Christ Jesus Is God's Love Command!

The Bible Says God Was Angry With Jesus On The Cross

But You have rejected, You have spurned, You have been very angry with Your Anointed One. Psalm 89:38

"Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself  . . . Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Luke 24:26-27, 44 (All bold emphasis mine throughout this article)

Jesus read the Old Testament uniquely inasmuch as it was written to Him and about Him. Nick Batzig 

Today, I saw a new book on the cross wrongly claim (following one little either misunderstood or mistaken statement by John Calvin; see this post by Tim Keller as well) that God was not angry with Jesus when He suffered and died on the cross. This is incorrect according to God's Word. Have you not read Psalm 89? Let's get ready for Good Friday!

Though God loved Jesus when He was on the cross, and though God was well pleased with Jesus when He died on the cross because of the glorious obedience and sacrifice that He offered to His Father, God was also angry with His Son at the same time and poured His wrath out on His Son because of our sins imputed to Him so that we might be saved from God's wrath forever! This is the heart of the Gospel! We've got to get this right! 

And the Bible actually tells us, plainly and clearly, that God was angry with Jesus on the cross.

All of Scripture everywhere deals only with Christ. Martin Luther

Bruce Waltke and Fred Zaspel write about how the Psalms are about Jesus Christ:

The Psalms are about Jesus. The significance of this royal orientation goes further as we seek to understand the psalms in canonical perspective. We have it on Jesus’s authority (Luke 24:44) that the psalms are about him. Some of the psalms are more directly predictive, such as Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. In others David stands as a “type” or picture of Christ and is prospective of him in more subtle ways.

Chad Bird writes:

Are All 150 Psalms about Jesus? The psalms are the prayerbook and hymnbook of Jesus. About half of them were written by David, and others by Solomon, Moses, or the sons of Korah. The coauthor behind all 150, however, is our Lord. What does this mean? Does it mean that they were inspired by the Spirit of Jesus? Yes, for “all Scripture is breathed out [θεόπνευστος] by God,” (2 Tim. 3:16). That Greek word, θεόπνευστος (theopneuotos) was translated by the Latin Vulgate as “inspiro,” whence we get our word “inspire,” literally, “to breathe into.” But that’s not all Christ’s authorship of the psalms means, for all Scripture is God-breathed. What makes the psalms unique? All the psalms are by Jesus and about Jesus, in one way or another. St. Augustine gives a helpful way to think about this with the analogy of a head and body. Here’s how it works. My head cannot act apart from my body, nor my body from my head. This is true, but certain actions are particularly head-actions or body-actions. For instance, I run with my body, but my head is involved. And I see with my eyes in my head and think with the brain in my head, but my body is also involved. My feet take me to where I can see a canyon or forest. My hand feeds my mouth so I can concentrate on thinking instead of my hunger pains. So it is with the psalms. Some of the psalms are more particularly about the head, that is, Christ. Psalm 2 is about his sonship and messiahship. Psalm 16 about his resurrection. Psalm 22 about his crucifixion and resurrection. But even in these psalms, the body—that is, the church—is involved. For instance, Psalm 2 is primarily about our Lord, but we body of believers are referenced in vs. 12 as those who are “blessed” because we “take refuge in him.” Other psalms are more particularly about the body of believers. Psalm 13 is the brief lament of those who are suffering, then vindicated. Yet the lovingkindness and salvation for which we thank God in vs. 5 is wrapped up in the Messiah, our head. Psalm 23 is our confession as the sheep of the Messiah, those who are kept safe in his body. Yet the Messiah, our head, is our Shepherd-King whose rod and staff comfort us. So it is with all the psalms. Sometimes they are more focused on Christ the head, or are his very words spoken (e.g., Ps. 22). At other times, the psalm is more focused on the body. And at still other times, both are the same. For instance, is Psalm 88 the prayer of a deeply troubled and suffering believer or group of believers? Or is Psalm 88 the lament of Jesus on Good Friday as he sinks into the darkness of death? Yes. It is both, for Christ as The Man subsumes all humanity into himself. His speech becomes ours and ours his. As you pray the psalms, bear this in mind. These 150 ancient poems and prayers are the treasure of the Spirit, in which he enriches us through the Son of God, who comes to reconcile us to the Father and to teach us to pray . . . Which OT book is quoted more in the NT than any other? Psalms. Which OT verse is quoted more in the NT than any other? Psalm 110:1. Which OT book did Jesus quote when he was being crucified? Psalms. Why are the psalms the heart of Scripture? Because, as Martin Franzmann said, "Theology is doxology. Theology must sing." It cannot remain mute words inside a book, but it leaps off the printed page, exits the mouth, and fills the air with a holy sound. In the psalms we sing with Jesus, and Jesus sings with us, in a hymn to the Father through the Spirit, amidst a choir of saints and angels. Here are God's words to us that become our words back to God. The psalms are verbal tears for the suffering, a steady hand to the wavering, a beating heart to the dying. No other biblical book was on the lips of Jesus as he was about to die. Let them ever be on our lips as well, for they are the songs of heaven on earth. (See also: Every Psalm Is The Prayer Of Jesus)

Psalm 89 is about Jesus, God's preeminent Anointed One, and there we read very clearly that God was angry with Jesus:

You have been very angry with Your Anointed One. Psalm 89:38

I'm not sure how much more clear God could be to settle this question once and for all. Yes, this Psalm is about God's Davidic King under God's judgment in exile. But it's also about David's greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! God the Father was very angry with His Messiah on that cross because of our sins counted to Him, and God punished Jesus with the anger we deserve so that we will never face that anger in hell! This is our only hope!

