| The WRATH of God |
| by David A. DePra |
Taken from "Exposing the Web of Legalism" also at this web site. |
| What is the "wrath of God?" That's an important question |
| because most of us have trouble reconciling God's "wrath" to the |
| fact that the Bible says "God is love." The usual way we reconcile |
| the two is to say that God loves those who obey Him, and "pours |
| out His wrath" upon those who disobey. |
| That's makes sense to us. Afterall, God cannot overlook sin. He |
| is totally just and holy. And to most of us, a God who pours out |
| His wrath upon the disobedient is the only kind of "just God" we |
| can imagine. |
| The trouble is, who obeys God perfectly? If I believe that God |
| loves only those who obey Him, and is "wrathful" toward those |
| who don't, how can I ever be sure which "side of the ledger" I'm |
| on? |
| We usually say our faith in Christ puts us on the "love side." But |
| if that's the case, then what hope is there for me if I'm not yet |
| saved? If God is "wrathful" towards sinners like me, then He |
| certainly will never do anything to initiate my salvation. He'll have |
| to remain "wrathful" and withdrawn from me until I make myself |
| able to qualify for His love. |
| The point is, unless God initiates my salvation DESPITE my sin |
| -- unless He loves me DESPITE my sin -- I have no hope. |
| The Bible says, "God is love." That means that God personifies |
| perfect love. Love is His nature and is manifested through His |
| character. |
| All that is OF God is OF love. There is nothing God does in any |
| life which is not motivated by His love. |
| Now we are ready to answer the original question, "What is |
| God's wrath?" Well, if God IS love, and is ALWAYS unconditionally |
| loving each and every human being regardless of their sin, then it |
| leads us to only one possible answer: God's wrath IS His love. |
| When the "wrath of God" is manifested, it is just another |
| manifestation of the same perfect love of God. |
| But how can we say God's wrath IS love? Because His wrath is |
| motivated by His love. In other words, every time God is "wrathful," |
| it is for the purpose of loving the individual towards whom He is |
| "wrathful." Practically speaking, this means that when God is |
| "wrathful" it is to redeem and restore the individual back to Himself. |
| And to do it, God may have to "pour out His wrath" upon whatever |
| it is that is hindering His purposes in that individual. |
| Chastisement |
| Obviously, many of us need to redefine our ideas about the |
| wrath of God. We need to rethink our assumption that God |
| rewards those who obey Him, and punishes those who don't -- |
| because the fact is, it just isn't true. God does not "punish" anyone |
| -- not the way human beings define "punish." Rather, God |
| CHASTISES us as sons and daughters. |
| We usually define "punishment" in a punitive sense. To us, |
| punishment may be nothing more than vengence meted out for |
| the purpose of "paying back" someone for the wrong they have |
| done. It has nothing redemptive about it. But if that's how we |
| define "punishment," then God NEVER punishes. |
| God does chastise us. This means that God will cause or allow |
| things in our lives which He intends to use for our spiritual |
| betterment. If we choose a way of sin, God may chastise us so |
| that we will turn from our sin and be set free. But even if we obey |
| God, He may chastise us. He may be testing our faith or may be |
| giving us the opportunity to grow in Christ. |
| God is absolutely incapable of doing anything in our lives out of |
| spite. He has one goal in mind: Our spiritual health and welfare. |
| And He'll do whatever it takes to accomplish His goal. Many times, |
| that will mean some form of chastisement. |
| We need to rid ourselves of the idea that God is sitting in |
| heaven, eagerly waiting for the chance to "punish" us the first time |
| we step out of line. That concept is a lie. God never has, and never |
| will, have that attitude towards us. He loves us. And just as we |
| must sometime chastise our children for their own good, so must |
| God often chastise us. |
| Judgment Upon Sin |
| God's "wrath" is a term which embodies His judgment upon sin. |
| But what is His judgment upon sin? He killed it outright in Christ. |
| "God's wrath," therefore, has it's most profound expression toward |
| sin. His judgment upon sin is complete. Is that the act of an angry |
| God? No. It is an act of a loving God. What could be a greater act |
| of love? Through Christ man is set free from sin. Through Christ all |
| death has been abolished. |
| Ok. But what if we don't believe and receive God's love? |
| Doesn't He then "pour out His wrath upon us?" |
| Think about that for a moment. Is God saying to us, "Receive |
| My love or I'll send you to hell!?" Picture yourself saying that to |
| one of your loved ones. Could you really say it like most of us |
| picture God saying it if you truly loved them? Not hardly. The fact |
| is, God is not offering us His love "under threat of punishment." He |
| isn't going to put us to death if we refuse Him. We are ALREADY |
| dead. He is offering us LIFE. And if we refuse His calling, then God |
| will give us our choice. He won't force Himself upon anyone. |
| Herein we see the true nature of the "wrath of God." The wrath |
| of God finds it 's ultimate fulfillment when God gives those who |
| refuse Him exactly what they choose: Their independence of Him. |
| The wrath of God is therefore not the result of God's "hatred" of the |
| sinner. It is the product of the sinner's hatred of God. Sadly, those |
| who are eternally judged worthy of God's wrath will prove God just |
| by proclaiming to the bitter end their rightness and God's |
| unfairness. |