In the past months, we've had a lot of questions concerning God's wrath. Matching God's nature as Good and how the Bible attributes anger to him also.
Tonight, we will be explaining what exactly God's wrath/anger means.
What is Wrath?
Wrath is often translated as extreme anger, fierce anger, indignation, punishment or vengeance.
Another definition of wrath is that it is a response to perceived wrong and injustice.
Anybody can express wrath. And since anger is an emotion, wrath is also an emotion.
As we all know, God is not an emotionless God, He feels just like us. In fact, it is because He feels that we can feel. Now, this doesn't mean that God's expression of emotions with regards to situations is the same as man's. In the fall, a lot of things changed. Most of the Godlike attributes man inherited at creation became tainted. This is why the expression of emotions by man is different from God's.
The wrath/anger of us humans is not to be compared with God's. When we think of anger in our own human sense, it is difficult to reconcile God to such.
This is because human wrath is most times misplaced, unholy and unjust. So our standard cannot be the standard for God's wrath.
I am not angry. I wish I could confront some thorns and briers! Then I would march against them for battle; I would set them all on fire,
Isaiah 27:4 NET
What we term as God being angry with us is not what is anger is (basically).
I'm not angry. I care. Even if it gives me thistles and thornbushes, I'll just pull them out and burn them up. The Message
This explains it better.
When we hurt God (which man has done so well from the fall), He doesn't stop caring.
"Oh! I sinned. God is angry with me"
God is not!
"But the Bible says God has wrath"
Yes. We are getting into what that means
God's wrath is not an uncontrolled passion/emotion as we see in a man.
Far from it
So what then is the Wrath of God?
It is His necessary, just and righteous retribution/judgment against sin.
It is God's Holiness (His nature) stirred into activity against sin (nature)
So we can say that God's wrath is His divine being's response to Sin (nature). Like a natural response. It is not activated based on sin in activity.
So God's wrath is not incurred upon me every minute. When I lie, He is angry When I fornicate, smokes remove from His nose. Nah. Far from it
God's wrath is the natural response of sin; the nature that was activated at the fall of man.
Natural response. Cause and Effect. It wasn't a decision made by God after the fall
It is a decision from His Holiness which is the foundation of everything.
So when we say things like God is sending people to hell at the judgement, this is wrong. SIN is what sends people to hell and this is where the gospel comes in.
Often times, we hate to preach topics like this or make statements like I'd rather preach on Grace than talk about sin (I say this too. I'm comfortably on this chair).
While our focus is on God's Grace, love and mercy revealed in Christ to man, we should not forget that the message of the Gospel begins with a statement about the wrath of God which is a natural response to Sin.
If man did not fall, no wrath. If the wrath of God wasn't activated at the fall, then there wouldn't be a need for this Gospel we preach.
Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
I've been thinking a lot if someone came and told me "God's wrath in revealed against your ungodliness" while I was a sinner, how would I have felt? Of course, they would have been right but what would have been my response. For the far gone ones maybe a feeling of indifference
Whatever is said is the truth but it is a hard one. I don't know what my response to it will be. I also know it is not something I'm telling to an unbeliever (Except the Holy Spirit puts hand in my mouth).
While I'm not so sure yet on when this conversation should be had, I feel like it really should be had.
You see, most of the questions we've all had about God and His character, it stems from not knowing exactly what we've been saved from.
We do not know the depth of man's sin and the wrath incurred thereof, which we deserved.
How do we understand Grace completely, if we do not know the law (our rightful punishment inside of it)?
It is why certain things happen and we are asking God why He did them.
"God why?"
God, why what?
More like "Sin why?"
Or better put "Man why?"
As I grow in this faith, I'm coming to understand that a lot of us do not know the debt Christ paid.
We sing it o
"My Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay"
But we don't fully understand the terms and how bad that debt was. Don't know if anyone feels this way also.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23 NET
Adam's rebellion brought sin into the world. Every man born in the Adamic nature inherited the new addition to his genetics, sin.
