You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. – 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
The gospel message is about a person Paul has come to know and wants to introduce to others. This person is unlike any other person who has ever lived. He is God’s Son from heaven. The gospel is about Him, and what He is able to do for you.
Jesus, whom the Father raised from the dead
The distinctive declaration of the gospel is: Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead! Because He conquered death, He is uniquely positioned to bring us into life. Christians still die, but through His resurrection your death will not be the end of your life, but an entrance into a better kind of life.
Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath
Every person is faced with “the wrath to come.” This is God’s judging of every life—punishing every sin, righting every wrong, eradicating all evil, and destroying all sinners in the lake of fire.
Without this coming wrath, the gospel makes no sense. What is the point of telling self-confident people that Jesus can give them a wonderful life when their lives are already full? Paul was convinced that there is a “wrath to come” that every person needs to be rescued from.
The glory of the gospel is that, at unfathomable cost, Christ, through His death, has borne the wrath of God. And He now offers Himself to you so that you may be rescued from the wrath that, apart from Him, would come upon you.
Why is understanding the wrath of God necessary to understanding the gospel?
