s first strategies is to confuse us about the identity of our real enemy. That is why Paul clearly states in verse 12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against powerful and organized spiritual forces of darkness in this world and of wickedness in heavenly places. At times it may seem that particular people are our enemies, but our battle is with the devil and his demonic followers. The devil will influence people and use them as his pawns, but people are the mission field, not the enemy. Our real fight is with the power behind the people and not the people themselves. We desire the salvation of the people used by the devil against us.
In Ephesians 6:13 Paul again commands us to take up the full armor of God so that we can resist the devil and stand firm. We are not to lose our ground when attacked. He then goes on in the rest of the passage to explain each piece of armor that God supplies to us so that we can stand firm. The first piece of armor is to gird our loins with truth.
The belt is an essential piece of equipment for the Roman soldier because it held his tunic in place enabling him to move quickly and with agility otherwise his legs would be encumbered and cause him to stumble. The belt also gave him a place to hang his other equipment. When a soldier was called to go somewhere, first thing he would do is put on his belt and cinch it up. To “gird your loins” is the first step in preparing yourself for action.
Paul refers to this belt as truth for it is truth that ties everything together securing us and giving us the ability to move quickly and decisively. It is truth that holds the sheath for the sword of the Spirit, the Bible. Truth is foundational to the Christian, and so we find that it is truth that the devil attacks in his efforts to lead us astray.
As I have pointed out previously, the devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), and ultimately those lies are against the nature & character of God. When we are thoroughly grounded in the truth, we can easily resist his lies. If we are not, then we easily succumb to them. The greater our awareness and trust in the nature and character of God, then the greater our ability to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
We have already exposed quite a few of Satan’s lies and slanders against God. We have examined God’s existence (See: Girded With Truth – God’s Existence 12/14/08), infinite nature (See: God’s Infinity – 1/4/09), truthfulness (See: God’s Veracity – 1/11/09), wisdom (See: God’s Wisdom – 1/25/09), holiness (See: God’s Holiness – 2/1/09), righteousness & justice (See: God’s Righteousness & Justice – 2/15/09), goodness, love (See: Lies Against God’s Goodness & Love – 2/22/09), grace & mercy (See: God’s Mercy & Grace – 3/1/09). Today we are going to look at Satan’s lies against God’s jealousy as well as His anger and wrath.
God’s Jealousy
In a previous sermon I spoke about how God’s very nature and character set Him apart from everything else. His infinite attributes such as being eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, immutable and sovereign set God apart from anything else that exists, for there is nothing else that has or can have these particular attributes. They belong only to God and so are called non-communicable or non-moral attributes.
God has other attributes which we describe as communicable or moral attributes for men are to also have them, though man will not have them in the same way that God does. God is intrinsically righteous, just, truthful, wise, good, loving, merciful, gracious, patient, longsuffering and faithful. None of these attributes arise from a source outside of God Himself nor can they be improved because He is already perfect in them. That separates each of them as being holy attributes of God. The reflection of these attributes by men arise from outside ourselves and can be improved.
This is an extremely important point when it comes to considering attributes such as jealousy, anger and wrath because we think of them in negatives terms for there is almost always an element of sin when they are manifested in our own lives. When we believe the devil’s lie that God is in someway similar to us, rather than us being a dim reflection of Him, we start attributing to God our own characteristics and start thinking God’s jealousy, anger and wrath have the same type of motivation that we do. None of that is true. God’s jealousy is a holy jealousy. God’s anger is a holy anger. God’s wrath is a holy wrath. They are very different from our own expressions of those characteristics.
