Consider these words carefully. If you are present in this place, and yet you remain in an unregenerate state, then God will execute the fierceness of his anger on you. He will inflict his wrath upon you without any pity.

God will observe how ineffably extreme your situation. He will see that your torments are vastly greater than your strength is able to bear. He will see how your poor soul is crushed, and how it sinks down into an infinite gloom. But he will not have compassion on you, nor will he hold back his wrathful executions.

He will not lighten his hand of wrath, not even a little. There will be no moderation or mercy for you. At that time, God will not at all prevent his rough wind from blowing and he will have no concern for your welfare. His concern will not be that you suffer too much, except that you not suffer beyond the requirements of strict justice. No infliction will be withheld because it is beyond what you are capable to bear. Consider Ezekiel 8:18, “Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

But here in the present, God stands ready to pity you! Today is a day of mercy. Right now, you can cry out for mercy, and receive some encouragement that you might obtain it.

But once the day of mercy has past, even your most miserable and lamentable cries and shrieks will be useless. You will be totally lost and cast away from God, as far as your welfare is concerned. God will have no other use for you, except that you suffer misery. This will be the only goal of your continued existence. You will be a vessel of wrath fit for destruction, good for nothing but to be filled up full of wrath. When you cry to God he will be so far from showing you pity that the Bible says he will only “laugh” and “mock” (see Proverbs 1:25-26 and following).

How awful are the words of the great God we read in Isaiah 63:3, “I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel.”

These words manifest three things: contempt, hatred, and fierceness of indignation. It is perhaps impossible to think of other words that might convey these three things in a greater way. When you are facing his wrath, and cry out to God for pity, rather than show you pity, he will give you no regard or favor at all. Quite the opposite, instead of pity, God will only tread you beneath his feet. And yes, he will be totally aware that you cannot bear the weight of omnipotence walking on you, but he will not be concerned with that. In fact, he will crush you beneath his feet without mercy. He will crush you until your blood flies out to sprinkle and stain his garments. He will not only hate you, but his contempt for you will be at the highest level. There will be no place fit for you except under his feet where you will be flattened like mud in the streets.

Read the entire sermon, updated in modern English: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

Since god created the world and everything in it, and since He created people with innate value, patterning us after Himself (in His image), then it follows, we should live our lives consistent with this reality.

In particular, we should worship God, our Creator, realizing this is the purpose of our existence.

We should also treat other people with respect and dignity, since they possess value as  image-bearers of God. People are not numbers, or means to our own selfish ends. It does not matter their race, age, gender, life choices, or past, if they are human, they have intrinsic value, having been created by God.

On the other hand, if God did not create the world, then our existence is a natural anomaly, and thus worthless. In such a world, believing in the inherent dignity of other human beings is a waste of time, and quite dishonest.

If this world does not belong to God, if it is nothing but a cosmic accident, then you can toss in the can meaning, purpose, morality, and hope. None of these are logically possible if the story excludes our Creator.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The truth of this statement changes everything in our lives individually, and collectively.

Sometimes Christians waver in their trust in the Lord because of the fleshly desire we often get to come to God as an inference of our own logical processes. We believe so long as we are continuously and consciously holding what we believe to be good evidence for the existence of God, the trustworthiness of the Bible, the resurrection of Christ, and the inability of any and all other worldviews to answer life’s biggest questions. The problem is unless a person has the mind of Einstein it is easy to allow some of this important apologetic information to slip from day to day. Do we stop being Christian on days when we feel ill, and our minds are not working as they normally do? Do we stop being Christian when a mental disease, say Alzheimer’s, removes out capacity to hold this evidence competently?

Often Christians waver in their faith because of certain, personal besetting sins. Sins that are very difficult to discard, and that, like water to a fire, have a tendency to extinguish the flames of faith. Sexual sin dominates in this category, especially among men, but there is also greed, and the hunger for power, among others. People have a tendency to pick their own poison. Because we love our sin we turn our backs on the Lord (who wants us to stop).

So what is a Christian? And what is a Christian to do when he is tempted to waffle in his faith in the Lord?

