Righteous Anger: Understanding the Necessity of God’s Wrath
In our modern world, the idea of God’s wrath is often downplayed or ignored. It makes us uncomfortable. We prefer a God of pure love and mercy. But to ignore God’s wrath is to misunderstand His love, His holiness, and the very problem that the gospel solves.
God’s wrath is not a capricious, out-of-control rage like human anger often is. It is His settled, righteous, and necessary opposition to all that is evil. It is the just response of a perfectly good and holy God to that which destroys and corrupts His good creation.
The Target of Wrath: Sin and Evil
It is crucial to understand that God’s wrath is not directed at people first and foremost, but at the sin that enslaves them and the evil that defaces His world.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18, ESV)
God’s anger burns against ungodliness (the rejection of God) and unrighteousness (the harm that results from rejecting God). His wrath is not against “sinners” as a category of people to be despised, but against the destructive power of sin itself. It is the anger of a master artist toward vandals defacing his masterpiece, or of a loving father toward the addiction that is destroying his child.
The Expression of Wrath: Justice, Not Vengeance
God’s wrath is an expression of His justice. A judge who lets guilty criminals go free is not loving; he is unjust and corrupt. In the same way, a God who simply overlooked evil, injustice, and rebellion would not be good. He would be complicit.
His wrath is the necessary moral response of a perfectly just ruler to rebellion within his kingdom. It affirms that the world is not meaningless—that right and wrong are real, and that justice will ultimately be served.
Why We Need to Understand Wrath
Understanding God’s wrath is essential because:
1. It shows us the seriousness of sin. Sin is not a minor oversight; it is cosmic treason against a holy God.
2. It highlights our desperate need for a solution. We cannot talk ourselves out of this problem or work our way around it.
3. It makes the gospel make sense. The good news of Jesus is only truly “good news” when we understand the bad news from which it saves us.
Holy God, I confess that your wrath is a difficult thing for me to understand. Forgive me for minimizing your justice or thinking of sin as unimportant. Help me to see my sin as you see it, and in doing so, help me to see my desperate need for the salvation you offer in Christ. Thank you for being a God of perfect justice. Amen.
Reflection Question: Why is a God who only expresses love, but never justice, ultimately not good?