Apr. 23, 2008 - Wrath and 7-year-olds

This will be an interesting week to teach Sunday School.  As some of you may know, I teach a group of highly sophisticated 1st-3rd graders every Sunday morning.  We have been working our way through the study of about 40 attributes of God.  Although these children have astounded me with the simplicity and veracity of their faith, I have found it difficult to explain certain adjectives to the group.  Glorious and Trinity stand out as the hardest to understand (for both them and me!).

So this week the topic du jour is Wrath.  We are moving towards a complete explanation of the gospel, so we must include the truth that God is furious with sinners.  Those that have not been reconciled to God through the substitutionary death of his Son are enemies of God and have no fellowship with Him.  An abundant relationship with God is free to sinners, but it is not unconditional.  No, the atonement for sin through the sacrifice of Jesus must be received and accepted and treasured as the only way to the the Father.  God hates the wicked and depraved and that is the terrible truth.

Listen to this quote by J.I. Packer from the book In My Place Condemned He Stood:

And this [the wrath of God] is righteous anger - the right reaction of moral perfection in the Creator toward moral perversity in the creature. So far from the manifestation of God’s wrath in punishing sin being morally doubtful, the thing that would be morally doubtful would be for him not to show his wrath in this way. God is not just - that is he does not act in the way that is right, he does not do what is proper to a judge - unless he inflicts upon all sin and wrongdoing the penalty it deserves.

And so my task is to convey this truth to my little group.  The problem this presents is that God's wrath is a scary subject.  It is supposed to be.  The bigger problem is that I will do a great injustice to the children if I do not present this part of God's character in full color.  You see, in the following weeks, I will get to the wonder and beauty of the attributes that are full of God's mercy and grace and joy in making a way for us to be brought to Him.  And that good news is only as good as the bad news is bad.  If you view your sin (and God's righteous anger) lightly, you will view your salvation lightly as well. 

So I will pray a lot for the right words and tone.  I will trust that God will have His way with me and my audience.  I will believe that God desires to save these children from His wrath.  I will depend upon the truth that His Word will not return void.  And I will rejoice in the truth that my sin can be exchanged for Jesus' righteousness through the cross.   And the Father's anger averted.