www . bymonline . org | October 2018
The True God
Yes , the Bible teaches that God is loving , patient , caring , and forgiving ( Psalm 86:15 and John 3:16 ). As the apostle John put it , “ God is love ” ( 1 John 4:8 ). Two of my favourite passages in the Bible emphasize the personal loving nature of God . One was penned by the apostle Peter . In 1 Peter 5 : 6-7 he says that we are to cast all our anxieties upon God “ because He cares for you ”. That is a very comforting thought . The other passage that I love to read over and over consists of words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations 3 ( RSV ): The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases , His mercies never come to an end ; they are new every morning ; great is Thy faithfulness . “ The Lord is my portion ,” says my soul , “ therefore I will hope in Him .” But the Bible also clearly teaches that there is another aspect of God ' s character that is equally important . It is the aspect that Satan wants us to ignore , and he has been very successful in prompting ministers to overlook it . After all , it doesn ' t produce popular sermons ! I ' m speaking , of course , of the holiness of God ( Leviticus 11:44 , Isaiah 6:3 and 1 Peter 1:16 ).
Grace or Wrath ?
The Bible teaches that God is perfectly holy . Because of this attribute of His character , He cannot tolerate sin ( Numbers 14:18 ). The Bible says God must deal with sin , and He does so in one of two ways either grace or wrath . All of us seem to know John 3:16 a very comforting verse about God ' s love for us . But few of us seem to be aware of the words recorded a few verses later in John 3:36 words taken from a sermon by John the Baptist : “ He who believes in the Son has eternal life , but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life , but the wrath of God abides on him .” The apostle Paul emphasized this point in his preaching and teaching . In Ephesians 5 he warns against immorality , covetousness , and idolatry , and then he adds this observation : “ Let no one deceive you with empty words , for because of these things , the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience ”
( Ephesians 5:6 ). We come under God ' s grace by placing our faith in Jesus and appropriating His atoning sacrifice for our lives ( 1 John 1:7 ). There is no salvation apart from Jesus ( Acts 4:10-12 ). Those who have rejected God ' s free gift of grace in Jesus are under God ' s wrath ( John 3:36 ), and they have no one to blame but themselves .
The Unchangeable God
Despite the Bible ' s clear teaching that our Creator is a God of both love and wrath , I never cease to be amazed at the number of pastors I run across who argue that the God of wrath is the Old Testament God and not the God of the New Testament . In the process they ignore another clear teaching of the Bible that is found in Malachi 3:6 where God , speaking of Himself , says , “ I , the Lord do not change ...” The New Testament confirms this important point in Hebrews 13:8 where it says , “ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today , yes and forever .” Nonetheless , Jesus seems always to be presented in sermons as the meek and gentle Saviour who is full of grace and forgiveness . That statement is true , but it is not the full picture . Jesus castigated the Pharisees , calling them “ hypocrites ”, “ serpents ” and a “ brood of vipers ”. Likewise , in His letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor , Jesus condemned the church at Thyatira for tolerating a false prophetess . He called upon the church to repent , and then He warned that if they refused to repent of their immorality , He would cast the offenders “ upon a bed of sickness ”, “ killing them with pestilence ” ( Revelation 2:22-23 ).
Types of Wrath
The Bible reveals several different aspects of the wrath of God :
Consequential Wrath This is what might be called “ sowing and reaping wrath ”. It is the wrath we bring upon ourselves when we reap what we sow through sinful living .
Cataclysmic Wrath As evidenced in disasters , 3