If John Calvin (or any other theologian) misspoke about the cross and what they wrote directly contradicts Scripture, we must always follow the clear teaching of God's infallible, inerrant, and inspired Word. God's Word has the final say, and we must submit to it, believe it, and teach it. And love it! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

This truth is at the heart of propitiation; it's at the heart of the cross; and it's at the heart of the Gospel.

Christ's Sufferings Prophesied In Psalm 89

In his commentary on the Psalms, James Hamilton gives a helpful summary of Psalm 89:

Psalm 89 appears to deal with the end of David's dynasty (89:38 [MT 89:39]). The destruction of the temple and exile of the Davidic king in 586 BC resulted from God's wrath against his covenant-breaking people. The earlier sections of Ps 89 rehearse God's covenant with David (89:1-4, 17-37 [MT 89:2-5, 18-38]) and God's defeat of the serpent-monster at the exodus from Egypt (89:9-10 [MT 89:10-11]). God's promise to David is the foundation for the future return of the king, and the exodus from Egypt is the pattern for the future salvation God will achieve through that king. 

As Jesus spoke of his future death in John 2:18-22, he spoke in terms of the temple being destroyed. John seems to present Jesus saying that the outpouring of wrath at the destruction of the temple in 586 BC was a typological anticipation of the way that God would satisfy his covenant justice by an outpouring of wrath at the death of Christ. Thereby God also crushed the serpent's head, recapitulating the redemption accomplished at the exodus, liberating captives and guaranteeing their inheritance.

When he raised Jesus from the dead, God inaugurated the restoration of the Davidic reign through David's greater son. The midday crucifixion darkness of Psalm 89 sets the stage for the rising of the son on the third day, that he might be seated at God's right hand (Ps 110). (Pages 149-150)

Hamilton clearly understands Psalm 89 to be written about Christ. Commenting on Psalm 89:49-52 he writes:

Here, Ethan anticipates the one in whom this bearing of the reproaches of those who reproach Yahweh would be fulfilled (cf. Ps 69:9 [MT 69:10]; Rom 15:3). Those at enmity with Yahweh reproach him, and "they reproach the heels of your anointed" (Ps 89:51 [MT 89:52]). The reference to the "heels" . . . of the anointed seems to allude to the "heel" . . . that would be bruised by the serpent (Gen 3:15). (Page 149)

Though Hamilton limits "the discipline described in 89:38-48 . . . [to] the 'sons' [other Davidic kings] not the 'seed' [Jesus]" (Page 147) (I disagree with him that the discipline here is limited only to the other Davidic kings. He reads too much into the "sons"/"seed" distinction, and he is happy to apply Genesis 3:15 to and Psalm 69:9 to God's Anointed in Ps 89:51, even though "servants" are referenced, not the "seed". The punishments of 89:38-48 come together with the punishments of 89:49-52 and should not be separated), Hamilton does say that what Jesus endured on the cross is far worse than any of the discipline described in Psalm 89:

Surprisingly, Jesus experienced God's covenant curse at the cross in a way that transcended anything borne by his predecessors in the line of David (cf. esp. Gal 3:13). (Page 147)

In his chapter on the book of Acts in the excellent work, Commentary On The New Testament Use Of The Old Testament, I. Howard Marshall includes Psalm 89:38 in the Psalms that are messianic and refer to Jesus Christ:

It is often said that although the concept of the Messiah/Christ is found in the OT, the term itself is not found with this reference, and that this usage developed only later in Jewish literature. However, whereas the original reference in the relevant OT passages was to the reigning monarch (or an immediate successor), by the time the psalms were collected and effectively canonized (cf. Luke 24:44) the references in them were understood, where appropriate, as messianic (cf. Ps. 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 89:38 . . . .) (Page 540, emphasis mine)

Justin Huffman, in his tremendously helpful article, "The Davidic Covenant: Psalm 89 and the Servant King", writes:

Psalm 89 . . . as an exposition of the Davidic Covenant plainly prophesies concerning the coming Christ. Yet this prophecy . . . includes elements of both a victorious kingship and of a suffering servant of Yahweh [like in Isaiah 52-53] . . . We began this paper by asking the question: can both suffering servant and victorious king be promised and foreshadowed in the same figure, in the same Davidic covenant? And we find, in answer to the psalmist's plaintive cry, that the answer mysteriously and gloriously is, "Yes." In fact, it must be this way, according to Jesus himself. The humiliation of the Davidic king in the days of Psalm 89, then, was not a failing of the Davidic covenant, but was rather a foreshadowing of how God would bring about eventual victory through apparent suffering and defeat in the Messiah. Jesus would be the Servant King. "Ironically this psalm in which suffering and glory jostle sets up a mysterious pattern which was followed by the Heir: 'Here is your king' was spoken of one wearing a crown of thorns."

Huffman also cites Richard Belcher in his book: The Messiah And The Psalms: Preaching Christ From All The Psalms, writing:

Richard Belcher even argues that the placement of Psalm 89 among the royal psalms forms a prophetic pattern for the coming Messiah: the progression of the royal psalms in the Psalter prefigures the ministry of Christ. The royal psalms move from coronation (Psalm 2, used at Jesus' baptism), to the righteous reign of the king (Psalm 72 speaks of Christ's kingship and leads to the Israelites trying to crown Jesus), to the humiliation and rejection of the king in Psalm 89, to resurrection and ascension in Psalm 110 (referred to in Acts 2 in relation to Christ's resurrection and ascension into heaven), and then to the final triumph of the king in Psalm 144.

