We have all heard the phrase “the wrath of God” but many of us misunderstand what it means because few of us have actually seen it, yet.In order to draw a clear picture of what the phrase means it is helpful to contrast it to something we have all experienced, the wrath of man.The difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of man is significant but it also reveals a wide chasm between us and the holiness of Jesus Christ.
The Unrighteous Wrath of Man
The unvarnished truth is God does not have high regard for the inherent righteousness of man.“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64: 6).We might not like God’s assessment of our character but it does help explain why He thinks we need a Messiah.Jesus was without sin so whenever He became angry it was rooted in righteousness.Our anger is often rooted in sin and unrighteousness therefore it is frequently unjust and evil.
I have a tendency to get angry if I accidentally bang my head on a hard solid object and that has nothing to do with righteousness.It may have more to do with not being very smart as opposed to sin but the anger is nonetheless unjustified.I become angry when people point out my character flaws and being right does not immunize them from my wrath.I get mad when people fail to recognize my impeccable standards of perfection and don’t measure up to them.It also makes me angry when others expect me to live up to their flawed expectations.I get particularly irritated when I don’t get my way on certain things when I know I’m right, which is almost always, or when people don’t appreciate how humble and tolerant I am to put up with their mule-headed stubbornness and vanity.
The Righteous Wrath of God
Everything was fine in God’s creation until Adam and Eve vandalized the tree of the knowledge of good and evil like Bonnie and Clyde robbing a bank.God has no intention of spending eternity watching mankind abuse His creation and each other.He wouldn’t be much of a God if He were willing to lower His standards to mine or if He were willing to settle for something other than His own best effort.Neither would it be an act of mercy if He allowed us to spend eternity soiling ourselves.His wrath is a manifestation of His desire to return His creation to its original condition of perfection, for which we should be grateful.
We misunderstand the wrath of God if we think it is somehow related to intolerance, harshness or cruelty.A man who is offended might think it is righteous not to get mad, but to get even instead.God may get angry but He doesn’t have anyone He can get even with because we all fall so woefully short of His glory.Anybody who thinks God wants to get even with them lacks a correct perspective of how great He is and how insignificant we are by comparison.He is not sitting on His throne in Heaven in a mindless rage with blood vessels in His face ready to burst and steam coming out of His ears.God “is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3: 9).
God’s righteous wrath and anger is a response to lead mankind to repentance so we can enjoy the fullness of His creation through eternity.He doesn’t get angry because He is mean and wants to deny us blessings.Instead it is a reflection of His disappointment that we refuse to receive the best He has to offer, and shows the measure of His love and concern that we will fall short of the hopes and dreams He has for each one of us.
Rick Byland is the author of “No Fear:Moving Mountains and Slaying Dragons” by Strang Communications.He is a retired Lieutenant Commander (USNR) and a business owner in Southern California .
- Article length is 695 words.All quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.
- This article is original material and has not been reprinted.The author reserves the right to submit this article or a derivative to other publications at a future date.