When jealousy is considered, we tend to think of it as negative because it is generally produced in us by elements of suspicion, fear and envy. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines this type of jealousy as follows: “That passion or peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from the fear that another does or will enjoy some advantage which we desire for ourselves. A man’s jealousy is excited by the attentions of a rival to his favorite lady. A woman’s jealousy is roused by her husband’s attentions to another woman. The candidate for office manifests a jealousy of others who seek the same office. The jealousy of a student is awakened by the apprehension that his fellow will bear away the palm of praise. In short, jealousy is awakened by whatever may exalt others, or give them pleasures and advantages which we desire for ourselves. Jealousy is nearly allied to envy, for jealousy, before a good is lot by ourselves, is converted into envy, after it is obtained by others.” This is the improper side of jealousy and why we tend to think of it only in negative terms.
However, there is another aspect to jealousy which is proper. Webster lists some additional definitions of jealousy including: “Suspicious caution or vigilance; an earnest concern for the welfare or honor of others.” Such was Paul’s jealousy in 2 Corinthians 11 that they might be deceived by Satan and be led astray from Christ. In a similar way, Elijah was jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, because Israel had forsaken God’s covenant with them, torn down God’s altars and killed God’s prophets (2 Kings 19). This type of jealousy can also be described as zeal or indignation. Webster adds concerning this, “God’s jealousy signifies His concern for His own character and government with a holy indignation against those who violate His laws, and offend His majesty.” An example of this is in Psalm 79:5 when Asaph cries out because of the invasion and destruction of Jerusalem, “How long, O Lord ? Wilt Thou be angry forever? Will Thy jealousy burn like fire?”
God’s perfection in all his attributes sets His jealousy apart from even the slightest taint of an improper jealousy. God is absolutely free of suspicion because He is omniscient and knows all things perfectly. Suspicion requires an element of the unknown, an imagining of something without proof or with little to no evidence. God does not need proof or evidence to already know the heart and mind of man and the future (Psalm 44:21; Revelation 2:23; Isaiah 46:10). God is without suspicion.
Because God is omnipotent, omniscient and sovereign, He is also without the possibility of fear. There is nothing can catch Him unaware, or overpower Him, or out wit Him, or can thwart His will (Daniel 4:35). Nothing can cause any actual diminishment of His person, attributes or glory.
Because God is infinitely perfect in all His attributes, immutable and completely self-sufficient, He is also absolutely free from envy, the key element in unjust jealousy. What could any other being possibly posses that does not already belong to God? There is no being superior to Him in any way, shape or form, nor does God begrudge what other beings may possess or enjoy for He is the one that has allowed them to have it. Consider that God causes even what is meant for evil to be used for His good purposes (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28) and He uses His enemies to demonstrate His power and proclaim His name throughout the earth (Romans 9:17).
God’s jealousy is a holy jealousy and without any aspect of suspicion, fear or envy. God’s jealousy arises from perfectly valuing what should be valued and zealously guarding the proper situations and relationships. The first reference to God’s jealousy is in Exodus 20:5 where God explains the reason for second of the Ten Commandments not to make an idol or worship or serve them “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” In Exodus 34:14 God repeats this command to not worship any other god saying “for the Lord , whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
There is no envy in this jealousy for that would require an idol to be something, and an idol is nothing but the work of man’s hands. An idol can do nothing but sit there for they do not even see, hear, breath or speak (Psalm 135:15-18). God properly values both the relationship His creatures are to have with Him and the worship that is due from them and so He zealously guards them. God is righteously indignant when that relationship is rejected or that worship is withheld.
The third commandment is not to take the Lord’s name in vain. That is a commandment that should be very carefully obeyed for we find in Ezekiel 39:25 the Lord is also jealous for His holy name. The Lord warns in Exodus 20:7 that He will not leave unpunished those who take His name in vain. In Leviticus 24:11-16 we find that the penalty for blaspheming the Lord’s name is stoning. This jealousy for His name is without any suspicion, fear or envy, it is simply that God properly values His holy name and zealously guards it. Those who make light of it or blaspheme it will be the recipients of God’s righteous indignation and its consequences.