In the book, The Psalms In The New Testament, Sylvia Keesmaat writes about "The Psalms In Romans And Galatians":

A Different Messiah: The second allusion to the psalms in Galatians is also to a psalm of lament: Psalm 89 in Gal. 3:16. The parallels between this psalm and Galatians are extensive; just as Paul emphasizes God's faithfulness to the offspring of Abraham, so the psalmist outlines God's promises to the offspring of David, the anointed one. Although Paul begins by talking about Abraham and his seed, he is moving within a story line where the promises made to the seed of Abraham are continued in the seed of David (Hays, Galatians, p. 264). By using the language of both the anointed (the messiah), and the seed, Paul creates an echo with Psalm 89, an echo that increases in volume when one realizes that there are other points of parallel with Galatians. 

However, the most striking parallel is the most unexpected. Psalm 89 begins by recounting God's unconditional promise to David, the anointed, and to his seed for ever . . . Then, suddenly, there is a turn. God is accused of rejecting his people and his messiah in v. 39 [v. 38 ET] . . . In the midst of this rejection, the anguished cry goes up, "How long?" (v. 47 [v. 46 ET]). And, in striking parallel with Galatians, the psalmist ends this way:

Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted,

how I bear in my bosom the insults of the nations,

with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,

with which they taunted the footsteps of your messiah . . . .

(Ps. 89:51-52 [Ps. 89:50-51 ET])

This psalm describes the suffering of the messiah, a suffering which is central to Galatians (2:20; 3:1; 6:17). The close identification of Paul with the suffering messiah in the letter (2:20; 6:17), and the assertion that those advocating circumcision were doing so in order to avoid persecution for the cross of the messiah (6:12) creates points of resonance with the text. Such echoes firmly place the messiah that Paul describes in Gal. 2:16 in the story line of the promise to Abraham and to David. Psalm 89 describes a messiah who suffers; Jesus is such a messiah. The intertextual matrix of this psalm, then, serves to support Paul's argument that it is the story of the suffering messiah, Jesus, who fulfills the promise for these Christians, not the law (Brueggemann, "The Costly Loss Of Lament", p. 102). (Pages 159-160).

This excellent Ligonier article argues for the suffering Messiah aspect of Psalm 89 as well:

In light of the person and work of Christ, we understand why this psalm belongs to the category of messianic psalms. Our Savior endured God's wrath in the place of His people, bearing the sins of David's line and the sins of His chosen ones (Rom. 3:21–26). He was likewise insulted by His enemies (Matt. 27:27–31). In receiving this wrath in our place, Jesus revealed the steadfast love of God for David and for His people, and in  raising Jesus from the dead to reign forever, God fulfilled His promise to David (Phil. 2:5–11).

Ligon Duncan, in his book When Pain Is Real And God Seems Silent: Finding Hope In The Psalms, shows how the sufferings endured in Psalm 89 foreshadow the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the cross:

Ultimately, we'll never appreciate this psalm fully until we see how it points to our Savior . . . Psalm 89:38-45 is a picture of the dashed hopes of the people God. They were promised that David and his line would reign forever, but now that promise seems to have failed. 

Yet Scripture often shows us that what seems like a failure of God's promises is actually the very way he delivers on them. This description of David and his line cannot be exhausted by the experiences of David and his sons. Instead, these words are true, in the fullest sense, of David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know? 

The New Testament, on nearly every page, teaches that Jesus is the true and better David, the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant and the restorer of David's throne. Consider, for instance, Peter's sermon at Pentecost:

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know - this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,

"I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence." 

Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Acts 2:22-32

As Peter explains, the psalms chronicling the suffering of David and his children are fully realized in the sufferings of Christ. David's flesh did, in fact, see corruption - he is, after all, still dead in his tomb. So, Peter reasons, this psalm must refer to David's greater son! Where did he get this idea? From the Lord Jesus himself. When Christ encountered the disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection, he bemoaned that they did not see  in the Old Testament the many evidences that Christ would undergo death and exile to restore what Adam and Israel had lost:

And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27

The suffering of David and the people of Israel - rejection, curse, and judgment - were ultimately and consummately experienced by David's greater son, the servant of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus experienced Psalm 89:38-45. And by that suffering Jesus restored the throne of David and saved the people of God . . . Psalm 89 gives us hope ultimately because it points us to the one who endured a suffering far beyond anything we will ever know. He was mocked and shamed and forsaken of God, so that we might be God's precious inheritance into eternity. (Pages 48-52) (You can listen to a sermon Dr. Duncan preached on Psalm 89 at Capitol Hill Baptist Church here.)

In Matthew Henry's commentary on Psalm 89, he mentions "Christ" 45 times. And on Psalm 89:38, he writes:

When the great anointed one, Christ himself, was upon the cross, God . . . was wroth [very angry] with him . . . .

In The Treasury Of David, commenting on Psalm 89:46: "How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?", Charles Spurgeon gave these hints to the village preacher (Oh be a village preacher, Brother Pastors!), and they include God's hiding Himself from Christ and His wrath burning like fire as afflictions on Christ. Spurgeon understood that God hid Himself from Christ on the cross, and God's wrath burned like fire upon Christ on the cross:

Verse 46. The hand of God is to be acknowledged.
1. In the nature of affliction. "Wilt thou hide thyself", etc.
2. In the duration of affliction. "How long, Lord?"
3. In the severity of affliction. Wrath burning like fire.
4. In the issue of affliction. How long? for ever? In all these respects the words are applicable both to Christ and to his people.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Jesus is not only the suffering servant, He's the suffering psalmist: ". . . everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Luke 24:44

Here is a chart I made showing how Jesus fulfills Psalm 89 (Link to larger version here):

