The Unsheltered Alien Sinner

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him" (Jn. 3:36, RSV; cf. v. 18). When something of the awful condition of being exposed to the wrath of God is perceived, the inconceivably grave state of the alien sinner, as set forth by this text, begins to appear. That wrath can be utterly consuming of the object of its visitation, as scriptural examples of its outpouring abundantly demonstrate. The person of accountable status to God who is not in Christ is wholly unsheltered from the Divine wrath, which is "revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rom. 1:18). He constantly lives under that dread exposure—when he abides in his domicile, when he lies down, when he arises, when he goes out, when he comes in. All the while God is completely uninhibited, as to justice, from wreaking His wrath to the full against such a one. Somehow, we of the church must make those who are out of Christ realize this terrible state of things. In such a condition, one should not let another day come to a close—nay, another moment pass—ere he flees to Jesus Christ for refuge from the righteous wrath of the holy God against him. --Fred O. Blakely