Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

      Ephesians 5:6

The “wrath of God” seems to have faded from the vernacular of our modern culture. Tragically, in some settings, it may have even been shoved to the back of the line when it comes to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. To be sure, there are Christian men and women answering God’s call on their lives and faithfully doing kingdom work and for that I am truly grateful. But if we are to ever see a resurgence in morality, revival, and the lost coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ, in our nation and in our communities, we need to see a return to the proclaiming of the truth of God’s Word and that includes conversations about the wrath of God.

But someone might say, “I thought since Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the wrath of God has been satisfied and taken out of the way?” It has…for those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus! But for the unbelieving world, those still outside of Christ, the wrath of God will come and it’s going to come on “the sons of disobedience.” So, let’s talk about what it means to be saved and then we can get to the reality about God’s wrath. 

Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ and it is completely apart from works (John 14:6, Acts 4:12. Romans 3:28). Salvation of our souls is a spiritual transaction between God and ourselves. Salvation simply means that we have come to the end of ourselves, acknowledging that we aren’t worthy to receive anything from God because of our sin and depravity (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23, James 2:10), but we repent, and joyfully run to the cross and ask God to forgive us of our sins on the basis of what Christ has already accomplished for us (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Romans 10:13). We then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the very presence of God, to come and live within our hearts (Acts 2:38). And once we belong to Christ and are filled with the Spirit of God, we are then empowered to live lives that are different from the world, desiring to please God in all that we do (Ephesians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:15, Colossians 1:10). Conversion is a moment in time but spiritual growth is a lifelong process (John 3:3, Ephesians 4:11-14). Why is this important? Because, only those who belong to Christ are saved and free from the expectation of the coming wrath of God. To be sure, God will judge the world and all of those who are not in Christ will have nothing to say. Their eternal destiny will be spiritual death, apart from God forever in which there is no recovery (John 3:18). 

So back to our passage. Paul says, “Let no one deceive you with empty words.” There is a deceiver, the devil, and one of his tactics, in disrupting the lives of mankind and keeping people from saving faith in Jesus, is convincing people that they need not heed the words of scripture and that there is no wrath of God. Of course this is a lie and anyone who espouses such an idea has wandered away from the truth of God’s Word, or worse, has not come to saving faith in Christ themselves. The wrath of God is coming and it is coming on “the sons of disobedience.” So who exactly is that?  The key is in Paul’s statement, “for because of these things.” Anytime we see a reference, in scripture, to something that has been previously said, we need to go back and look at the prior passage. Here it is:

For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

  Ephesians 5:5

You might be tempted to think that this is saying that anyone who has every committed the sin of sexual immorality (being an immoral person), been involve in any impurity, has ever coveted someone else’s things, or has ever committed idolatry, that this person will not go to heaven. Thankfully, that is not what it is saying. Here’s the reality. All of us are guilty of breaking all of God’s Law (James 2:10). Sexually immoral? Guilty! Engaged in impurity of heart or mind? Guilty! Coveting? Guilty! Idolater? Guilty! This is not hyperbole. I’m answering for myself…you have to answer for your life. The reality is that all of mankind is guilty of breaking all of God’s Law and no one has lived a life worthy of the kingdom of God (apart from the life of Jesus Himself). That is why the cross is so important. God has made a way for you and I to be reconciled to Him, completely and totally forgiven of all of our sin, and now positioned to have a personal relationship with Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Acts 2:38, Romans 8:15). Consider the words of Isaiah:

All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

    Isaiah 53:6

This is a reference to the work of Christ on the cross. All of us are deserving of judgment, however, when we receive the free gift of eternal life, by surrendering our lives to Christ, we escape judgment and the wrath of God because we are now reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, once for all (Romans 6:23, Romans 8:1, Romans 6:10-11, 1 Peter 3:18). So, as born again believers in Jesus, we are no longer under the Law, judgment, or the wrath of God! So, who are the “sons of disobedience?” Unrepentant, rebellious, sinners, who have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 3:19-21, James 4:4). Yes, we are all sinners, that’s absolutely true, but our lives can be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Often, in our world today, you will hear people point to the reality that everyone is a sinner. It goes something like this, “Well I’m not perfect but nobody is.” That’s actually a true statement. The person saying that is right, they aren’t perfect and neither are you and I. However, that kind of rhetoric is usually reserved for those who want to continue in an unrepentant, rebellious lifestyle, one that they prefer. The bottom line: we are all sinners who deserve nothing but condemnation, however, God, in His love, grace, and mercy, has made a way for us to be reconciled back to Him through faith in what Jesus has already accomplished on the cross. We need not face the wrath of God. Salvation is only a prayer away!

So Paul says, “Let no one deceive you with empty words.” Anyone who suggests that the wrath of God is not coming on the unrepentant world, has strayed from the truth and, by espousing such a philosophy, they are indeed speaking “empty words!”

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…

    Romans 1:18