In Zechariah 1:14 we find that God is “exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.” This is because this is the place God has chosen for Himself and to put His name (1 Kings 11:36). God is protective of anything that bears His name for He properly values it accordingly resulting in Him zealously guarding it and becoming indignant when it is not treated properly.
There is a direct link between God’s jealousy and God’s anger and wrath which explains the huge difference between God’s anger and that of man.
God’s Anger and Wrath
God gives many warnings that He is a jealous God and that provoking that jealousy will result in His indignation, anger and wrath. In Deuteronomy 4:24 God describes Himself saying, “The Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” You do not want to provoke the Lord’s jealousy. Since God’s jealousy is holy, the foundation of God’s anger and wrath is also holy and righteous. There is a just reason for God’s anger, which in itself separates it from that of man whose anger is usually with an unjust motivation.
Moses warned in Deuteronomy 6:14-15, “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.” Joshua warned in Joshua 24:19-20, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” But that is what Israel and Judah did do. 1 Kings 14:22 tells us “Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed.” Psalm 78:58-59 recounts, “they provoked Him with their high places, And aroused His jealousy with their graven images. When God heard, He was filled with wrath, And greatly abhorred Israel.” The Lord did judge Israel and Judah for their idolatry and Asaph lamented over the ruins of Jerusalem in Psalm 79. He petitioned the Lord that His anger and jealousy would not be forever and that the Lord would forgive for God’s own name sake.
The Lord heeded that prayer. God’s judgment came just as they had been warned, but His fury did calm and His jealousy did depart so that He was pacified and angry no more. There was hope for the nation of Israel and they would be restored. God will return to Zion and dwell again in the midst of Jerusalem which “will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts [will be called] the Holy Mountain” (Zechariah 8:2).
When God’s holy jealousy is provoked, it results in His anger, and though God is long suffering as proved by His dealings with the nation of ancient Israel and us in the present, there does come a point in time when He does carry out the wrath of His judgment against those who have rejected Him. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 warns about His wrath of judgment to come when God will deal “out retribution to those who do not know God and to those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day.”
God’s holy jealousy gives proper motivation to His anger and wrath, and that motivation sets it apart from the anger and wrath of man. It must also be pointed out that because God is always in harmony with all of His attributes and perfections, His anger and wrath are completely free of injustice, wrong application, inappropriate levels, or mis-timing. In other words, God’s anger and wrath are holy because they not only always have the proper motivation, they are also always displayed and acted upon properly. This also sets God’s anger and wrath apart from that of man.
We tend to think of anger and wrath as negative because it is not often that man does have proper motivation for his anger and even more rare that he will have a proper display of it with appropriate action. When man does do this, we try to distinguish it by calling it righteous indignation. With this in mind, perhaps we could describe God’s anger and wrath as always being righteous indignation and man’s as rarely being that because our motives are usually not pure and we often react with either injustice, inappropriate levels, wrong or mis-timed application, or any combination of these.
Please understand that there are things we should be jealous of, things we should be angry about, and things upon which our wrath should fall. We should be jealous for God’s name and honor. We should be jealous concerning those things that are holy and righteous. We should be angry about sin and its effects on us and others. That anger should motivate us to actions of righteousness to defend the helpless, uphold justice and seek relief for the suffering. Those things reflect the character of God.
In man, anger itself is an emotion and therefore cannot be a sin in and of itself. That is why Ephesians 4:26 tells us to “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Anger can have a sinful motivation, which is why we are to carefully examine our reasons for being angry. Anger can lead to bitterness if we let it fester, which is why Paul says for us not to let the sun go down on it. Anger can also result in sinful actions if we do not exercise thoughtfulness and self-control. Even if our anger is true righteous indignation, we must respond with humility and leave revenge in the hands of the Lord (Romans 12:19). God’s jealousy, anger and wrath is always holy, ours is not.
