GOD’S WRATH IS A PART OF HIS CHARACTER (AUGUST 13)

"Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God" (Romans 5:9).

HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED BY CHRIST’S BLOOD IN THE PRESENT, WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD IN THE FUTURE. It’s true that salvation in Christ is a present reality (Ephesians 2:8), but Paul is speaking in Romans 5:9 of a future event: our being spared from the judgment that is coming upon the world. In 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Paul wrote of the time when Christ will be “revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” Until that time, we wait “for [God’s] Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Paul is clear in Romans 5:9 that it is “by him [Jesus Christ]” that we shall be saved. In Christ, we are assured of being protected from the wrath that will be poured out on the rebellious and disobedient. But even in Christ, we must not fail to take God’s wrath seriously. There are none among us who don’t need to be warned.

It is a mistake to think of God’s wrath as something that needs to be apologized for — and it is hazardous to hurry past the many Scriptures that speak of this. The devil would love for us to forget the foundational truth that Solomon learned the hard way: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).

Let us remember, then, that wrath is a part of God’s character. If He treated evil as a trifle to be overlooked, God would not be the perfectly good God the Scriptures reveal Him to be. I would even suggest that God’s wrath is a part of His love. Very likely, it is nothing more than our immature concept of love that sees a conflict between the punishment of evil and the blessing of righteousness.

"God is love, not, God is loving. God and love are synonymous. Love is not an attribute of God, it IS God; whatever God is, love is. If your conception of love does not agree with justice and judgment and purity and holiness, then your idea of love is wrong" (Oswald Chambers).