<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Talking Points Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2025: God's Love and Justice

Kameron DeVasher

Mark Howard

01 God Loves Freely

02 Covenantal Love

03 To Be Pleasing to God

04 God is Passionate and Compassionate

05 The Wrath of Divine Love

06 God’s Love of Justice

07 The Problem of Evil

08 Free Will, Love, and Divine Providence

09 The Cosmic Conflict

10 Rules of Engagement

11 What More Could I Have Done?

12 Love and Justice: The Two Greatest Commandments

13 Love is the Fulfillment of the Law

I'm Cameron DeVasier and I'm Mark Howard and this is Talking Points.

On the fifth lesson now of our God's Love and Justice series.

This is lesson number 5 as I said and the title is The Wrath of Divine Love.

Now that sounds pretty intimidating of a topic, you know, the wrath of God.

Maybe we should just skip over this and let's just stick to love.

In fact, last week was all about compassion and passion.

Well, and it's interesting, the wrath of love.

So, what I've said, as I've summarized this week's lesson, this week's lesson investigates the apparent dichotomy between God's love and his wrath and I think we're gonna learn some really positive things about the wrath of God this week.

Well I'm guessing we're gonna learn some things for ourselves and probably have a good witness to other people because I'm guessing there's more than just us who are confused on this point.

This is going to be probably a helpful tool in our ministry tool bag as well.

But we, you actually put the talking points together this week.

So I want to get all the introductory comments out of the way.

Why don't I have a word of prayer and then you can lead us off.

Dear Holy Father, thank you so much for this series of studies.

Thank you for your Word that reveals who you are and who Christ is and who we can be in you.

Bless us now as we continue the study of God's love and this part, His wrath.

Help us to apply it in our lives and be a witness for you.

Talk to us, God's wrath, the wrath of divine love.

Well, it's interesting now this week, there was quite a bit in Sabbath afternoon.

Usually that's just kind of introductory, but my first talking point is actually taken from Sabbath and Sunday.

It's 1 of those that probably is more throughout the lesson, but that's where I zeroed in for most of it, and that is number 1, God did not appoint us to wrath.

God did not appoint us to wrath, and that's actually taken from scripture, we're gonna see that.

Talking point number 2, God doesn't have a temper.

And that is taken from Monday and Wednesday.

That might correct some people's misunderstandings there a little bit, but we'll see.

And then number 3, talking point number 3, the wrath of man is never righteous.

I started out saying the wrath of man is not righteous, but I thought no, never, never.

And we'll explain the significance of that that's from Tuesday and Thursday.

Okay a lot of good points here but let's go back to number 1 God did not appoint us to wrath so this we're not predestined to be lost or be suffering here?

Right, so what we want to do, what we want to do is actually start with a clarification of the wrath of God and 1 that I was not in the lesson this week but that I always, that comes to my mind anytime we're talking about the wrath of God is in Romans 1 and verse 18, and Paul's talking about the gospel in Romans chapter 1 verse 16, and then in verse 18 he says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, etc, etc.

And he goes on and actually talks about the wrath of God.

And I like to, when I'm teaching on this, I'll ask people to read along with me and then I'll read it and I'll say, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodly and unrighteous men.

You know, and most people it doesn't faze them at all.

And sadly they're just like, yep, sounds about right.

And then I'll say, did I read that right?

Yeah, I think so, unless you're, you know, you gotta be a good Berean.

It does not say the wrath of God is against ungodly and unrighteous men.

It says it's against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

And so God's wrath is not against the sin but against the sinner, according to Scripture.

God's wrath is not against the sinner but against the sin.

So, but the point that you're making is that God does have a wrath, but it's not against the people.

It's against the things that are hurting the people, the things that people are doing, the sin.

Well, yeah, it's against the sin, not the sinner, because of his love for the sinner.

And so, for example, I'm going to have you look up Psalm 78, 21 and 22.

Now the passages of Psalm 78 was dwelt on on Sunday.

We're just picking a couple verses out of here.

78, actually, I'll have you read 21 and 22 and then also 41.

It says, Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious, so a fire was kindled against Jacob.

Anger also came up against Israel because they did not believe in God and did not trust in his salvation.

And verse 41 of the same chapter says, yes, again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy 1 of Israel.

What a fascinating construction, They limited the Holy 1 of Israel.

Now these passages could be read as if, well, they didn't believe God, they didn't trust in Him for salvation, and so in response, in an angry response, He poured out His wrath, His judgment on them.

But what the Bible's trying to tell us is, you gotta think about the net effect.

If the people refuse to believe in God for salvation, where's salvation gonna come from?

There's only 1 name given under heaven, by which we must be saved, and that's the name of Jesus, and according to Acts 4.12.

So if they don't trust in his salvation, they're lost.

If they limit the Holy 1 of Israel by their unbelief, then that limits all the wonderful things God wants to do in their life.

So it's not God's angry at them because he let's get rid of him.

He's angry because of what they're doing to themselves.

Right, and that concept of limiting God, it's not like, oh God is thwarted because of, well, but if his plan is to have people receive him and they choose not to, that limits the mercy that he can show them, right?

And it's a harm to themselves, to your point.

I've got a little section, a quote there from Sunday's lesson, paragraph 9.

Divine anger is the proper response of love against evil because evil always hurts someone whom God loves.

Okay so let's go back to this idea in Romans 1 that the wrath of God is not against the sinner but against the sin.

He probably wouldn't care too much about what they do.

Yeah, it's honestly, let's just get rid of this thing.

In other words, and this is, I'm trying to draw this out because I think it's a very important point for us to realize, we don't think of it this way, that God's wrath is not only for and not against the sinner, it's in direct proportion to the love he has for the sinner.

The more he loves the sinner, for example, I put this in our notes here, if a parent of an addict hates the drug their child is addicted to because of the harm the drug is causing the child.

The more they love the child, the more they hate the drug.

If they didn't love the child, they don't care.

But the idea is that God, the more God loves the sinner, the hotter his wrath, if you will, against the sin.

Series

Talking Points Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2025: God's Love and Justice

05 The Wrath of Divine Love

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Talking Points Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2025: God's Love and Justice

09 The Cosmic Conflict

28m

Talking Points, 2nd Quarter 2021: The Promise, God's Everlasting Covenant

12 Covenant Faith

29m

Pioneers and the Trinity

Pioneers and the Trinity- Part 3

1h 9m

Talking Points 2nd Quarter 2024: The Great Controversy

12 Earth’s Closing Events

28m

Righteousness by Faith

Christ Our Righteousness

1h 5m

How to Study the Bible

04 What Are These Genealogies in the Bible There For?

43m

Talking Points, 2nd Quarter 2021: The Promise, God's Everlasting Covenant

10 The New Covenant

34m

Turning Stones Into Bread

1h 13m

The Remnant, Prophecy, and the Sanctuary

40m

Talking Points: Advent HOPE Sabbath School Training Series

02 Preparing to Teach Sabbath School

58m

Theism, Atheism, and Science

1h 34m

Soil Health

4- The Three Legged Stool Part 3, Biology

43m

Sound Doctrine