What do YOU think about GOD?
The Bible is unequivocal when it speaks about what God thinks of the wicked. For example Psalm 11:5 "The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth" and Psalm 7:11 tells us the Lord is "angry with the wicked every day." The phrase "with the wicked" is supplied in contrast to the righteous. This is the case throughout Scripture; Abraham said to God when he was about to destroy Sodom for its sin in Genesis 18:23 "wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked."
There is therefore biblical evidence that because of the sin and wickedness of mankind as a whole and men and women as individuals, God is a God of wrath. In Psalm 59:13 we read the inspired prayer of David; "Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth..."
God demanded punishment for sin because he is a just God. If God is described as a God of wrath, how can the same God be a God of love; I John 4:16 "God is love." How can he be both just and forgive sin? It is through Christ, Romans 3:26 "...that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." The answer to these important questions is found in John 3:16 "For God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
In John 3:16 both the wrath of God and the love of God are brought to bear on the Lord Jesus Christ. According to Isaiah 53:10 God made Christ's soul and "offering for sin". The wrath of God was poured out on Christ as he hung on the cross of Calvary, making a full payment of the sins of those who will accept, and be saved. This then is how God can say; "whosoever believeth in him should not perish..."
All mankind will one day know that God rules (Psalm 59:13). You will either admit it under the heavy hand of his wrath or you will bow to his grace and accept his offering for sin in Christ. John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
A. Dunlop (pastor)