Psalm 89 is about the work of Christ: His sufferings and death and His triumphant resurrection! So we now await the return of the King! In "A Messianic Reading Of Psalm 89: A Canonical And Intertextual Study", William C. Pohl IV writes:

Heim has pointed out that the messianic hope of Psalm 89 is also addressed in the NT in Rev 1:5. There Jesus is described as “the faithful witness,” “the firstborn of the dead,” and “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” This intertextual interplay shows that Jesus is the answer of Psalm 89 (“The (God-)Forsaken King of Psalm 89” 316–21). He is the faithful witness, the guarantee of the “Lord’s adherence to his oath (v. 35). Yahweh has not lied to David. His covenant still stands, now renewed, to be consummated in Christ’s glorious return as foretold in Revelation” (320). He is the firstborn of the dead, which is informed by the parallel in 89:28. The title “highest of the kings of the earth” and the reference to overcoming death find their significance in the apparent overcoming of the death of the king in 89:49 (320–21). In other words, Christ is the king of kings, the sovereign one whose resurrection confirms his sovereignty. He is the universal ruler, the one who has international influence as the Lord’s “vacarius dei” (321).

Heim also writes:

In vv. 47-51 the lament comes to a powerful climax, culminating in a whole series of urgent questions. Most relevant to the present discussion are those in v. 49: "Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol?". Both are rhetorical questions expecting a negative response: No, nobody can live without dying! Nobody can escape Sheol! Yes, in stark contrast to this, the book of Revelation puts forward the one who can. Readers may pick up that there is a Davidic "king" who did die, yet lived and escaped (from) Sheol. (Knut M. Heim, "The (God-)Forsaken King Of Psalm 89: A Historical And Intertextual Enquiry," in King And Messiah In Israel And The Ancient Near East, (Sheffield Academic Press: Shefield), 1998), 320)

Testimonies Of Others From Church History

Throughout church history, faithful pastors and theologians have written about God being angry with His Son on the cross while loving Him at the same time:

Herman Witsius: Since there is an exchange of persons between Christ and believers, and since the guilt of our iniquities was laid upon him, the Father was offended and angry with him.

Thomas Goodwin: That he, that is God blessed forever, should be made a curse, this you have in Gal. 3:13. That he, that is, "the Holy One of Israel," should be made sin, aye, and what is more, he that cannot endure sin, for nothing is more contrary to the holiness of God than sin, and yet "he that knew no sin was made sin," this you have in 2 Cor. 5:21. That God should never be more angry with his Son than when he was most pleased with him, for so it was when Christ hung upon the cross, God did find a sweet-smelling savour of rest and satisfaction even when he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Thomas Goodwin: Our Lord and Saviour Christ is God blessed for ever; therefore, say the papists, he did not suffer the displeasure of God in his soul. Why, say they, can God love his Son and be angry with him at the same time? And he that is God blessed for ever, can he be made a curse in his soul? Yes, take him as a surety. They take part with one truth of the gospel to exclude the other, whereas the gospel is a reconciliation of both these, and therein lies the depth of it. 

 

Thomas Goodwin: And also this offering up himself was so sweet a smelling sacrifice to God (as Eph. V. 2), that although God expressed never so much anger against Christ as when he hung upon the cross, yet he was never so well pleased by him as then . . . .

Samuel Rutherford: The Lord . . . punished Christ, who was not inherently, but only by imputation the sinner, with no hatred at all, but with anger and desire of shewing and exercising revenging justice, but still loving him dearly, as his only Son.

Wilhelmus à Brakel: Christ did indeed suffer eternal damnation, for eternal damnation, death, and pain consist in total separation from God, in the total manifestation of divine wrath, and all of this for such a duration until the punishment upon sin was perfectly and satisfactorily born.

Klaas Schilder: At that time, therefore, Christ had been dead. He had also endured this death in His body, for His whole human existence suffered the affliction of hell. The flesh, too, had been consumed in God’s anger, and forsaken.

Donald Macleod: It was the Father who was delivering him up (Rom. 8:32) and everything spoke of HIS anger. That anger was no additional circumstance. It was in the circumstances: in the pain, in the loneliness, in Satan's whispers and in heaven's deafness; and under that anger his identity contracted to the point where . . . he was the sin of the world. He was carrying it, heaven held him answerable for it, and he WAS it. It was here, all of it, in his body (1 Pet. 2:24), being condemned in his flesh (Rom. 8:3); because of it he was a doomed and ruined man, korban, devoted to destruction. God's pure eyes could not look on him, nor heaven entertain his cry . . . Clearly, the unity of the divine Trinity remains unbroken throughout the passion. Even while the Father is angry with the Mediator, the Son is still beloved and still fully involved in all the external acts (the opera ad extra) of the Trinity.

Stephen Wellum: In saying that the Son bears the Father's wrath for us, we must never forget that the unity of the triune persons remains unbroken. Macleod rightly notes: "Even while the Father is angry with the Mediator, the Son is still the beloved and still fully involved in all the external acts (the opera ad extra) of the Trinity." (Page 209)

Ligon Duncan: And notice, by the way, God in both of those instances was not simply angry at sin, He was angry with sinners. We often say God loves the sinner and hates the sin, and there's something very important and true about that truth. But you also need to understand that God is angry with people, and not simply with acts. He was angry with Solomon when Solomon married many foreign wives, who led him astray from his fidelity and devotion to the one true God. He was angry with Israel when Israel strayed into idolatry. His anger comes to rest on people. Does not the cross teach us that? That His righteous anger found its place on the head of His own Son?

