The Wrath of God

God’s wrath is His just response to the sinfulness of man. In His wrath, God does not sin but carries out His holiness, righteousness, and justice through this appropriate reaction to rebellion against Him. God’s wrath can be manifested in various forms from the withdrawing of protection from other nations (as He did with Israel in the Old Testament) to the giving over of one to his own sinful desires (as Paul describes in Romans chapter 1). 

If God’s wrath were not a reality, the gospel would not be sweet. The reason that Jesus Christ had to live a perfect life, die, and rise again is because sin was a problem. If God were not angry with sin, there would not be a need for a Savior; there would not be a need for rescue. But God is angry with sin and yet, He is also the initiator and giver of salvation for those He is angry with. Christ is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 1:2), not only removing the wrath of God, but turning it into favor. If God were not wrathful, Christ’s propitiation would be nonsensical. The wrath of God is an important point of theology that cannot be sacrificed on the altar of warm fuzzy feelings about a god that so many people want to believe. God’s wrath is a magnificent and glorious attribute but because of Christ, not something that we His children need to fear. For us, God’s wrath is a magnifying glass for His grace, which He freely lavishes on His children (Ephesians 1:8).