If you told me you had a friend who was intensely angry at me, but if I was willing to talk to him, he would become my friend, I would take great pause. Before I had even met your friend, I would be forming an opinion about their temperament, character, and probable reaction to me based on the fact that one of the first things you’ve presented me is their anger. It might turn out that your friend is the nicest person in the world, yet that initial presentation will be hard for me to overcome.
There has long been a tendency in the evangelical church to begin a presentation of the need for personal salvation by presenting strongly and dwelling powerfully on the wrath of God that results in judgment. The goal of course is to move toward the Good News of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, but first we have to impress upon people the danger they face from the judgment of God’s great wrath. This approach has the virtue of not only being true but also being highly motivational if the threat is great enough. It is also a very strange way to try to introduce someone to what is at its heart a love relationship. “Come meet my angry friend who is planning on killing you. You’ll love him.”
The moment we start talking about avoiding this kind of approach, many experience a clutching fear of creeping liberalism and cheap grace. Are we unwilling to look at the tough parts of the Bible and the terrible consequences of our sin? Refusing to understand sin and its consequences is indeed dangerous. However, to truly understand our situation, and fully comprehend the grace & mercy that is being offered in Christ, people need a true introduction first and foremost to who God is before we talk about what they’ve done. A focus that starts with their sin & God’s anger presents a false picture of God.
How does God describe himself?
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
(Exodus 34:6-7)
God repeatedly describes himself as slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He emphasizes mercy, grace, forgiveness, and steadfast love. He is clear that there is judgment, but his emphasis is not there. Even when he had to bring judgment on his people, he still reminds them of the strength of his love over the length of his anger.
In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.
(Isaiah 54:8)
His anger is momentary, his love eternal. God consistently in both the Old and New Testaments describes himself as reluctant to judge and eager to love and forgive.
Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”
(Ezekiel 18:31-32)
Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
(Ezekiel 33:11)
Judgment of the wicked is a reality and one that God executes, but he makes it clear that because of his lovingkindness, his great desire is to see mankind redeemed.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9)
This should not be surprising when we remember that while we were still sinners, God so loved the world that he sent Jesus, who, once here, declared that he was not here to condemn but to save.
When the first great rebellion took place in Genesis 3, we do not see an angry God, but a God who speaks of redemption and deliverance. He clothes Adam & Eve and promises them the Messiah. Yes, there are severe consequences to their actions, and their sin is not downplayed in the least. God however is again focused on redemption because love is central to his being. God is love.
We do God a great disservice when we introduce him as an angry and vengeful God rather than a God that is abounding in love. Rather than fear that beginning with the love of God will somehow dilute the sense of danger we want to instill, we could realize that once we establish the goodness of God, our rebellion and sin take on a far more terrible tone as they are not merely rebellions against some cold law, but a betrayal of the One who loved so fully. Sin is no longer merely a rule violation, but a personal rejection and betrayal of one who loves us so fully.
I am far more convicted of things I do that hurt my wife or kids than when I get stopped for speeding. The consequences of betraying the relationship are far more impactful. If you read through the Old Testament prophets you see that God appeals regularly to this relational breach, often using marriage imagery and speaking of adultery. He presents himself not as a police officer pulling you over and asking you if you know why, but rather as a spurned spouse who has loved deeply. God’s wrath is powerful because it flows out of the rejection of his love. This resolves the tension some have in trying to understand how a loving God could have such wrath. God’s wrath is not opposed to or incongruent with his love, but an outgrowth of it, falling only on those who refuse the love & redemption offered freely.
We should preach the entire Gospel of God, but let us be careful in starting with an angry God intent on judgment. Let’s begin by making sure they understand that God is abounding in lovingkindness, that our sin, more than merely breaking some rules, has been a massive betrayal, and then complete the Good News by explaining the great love God has driven him to provide a way for us to return to him. That is the God of the Bible, the message of reconciliation, and the complete Good News of the Gospel.