Mark Jones: Much was given to Jesus by way of gifts and graces, and much was required. He gave all that was required. Yet he was still the recipient of his Father's anger. He became an object of wrath that no redeemed saint will ever fully comprehend; for, as Charnock says: "Not all the vials of judgments, that have, or shall be poured out upon the wicked world, nor the flaming furnace of a sinner's conscience, nor the irreversible sentence pronounced against the rebellious devils, nor the groans of the damned creatures, give such a demonstration of God's hatred of sin, as the wrath of God let loose upon his Son." The anger of Christ proves the reality of the mercy he shows toward sinners. Indeed, even in the way that God saves, he could not be merciful towards us if he was not angry towards his Son on the cross at Calvary. (Knowing Christ, Page 72)

Mark Jones: Let us remember the salient fact that the Father would soon abandon His beloved Son in Whom He found such delight . . . In relation to His death on the cross, God was never more pleased with His Son than when He was most angry with Him. (Knowing Christ, Page 82)

Mark Jones: These are the words of someone who has experienced divine desertion. This type of abandonment includes the withdrawal of the feeling or presence of God's favour, grace, and love. The removal of these things is the removal of God. Yet although God withdrew his favour from his Son, Christ remained obedient. God was never more happy with his Son than when he was most angry with him . . . the withdrawing of his presence was, for Christ, a new experience . . . When Christ cried out these words - a direct quote from Psalm 22:1 - they were like the shrieks of those who are cast away forever . . . now he "descended into hell" . . . In this dark abandonment, Christ still, in faith entrusted himself to the Father and rested upon his promises . . . Christ experienced both physical pain and the spiritual loss of his Father's face." (Knowing Christ, Pages 146-147)

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

To learn more about the Triune God, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, and His glorious Gospel message and everlasting Kingship, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.

Read More On God's Love And Anger At The Cross

Please see these other articles I've written and compiled on the cross: We Must Get The Cross Right For The Glory Of King Jesus!

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

What Is Going On With Ruth And Boaz At The Threshing Floor?

This essay contains the best explanation I've ever read of Ruth's odd way of proposing to Boaz (And Dr. James Hamilton writes it's the best essay he's ever read on the book of Ruth!). Ruth went to Boaz secretly, at night, on the threshing floor, uncovered his feet, and lay down at his feet in hopes of marriage and children (Ruth 3). This method of a marriage proposal has caused confusion and disagreement among commentators, pastors, and laymen alike.

Some, like Sinclair Ferguson, Geoff Thomas, and Alistair Begg, go so far as to argue that this was sinful/bad advice from Naomi, and Ruth should not have obeyed and gone to Boaz like this (so another example of God drawing straight lines with crooked sticks; though Naomi and Ruth acted foolishly, God meant it for good). But this scene sets up Ruth as the antitypical Moabite.

Others argue that Boaz and Ruth had a forbidden sexual encounter because the text is full of sexual/sensual language. But this is also wrong and misses the point.

It is true, the text is filled with sexual/sensual language: it happens in secret, at night, on the threshing floor (a place associated with sexual promiscuity), & the three words used in the encounter can have sexual meanings (uncover, feet, lie). But again, this is setting up Ruth as the antitypical Moabite.

Remember the daughters of Lot (Genesis 19:28-37)? They wanted children, so they got their father to drink wine, at night, secretly went to him, lay with him, and all this to bear children. This was wicked and sinful. This is where the Moabites came from.

In a similar way, yet also in stark contrast, Ruth, the Moabite, secretly came to Boaz (a father figure who called her "daughter"), at night, after he was merry with drink (but not drunk), uncovered his feet, and lay down at his feet, asking him to take her under his wings (marry her) to provide children!

Unlike Lot's daughters, Ruth does it right! She and Boaz are pure and holy before God. They do not have sex, but wait on God's direction. But the language and the situation point our minds back to the origin of the Moabites. Ruth is the antitypical Moabite who follows the LORD and His ways in holiness and purity. Unlike the daughters of Moab with whom Israel committed sexual immorality (Numbers 25), Ruth was sexually pure. Unlike the daughters of Moab who led Israel to worship false gods (Numbers 25), Ruth took refuge under the wings of the one, true, and living God - the LORD God almighty! And from her offspring ultimately comes the perfectly pure, sinless, and holy One - the LORD Jesus Christ. He is the God-Man Who saves Jews and Gentiles, idolaters and the self-righteous, the sexually immoral and all sinners through His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension! Everyone who repents and believes in the LORD Jesus Christ shall be saved!

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved! Acts 16:31

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life! John 3:16

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

To learn more about the great King Jesus and His glorious Gospel message, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.

Helpful Resources On The Book Of Ruth

1. Sermons on Ruth by John Piper

2. Sermons on Ruth by Mark Dever

3. Sermons on Ruth on Monergism

4. Commentary on Ruth by Precept Austin

5. Top Five Commentaries on Ruth by Ligonier Ministries

6. Best Commentaries on Ruth by Tim Challies

7. Love Story: A Study In Ruth by David Platt

Christ Jesus Is Our Life Resurrection!

A Letter To Mayor Cherelle Parker About Abortion

January 9th 2024

Mayor Cherelle Parker

City Hall, Office 215

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Dear Mayor Cherelle Parker,

Congratulations on your election to be the 100th Mayor of Philadelphia! I am the pastor of Olney Baptist Church, and I’m thankful for your thanks to Jesus in your inauguration speech, and I’m thankful that you explicitly thanked your LORD and Savior Jesus Christ for Whom all things are possible. I praise God that [you said] it is not just a line for you – and that you are dependent on the grace and mercy of God.