Put simply, a Christian is a person who has been given a new heart by the Holy Spirit (regeneration or new birth), and who thus desires to follow after Jesus Christ. A Christian is a person who actually wants to live the way Jesus lived, following in the gospel path of His life, wisdom, and virtue, and living daily in dependence upon Him for all things.

Therefore, when a Christian is tempted, for whatever reason, to ignore the Lord Jesus Christ, to succumb to the choking thorns so to speak, there is a real problem. Such a real problem, that it may even reveal that the person is a “Judas,” or a false believer, to whom the Lord says, “I never knew you; depart from me” (Matt 7:23).

I personally do not want to be in the camp of false believers. I want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. So then, how do I deal with the reality that faith fluctuates?

Positive, classical apologetic arguments can help us a great deal. I can remember reasons from science that point to the existence of God (i.e., cosmological arguments and design arguments). I can refresh myself on the moral argument for God’s existence. I can remember the many lines of physical evidence for the resurrection of Christ, and the trustworthiness of the Bible. And negatively, I can meditate on problems with other worldviews and religions. This does help some as long as my mind is working properly. But this process by itself is insufficient, and can sometimes lead to arrogance and pride. Again, forcing God to submit to a man’s logical process can sometimes produce the opposite of worship.

I also can fight sin in my own life. I can wage war against the thorns that are attempting to choke away my faith. If I am a true believer, then I am indwelt by the greatest and mightiest power in the universe, the Holy Spirit Himself. This also helps, but not always. Sometimes this process (when done in the flesh) leads to legalism. Instead of bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), we often bear the fruit of the Pharisees. Rather than trusting Christ more, we come to trust our own will power as a way of finding merit with the Lord. Again, arrogance and pride are often the result.

So even if I get all my rational arguments in a row, and even if I subdue all my known sin, I still run into the problem of forgetting my arguments (within a day or two), and of remembering the billions of other besetting sins I am yet to deal with!

So it comes down to this. I must trust the divine-man Jesus Christ. Everybody trusts in somebody (sometimes it is self) to explain how people came into existence, and what is the meaning of life. Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, embodies existence and purpose. He claimed to be “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Do I believe Him or not? If I do not believe Him, who else am I to believe? Do I trust the Darwinists who tell me man is a mere machine, an accidental animal, with no intrinsic value to speak of? Do I trust the pantheistic authorities, who are trying to convince me that “I” do not exist at all? How could “I” possibly concede to that?

I must trust somebody. What about myself? If I trust my own gut on this matter, that would be a gigantic mistake. The Bible calls me a wicked sinner, and it is correct in its assessment (Rom 3:23). As a sinner, who knows what sort of explanation I will come up with regarding the meaning and purpose of my own existence? No doubt it will be twisted and wrong, especially considering my own finitude.

BUT I MUST TRUST SOMEBODY! Who is more trustworthy than Jesus Christ? Who opens the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, and causes lame feet to walk? Who gave of Himself in such a sacrificial way, through His death on the cross, in order to provide salvation for lowest of the low, and dirtiest of the dirty?

When a believer’s faith wanes, Jesus Christ, the perfect Person and Savior of mankind, must be the stable anchor that brings us back. He is not an inference, or the conclusion of an argument. He is not something we can figure out. He is the God who is there, Creator, Sustainer, and glorified King.

Being Christian means having a new heart from the Holy Spirit and following Jesus no matter what. Trust Him.

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Psalm 4:7-8 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Proverbs 9:10-11 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Jeremiah 32:40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 84:10-12 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

Romans 11:34-36 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

1 John 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

James 1:2-3 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Psalm 77:13-14 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Psalm 62:5-8 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Recently, I have been spending time with Jonathan Edwards, digging into his writings. One of them is his list of notes called “Images of Divine Things.” I don’t think Edwards meant for this list to be published and widely known (perhaps he was using this research to write a book on the topic one day), but still, reading his thoughts on this matter soon becomes an act of worship.

Perhaps Edwards stretches the idea of a type / shadow a bit too far, and perhaps there will be endless debate about the interpretations of exactly what the physical shadows are meant to signify spiritually, but nevertheless Edwards does make you think. Did God create the physical world in such a way, that everything in it points to something greater?

Well, you can read Edward’s list at the Jonathan Edwards Center and come to your own conclusions. Enjoy!