Notes for "God Never Becomes Angry With Christians"

Introduction:

The title to this week’s chapter, "God Never Becomes Angry With Christians," may seem unbelievable to some who have read about God’s wrath in the Old Testament. According to McVey’s research, God’s anger is mentioned 153 times in the Bible but the only thing that angers God is sin.

Do Christians sin? Of course. Then, why is God never angry with them? The answer is simple…their sins have been paid for at the cross and removed from them as far as the East is from the West. God’s anger was poured out completely at the cross…Jesus received all God’s anger against sin, once and for all. God has no reason to be angry with Christians!

Understanding that God’s forgiveness is not conditional, but historical, complete and final, is the key to self-forgiveness. God has forgiven us, so why can’t we forgive ourselves? God has accepted us, so why can’t we accept ourselves? Is our standard of forgiveness and acceptance higher than God’s? How could it be? The real problem is that we have been deceived by Satan, and don’t believe God is as good as He says He is. We think God’s grace is like our grace…conditional. You do the "right thing" and I’ll show you grace! But God says, "Even when you do the wrong thing, I’ll show you mercy and grace!"

By way of quick review, what is the one thing that causes God to become angry? Sin.

Does God become angry with Christians about the sin in their lives? No. Why? Because their sin does not exist in the mind of God, as He said through Jeremiah, …"for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."(Jeremiah 31:34)

 

Describing believers, Paul says in Romans 8:29-30 God knew them before he made the world, and he decided that they would be like his Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers. God planned for them to be like his Son; and those he planned to be like his Son, he also called; and those he called, he also made right with him; and those he made right, he also glorified.

What are five things God has already done for everyone who believes?

bulletHe knew them before the world was created. (Foreknowledge)
bulletHe decided (planned) for them to be like His Son, Jesus. (Predestination)
bulletHe called them to His plan to be like Jesus. (Sanctification)
bulletHe made them right with Himself. (Justification)
bulletHe gave them new bodies that would work in heaven. Glorification)

How is it possible that all of these are spoken of as past events, when for every believer, some of these events are in the future and for all who have not yet, but will become believers, all these events are in the future? God speaks from a perspective outside of time, the eternal NOW.

How many of the Christian’s sins have been forgiven? Colossians 2:13-14 When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross.

How would you respond to a person who says that the sins we have not yet committed haven’t been forgiven? There are two possible ways to understand God’s forgiveness: 1) He forgives sins as they are confessed, or 2) He forgave all sins at the cross. 1John 1:9 has been misinterpreted by some to support the piecemeal view of forgiveness, but that understanding runs contrary to several other texts (Acts 10:43, 13:38; Ephesians 1:7, 4:32; Colossians 1:14, 2:13-14; John 1:29 and 1 John 2:12) which support the view that at the cross, Jesus in one historical, complete and final act fulfilled the Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesies that God would remove the penalty for all sin by the sacrifice of His Son.

However, God never forces any of His gifts upon us! Humans have the right to reject anything God offers…He has given each of us personal sovereignty and we can accept (confess) or reject even His forgiveness.

Pretend you are listening in on a conversation when God is telling someone else about you. What is He saying about your sins? Nothing!!!

Brennon Manning’s story about the parishioner’s dream of seeing Jesus.

What is the result of failure in our lives as Christians? How does God see our failures?

The results of our failures are earthly consequences that are less than the best, sometimes horrible, but there are no eternal consequences. God, in Christ, has settled all the eternal consequences at Calvary. Is God disappointed in our failures? How can He be (unmet expectations)? Is He saddened by our failures? Consider this: Since God knows our eternal destiny, would that impact His feelings regarding our failures? If we are saved, how important are the little (in view of eternity) failures? If we are lost, what difference do the little failures make?

How are we to view our own personal failures? Admit (confess) them and celebrate our forgiveness and place our confidence in Him. Some people live and learn, some people just live. Once again, we need to refocus on Him, not on our performance.

What is the difference between self-condemnation and conviction of the Holy Spirit?

Self-condemnation brings a feeling of inadequacy and hopelessness, while conviction, the prerogative of God, brings awareness of failure, but also the reassurance of forgiveness and acceptance by Him.

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