How can God be love a God of love when He shows so much wrath?
GOD’S WRATH
In the Old Testament God commands His chosen people Israel to destroy wicked nations, often to acquire land, a land He had promised to the Jews. Sometimes they were to completely destroy a nation because sin had reached its limit.
“…In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.” 1 Thessalonians 2:16
Throughout Psalms and Proverbs the fate of the wicked (those who follow other gods and do evil) is contrasted to the fate of the righteous (those who believe and obey Him). The wicked always end in distress.
God does not want us to take revenge–that is His responsibility:
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” Deuteronomy 32:35
God does not change. In the New Testament He also destroys the wicked:
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19
His revenge will be no small punishment.
“I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.” Jeremiah 1618
He says of Babylon:
“for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself…” Revelation 18:5-7
There is nothing more dreadful than to be an enemy of God:
“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31
God pours out His wrath on the earth in the last days. All those who do not believe in Him, He condemns to hell forever:
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15
GOD IS LOVE
1 John 4 says twice that “God is love.”
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16
Lamentations is a book written during the punishment of God’s people, the Israelites:
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
He loved His people and had to make them be aware of their great sins.
Even those who do not know Him or even choose to be against Him enjoy His blessings to some degree:
“…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:45
Every good and perfect gift comes from God:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17
All His commandments are based on love:
“One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” Matthew 22:35-40
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12
Nothing can separate us from God’s love:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
“…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
RECONCILIATION OF WRATH AND LOVE
How can God’s wrath be reconciled to His love?
Sin (disobedience to the commands of God) always hurts someone. It is the reason for all the evil in the world. If sin were allowed to continue the world would be destroyed. Contrary to evolutionary myth, things are getting worse not better:
“…one sinner destroys much good.” Ecclesiastes 9:18
God created the world perfectly. He even created Satan perfectly:
“…‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned…” Ezekiel 28:12-16
He gave Satan a free will. He creates all of us with a free will. He could have made us robots, but He wanted fellowship with people who choose to love Him:
“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9
“…I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…” John 17:20-21
We have all sinned:
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3
“Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins,” Ecclesiastes 7:30
“…there is no one who does good, not even one.” Romans 3:12
Satan, the devil, tempts us to sin, but we do not have to accept his suggestions. The responsibility for sin is our own:
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:13-14
God is just – He has to punish sin:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
God showed His love by sending His one and only Son to pay the penalty for our sins. Our sin is paid for if we accept his love and forgiveness:
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10
God accepts us even though we have sinned against Him, and changes us for our good and His glory:
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:3-5
All we have to do to escape God’s wrath is accept His love:
“…he (Jesus) said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent (change your mind) and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 4:8-10
If we accept His love we are given a rich and abundant life at the present time and forever in heaven where there is no sin:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
Sometimes we are called to suffer for Christ, but even then we have peace within.
His requirements are not burdensome; they bring joy:
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:6
“For my yoke is easy and my burden” Matthew 11:30
“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3
God is willing to forgive:
“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” Ezekiel 18:23
“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 18:32In “…‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!…” Ezekiel 33:11
“…he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1 John 1:9-10
Those who say they have not sinned are calling God a liar. They do not know Him.
Often people are not willing to believe in Jesus. The following verses tell why:
“…Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
“…They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10
“The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.” Revelation 16:8-9
They did not want to give up their sins; “they refused to repent and glorify him.”
Those who sin and have not repented (changed their mind to acknowledge their sin and believe in Jesus) will not be allowed in heaven:
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
“Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” Revelation 22:15
God does all He can to change the minds of sinners. He said to Israel:
“All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—a people who continually provoke me to my very face,,,” Isaiah 65:2-3
I believe that when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (Matthew 22:13-36), it was because of love. His was a righteous anger against those who would deceive others. Also, such harshness was needed to open the minds and hearts of the few Pharisees who would repent. Everything Jesus did was because of a pure heart, because of love.
As children of God, we must love. We must do all we can to let people know the truth. We have to be wise in how we treat those who do not believe:
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil,” Ephesians 5:15-16
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Colossians 4:5
Some Christians downplay sin saying we need to love the sinner. We do need to show love, but what is love? If someone is walking toward a steep cliff and does not see it, is love shown by saying, “we love you, we accept you,” or by saying, “there is a steep cliff ahead, stop going the way you are”?
Many know they are doing wrong so it might not be wise to rebuke them:
“Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.” Proverbs 9:7-8
A different response is needed for different situations and people:
“Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 22-24
A pastor’s wife in Montreal said, “I speak to people about Jesus unless the Lord tells me not to.” More of us need to be that bold and close to God.
SUMMARY
God is love; everything He does is from a loving heart, even wrath. His anger is not like our anger:
“because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:20
Life would not be able to exist on a long term basis with the presence of sin. Therefore, those who choose to sin have to be destroyed, not because it gives God pleasure, but so that His perfect world would be able to flourish.