Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36).Wrath, then, is a necessary component of God. That Romans 2:5 verse indicates why: "God's righteous judgment". Righteous judgment of our sin demands wrath. You see, the vastness of sin into which we've fallen is not minimized by the phrase, "fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). It's actually huge. In fact, part of God's purpose in making our universe was "to show His wrath and to make known His power" (Rom 9:22).
He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Luke 3:7).
The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom 1:18).
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 (Rom 2:5).
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 (Col 3:5-6).
This, of course, doesn't fly in today's world. God is a warm, cuddly, friendly grandfather figure in the sky. He's the original "Mr. Nice Guy". He's our spiritual butler obligated, out of His great love for us, to give us anything that we desire. His failure to do so makes some question His very existence. And no one thinks that "fire and brimstone" is a good method of preaching today. No, no, that just won't work. God is just not that kind of God, you see.
Enter theodicy. It is the science of defending the goodness of God in the face of the evil we see around us. It is the product, however, of this twisted perspective that God is "all-loving and omnibenevolent", so evil, either unpleasantness or immorality, shouldn't exist, right? And that's right ... as long as you don't allow God to define Himself. Because He claims both light and calamity for Himself (Isa 45:7). He claims to have made everything including the wicked (Prov 16:4). The Bible always maintains this position, that God is both kind and angry. Paul wrote, "Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off" (Rom 11:22). Kindness and severity.
John ends his first epistle simply and shortly: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). What is an idol? It's anything worshiped in the place of God. There are, in fact, only two religions. We either worship God or we serve the creature (Rom 1:25). The latter occurs obviously when nature is worshiped, less obviously when we worship ourselves, and almost invisibly when we substitute for God something that is not God. A God without wrath is not God. A God without judgment is not God. A God without severity is not God. While we maintain God's love and goodness and kindness and grace and mercy and all those warm, friendly attributes in our thoughts of God, let's not forget His hatred of sin and just condemnation of it. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
2 comments:
God's wrath is so abundantly displayed in those OT stories that one particular person prefers to see as "epic storytelling", or some type of metaphor for something not quite explained.
To borrow a non-Christian notion, there is a yin and yang so clear in the Bible regarding God's nature. It makes no sense that His love can be regarded as so vast and comprehensive, while at the same time, He just shrugs His shoulders at wrongdoing? I don't think so. To totally destroy entire nations, indeed, the whole world (Great Flood), does indeed give us some indication of just how wrathful He is capable of being. And it is entirely irrelevant how we, as human beings, think of it. It doesn't matter that someone might not think that is "Godly". It simply isn't logical that His justice wouldn't swing equally in each direction.
"He just shrugs His shoulders at wrongdoing?"
The picture is really mind-bending, isn't it? Imagine a human judge like that. "Your honor, we have presented irrefutable evidence that the defendant has maimed and murdered 23 children. The defendant admits to the crime. The jury finds him guilty. What is your judgment?" "Oh, I just love everybody. Let's not get too judgmental, here. Let him go." Just doesn't work, does it? A judge without justice, who doesn't recognize and rightly respond to sin, is not a righteous judge at all.
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