The Devil’s Lies
The devil will lie against God’s jealousy, anger and wrath in one of two opposite general ways. Either he will magnify them to use as a basis to claim God is not worthy of our worship, or he will go to the opposite extreme and claim that God does not or at least should not have these attributes. These are also lies against God’s other attributes because as I have pointed out, God’s jealousy, anger and wrath are tied in with His other attributes.
Most people are unaware of the many Scriptures that describe God as a jealous God. If the devil can keep people in such ignorance or get them to deny this truth, then those people will continue to ignorantly provoke God’s jealousy as they worship other god’s of their own making or imagination and disobey His commandments.
The devil can also go to the opposite extreme and try to magnify God’s jealousy while using that word to make men think God is like they are and therefore not worthy of worship. A God that is suspicious and fearful is insecure and needy and probably erratic. How could such a God be trusted or worthy of worship? A god who is fearful himself cannot give a basis by which I can overcome my fears. A God that is envious is a small god in danger of being usurped by something else. Such a god would also not be trustworthy or worthy of worship because there is another being that might be superior.
A proper awareness of God’s jealousy magnifies His uniqueness and the supreme importance of worshiping Him while warning that the worship of anything other than Him is a serious sin. There is only one God and He alone is to be worshiped.
The claim that God does not get angry is opposite the Scriptures. Moses and the writer of Hebrews both described God as a “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29), and throughout the Old Testament the anger of the Lord is described as burning against those that sin against Him (Numbers 32:14; Psalm 78:49; Isaiah 13:13). That same anger is demonstrated in the New Testament too. It is seen in Jesus driving out the money changers from the temple (John 2) and in His pronouncement of woes upon the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23). Paul refers to it in Romans 1:18 stating that the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” It is seen in Revelation as the wrath of God that comes against mankind and Satan in His various judgments (Revelation 14:10).
If the devil can emphasize God’s other attributes to the exclusion of God having anger and wrath, then people can feel safe in the midst of their sins. They reason God will simply accept them just as they are so they have no need to change. They mistake God’s patience and longsuffering for either indifference, tolerance or acceptance. They fail to heed God’s warning that His wrath abides on those that do not believe in the Son and obey Him (John 3:26). They will be judged and condemned by their very deeds (Revelation 20:12-15).
The devil will also promote the claim that God should not get angry based in the lie that God’s anger is like our anger. There are many that believe this lie and reject God thinking themselves to be morally superior because God gets angry. Romans 2 tells us that their own moral code will condemn them before God demonstrating the truth of their utter moral inferiority. God’s anger and wrath are not like ours. Man’s anger is generally born out of selfishness and responds in sin. God’s anger is born out of His holiness and responds against sin. While “the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20), the anger of God is a display of His righteousness against sin. In our anger we seek to usurp proper authority, place ourselves as the judge and gain revenge for what we suffer. God is the proper authority. His judgments are always just, and revenge belongs to Him. Our anger is usually improper both in origin and its display. God’s anger is always proper because it is marked by holiness and righteousness.
The devil can also lie by magnifying the Lord’s anger. Most of the devil’s lies are based in an over emphasis on one attribute of God to the diminishment or exclusion of other attributes. In this case the focus becomes all the passages in which God displays His anger and wrath with the conclusion that God is mean. This lie has several variations. At one extreme God is considered a cruel ogre out to crush mankind and therefore to be rejected by man who sees himself has having superior ethics and a higher set of morals. This idea is fairly common among atheists and agnostics. Liberals are only slightly better with many of them concluding that the God of the Old Testament is cruel, angry, harsh and judging, while the God of the New Testament is kind, loving and forgiving. Such a conclusion shows great ignorance of both the Old and New Testaments, but such are the nature of the devil’s lies.
Of more concern to us is the milder variation of this lie that makes God’s anger into the great cosmic killjoy that is loving enough to forgive your sins, but does not want you to have any fun. God’s commands are seen as restrictive and designed to prevent you from enjoying life to its fullest. Many people believe this lie, Christians and non-Christians alike. Non-Christians put off becoming serious about spiritual matters because they think becoming a Christian also means the end of having fun. Some Christians live in such a way that the command to be sober and grave (Titus 2:22 KJV) seems to mean to live as if one foot is in the grave.
