Flee from the Wrath to Come!

"Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Matthew 3:7

"Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Hebrews 6:18

We will first consider the question of John the Baptist: "When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, You brood of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" I have no doubt that the Pharisees and Sadducees were very much surprised to hear John addressing them in that way; for men who wish to win disciples, ordinarily adopt milder language than that, and choose more attractive themes, for they fear that they will drive their hearers from them if they are too personal, and speak too sharply. There is not much danger of that nowadays, for the current notion abroad now is that gospel ministers can sew with silk without using a sharp needle; and that, instead of piercing men with the sword of the Spirit, they should show them only the hilt of it; let them see the bright diamonds on the scabbard — but never let them feel the sharpness of the two-edged blade. They should always comfort, and console, and cheer — but never allude to the terror of the Lord.