“ 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” -Romans 5:6-11
In the modern Western world, the concept of the wrath of God feels archaic, and possibly “blasphemous” considering the merciful and kind nature of Jesus. Many churches refrain from discussing the topic. Some will mention it, but admit its awkwardness or lead with a disclaimer of its nature. But God does have a wrathful side. It is not in opposition to the New Testament or the sacrifice of Jesus. Actually, the wrath of God actually explains the reason for why Jesus’ sacrifice was required, at all. The holiness of God reacts strongly to sin. However, in our humanity, we often excuse our sin as a form of a personality flaw. But sin is sin. And it has devastating consequences that last for generations.
It has helped me to see the beauty of God’s wrath, because it is the anger behind His sense of justice. It’s as if Satan was the original SA-er - stealing the innocence and purity of God’s creation. No one would blame a father if he went after his child’s molester or rapist, within his own means. I realize that in the real world, we have a justice system and legal protocol, but for the argument’s sake, a father’s anger - his wrath - over this wrong would indeed be justified.
Maybe the concept of God’s wrath makes us nervous, weary, or afraid, because if we admit that what the Bible says is true, then we would have to admit that we are subject to God’s wrath as well. Back to the analogy…if a victim of abuse became an abuser themselves, they then would have to be held accountable for the wrong they did to others. If there is no intervention, even the victim could become guilty as the perpetrator. And sin’s presence is that in our lives.
Thank God for Jesus’ intervention! God created us and wants us as His children. When the abuse of sin touched our lives, also infecting us to become prone to enacting its own variants of abuses, God wasn’t mindless to let it be. This is where God’s wrath meets His love. In His desire to save us, He paid for our penalty. But simply paying for our sin wasn’t enough. That would be like saying a rapist only has to pay the victim’s family a certain price and expecting no retaliation or consolation. What heals a wound is repentance and change.
And this is where Jesus comes in. He paid for our sin, and in our recompense, He enabled an empowerment of a Different Nature to rule our hearts. This would be - in comparison to the analogy - having been abused and learning a new way of thinking and doing things so one doesn’t pass their hurts onto another or commit the same atrocity as what was done to them.
The beauty of God’s wrath is that it reaffirms sin’s destructive nature and God’s goodness being repulsed by it. It reveals God’s love as He doesn’t want us to perpetuate the nature of the one who deceived us and stole our innocence. He wants us to be made whole, pure, and holy as He is. His wrath - coupled with His love - proves the perfect dynamic where He was not content to have His perfect remain marred by something so hideous. Ultimately, God’s wrath shows the protective side of a Father who desires justice against the one who devastated His children.