Every one of us, we were guilty. Every single person. Not one left
The biblical order for the Gospel is always first the warning of danger:
Man had sinned and sin has been judged from that which all things were built upon (righteousness). The judgment also known as the wrath of God declares man not good enough for God's greatness. Man is condemned to eternal death
But this is not where it ends, it follows immediately with God's escape plan, the means of pardon.
They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:24 ERV
Hallelujah
So here is the progression
Before we can truly understand what Grace is we must first understand the wrath of God
Before we can understand Christ's death, we must first understand that it was man's sin that necessitated it.
Before we can fully grasp God's mercy, love and Graciousness, we have to first see and admit man's rebellious, sinful and guilty ways.
In fact, Romans is ordered in this way. Paul's letter to the people In Rome was structured in this manner
If we do not see anything wrong with the Adamic nature and Adam's rebellion, then we cannot understand God's wrath. And ultimately, we would not think we need any saving
Because, Saved from what?
So far, we've established that the wrath of God is not God having an uncontrollable rage or losing His temper over everything we do
(God is actually very patient with man. His patience is why this world still exists as it is)
It is also not vindictive bitterness
From everything we've shared, we've seen that
God's wrath was created/incurred/brought into activation by sin (as revealed in nature)
It is the same way with what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to let people see his power. But he patiently endured those he was angry with—people who were ready to be destroyed.
Romans 9:22 ERV
Next:
The wrath of God is everlasting
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But those who do not obey the Son will never have that life. They cannot get away from God’s anger.”
John 3:36 ERV
While God created an escape plan, righteousness demands a payment for the debt man incurred when he sinned.
For those of us that ask, why can't God just step in and we start over again
Or cancel the whole Adamic sin for a fresh start.
There is no bribery and corruption when it comes to righteousness. You can only find justness here
For anyone to be removed from this wrath (rightfully deserved), the dues had to be paid (in full)
There is no other way outside of this
Also this due, only one person was able to pay it to cancel the debt.
Only one and that's Christ.
This means that no matter how good you are, no matter how much you obey the law. If Christ had not come, none of these things count. Because the debt is not owed as a result of deeds but a nature man activated.
Now, we will ask, what of those who are not privileged to know God. Are they just condemned like that?
This makes God angry because they have been shown what he is like. Yes, God has made it clear to them. There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all that makes him God. But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made. So people have no excuse for the evil they do.
Romans 1:19-20 ERV
No excuse whatsoever
All men have evidence of God, From philistine to Gentile to Igbos to Yorubas to Egyptians
God has been revealed to all men. Our response to this revelation is largely in our hands
Off the sermon
In Romans 1, we see that Paul was also addressing Sin as in deeds. ( People have no excuse for the evil they do)
This is because the revelation of God shown to man is very much perfect. It doesn't just save man from His Adamic nature, it is so powerful that it stops production from that Adamic nature. Can that which has ceased to exist give birth?
No!
If we say the Adamic nature is dead, then we cannot bear its fruit. Only that which is alive can birth.
Again, there will be no excuse for evil
So God's wrath is reserved for the ungodly which is every man basically
Now, here is where it gets sweet for us
God's wrath is Justified in Christ and restrained from the godly (those who believe in Christ)
We just said every man deserved sin and became ungodly automatically, no thanks to Mr. Adam
So how did we move from ungodly to godly?
The word we will be examining today is
Propitiation
I love this word so much.
I'm an Anglican so I practically grew up hearing this word every Holy Communion service. In fact, that part of the Liturgy, they are meant to pick one of 4 prayers (scripture) but I love the last one so much. So so much
" Hear what Saint John says:
If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 2:1
I also loved the sound of this in Yoruba
"Ohun si ni etutu fun ese wa.."
Means he is the Propitiation for our sins
But you see, I never understood the full effect and meaning of those words until a few years ago. Also, in that prayer, as quoted from 1 John 2:1, there is an emphasis on Christ being Righteous.
There is a reason
I will come to it and explain as I've come to understand.
