Pastor Bruce’s blog

Man, I can’t believe that it has been so long since I’ve written anything in my pastor’s blog!  I guess that shows you that I don’t find writing an easy task; I rather talk!  But sitting here this afternoon, I’m re-thinking and mulling over the sermon text for Sunday, wanting to write what I’m seeing in it.  The reference is Romans 1.15-17, but I’ve been doing some studying and listening to some messages on Romans lately, so I have a lot inside.  Verses 16 and 17 are basically a summary of the entire book of Romans.  In them God shows us that He wants to shelter anyone who believes from the “wrath to come.”  Last week we heard a message on Hell that made me think about that awful destination.  I don’t think we’ve preached a message like that in quite a while.  (Thanks, Chad Markel!)  We don’t normally think that there will be a very real and serious consequence to sin, one that each of us deserves.  Yet, God is not wanting to punish us that way.  He’s made a provision through believing in “the Gospel of Christ.”  If God wanted to even the score, He could have simply let us have it, but He sent His Son to pay the horrific price so that humans have a choice.  We can ignore His warnings and provision for escape and, in essence, choose wrath and Hell or we can be set free and become His children by adoption and escape what we deserve.  We need to believe; that’s all and that’s everything.  Thank you God for being so merciful!  PB