THE wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all whose religion is of the negative rather than of the positive kind.
The law of God is positive. It requires supreme love to God and equal love to man. It requires action toward God and man, intense action, energetic devotion to God and man. Now there are many who seem to suppose that this is the doing nothing bad, as they say.
They run hither and thither, and indulge themselves, and live in most things like the world around them. Their way of spending their time, of spending their money, of using their influence, is such that you enquire, why they do this, and why they do that. “Why!” they reply, “what harm is there in it?”
With them the question is, what harm is there in this or that course of life? and not what good will this do? and how far will it glorify God? If they live without committing flagrant sin they think they do well. It does not seem so much as to enter into their designs to do all they can for the promotion of God’s glory, but only to avoid doing such things as will be open disgrace to religion. Their religion is a mere negation, if it may be called religion; which, indeed, it cannot properly be, for all true religion is love, confidence worship, obedience. Let all such, then, as are satisfying themselves with this negative form of what they call religion, remember that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against them.
Indeed, there are some whose history seems to be one of omission. They are continually neglecting many forms of duty; and they know it. Perhaps some are admitting from day to day that this, and that, and the other thing is duty, and yet never address themselves seriously to the performance of it.
Some of you are perhaps neglecting secret prayer—are neglecting your Bible—are neglecting to pay your debts—are neglecting in the outward life a great multitude of things, but in regard to God and man, and in your inward state you cannot but know that you are really neglecting to render to God all the love and confidence that are his due, and that you are neglecting to love your neighbor as yourself. Your history is one of omission. You seem to overlook the fact, that omission is the very thing against which this text , is arrayed; that this ungodliness and unrighteousness are omissions of duty to God and man.