The Wrath Of God
THE WRATH OF GOD
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). The subject of the wrath of God is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in the church today. It has become something of a taboo for preachers to speak about God being angry with sin. It is almost with embarrassment that some Christians admit that God is a God of wrath. Yet it is a subject found throughout the Scriptures.
God's Wrath and God's Goodness. Is God's wrath consistent with His goodness? Can I still love a God who is a God of wrath? Can He love me? Will a study of the wrath of God be edifying to me? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “YES!”
“See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; it is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded, and it is I who heal; and there is no one who can deliver from My hand. 40 Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, as I live forever, 41 if I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, and I will repay those who hate Me. 42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired leaders of the enemy.”
Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance on His adversaries, and will atone for His land and His people. (Deuteronomy 32:39-43). The God of the Bible is a God of anger and of judgment. But notice against whom the judgment is directed. It is against those who hate Him and who have rejected Him. Rather than a cause of sorrow, Deuteronomy 32:43 says that this is a cause of rejoicing. The Lord will win in the end and so will all who have believed in Him. At the same time, God has given a measure of His love to all mankind. This “common grace” is alluded when Jesus speaks of how the Father sends rain upon the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). It is on the basis of this example of God's common grace that we are called to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). The Object of God's Wrath.
There are more passages in the Bible that deal with the wrath and anger and judgments of God than there are those that deal with His love and grace and mercy. Why is this? It is because God hates sin. Sin is at enmity with the righteousness of God. The wrath of God is always directed against sin. If this were not so, if God did not become angry over sin, then He would be condoning sin and He would be sinful Himself. If God were not angry over sin, then he would be imperfect and He would not be God. This means that you can never understand grace apart from the wrath of God. You can never see what it took to send Jesus to the cross until you realize how much God hates sin. This is why Paul begins his epistle to the Romans with the wrath of God. Can you rejoice in the wrath of God? Can you see this as a doctrine of comfort and of joy? You can if you have a proper concept of God.
God hates sin. He condemns and judges sin. But God loved you enough to send His Son to the earth to be identified with the sins of the world and to be judged for those sins so that you could be made free from that sin. Thus recognizing the wrath of God against sin makes the love of God more loving and the grace of God more gracious. The Patience of God.
God is patient. He is patient with His own people and He is also patient with those who deny Him. The same God who holds the universe together by His power daily holds together the life of the unbeliever who hates Him. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). When you sin, God does not send down a great bolt of lightning and blast you into oblivion. He is patient. He is waiting for a time of future judgment. Why? It is because He does not want any of His people to perish. He is waiting for all those who will become His people to come to Him.
What would have happened if God had grown impatient and decided to punish sin four days before you came to know Christ? You would have been judged and condemned and cast into hell. The reason that you are saved today is because God was patiently withholding His judgment against sin until you had come to Him in faith.
Don't miss this! The reason you are saved today and not roasting in hell is because God has been patient toward you. He is not willing that you should perish. He waited for you to come to repentance.
He is still waiting. He is waiting for others to come to Him in faith, trusting the provision that He has made for them. He is waiting for others to believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. But He will not wait forever. There is coming a day when judgment will come. There is coming a day when the waiting will be at an end and when the Lord will return to judge those who have rejected His salvation. There is coming a day when the heavens will pass away and the earth with all of its wickedness will be destroyed. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10).
What is to be our response to this terrible vision? What effect does this teaching about the wrath of God have in our lives? This is an important question. This prophecy was not given to satisfy our curiosity about future events. Prophecy is never given for that reason. Why was it given? It was given to bring about a change in our lives.
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you (2 Peter 3:14-15). The response to this teaching about the wrath of God is to be twofold. These two responses are the reason for the teaching. The first response is to be inward. It concerns your personal life. Once you have seen what is God's attitude concerning sin, it should have an effect in your life. You are to be at peace. You are to be spotless and blameless. You are to be free from sin. This teaching of the wrath of God is to be a motivation to personal godliness. The second response is to be upward. It concerns your view of the patience of God. When you see sin going unpunished and wrong and evil-doing flourishing, you should not be disheartened. Rather you need to see this as a sign of the patience of God that has brought about your salvation.
Let me put this on a personal level. Have you suffered a wrong that has not been righted? Have you been stepped on by others? Does it seem to you that you have gotten the short end of the stick? You are seeing the patience of God at work. That same patience was necessary for your salvation. It is a sign of your salvation. Because of that, you can rejoice even in the difficult times.