A STOREHOUSE OF WRATH?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Romans 2:5

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We all have storehouses in our lives, places where we accumulate things that have value. It’s a truth that has existed as long as mankind has walked the earth.

In His infinite wisdom, our Savior Jesus knew this and so He sought to address the matter during His first formal public teaching, what we know today as “The Sermon on the Mount.”

Note in His words from Matthew’s Gospel that He was encouraging His listeners to make sure they were accumulating things that would endure, spiritual riches that would not be destroyed by insects or animals nor pilfered by thieves. These were treasures that would not only pay dividends in the now but in the eternal future held by those who placed their faith and belief in Jesus for salvation.

Compare and contrast that with those who only were centered on the wealth of the earth. Their treasure was vulnerable to destruction and theft. It was vulnerable to loss and, of course, would not accompany its owner when death came knocking. Everything tangible possession a person has is left behind when they draw their last breath on earth.

Through these words of Jesus, we can see how different kinds of treasures can be accumulated and amassed by people. But as we look at today’s single verse from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, we see where there are other things that can be stored up as well. Look again at his words here:

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.”  Romans 2:5

Paul started the second chapter of this letter with a stern warning about judging others. Essentially, no person had the right to point out the flaws in others when they had just as many imperfections present in their own life. Since no one is perfect, no one has the right to judge another and doing so was nothing short of sinful behavior before a God who despises sin.

And yet, some Romans insisted in pointing out the errors of others and this is what had Paul fired up. He calls out these people and exposes their wicked behavior.

Of interest, Paul, like Jesus before him, addresses the matter of the heart. In this case, he pinpoints an unrepentant heart as the cause of wicked disobedience toward God. Those who were judging did so out of “stubbornness” and an “unrepentant heart”. They weren’t storing up earthy or heavenly treasures but rather God’s wrath that would be taken from storage and applied to the transgressor on the day of the Lord’s choosing, the day when “His righteous judgment will be revealed.”

All this leads to the following questions:

What are you storing up in your life?

Are you storing up treasures in heaven or on earth?

Or are you storing up God’s wrath against yourself?

How you answer these questions will chart the future course for your life.

If you are storing up treasures in heaven, continue to do so. Jesus urges us all to do so.

If you are storing up treasures in earth, what’s the point? Why would you invest so much of your time accumulating riches that you won’t be able to take with you when death comes knocking at your door?

And if storing up treasure on earth is bad, storing up God’s wrath against yourself is just plain foolish. For no one stands a chance if they become an enemy of the Lord Almighty. Destruction is assured through His unsurpassed power exacted in judgment.

My prayer today is that if you aren’t already committed to storing up heavenly treasure, you will do so immediately. Now is the time to step out of the crosshairs of God’s punishment and place yourself in His good grace. You may not get another chance.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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