Psalm 5:4-5
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
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When we present the gospel of Jesus Christ, we had better be careful to present the true gospel. In many modern gospel presentations, the pattern is to express to the lost person that God loves them deeply and has a wonderful plan for their lives. We act as though the main reason to come to God is not for his glory or to be sheltered from his wrath, but instead is so that God can make our life better by degrees than what it currently is.
I’m not saying, for even a minute, that God is not loving toward those he wants to save, but take a look at the verses above, and think about how they too must fit into the Gospel. God is really, and I mean really, angry toward sin. Such evil cannot be in his presence. God hates all evil-doers. These are not gentle terms. Sin is a very big deal. God’s very nature is that he cannot tolerate sin in his presence. His very nature is to hate sin, and the sinner according to verse 5.
So, what is the gospel? Don’t stop sharing the love. Don’t stop quoting John Piper about the wondrous glory of God and soul-satisfying joy that is offered to us by God. Don’t stop presenting how much better your life is because of your faith. But don’t ignore the fact that the gospel is also God rescuing us from wrath and making us clean enough to be in his presence. Don’t forget that the gospel is God changing us from the wicked that he hates and will destroy to the righteous whom he adopts. Don’t take the wrath out of the gospel, because if you do, you make the gospel less than the glorious thing that it is.
Pastor Travis Peterson 