by Ronald A . Ward , Ph .D . Editor, The Evangelical Christian
I t is n o t o f t e n that we find the Gospel in an exclama tion mark! Still less often do we find it when the only thing before our eyes is an abbreviation and a few figures! But so it happened the other day. I was reading a comment on Luke’s story of John the Baptist. John was preaching a baptism of repentance with a view to the forgiveness of sin, but for him the sky was dark and threatening. He asked the pointed question, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” He called them “ the offspring of vipers” — you brood of snakes — which does not at first seem to be the most tactful way of addressing a crowd. There is perhaps an allusion to the way in which snakes creep out of the piled bundles of brushwood when they are set alight, as happened in Malta when Paul was there. The warmth of the coming fire is being felt. But there is a deeper reference. Vipers means ser pents, and “ that old serpent” of the Book of the Revela tion is the original serpent of Genesis — a liar from the beginning. John means that the devil has warned some men to flee from the coming wrath by receiving his baptism. Their father has given them the word, and they are of their father, the devil. But their father’s word was a lie. Baptism would not save them: “produce fruits worthy of repentance.” Ancestry and privilege would not save them: “ do not say ‘we have Abraham as our father’ .” John then draws a fearful picture. The axe is already poised at the root of the trees, and every tree which does not produce good fruits will be cut down and burnt. The fire is near! There follows another picture, with the same mean ing. The Coming One has His winnow-fan in His hand. He will gather together His wheat and store it in His barn, but the chaff He will bum up with a fire which cannot be put out. This is vigorous, thrustful preaching, but it cannot be denied that it seems to offer little hope. Then in the heavy theological book which I was reading there shone a brilliant light of hope. It just said “ Luke 3:18!” The exclamation mark caught my eye. Swiftly I turned to the Bible to look up the passage. “And with many other ex pressions he was urging the people and preaching good news to them.” Good news! After all those threats? With the prospect of coming wrath? “Good news” means “ Gos pel” . Can it be that the Gospel has some connection with the wrath? I ought to have remembered that Luke quotes Isaiah 40, which tells us that all flesh will see the salvation of God. In spite of John’s dark message his words and his deeds bear a shining light which is the first ray of the very Light of the world. We should notice that though John spoke of the com ing wrath, it is delayed. The Epistle of James tells us that every man ought to be quick to hear, but slow to speak and slow to wrath. “ Slow to wrath” implies that
we should think before we let ourselves become angry. Wrath, then, is not a blind and sudden passion. It in volves consciousness and reflection. It means turning over the subject in your mind. And as you turn it over, keep down the anger. Now God Himself fulfils His own com- mnadment to men. He is slow to wrath. And as wrath, when roused, leads to action, it means that God is slow to inflict punishment. Many events in history can be regarded as God’s wrath, but the chiefest woe- is when God inflicts His great wrath: He turns away from men. “Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide M y face from them . . .” “ How long Lord? will Thou hide Thyself for ever? shall Thy wrath bum like fire?” “Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger.” “ In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a momen; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” To be forsaken by God means to stand under His wrath. But this final wrath is not yet. Paul is eloquent here. What if God wanted to demonstrate His wrath, he asks, and to make known His power, and so bore with much longsuffering vessels of wrath ripe for destruction, and bore them in order to make known the wealth of His glory towards vessels of mercy which He had prepared beforehand for glory. God acts from a position of strength, and is slow to wrath. “Vessels destined for wrath” are not yet filled up to the brim, but “ vessels ready for mer cy” have His loving-kindness poured into them to the full. The same apostle asks his heckler if he thinks he will escape from the judgment of God, or whether he despises the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering without realizing that God’s kindness is leading him towards repentance. God endures men’s sins; He waits long for their amendment; He is kind towards His enemies and gently pushes them in the direction of repentance. Elsewhere Paul tells his readers not to take matters into their own hands and seek revenge or to vindicate the right. Leave room in your thinking for the action of the wrath which will come. Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Wrath will come; I will repay. But in the meantime it is delayed. The same message is given by our Lord in the same parables of the tares and of the fig-tree in the vineyard. Wrath is delayed in order that meanwhile the righteous may be preserved and that the unrighteous may repent. The logical order in all this is the commandment, the breaking of the commandment and the wrath — delayed. And for some the wrath is delayed for ever. Among those on the bank of the River Jordan came Jesus to be baptized by John. He had no need of a baptism of re pentance but He found it fitting. “ Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” How can this be?”
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