I am also thankful that one of your top priorities in your 100-day action plan is public safety. I would like to speak up for one of the most oppressed minorities in our city who face the most violent deaths, and their murder is protected by law. I am writing about the public safety of unborn children in the city of Philadelphia who are killed by abortion. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health abortion statistics (2021), 33,206 abortions were performed in Pennsylvania, and more than 36% of those abortions happened in Philadelphia County. 

I’m asking you, as a [professing] follower of the LORD Jesus Christ, to fight to end abortions in the City of Philadelphia. It is murder according to God’s Word, and it should be illegal.

God is knitting these babies together in their mothers’ wombs:

Psalm 139:13-16: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. 

The first person to rejoice in the miraculous conception of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ in the womb of the virgin Mary was an unborn child in the womb:

Luke 1:41-44: And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

I would be happy to meet with you and give you more information about abortion and it’s evil nature according to God’s Word. I am praying that you will take a stand against this wicked practice in our city.

Sincerely in Christ,

Joseph Randall

More Information On The Evils Of Abortion

1. To Be Pro-Choice Is To Be Pro-Murder And Anti-Christ

2. The Unthinkable Sin

3. Answering Joe Burrow's Post On Abortion And Roe v. Wade

4. What Do Voting For Hamas And Voting For Pro-Choice Politicians Have In Common?

5. An Unborn Child's Perspective On Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Confirmation Hearing

To learn more about the great King Jesus and His glorious Gospel message, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.

Christ Jesus Reigns And You Belong!

Prayers You Should Pray For Your Pastor

John Piper writes: 

On one of his visits to the Continent, Charles Spurgeon (pastor of the large Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, 1853-1892) met an American minister who said, “I have long wished to see you, Mr. Spurgeon, and to put one or two simple questions to you. In our country there are many opinions as to the secret of your great influence. Would you be good enough to give me your own point of view?” After a pause Spurgeon said, “My people pray for me.”

Oh Father please . . .

Help my pastor to give Your people the sense of Your Word, and to help us understand the reading! Neh. 8:8

Help my pastor come to the pulpit, not with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to Your people the testimony of God. Help him determine not to know anything among us except Jesus Christ and Him crucified! Help his speech and his preaching not to be with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that our faith would not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God! 1 Cor. 2:1-5

Help my pastor to preach the Gospel and to present the Gospel of Christ without charge, that he may not abuse his authority in the Gospel! 1 Cor. 9:18

Help my pastor not to preach himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and himself a bondservant for Jesus' sake! 2 Cor. 4:5

Help my pastor not to preach Christ from envy, strife, or selfish ambition! Help him to preach Christ from good will and out of love! Phil. 1:15-17

Help my pastor to preach Christ, warning all of us and teaching all of us in all wisdom, that he may present all of us perfect in Christ Jesus! Col. 1:28

Help my pastor to preach the Word! Help him to be ready in season and out of season! Help him to convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching! 2 Tim. 4:2

Help my pastor to preach the Gospel so that It does not come to us in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance! 1 Thess. 1:5

Help my pastor to praise Your works and declare Your mighty acts from the pulpit! Help him to speak of the might of Your awesome acts and declare Your greatness! Help him to speak of the glory of Your kingdom and of Your power! Psalm 145:5, 6, 11

Grant that utterance may be given to my pastor, that he may open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel! Eph. 6:19

Help my pastor to be diligent to present himself approved to You, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth! 2 Tim. 2:15

Help my pastor to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded! Matt. 28:18-20

Help my pastor to always be sober-minded, to endure suffering, and to do the work of an evangelist, fulfilling his ministry. And may he see many sinners come to Christ! 2 Tim. 4:5

Help my pastor to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and may he know that in the Lord his labor is not in vain! 1 Cor. 15:58

Help my pastor to believe what he preaches! Grip him with it and humble him with it, and help him to exult in it until he is lost in wonder, love, and praise! (Adapted from Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Help my pastor to give us a sense of You and Your presence when he preaches. Help him to give us a glimpse of Your glory and majesty, the love of Christ our Savior, and the magnificence of the Gospel! (Adapted from Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Cut all the ribbons that tie my pastor to the frowns and smiles of men and drive a steel beam down his backbone and free him to serve You for Your glory alone! (Adapted from Albert N. Martin)

Help my pastor to seek to serve Your people and not impress us with himself! May he impress us with Jesus! May we come away from his sermons not saying, "What a wonderful preacher!" but "What a wonderful Savior!" (Spurgeon Story)

Help my pastor take heed to himself and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made him an overseer. Please help him to shepherd faithfully the church of God which You purchased with Christ's own blood! Acts 20:28

Help my pastor to be blameless, a one-woman man, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, gentle, and able to teach! Keep him from being given to wine, from being violent, from being greedy for money, from being quarrelsome, and from being covetous! Help him rule his own household well, having his children in submission with all reverence! Keep him from being puffed up with pride and falling into the same condemnation as the devil! Help him have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil! 1 Tim. 3:2-7

Help my pastor to be Your steward oh God, not self-willed and not quick-tempered! Help him be hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, and self-controlled! Help him hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict! Titus 1:7-9

Help my pastor to shepherd the flock of God, and serve as an overseer, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly! Help him not lord his authority over those entrusted to him, but help him be an example to the flock! Help him so labor that when the Chief Shepherd appears, he will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away! 1 Pet. 5:2-4

Help my pastor watch out for the souls You have entrusted to him, as a man who must give an account! Help him do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for those entrusted to him! Heb. 13:17

Help my pastor not have dominion over the faith of Your people, but help him be a worker for our joy! 2 Cor. 1:24

