Understanding God’s Wrath
The greatest human problem
The greatest human problem is not that we are lost and need to find our way on a spiritual journey which many search for in all kinds of religions. At the core of the human problem is that we are sinners under the judgment of God (the creator of the universe and mankind), and the divine wrath that remains over us unless and until it is taken away.
In John 3:36, He says, “Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” He uses the word remains, why, because it is already there? It is the life in which we were born. By nature, we are children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3).
As peace is a truth widely cherished but seldom found by the world, the wrath of God is a truth that is either hated or ignored as a myth. Throughout the history of Christianity, the church has wanted to alter this biblical truth of God’s wrath because they felt it shown a bad light on the church.,
And yet the wrath (or anger) of God toward sin and sinners is clearly taught in the Bible. The hope of peace with God and one another is so intertwined with the teaching of God’s wrath that if we lose our understanding on the one, we lose our hope of the other.
Understanding the anger of God
Everything we know about God, he is just, he is love, and he is good, needs to be poured into our understanding of his wrath. Our anger can often be unpredictable, petty, and disproportionate. However, His wrath is His unrelenting, unremitting, uncompromising hatred of evil in all its forms and manifestations.
These things are often true of human anger, but none of them are true of the anger of God. God’s wrath is the just and measured response of his holiness toward evil.
God’s wrath is response to evil
The Bible says, “God is love.” That’s his nature. God’s love is not provoked. He does not love us because he sees some wisdom, beauty, or goodness in us. He loves you because he is love, and you can never get beyond that (Deuteronomy 7:7).
The anger of God is not something that resides in him by nature; it is a response to evil. He is provoked! But God’s wrath is different, his holy response to the intrusion of evil into his world. If there were no sin in the world, there would be no wrath in God. God’s anger is his settled resolve that evil once and for all time will be eradicated.
God’s hesitation in deploying wrath
Why is God allowing evil to continue in the world? Why does he not wipe it out? It’s because God holds out the offer of grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). God patiently holds open the door of grace because he wants people to come to him in faith and repentance.
The day of God’s wrath will come, but God has not been in a hurry to bring it until the door of grace is closed. And it will close, the signs of the times are pointing out that it is much closer than anyone thinks. But will you be ready?
God’s wrath even now
How does God reveal his wrath when sinners suppress the truth about him, exchange the truth for a lie, and worship created things rather than the Creator? God gives them up even today. In other words, he has removed his hand from their lives. He is allowing them to be punished right now during this life as the following verses in (Romans 1) state:
- Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity (1:24).
- For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions (1:26).
- God gave them up to a debased mind (1:28).
When we see the moral fabric of our culture being torn, then as Christian believers we should cry to God for mercy.
God judges in righteousness and justice
A day is coming when God will deal with all evil fully, finally, and forever. This will be the day of wrath, when God will repay every evil and bring to judgment every sin. The punishment for every sin will match the crime. When the judgment is done, every mouth will be stopped because everyone will know that God judged in righteousness and justice. Then God will usher in a new heaven and a new earth, which will be the home of righteousness.
God’s Wrath Removed
The Bible speaks about God’s wrath being poured out at the cross: “I will soon pour out my wrath upon you and spend my anger against you” (Ezekiel 7:8). This takes us to the heart of what happened there: The divine wrath toward sin was poured out on Jesus. He became the “propitiation” for our sins (Romans 3:25), which means that the payment for our sins was poured out on Jesus at Calvary. However, for those who reject Jesus this wrath will still be applied in the day of judgment.
Don’t ever get the idea that God loves you because Christ died for you. No, it’s the other way round. Christ died for you because God loved you! He loved you even when you were the object of his wrath! God so loved the objects of his wrath that he spent the wrath on himself at the cross.
The outpouring of God’s wrath was the greatest act of love this world has ever seen.
The hope for sinners
The hope for sinners is that between us and the wrath of God stands the cross of Jesus. Sin was laid on Jesus and the Divine wrath toward it was poured out, spent, and exhausted in the darkness of Calvary. And when it was done, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “It is finished!” The wrath of God that will one day be poured out on all sin was spent at the cross with regard to all who are in him.
Then Christ rose from the dead, and he stands before you today, a living Savior! He offers to you the priceless gift of peace with God. He is ready to forgive your sins and fill you with his Spirit. He is able to save you from the wrath and reconcile you to the Father. He has opened the door of heaven, and he is able to bring you in.
Are you are ready to escape the wrath of God and to accept Jesus into your life? If you are, speak the following prayer out loud from your heart.
“Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I repent and want to turn from my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe He died for my sins and that You raised Him to life. I want Him to come into my heart and to take control of my life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord from this day forward. In Jesus’ Name amen.”
If you have said this prayer with your heart, you are now an adopted child of God and heir with Jesus Christ and entitled to eternal life with Him. His Holy Spirit has come to live inside you. The Holy Spirit will comfort, guide lead and convict you of sins so you may ask forgiveness.
Congratulations, your name has now been written in the Lords’ book of life which means you will have eternal life with Him. Now go and find yourself a bible believing loving church so you may grow in your new life. Personally, I have attended Baptist churches since I accepted Jesus into my life while in the military back in 1966.
In the meantime, here is a good Christian site to learn more about being a Christian, let them know that you have accepted Jesus into your life. Leading the Way with Pastor Michael Youseff. – Contact