I recently heard a Christian leader say that “God is not angry with anyone”.

He went on to emphasize that God is a loving God who forgives. It certainly is true of God that He is loving & forgiving but He is also just, holy & righteous. The God of the Bible is slow to anger and rich in love (Psalm 103:8) but He justly has anger towards evil doers (Psalm 7:11, Rom. 1:18, 2:5, John 3:36…). It is not a bad thing for God to have wrath against ungodliness & unrighteousness of men. It is actually a good thing that God sees & knows all the wickedness that is taking place, because He has and will do something about it.

What has He done about it? The Father sent Jesus to destroy the works of the devil and take away our sins (1 John 3:5,8). Jesus bore the wrath of God for our sin on the cross (Romans 3:25). This is at the very heart of the gospel, that he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). The wrath of God is removed through Christ dying in our place. His perfect sacrifice for ours sins appeased God’s wrath & punishment of sin. When a person places their faith in Christ they are made right in God’s sight and God’s wrath for their sin is removed (Romans 5:1). But those who don’t believe in or obey Christ remain under the wrath of God (John 3:36). Those who don’t repent in response to God’s abundant goodness are storing up wrath for themselves on the day of judgement (Romans 2:5). I am aware that this is not a popular message to preach but it is a part of what gives the gospel it’s thrust. Those who don’t understand or reject the bad news of sin, wrath, judgement & hell will not grasp the depth of how good the gospel really is.

God is so good & just and therfore He must punish sin. A judge who allows a criminal “off the hook” after they have committed rape, murder, or molested children… would not be a good judge. Most people would agree with that. A good & just judge would make a good & just decision concerning such a person. And God being perfectly just & abundantly good punishes sinners and never sweeps sin under the rug. Some might ask ‘well isn’t He a God of love & forgiveness’? Yes, He is a God of love & forgiveness and that is why God sent His Son into the world. For God so loved the world that He gave His Son (John 3:16) to provide forgivness of our sins & eternal life. Jesus came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). He saves us from the penalty of sin, which is death, and He grants us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). The glorious event of the cross displays the love of God & the justice of God. Justice was satisfied, wrath & punishment for sin was satisfied. And His love for you & I was displayed (Romans 5:8).

Saints, don’t be ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). May we not water down the message of the gospel in order to make it less offensive to unbelievers. Many will reject the message but there will certainly be those who recieve it & believe unto salvation. Also, let us represent Christ well in our attitudes when communicating gospel truth. Christ is full of grace & truth (John 1:18). Be sure that you know Christ as the one who is full of grace & truth and be sure that you represent Him as the One who is full of grace & truth.