4 Things You Should Know About the Wrath of God
Is God all love and no wrath? What does the Bible say about the wrath of God?
In our secular age there are many people who are uncomfortable with the idea that God can be wrathful and that if He is indeed a God who can express anger, then they want nothing to do with Him.
For example, many universalists, agnostics and atheists label the God of the Bible as a “moral monster” because of His judgments and destruction of cities like Sodom and Gomorrah; or for commanding the Canaanites to be killed including their children; or for destroying the entire Earth through a flood; or for allowing people to suffer or enter hell for eternity.
So there are many people in the secular world who cannot reconcile the love of God with the wrath of God because they cannot fathom that a God of love would punish people so harshly.
Even in the church today, there are people who do not see the necessity or importance of speaking about the wrath of God. They would rather portray a watered-down image of the character and nature of God than present God in the fullness of how the Bible truly presents His nature and character. They would rather focus on one aspect of His nature like His love and grace than look at every aspect of God’s nature or attributes as it is written in the Scriptures.
So there are some who find it uncomfortable and even offensive, to themselves and to others, if they talked about the wrath of God. And so for various reasons they block any perception or thought that concerns the wrath of God.
However, the doctrine of the wrath of God is a reality that exists and this truth cannot be changed despite personal opinions.
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament we are consistently reminded through the Scriptures that God is capable of expressing His wrath just as much as He expresses His love.
WHAT IS THE WRATH OF GOD?
The wrath of God is God’s righteous response and judgment against unrighteousness and sinful humanity. It is a holy and just response towards persons whose actions deserve eternal condemnation.
According to J.I Packer: “God’s wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing that human anger so often is. It is, instead, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil” (Knowing God, p151).
Romans 1:18 says: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
4 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE WRATH OF GOD
1. The Wrath of God is a Perfect & Righteous Response To Sin & Ungodliness
God’s anger is different from man’s anger. In many cases the anger of man leads to sin. However, the anger of God is a righteous response to enact justice. The wrath of God, also known as righteous indignation, is a perfect response to sin and unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).
So when God is angry, He is never wrong in expressing His wrath. Furthermore, God’s wrath is a holy response that is without fault or error. His wrath is a just response to an unjust action.
Colossians 3:5-6 says: Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
Romans 2:5 says: But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
2. God is Slow to Anger
God is slow to anger and therefore He is loving and gracious to both the good and the wicked.
Psalms 145:8 says: The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Matthew 5:45 says God “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Many people have wondered: Why doesn’t God just deal with evil people immediately? Why can’t God just judge the wicked today instead of allowing wickedness to continue for so long?
It’s because God is slow to anger. He is not short-tempered but instead He is gracious and patient and hoping that the wicked and ungodly will soon repent before it is too late.
2 Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Every day and literally every second, there is sin and wickedness happening in our world, yet God continues to show patience to humanity by being slow to anger and therefore slow to act on sinners who commit wicked and sinful acts. Instead God shows love, grace and patience to us with the hope that we will repent and be saved.
3. God’s Wrath is to be Feared & Avoided
The wrath of God is not a pretty thing and so it should be taken seriously. When we fail to understand the wrath of God but instead create a watered-down image of Him, this leads to antinomian behaviour or a perversion of the grace of God. In other words a lack of understanding about the wrath of God can lead people to take the consequences of sin for granted.
Hebrews 10:26-31 speaks about people who are unrepentant and reject Jesus Christ, and the judgment they will face after they have “outraged the Spirit of grace” and that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord.”
In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Hebrews 10:26-31 says: For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [Emphasis Added]
Therefore, specifically for anyone who rejects Jesus Christ as Saviour and for the religious person or professing Christian who has not truly repented, the wrath of God is to be feared. God Himself must be greatly revered as we live our daily life. When we do not understand the wrath of God, we might lose our reverence of Him.
4. Jesus Christ Alone Provides Redemption & Salvation From The Wrath of God
The truth is: every human being is a sinner who deserves God’s punishment (Romans 3:23).
However, Jesus bore all our sins and took our punishment by paying for our sins on the cross. Christ took the punishment that we deserved so that we would have eternal life and not face God’s wrath.
John 3:36 says: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Romans 5:9 says: Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.
So anyone who is born again or a true follower of Jesus Christ, will not experience the wrath of God because he/she has been saved by Jesus Christ from experiencing eternal punishment.
Hell is the ultimate expression of God’s wrath and God’s justice concerning sin and unrighteousness. Therefore anyone who rejects Jesus Christ and rejects the sacrifice that He made for mankind on the cross will face the consequences of experiencing God’s wrath.
So Jesus Christ alone can save us from the wrath of God and Christ alone can reconcile us into a right relationship with God (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
All we need to do is accept Jesus Christ into our life as Lord and Saviour through faith. Salvation is a free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). The love of God is available to anyone who would accept the sacrifice He made on the cross for our sins and ask Jesus to become their Lord and Saviour (John 3:16).
DO YOU WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN or A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST?
1. ACKNOWLEDGE: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
This means that we have all broken God’s laws and God’s 10 Commandments like those mentioned in Exodus 20:1-17. For example, if you have told a lie; if you have stolen something; if you have lusted after somebody or if you have coveted. This means you are guilty of breaking at least one or more of God’s 10 Commandments. Breaking God’s commandments makes us sinners. The fact that we are sinners who have broken God’s law means that we are accountable to God who is the Lawgiver. Romans 6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death BUT the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
You must acknowledge that you are a sinner who has broken God’s commandments and that you therefore need Jesus in your life.
2. REPENT: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3), “Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19)
Repenting means: to change your mind; a sincere turning away, in heart, mind and action;
Therefore God wants you to change your mind about sinful values and of sinful living. God wants you to decide to follow Him and to make Jesus the Lord of your life.
3. CONFESSION: “If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9)
God is a forgiving God. God will forgive any sin that you have done because Jesus died for ALL your sins and to set you free from the bondage of all types of sin in your life.
4. BELIEVE: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
You must believe that ONLY Jesus can save you and restore your relationship with God. You must believe that Jesus is the ONLY way by which you can have everlasting life and escape from eternal separation from God. You must believe that Jesus died on the cross for you and resurrected from the grave.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive him, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12)
By faith, You must receive Jesus as Your Lord & Savior and therefore; you become a child of God; you become born again; you become a Christian; you restore your broken relationship with God
Why Not Make Your Eternal Decision NOW?
We become born again Christians by GRACE through FAITH or TOTAL TRUST in Jesus Christ as our Lord & Savior (Galatians 3:26) & (Ephesians 2:8,9). Salvation is a FREE gift received through FAITH in Christ.
PLEASE NOTE: You can choose to pray in your own words. This prayer is a sample prayer and it is only an EXPRESSION of your faith, belief & trust in Jesus. Salvation is by GRACE through FAITH or BELIEVING in Christ Jesus as your Lord & Saviour.
“Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your love. I thank You that You died on the cross for me and resurrected so that I may have life through You.
I confess Lord that I have sinned against You and today I ask You to forgive me of all of my sins, past present and future.
Today I repent and have decided to follow you. Thank you for forgiving all my sins.
From this moment, come into my life Lord Jesus & take full control of my life. I want to follow You Jesus and I want to follow Your ways. Save me and from today, make me the person You want me to be.
I receive You Lord Jesus right now by faith. I trust You as my Lord and Savior – Amen”
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