The wrath of God is not a popular subject among some Christians, but the biblical evidence for God's wrath is so overwhelming that the subject must be addressed.
God reveals his wrath against sinful persons, where sin is a violation of the covenant. Scripture does not claim that God hates the sin but loves the sinner, but rather, understands persons as totalities, and therefore, sinful actions define us as sinful persons and subject to the wrath of God.
God's wrath can take several forms. In one form God addresses us directly, telling us that he is angry, that we are wrong, that we are hurting him and others. Jesus' cleaning of the temple, his overturning the tables and driving out the money changers, was an example of this type of wrath. The purpose of this personal confrontation is to bring us to our senses. It is a wrath that cleanses, restores, awakens, and motivates. This wrath is good for us.
Another form of God's wrath is his abandonment. When we persist in rejecting God, God accepts our decision and withdraws his presence. This is not easy for God. According to some theologians, God became incarnate to deal with human sin. I prefer to think the primary motive for God taking flesh was companionship, the joy of fellowship with those he loves. But we rejected this fellowship. God, in human form, was rejected and crucified on the cross. At that time Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me." He suffered the consequences of human sin, and that consequence is abandonment by God.
Since God is the source of life, his abandonment has the most terrifying consequences. Abandoned persons and nations are devastated by sin and the cosmic evil powers. This can clearly be seen in such horrors as war, or in the chaos and affliction of persons who persist in evil. We may cry out to God, but if we remain unrepentant and refuse forgiveness, we can experience God as unrelenting, absent, or even hostile. In this terrible darkness God is only "present" in his suffering form, as Christ on the cross, in dereliction and agony. But even this, as the saints testify, can be good for us.
Worst of all, and this won't last forever, is to persist in sin and not experience the wrath of God. This happens repeatedly. Many, many people are quite successful, even happy, and live in sin and do not worry about the wrath of God. God will not allow this condition to last forever, but thankfully, he has provided a way that blesses all of us: He revealed his wrath in his abandonment of Jesus Christ. There God's wrath is fully displaced in a way that humbles us and gives us the opportunity to repent, ask forgiveness, and in thankfulness, live a new life. That is the beauty and the wonder of the gospel and why it needs to be proclaimed.
The fact that the cross is the revelation of God's wrath has a corollary. God does allow our actions to have consequences, and one consequence is the suffering of the innocent. Christ was innocent, yet he suffered. And it is not over. All over the world children, for example, suffer at the hands of the parents and other adults. How long, Oh God, will you allow this to continue? Please have mercy upon us. Scripture is very clear on this. For these many crimes there will be a day of judgment. It will come, and it is best that we believe the gospel now while we have life and time.
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:7-9).
Love without wrath is indulgence. Indulgent love denies sin its consequence; it morally degrades others by not holding them to a high standard. God is not like that. He loves fiercely and he expects the best of us. Therefore, when his love is rejected, his love becomes wrath for the sake of his love. Yet, as the Psalmist says, "His anger is for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime." (30:5)
Ann Douglas, in her book The Feminization of American Culture (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977), describes how the 18th century Calvinist view of a holy, living, wrathful God, was transformed into the image of a sentimental milk-toast deity in the 19th century, and this in turn gave way to the pagan permissive culture and religion of twentieth century America. Douglas is a feminist, and she repudiates this theological development because it seduced women into becoming purveyors of a cheap sentimentality rather than a rigorous force for a better society. We are still riding the wave and, lacking a sense of God's wrath, our society is gradually losing its moral bearings. If this continues, it will lead to no good end, for as Paul put it, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever you sow, that will you reap." (Gal. 6:7)
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
March, 1996
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Barth's Creation and Economic Life Chapter Two
Barth's Doctrine of the Trinity - Chapter One
Capitalism and Paganism--An Intimate Connection
Creation, Science, and the New World Order
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Anglicanism and the Prayer Book
Introduction to Anglicanism - Anglicanism and Justification
Introduction to the Theological Essays
John Jewel and the Roman Church
Karl Barth, the German Christians, and ECUSA - Introduction
Mathematics, Science, and the Love of God
One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Some Reflections On Evil and the Existence of God
The Historical Jesus and the Spirit
