Jesus Saves... But From What?
The Hidden Scriptures of The Kaiyo Stories
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10
As a child, I never quite understood why people should fear God. The devil was scary and he hates God’s children, so that made sense. But why would I fear the God who would lead me to still waters, the one who is The Comforter, the one who shed his blood for me? Put that way, God did not seem fearful at all. He seemed a lot more like my own loving and incredibly patient father.
But maturity and study found that fearing God runs throughout the Bible. The idea is addressed by at least 59 versus. As it turns out, “fear” means “fear.” Not just respect; not just obedience. But fear. So, what is it about God that we should be afraid of?
Sarah, one of the wonderful and dangerous characters found
in Raphael and Defectors, was once possessed by a powerful demon. Saved by Christ, she knows what many believers do not know. Here, freezing in the snow and preparing for battle, she muses about God’s wrath.
“If people understood God’s coming wrath, they would treasure and understand the grace they receive, and they would be far more active in defending their brethren. But the people know little of God’s wrath; it’s not taught. The popular pastors play to their audience’s day-to-day hopes, not to their fears. But I know something of divine wrath. It is the only thing that brought terror to the demons and they dread its coming. I was once terrified by it, too. Most Christians choose to deny the inevitability of the day of wrath or they simply choose not to think about it. They are being fools and they’re often useless to the cause.”
Wrath. The notion causes demons to tremble and unbelievers to mock those who fear it. But it is coming. Justice for violations of the Law of God is required. And make no mistake; God demands justice. And he will get it. The modern church, eager to ignore the moral law, may ignore it and explain it away, but they do so at great peril. The fact is that God’s justice will be demanded to address the sins of each of us and God’s terrible wrath is God’s inevitable response.
An understanding of God’s wrath as God’s response to our sins is necessary to begin to understand the depth of the sacrifice Christ gives to those of us who love him. Christ will save us from the wrath to come.
But what are we being saved from? Simply put, we are being saved... from God. By God. And for God.