Lesson 358: “God's Righteous Wrath"
“Sing to the Lord, you saints of His. Praise His Holy Name! For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime” (Ps. 30:4-5). The scripture reveals God’s wrath against sinful men in His justice and holiness. This knowledge of God’s wrath SHOULD lead His people and all the world to a true and reverence of our God. The beginning of true wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Pro. 1:7). Do not separate God’s wrath from His graciousness and patience toward His fallen people. God’s acts of wrath are displayed for a purpose from Geneses, in the Garden of Eden, to Revelation 19 when our Christ returns to finalize His salvation and judgment.
Many read injustice and contradiction into the words; “God is love” (1 John 4:16) and “it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). The Lord passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin YET He does not leave the guilty unpunished” (Ex. 34:5-7). When people state that a God of love could not possible punish or allow strife in their lives, they are forgetting what all of the people since Adam have done against the will of God. They are sweeping under the carpet the disobedience and rebellion that lurks in all our lives. Most refuse to believe that prayers must be continuous and persistent (Phil. 4:6) and prayed in faith (James 5:15).
No one knew the love of God more than His Son (Matt. 3:17) and who knew more than Jesus Christ the wrath of God toward sin and sinners. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matt. 26:38). “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matt. 27:46)? “And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of Blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44)! All of this Christ did to save me and to save you from the depths of hell. God has not destined us for His wrath (1 Thess. 5:9), Jesus rescued us from wrath (1 Thess. 1:10) and has delivered us from the coming wrath but please remember that He did not “take it away” and God’s wrath is definitely in the end of the age (Matt. 24:1-35).
God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for the sins of the world (John 3:16) and He so hated sin that He will destroy this world in His wrath because they refused to repent (Rev. 16:1-11) and no one will be able to stand (Rev. 6:12-17). “In the past God overlooked such ignorance but now commands everyone everywhere to repent. For He has set a Day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). When the Day of the Lord comes (2 Pet. 3:10-14) whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed or put to shame (Rom. 9:33b). MARANATHA!