One of the objections that I hear levied against the Bible is the stark anger of God toward sin. The emotion (one can hardly call it a thought) that goes along with the objection is the resentment that people feel toward God and His holiness. “How dare God treat people that way!” seems to be the attitude.
Sinful humanity wants a “tame” God, one of whom we can make demands when we need something, but otherwise push conveniently out of the way. Our culture wants to ignore that we all live under God’s sentence of death already. (Romans 5:12 NKJV) 12… through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
In today’s text, Paul points out that God chose to have accounts of His wrath written down as warnings to us, so that we would not grow indifferent to sin or inappreciative of His saving grace.
Human beings are so given to indifference, so incapable of keeping faith, so easily led into self-centeredness and pursuit of personal pleasure that Paul warns us, 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! He doesn’t want anyone to be lost, for after all, He spent the blood of His own son to redeem us.
What of you? What are your priorities? Have you pondered the riches of God’s grace and mercy toward you, including the gift of everlasting life? Do so you value heaven, purchased at the terrible price of Christ’s suffering and death, enough to cling to your faith? Will you take the strength that Christ Himself offers you in His powerful word and sacrament, so that you will never lose what He has given you? God grant that you will!