Help my pastor not cease to pray for Your people! May he be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; may he walk worthy of You, fully pleasing You, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You! May he be strengthened with all might, according to Your glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy! May he give thanks to You Who has qualified him to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in the light! Col. 1:9-12

Cause my pastor's love to abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that he may approve the things that are excellent, that he may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to Your glory and praise! Phil. 1:9-11

Grant my pastor, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in his heart through faith; that he, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that he may be filled with all the fullness of You oh God! Eph. 3:16-19

Please use my pastor for Your glorious employ! Make him mighty in the Scriptures; make his life to be dominated by a sense of Your greatness, Your majesty, and Your holiness. Make his mind and heart aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. Help him learn what it is to die to self, to all human aims and personal ambitions; help him be willing to be a fool for Christ's sake. Help him be willing to bear reproach and falsehood for Your sake. Help him labor and suffer for Your sake. Please make his supreme desire not to be to gain earth's accolades, but to win Your approbation when he appears before Your awesome judgment seat. Help him preach with a broken heart and with tear-filled eyes! Please grant Your ministry through him an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and allow us to witness "signs and wonders following" in the transformation of multitudes of human lives! (Adapted from Arnold Dallimore)

. . . for Jesus' sake – Amen!

To learn more about the great King Jesus, the LORD of the church, and His glorious Gospel message, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.

Christ Jesus Is The Son And Groom!

A Picture With Denzel Washington, His Profession Of Faith, And The Return Of The King

Pauletta Washington, Denzel Washington's wife (since 1983; over 40 years!), is from the area where I grew up - Newton, North Carolina. My cousin (on the far right) had a flower shop there, and he provided the flowers for the Washington's wedding. Above is a picture of them together that Denzel signed: "To Alvin, God Bless, Denzel Washington"

Denzel Washington's Profession Of Faith

Denzel is a talented, successful actor, and he seems to live a relatively moral life. After all, he has been married to the same woman for over 40 years! How many Hollywood actors have done that? At one awards ceremony, he thanked his wife, saying: "40 years of sacrifice. 40 years of forgiveness. She taught me about faith, spirituality, love, real love, unwavering love, in spite of myself." He also speaks of God and has encouraged young people to put God first in everything. But some have wrestled with the question whether or not Denzel actually is a true Christian, even though he himself professes to be one. We know that many professing believers will be rejected by Jesus on the last day:

Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Matthew 7:21-23

Being a moral person doesn't save you. Being faithful to your wife for 40 years and being a good husband doesn't save you. Going to church and talking about God doesn't save you. Those are all good things, but you can do all those things and still go to hell. You must be born again. You must repent of your sins and trust in the Christ of the Bible, and trust in Him by faith alone. That justifies you before God. And then, the evidence that you are truly born again and trusting in Christ alone is that you will seek, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to obey all that Jesus has commanded for the glory of God.

One reason to be concerned about the genuineness of Denzel's profession of faith is his association with a false teacher. I was sad to see that he did an interview with T. D. Jakes, who is a dangerous, false teacher and a wolf in sheep's clothing. Jakes' "Christianity" is a brand of "Christianity" that is NOT Christianity. Jakes preaches a false god (This is the true God!) and a false gospel. Please see this excellent documentary, American Gospel: Christ Alone, for more on that.

Ray Comfort made a video on the question of the genuineness of Denzel's profession of faith with a bold Gospel presentation at the end here:

Only our great triune God knows for certain whether Denzel truly belongs to Christ or not, but we can always pray for him to know, trust, love, obey, and pursue Christ. We should pray that for ourselves and for all people everywhere. May God save sinners from hell!

God commands everyone to take the utmost care to ensure they are trusting in Christ alone:

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 2 Corinthians 13:5-6

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 2 Peter 1:10

It's not wrong to ask good, Biblically informed questions about the genuineness of our own faith and about the genuineness of another's faith if the questioning is motivated by love and grounded in the truth. It's good and loving to be as discerning as possible about the reality of genuine faith because there is a great day of judgement coming, and, in love, we want everyone to be ready.

The Return Of The King In Wrath

One of the reasons it's so important that we examine ourselves to see whether we "are in the faith" and are diligent to "make our calling and election sure" is because of the terrifying picture of the final judgment we see in God's Word. There is lots of graphic violence and blood in the book of Revelation when Jesus comes back. The return of the Warrior King, Jesus Christ the Almighty, will be a frightening event for those outside of Christ. As one of the most terrifying hymns I've ever heard states: 

Judgment is surely coming

Coming to you and me

We will be judged that morning

For all eternity

Some will go into heaven

Others will be denied

Will you be in that number

Standing outside?

Standing outside the portals

Standing outside denied

Knowing that with the demons

Ever you shall abide

Never to share the beauty

Awaiting the sanctified

Oh! what an awful picture

Standing outside.

Standing outside while loved ones

Enter the pearly gate

Knowing that there forever

You will then separate

To be away from loved ones 

And by our God denied

Oh! what an awful picture

Standing outside?

Can you not see the picture 

Of those who're lost in sin

Standing outside the portals

Without a hope to win

Soul-crushed with deepest sorrow

Without a friend to guide

Oh! what an awful picture

Standing outside. J. A. McClung

Jesus' return described in the book of Revelation shows us His total and absolute victory, His ushering in of perfect justice, and the utter destruction of all of His and of His people's enemies:

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" Revelation 6:15-17

So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia [that's about 184 miles - that's a lot of blood!]. Revelation 14:19-20

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16

Are you ready to face the LORD Jesus Christ on that day and give an account of your life?

