The Wrath of God
Romans 1:18

The wrath of God is continually misunderstood by man. Paul the apostle wrote the Romans a Gospel of grace to present the gift of salvation as the precious and valuable gift that it is. Paul begins his letter by proving that the entire world, Jew and Gentile alike, is guilty before God.

If it were not for God's grace and mercy to provide and reveal the way of salvation through His Son by faith, God would not only be just in destroying man but also obligated to do so because of His holiness.

Hopefully, as you read the simple truth about God's wrath, you will truly see the love of God and the gift of salvation for what it is: the most valuable and priceless gift ever given to man by God.

In Romans 1:18, Paul declares that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
The wrath of God is usually associated with the Old Testament because of the Noah flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc., yet the wrath of God is also very much a part of the New Testament.

In the epistle to the Romans, Paul uses the word "wrath" ("orge" in the Greek) twelve times. In the Old Testament, God's wrath is described well over 450 times, using various words. Allow me to share some of these picturesque words with you.

One of these words describe God's wrath as a nose that trembles and snorts in anger. Another as heat, poison, venom or rage. At this point, we must be careful not to think of God as some cantankerous little boy who will throw a fit if he does not get his way. We cannot make an extension of ourselves and call it God.
First, the word "wrath" in Romans 1:18 ("orge") comes from a word meaning "to swell", expressing God's attitude towards sin not a sudden rage. The only way we can understand the wrath of God is to first understand His holiness.

In Habakkuk 1:13, the prophet says, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look upon iniquity." This does not mean God does not see sin, but that He does not look upon it with approval. The first epistle of John tells us that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
We must understand that God's wrath is an absolute part of His nature just as much as love is. God's holiness demands the wrath of God and His wrath is a reminder of His holiness.

No man can charge God with being unfair or cantankerous. His wrath is used at times as chastisement to drive man back to Himself, such as David when he fell into adultery. Man has been under God's wrath since the fall, and has been in continuous rebellion against the revealed and expressed will of God, which is to repent from his sins by accepting Jesus as Savior.

Paul says that man is sinful, depraved, dead in trespass and sins by nature, and is a child of wrath. To the Romans he says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven as in the Noah flood, the Tower of Babel and the plague in Egypt that smote the first born, not to mention the wrath that is to come upon the entire world in the seven years of tribulation.

The wrath of God is towards the ungodly and unrighteous. The ungodly are those who are in a wrong relationship with God by not having their sins forgiven which is the obstacle between God and man. Consequently, they are also unrighteous, which refers to being in a wrong relationship with one's fellow man. Man cannot be right with man until he is right with God.

Man has held the truth of God in unrighteousness, pressing it down and changing it to a lie.

Nature attests to God's existence and is a witness to man's guilt; his very conscience tells him the difference between right and wrong. History tells man that Jesus was crucified almost two thousand years ago, as the Scriptures declared He would be, and resurrected with great power and glory. Yet man is willingly ignorant about God's creation and coming destruction of the world, mocking and scoffing saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Psalm 53:1 states, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God."

The Scriptures declare that God is a holy and jealous God: "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord" and "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
God must execute His wrath on sin. We have one of two choices: a person can choose to have God's wrath on him for his sinful nature and be damned for eternity, or he can accept the provision that God has made in His Son Jesus Christ. God not only placed our sins on Christ but He became literal sin that you and I might be made the righteousness in Him. Jesus drank of the cup of God's wrath as He cried out, "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken me?" In Psalm 22:3, he gives the reason: "but thou art holy."

As a parent's discipline is used to cause the child to see his wrong and turn from it, so the wrath of God is used to cause men to reflect on himself and sin. God and His Word, which is a form of love, will cause us to accept His concern and love for us.

Being man and God at the same time, Jesus reconciled us back to God by paying the debt no man could pay. Come and kiss the Son lest He be angry with you and you perish senselessly.

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