Living under the new covenant, it is easy to forget some of what Christ saves us from. When I think about salvation or thank God for his saving grace, I often turn my mind towards what my heart is without Him. I become grateful because I know I can live this life free from sin, shame, and depravity, and I'm awestruck and moved to worship. How can we not be thankful? He provided a way out! He provided a way for us to truly enjoy life, which would otherwise be ruined by our own selfish desires and hopeless attempts to numb the consequences of sin.
What I rarely think on, however, is the utter destruction God would bring upon us were it not for Christ. How do we so easily forget the just nature of God? The prophets are full of these descriptions of him, and God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! His very nature is to punish sin, and not simply by denying us more money or happier lives. The Old Testament paints a much more dreadful picture of the wrath of God.
Lamentations 2:5 - "The Lord has become like an enemy."
I don't think I can summarize the imagery that I read in Ezekiel today (Chapter 4) or any of the other OT writers that explain the just acts of God, but Lamentations 2:5 describes a dreadful enough situation, right? We are not just saved from lives of depravity. We're rescued from the dreadful wrath of a just God. My sin is the same as the sin of 2000 years ago. I have to be punished. My sin has to be punished. And it has.
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." Rom. 5:6-9
My prayer is to be thankful for all that He's rescued me from - a dreadful life without Christ, and a dreadful death of judgement against my sin.
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