Yet Jesus said that He came that we “might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Paul said in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” That does not sound like God is preventing His followers from having a full life. The prohibitions God has commanded prevent us from experiencing the tragedies that follow the sins that some people falsely believe are “fun.” Sin has its pleasures, but they are fleeting and there is always a high cost in the end. Joy is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22) and Christians are commanded to rejoice in the Lord away (Philippians 4:4), so we should live a life of great joy regardless of circumstances. That sure sounds a lot better than only having a good time which circumstances allow you to have fun. It is the devil’s lie that destroys this truth to lead Christians to think that living for God must be somber, sad and sorrowful lest God be angry.
God has anger and wrath, but God is also marked by love, goodness, mercy, grace, longsuffering, forgiveness, and many other wonderful characteristics of positive blessings. It is because all of God’s attributes work in harmony that we have hope. We deserve only God’s condemnation and wrath because of our sins against Him, but because God is merciful, patient and longsuffering, our just punishment is delayed giving us time to respond to God’s calling to believe in the gracious work of love and grace offered in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ which completely satisfied His justice.
When the Lord passed before Moses in Exodus 34:6, He proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave [the guilty] unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” That is the character and nature of God. The devil slanders God’s character in order to get you to follow his lies so that you will not believe the truth and worship and follow the Lord. It really comes down to what you believe is true. Jesus said in John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Do you believe God or the devil? Do you have eternal life or does the wrath of God abide on you? Are you living in the joy of the Lord, or the despair of the devil? What do you believe is true? Put your belt on so that you can stand firm against the schemes of the devil to get you to believe his lies.
The next sermon in this series is: Spiritual Warfare Part 13; The Breastplate of Righteousness)
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – 1) Count how many times the words “jealous” and “angry” are mentioned. 2) Talk with your parents about how you can avoid God’s anger.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What is required for success in spiritual warfare? Why is the devil be so good at tempting us to sin? Are people ever our actual enemies? Why or why not? Why do we need the full armor of God in order to resist the devil? What is the importance of truth for a Christian? What is the ultimate target of all the devil’s lies? What makes God holy? What distinguishes God’s moral attributes as holy? Is God similar to us? Why or why not? What is the danger of attributing to God human characteristics? What is jealousy? What makes it proper or improper? Give examples of both. What attributes of God make His jealousy different from human jealousies? Why can there be no envy in God’s jealousy? What are some of the things God is jealous about? What are some of the warnings that God gave concerning His jealousy? What happened to ancient Israel because they provoked the Lord’s jealousy? What are some of the promises the Lord has given to the nation about a future restoration? How does God’s anger differ from man’s anger? What are some things which we should be jealous of. What should be righteously angry about? When can a righteous wrath be exercised? Does revenge have a place in a Christian’s life? Why or why not? Is anger itself a sin? Why or why not? Why should anger be dealt with quickly? What is the result of the devil getting people either deny or be ignorant of God’s jealousy? What is the result if he gets people to over emphasize God’s jealous or think His jealousy is similar to that of men? How has God demonstrated His anger in the Old Testament? In the New Testament? What will happen to those that mistake God’s patience and longsuffering for indifference, tolerance or acceptance? What will happen to those that think God should not be angry – Romans 2? What is the purpose of God’s prohibitions? Why should the Christian life be the most fulfilling and joyful? How do God’s other attributes temper His jealousy, anger and wrath resulting in the hope of salvation?
