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Isaiah 57:16- Not Angry Forever

We have read much of God’s cursings of the wicked. Sinners in those days, and in New Testament days, and in our own day are guilty. In fact, all of us are more wicked than we realize. We do not understand the depth of our sin. The Holy Spirit comes to sinners, and the first thing that He does generally is help them to wake up to understand how sinful they really are. We come to see what a high and holy God Jehovah is. We see that there is no way for us, of ourselves, to get to God. In fact, we see that there is much that we deserve from God, none of it good. We deserve His justice. We deserve His judgment. We deserve His wrath. That is what we deserve. When we come to be awakened to this, it is scary, and there’s no getting away from it. The sinner who has awakened to his terrible place, to the terrible situation he is in, fears God will be angry with him forever and ever. It can be hard to imagine that God’s anger will be turned away. How can that be? Will God change in His character? No. Rather it is because someone else has said, ‘Father, what they deserve I will take.’ The Father happily allowed the Son to do it. The sinner comes to look to Jesus, comes to place himself under Jesus, and therefore he is shielded and protected from the wrath of God, since the Son takes it for him. Now that we are in Jesus Christ, now that we have believed these promises which may have seemed at one time too good to be true for such sinners as we are, we see God’s grace is far greater than our sin.

We have believed upon Him. But to our shame and to our grief, we are not yet completely holy. We are not completely wise. And so as foolish and immature children, we often need discipline, which is often unpleasant. We must learn that sin brings misery, and only holiness brings happiness. God says right here that His discipline will go no further than it needs to. It will never go too far. Our Father disciplines us for our good. It may feel the same as if He is punishing, but it has a different motivation, and it has a different goal. It is not judicial retribution. It is not out of wrath and anger. It is out of love toward the end of holiness and dwelling with Him forevermore.

Question

  1. Who takes the punishment due to us for our sin?

Prayer Points

  1. Give thanks for the forgiveness we have in Christ.
  2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
  3. Pray for family matters.