Is God An Angry God?- Understanding God’s Wrath
Is God an angry God? What does the Bible teach about God’s wrath? Janis takes a look at several biblical passages, and discusses what we can learn from God’s anger.
Is He An Angry God?
I’ve been thinking as I read the newspapers and listen to the news. I wonder what God is thinking? Is He pleased in what He is seeing? What is happening to Christians? To His people?
As I read through Isaiah I see God’s anger at His own people. I feel His wrath. His people are far from Him.
Listen to Isaiah 3:8 at a description of God’s people:
Their words and deeds are against the LORD defying His glorious presence.
God talks about how His vineyard has been ruined. And He blames the leaders.
Listen to Isaiah 3:14-15 from The Message:
God enters the courtroom.
He takes his place at the bench to judge his people.
God calls for order in the court,
hauls the leaders of his people into the dock:
“You’ve played havoc with this country.
Your houses are stuffed with what you’ve stolen from the poor.
What is this anyway? Stomping on my people,
grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?”
That’s what the Master,
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says.
Understanding God’s Anger
I am also reading J. I. Packer’s book Knowing God. And the chapter I am reading happens to be The Wrath of God. I said to myself, “Really Lord, you are trying to tell me something important here.”
Did you know that there are more references in Scripture to God’s anger than His love?
But we have as a people watered down God’s anger. It’s something we don’t want to admit. It is more delightful to talk about love, grace and forgiveness, isn’t it?
But as Packer tells us:
God is only angry where anger is called for … all God’s indignation is righteous.
Packer says:
God’s wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing that human anger so often is. (Page 136)
I know when I feel angry it is usually because I did not get my way, or someone hurt my friends, or I can’t figure something out.
God’s anger is not that way. It is judicial. God administers justice.
God’s Fiery And Righteous Judgment
Listen to Romans 2:5-8 from The Message:
You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
Fuel to the fire? Blaze hot and high? Fire!? That’s sounds angry to me.
And secondly we have a choice how to live and how to act. Jesus says to choose to come, to take His yoke upon us and learn who He is.
Praise the LORD He sent His Son to take care of those who would put their trust in Him.
Learning About God’s Wrath
However, we still need to learn more about God’s wrath to understand Him more.
God hates sin – yes He hates sin.
Therefore, we need to confess.
And we need to picture God’s wrath.
Listen to Hebrews 12:28-29 once again from The Message.
Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!
I can picture that. And in the New International Version God’s anger is called a consuming fire.
Are you open to learning more of Who God is – even when it involves His wrath?
Do you have a prayer request? Contact us now for prayer.
Janis Cox
In 2001, Janis gave her life to Christ. She started journalling as a way to organize her thoughts, feelings, and prayers. She is a member of two cross-Canada Christian writers’ groups, The Word Guild and Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship. She has had several articles and devotionals published.
Janis has been blogging since 2008. In 2012 she published an award-winning children’s book Tadeo Turtle. She ran a group blog called Under the Cover of Prayer for four years. Hope Stream Radio will be her first foray into broadcasting on a regular basis.
In addition to a career as a home-maker and teacher, Janis was a partner in a Canadian small business with her husband, Wayne. They currently reside in Ontario and winter in Mesa, Arizona. Janis and Wayne have three children with spouses and many grandchildren.
One of her favourite things is to tell others about what God has done and is doing in her life. Janis can be reached on her website, Growing Through God’s Word, on Facebook and Twitter.
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