Sermon Notes – 3/29/2009
Spiritual Warfare, Part 12; The Belt of Truth, Part 9: Lies Against God’s Jealousy & Anger
Introduction
Spiritual warfare must be fought in the Lord’s __________ and by obedience to His directions
Our adversary is a schemer that seeks to exploit our every ____________
Our battle is not with flesh and blood (__________), but against powerful and organized spiritual forces
We must take up the full __________ of God so that we can resist the devil and stand firm
________, the first piece of equipment, is foundational, and so it is the first area in which the devil attacks
Ultimately, all of the devil’s lies & slander are against the nature & character of _______
God’s Jealousy
God’s infinite non-moral attributes set Him apart from anything else that exists, and therefore as _______
God’s __________ attributes are intrinsic to Him; arise from within Him, and are perfect.
God is _______ similar to us, rather we are dim reflections of Him. We cannot ascribe our traits to Him
Improper jealousy includes elements of suspicion, fear and _________
Proper jealousy is a _____________; an earnest concern for the welfare or honor of others – 2 Cor. 11
Proper jealousy is ____________ and can be indignant against violations of law and all evil
God has no suspicion (He is omniscient); ________ (He is sovereign), or _______ (He is self-sufficient)
God’s jealousy arises from perfectly __________ what should be valued and zealously guarding them.
God is a __________ God (Exodus 20:5; 34:14) and is indignant against all idolatry.
God properly values both the relationship with His creatures and the ___________ that is due from them
God is jealous for His _____(Ezekiel 39:25) and will punish those who take it in vain (Exod. 20:7; Lev. 24)
God is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion for He has put His ________ there (Zechariah 1:14).
God’s Anger and Wrath
Provoking God’s jealousy results in His indignation, anger & wrath; He is a consuming _____-Deut 4:24
God’s anger is always based in a ____reason, and that separates it from man’s anger which is often unjust
______________ against provoking God’s jealousy: Deuteronomy 6:14-15; Joshua 24:19-20
______________ of provoking God’s jealousy: 1 Kings 14:22; Psalm 78:58-59
Petition for __________ – Psalm 79. Granting of forgiveness and ___________ – Zechariah 8:2
Warning of God’s ________ of judgment still to come – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
All of God’s attributes are always in complete ____________ with one another and all His perfections
God’s anger & wrath are free of ___________, wrong application, inappropriate levels, or mis-timing
There are things to be jealousy of, ___________ about and recipients of wrath.
Godly anger should motive us to __________ of righteousness
While anger in man is not a sin in itself, ______can cause it and it can motivate sinful actions (Eph. 4:26)
The Devil’s Lies
People who are ignorant or deny God’s jealousy will continue to _________ it.
Magnifying God’s jealousy as if it was similar to man’s makes God ________ unworthy of worship
A proper awareness of God’s jealousy __________His uniqueness and the importance of worshiping Him
God’s anger is demonstrated in the ____Testament (Deut. 4:24; Num. 32:14; Psalm 78:49; Isaiah 13:13)
God’s anger is demonstrated in the ____Testament (Heb. 12:29; John 2; Matt. 23; Rom. 1:18, Rev. 14:10)
God’s patience and longsuffering should not be mistaken for either indifference, _________or acceptance
Rejecting God because you think He should not get angry results in your _______condemnation – Rom. 2
The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God, but God’s ______displays His righteousness
The devil’s ________ lead some people to believe the Lord is cruel, angry, harsh and judging.
Some people view the Lord as the cosmic killjoy who forgives sin, but does not want you to have ______.
The Christian life should be the most full and _____life possible – John 10:10; Rom. 8:32; Gal. 5:22; Phil. 4:4
All of God’s attributes work in harmony giving us ________ by believing in Jesus Christ
Exodus 34:6 – the Lord is forgiving of those that ________Him, but will justly punish those that hate Him
It comes down to what you believe is ______ – God’s revelation or the devil’s lies.
If you would like to receive Pastor Harris’ weekly sermons via e-mail, Click Here)
Grace Bible Church Home Page | Sermon Archives
For comments, please e-mail Church office