Back to Propitiation
This word is used just 6 times in the bible but it is a great blessing for man.
To propitiate simply means to turn away wrath by offering a gift
He was given as an atonement for our sins.
Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And he is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.
1 John 2:2 ERV
Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. I love how simplified this is. Jesus is the offering/gift given to turn away God's wrath FOREVER
So when we talk about God's wrath, for the believer in Christ, it is just a reminder of how much we should cherish this Grace we have received. It is not something to be bothered about
It is a call for thanksgiving. That we deserved something and God Himself found a way to make sure we didn't get it.
Because Jesus died, Justice has been served. Because Jesus made Himself the Propitiation, God's wrath is turned away Forever (not on and off or for some days. Forever!). Because Jesus died, Grace and Mercy is now available. Man is no longer the one who is come short of God's Glory/Greatness
This offering brought about an elevation back to a standard.
As real as God's wrath is, we see even how more powerful God's love and mercy is
So now when we see people ask questions
"Why didn't God just do xyz?"
"Why can't God just do abc?"
Our answer should be:
God already did more than the abc and xyz. He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins
He died in our stead
There is nothing more than can be done.
God did the highest that can be done for me already
And it is perfect!
So when we say Paid in Full? It means exactly Paid in Full
Now, what happens with those of us that believe but we are still burdened with guilt especially cos of our sin struggles
I think every believer has been here at some point in their lives.
This feeling that God is angry at me and foaming in the mouth because I did something
Hmmm... Of a truth, God hates sin. In fact, He doesn't like it when we sin
But God is not angry at you. Even while we were in the world, God's anger wasn't at us. God's wrath is revealed against Ungodliness and unrighteousness which is basically a sin
God's wrath is not revealed against man. No!
The only emotion God has revealed towards man is LOVE. And this love was revealed while we were yet in sin
See, if you will discard everything I have ever told you on this platform, you see this one? Tight it to your chest.
God loves you, dieeee (literally, cos He died for you)
I understand you have sin struggles
I understand sometimes it weighs you down
But you see, it is time to stop focusing on your sin struggles and allowing it to bring fear of condemnation (God's wrath)
On Propitiation...
Scripture says He is YOUR advocate in Heaven. In the court of law, they will say the accused is duly represented by Barrister abc
So in another lingo, Christ is your representation in Heaven. If I send somebody to represent me in a meeting, it means that if you see them, you have seen me. This is to say if Jesus is our representation, then if you've seen Him, you have seen us.
And what is the key representation note?
Jesus Christ, THE RIGHTEOUS
Gloraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!
You and I, we are duly represented as RIGHTEOUS in Heaven. Even with our sin struggles
So don't ever see yourself as less or think that you deserve God's wrath
Well, you did but not anymore. Someone was offered on your behalf. By your belief that He truly did this for you, you accepted Him as your sacrifice and representation in Heaven.
The message of God's wrath is incomplete without the message of God's Grace
Does it now mean we should farabale and kukuma sin in the eye of the carton because we are duly represented in Heaven as Righteous? I can see Apostle Paul spitting out like a correct Igbo man as He says God forbid
Another translation for the Greek phrase Μη
γενοιτo is :
By no means! Let not such a thing be mentioned or thought of
Igbo people will say Alueme!
The message of Grace is not licensed to sin. It is freedom from it and its hold in our lives
For whatever it is we are struggling with, God knows. He knew way before. This is why the Holy Spirit is here to help us.
That which we've received is a complete package. We are not just saved from that which we deserve, whatever grip sin had over us is also removed. We are made slaves to righteousness.
When we say Paid in Full, it is not because we want to speak English. Jesus really did this for us.
I remember this hymn:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from I'm Manuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stain
Every stain of guilt was dealt with completely.
For those who are not saved, we must note that they are subject to the wrath of God as deserved.
Now, more than ever we must go all out and show them this which we have freely received. Preach the Gospel.
There is no other name under heaven given whereby men must be saved.
Tell men about this name.