On that day, God will accomplish perfect justice; He will punish all of His enemies; everything sad will become untrue (a line from J. R. R. Tolkien); all wrongs will be made right; every evil will be perfectly punished; there will be no more sin, no more death, no more sadness, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. We will finally see the God-Man, Jesus Christ, face to face. The LORD Jesus Christ is King of kings and LORD of lords Who has the name above all names, and He will bring about perfect justice someday, either in hell or because of the cross. Which will you choose?

If you are not a true, genuine, born again Christian, then you are cut off from Christ and in rebellion against God. Christ will punish you in hell forever someday where there will be weeping and burning and gnashing of teeth for all eternity. The Warrior King will crush you in hell forever. And there will be lots of blood. And there will be no mercy. But if you repent of (turn away from) your sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ - if you trust in His perfect life, His death on that cross, His burial, and His resurrection - then He will save you from your sins and justice will have been accomplished at the cross:

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus (John 3:16) (For more on this verse, see: 1. The Danger: Perishing; 2. The Design Is Love; 3. The Duty: Faith; 4. The Destiny: Eternal Life)

The Return Of The King For Our Everlasting Joy

But if the only reason you trust in Christ is so that you won't go to hell, you aren't truly trusting in Christ. You don't have to be born again in order not to want to go to hell. Nobody wants to go to hell. John Piper preached about this insufficient reason some people come to Jesus:

Or "I don’t want to go to hell. And so I am coming to you, Jesus. I hear that you can get me out of hell. Please don’t let me suffer forever. I don’t want to go to hell. Save me from hell." Well no demon wants to be in hell. Nobody wants to be in hell. You don’t have to be regenerate in order to have the desire not to want to go to hell. There is nothing holy or godly about not wanting to go to hell and be unhappy forever. Nobody wants to go to hell.

The deeper, more fundamental desire of the truly born again Christian is not merely to escape hell, but a desire for God Himself. We want Christ to come back because we want Christ above all. We don't want to go to hell because God will not be experienced there in His love and mercy but only in His anger and judgment. We don't want just to escape the punishment of hell; we want the presence of Christ! In his book, God Is The Gospel, John Piper asks a riveting question:

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

The true believer will cry out from the depths their heart: NO! NEVER! I WANT CHRIST ABOVE ALL! 

Again, Piper writes in God is the Gospel: 

Justification is not an end in itself. Neither is the forgiveness of sins or the imputation of righteousness. Neither is escape from hell or entrance into heaven or freedom from disease or liberation from bondage or eternal life or justice or mercy or the beauties of a pain-free world. None of these facets of the gospel-diamond is the chief good or highest goal of the gospel. Only one thing is: seeing and savoring God himself, being changed into the image of his Son so that more and more we delight in and display God’s infinite beauty and worth.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God . . . . 1 Peter 3:18

Jesus died to bring us to God. We want God, not His gifts, above all. This is the testimony of the saints throughout history. They delight in God Himself. Not merely in His gifts. But in God:

You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You. Augustine

Nay, unless they establish their complete happiness in Him [God], they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to Him. John Calvin

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You." Psalm 16:2

You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. Psalm 73:25

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ . . . . Philippians 3:7-8 

Hell is going to be so horrific that you want to escape it at any cost! And heaven, because God is there, is going to be so glorious and amazing that you want to enter in at any cost! Sam Storms, while describing Jonathan Edwards' view of heaven, gave this wonderful description:

Edwards often talked about what we won’t see in heaven. Praise God for this. In Revelation 21:4 we are told there will be no tears of grief, no death or sorrow or pain. [In] verse 8 of chapter 21 we are assured by John that no one who is cowardly, lying, or unbelieving will be present; no murderers or anything abominable, immoral, or idolatrous. And again in [Revelation] 21:27 he says nothing that is unclean will be allowed to enter there. People think of the implications of what is being said. When we get to heaven there will be, said Edwards, nothing which shall offend the most delicate eye. In other words, nothing that is abrasive, irritating, agitating, or hurtful; nothing harmful, hateful, upsetting or unkind; nothing sad, bad, or mad, harsh, impatient, ungrateful, or unworthy; nothing weak or sick or broken or foolish; nothing deformed, degenerate, depraved, or disgusting; nothing polluted, pathetic, poor, or putrid; nothing dark, dismal, dismaying, or degrading; nothing blameworthy, blemished, blasphemous, or blighted; nothing faulty, faithless, frail, or fading; nothing grotesque or grievous, hideous or insidious; nothing illicit or illegal, lascivious or lustful; nothing marred or mutilated, misaligned or misinformed; nothing nasty or naughty, offensive or odious; nothing rancid or rude, soiled or spoiled, tawdry or tainted, tasteless, or tempting; nothing vile or vicious, wasteful or wanton - none of it! 

And all of this for hell deserving sinners like you and me. 

What will we see there? Wherever you turn your eyes you see nothing but glory and grandeur and beauty and brightness and purity and perfection and splendor and satisfaction and sweetness and salvation and majesty. We’ll see only and all that is adorable and affectionate, and beautiful and bright and brilliant and bountiful and delightful and delicious and delectable and dazzling and elegant and exciting and fascinating and fruitful and glorious and grand and gracious and good and happy and holy and healthy and whole and joyful and jubilant and lovely and luscious and majestic and marvelous, opulent and overwhelming, radiant and resplendent, splendid and sublime, sweet and savory, tender and tasteful, euphoric and unified. And why? Because we’ll be looking at the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Hallelujah! What a Savior! 

If you are not a Christian, would you please flee from the wrath to come in hell, and flee to the all satisfying God and trust in Jesus Christ alone today? And pray that Denzel Washington and everyone else in the world would do the same as well! And meet me in heaven!

To learn more about the great King Jesus and His glorious Gospel message, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.