“Jesus Satisfies The Wrath Of God For Me”
1 John 1:5-2:2
Sermon Series: “The Cross”
Introduction: We are beginning a new series called, “The Cross,” and in this series we are going to focus on how the cross of Jesus changes our lives. In each of the messages in this series, we are going to attempt to answer two vital questions. How does God satisfy Himself through the cross? And what does His work on the cross do in our lives?
Today, in this first message in the series, we are going to look at the doctrine of propitiation, which is a word used in our text. So, we should begin by defining this word. It means “pacifying wrath by taking care of the penalty for the offense that caused the wrath” (Gerry Breshears). Of course, I understand that using the word wrath in a sermon today can be confusing and controversial, but let’s dive in and see what this means and how it applies to our lives. I think you will find it to be freeing and life-changing.
1. The Nature of Humanity: We are all sinners (1:5-10).
2. The Nature of God:
A. He is the righteous judge of the world (Psalm 96:13, Hebrews 12:23, Acts 17:31).
B. He is a God of wrath (John 3:36, Romans 1:18). Leon Morris defines God’s wrath as His “personal divine revulsion to evil” and His “personal vigorous opposition to it. John McArthur defines the wrath of God as:
a. Eternal wrath-hell
b. Eschatological wrath-final Day of the Lord
c. Cataclysmic wrath-flood, Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
d. Consequential wrath-principal of sowing and reaping
e. The wrath of abandonment-removing restraint and letting people go in their sins
C. He is love (1 John 4:8, John 3:16, Romans 5:8). A.H. Strong says, “God requires satisfaction because He is holiness, but He makes satisfaction because He is love.”
3. The Nature of the work of Jesus On Our Behalf: The first couple of point were background, but this is where we can really answer the questions that I said we were going to answer. How does God satisfy Himself through the cross and what does His work do in our lives?
A. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to earth and lived a sinless life as a genuine human being. He then went to the cross as the substitute for sinners (Isaiah 53:6) and became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). In doing so, Jesus fully absorbed the wrath of God by being punished for our sins. Therefore, the wrath of God is pacified for everyone who is in Christ.
B. Because He did this, Jesus is our grace-giving Advocate who ministers on our behalf before the Father. So, what does His accomplishment on the cross then accomplish in our lives? Through the work of Jesus:
- We can receive eternal life as a free gift (Romans 6:23).
- We can stop trying to earn what Jesus has already accomplished for us.
- We can stop feeling like God is mad at us.
- We can stop living under condemnation (Romans 8:1-3).
- We can freely worship God through Jesus as just and as our justifier at the same time.
- We can confess our sins and be assured of forgiveness through Jesus (1 John 1:9).
- We can be righteously angry at evil but also graciously forgiving through the example and empowering of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
- We can live as fully accepted children of God (Romans 8:14-17).
