Nature of God — part 3

As many of you know by now, if you’ve been reading my blog posts The Nature of God and The Nature of God – part 2, I am in a Bible study that is studying Romans and I’m not enjoying it.  We’re in Romans 9 and the lesson is on the nature of God.  The list reads like we are still under the Old Testament and Jesus never came!  A few of the attributes of God on the list just really bothered me so I have been blogging about them.

This next attribute on the list is:

• Wrathful – God hates all that is unrighteous, and He punishes all unrighteousness.  Whatever is inconsistent with His holy standard must ultimately be atoned for or consumed. (Romans 1:18; John 3:36; 2 Chron 19:2; Col 3:5-6; Rev 15:7)

This one really bothers me!  This is not the God Jesus came to reveal.  He is not a wrathful God in the sense that He punishes all unrighteousness…. He did that already on the Cross.  I don’t even understand the definition she gives for this “attribute.”  Jesus already made atonement and God doesn’t consume whatever is inconsistent with His holy standard.  What does that even mean??  He is no longer imputing our sins against us… not just us in the Church, but the WHOLE WORLD!  Let’s take a look at the Scriptures she gives to support this “opinion”…..

• Romans 1:18:  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…

This one seems to be a favorite when you are trying to prove God is wrathful.  But here’s another way to look at it:

Mirror Bible:  God’s passionate persuasion is uncovered from heavens perspective in sharp contrast to the foolishness of people who suppress and conceal the truth about their redeemed innocence while they continue to embrace an inferior reference of themselves.

 

Wrath in the Greek is orge meaning desire – as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind, passion.

Romans 4:15 tells us that the Law brings wrath.  Let’s look at the next Scripture:

• John 3:36:  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Jesus is talking to the Jews in this verse and if they didn’t believe in the Son they would remain under the Law and remember it’s the Law that brings wrath.

• 2 Chronicles 19:2:  And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.

This is Old Covenant… Jesus hadn’t come yet.  Jehoshaphat was under the Law and subject to the wrath that it brought for not obeying.  He had aligned himself with Ahab, by showing him friendship and assisting him in his war against the Syrians.

• Colossians 3:5-6:  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (6) For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

The wrath of God is for those (sons of disobedience) who have disobeyed God and broken his law. Faith in Jesus Christ saves us from the wrath of God.  Paul is talking about the old man (the man who walked under the law)… verse 7 says you also used to walk this way.  Remember the Law brought wrath against disobedience.

And the final Scripture used is Revelation 15:7 which we won’t even get into because I don’t know enough about the book of Revelation to teach from it on here.  But what I do know is this…..

• The Law brought the wrath of God upon disobedience to the Law’s commands
  • Romans 4:15:  because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
    • before the law wrath was not used of God except in Exod. 4:14, when the anger of the Lord burned against Moses – the lawgiver –
    • and in Ex 15:7, when the blast of God’s nostril (anger) threw the Egyptian army into the sea
    • of the 499 times His wrath is shown (after the Law is given) only 51 of those times is against pagans outside of His covenant – again only after the Law

• God has destined us for salvation NOT wrath
  • 1 Thess 5:9-10: For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him

• Christ died for us… justifying us and saving us from the wrath that the Law brought
  • Romans 5:8-11 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (11) And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

• God in His kindness declared us righteous and freed us from the penalty of sin
  • Romans 3:23-24 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (24) Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 

• Jesus left off the term vengeance of our God when He preached in Luke 4
  • Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 
    • acceptable is dektos in Greek meaning accepted; describing what is welcomed because pleasing.

• Jesus rebuked His disciples for wanting to call down the wrath of God on “ungodly, unrighteous” people (those who wouldn’t receive Jesus)
  • Luke 9:54-55:  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

• God sends His blessings on the just and unjust…. on the evil and the good!
  • Matt 5:45: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

• God the Father was in Christ on the Cross reconciling the world to Himself
  • 2 Cor 5:18-19: And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
    • reconcile is to change from enmity to friendship

• Jesus released forgiveness for the world on the cross
  • Luke 23:34:  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots

• Jesus was the propitiation for our sins and for the WHOLE WORLD
  • 1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 
    • propitiation in Greek is hilasmos meaning showing mercy by satisfying (literally, propitiating) the wrath of God on sin

• God reconciled us from enemies to friends
  • Romans 5:10  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 

• God the Father’s love sent Jesus to show mercy for our sins by satisfying wrath
  • 1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

• Jesus made reconcilation for our sins — changing us from enemies to friends of God
  • Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.  

• While we were yet sinners… instead of releasing wrath on us, God the Father made us alive with Christ.
• He forgave ALL our sins
• AND He cancelled the Law (that brought wrath) nailing it to the tree.
  • Col 2:13-14  When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decree that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

Those are more than enough Scriptures to make us rethink the “wrathfullness” of God!  He is a good Daddy.  The Law brought His wrath under the Old Covenant to those who disobeyed it’s commands.  Jesus brought mercy, reconciliation, and forgiveness for ALL.

Let’s stop defining God’s nature by using Old Testament Scriptures…. Jesus is the Revealer.  What did He say about our Daddy?  That’s what we need to believe.

Ok…. next and last post on this series is God as a Jealous God…..

~Robin