| God's wrath is based on principle - not emotion.
Our Heavenly Father is the God of order, of holiness, of peace, of love and unity.
That which violates His principles is destroyed. His Law is the "irresistible Force " against which there is no "immovable object".
The term which characterizes what happens when God's Law is violated is wrath.
The administration of judgment against violating God's Law is called wrath".
God does not get emotionally fed up. He is longsuffering, not willing that any be lost.
But persistent refusal to repent results in judgment or wrath.
Israel (old testament) was under law. You break the law, you die.
We are under Grace. "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more".
Our message is about the beautiful, merciful, loving God that Jesus manifested.
He forgave even His murderers: " Father forgive them for they know not what they do".
However , the law of Seed Time And Harvest still applies.
This is a statement of law by our loving Heavenly Father with the implicit encouragement for us to sow to the Spirit.
There is to be only 1 day of Wrath when all that is evil will be destroyed. That day has not come yet.
When a person or nation breaks the law of God there is a consequence (harvest). I like to use the example of the law of gravity. When a person jumps off a cliff, the law of gravity will result in their death. God does not willfully judge them for their leap and cause their death. Neither does He willfully punish sin anymore. Christ suffered for the sins of all mankind past, present and future, once and for all. There is no double-jeopardy with God.
The diseases that plague humanity are the result of sin. The hatred and violence that plague us are a result of sin. The law of God regarding sin plays itself out just like the law of gravity. "The soul that sins, it shall die" . The character and nature of God are undisturbed by sin in all of man's rebellion. God was, IS, and forever shall be Love.
When the day of wrath comes it will be in the hands of Jesus. It will not be to judge sin per se. Rather it will be to judge men based on their treatment of Christ. The wheat/sheep (those who have received Christ ) will be gathered to Christ and the tares/goats (those who have rejected Christ ) will be destroyed.
In the white throne judgment when the books are open, there is no wrath - only a pitiful sight where those who rejected Christ see that the scales are tilted unceasingly against them. Even when death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, there is no wrath - just a final cleanup of all that is imperfect.
What we see in the world today is the result of a corrupted Gospel which has weakened the body of Christ causing us to yield our power to the enemy. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. We see his work all around us.
When the body of Christ begins to allow His Life to manifest, the world will turn to Him for Salvation ( Body , Soul , Spirit ).
Let's proclaim His victory, His life, His love!
"Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and His righteousness ."
God's wrath and the bark collar
In order to understand the Wrath Of God it may be useful to consider why a bark collar is used on a dog.
A compulsively barking dog is a nuisance. Some dog owners with such dogs will put a bark collar on them.
Why do they put the bark collar on their dog? Because they are angry with them or because they want to train them?
I suspect in most cases they put it on to train the dog not to bark incessantly.
Why do they want to stop the dog from incessant barking? Because they don't like them enjoying their barking fits or because it is good for the owners and their neighbors?
I suspect in most cases it is so there is peace in the home and with the neighbors.
I submit that we should see God's attitude toward Sin and treatment of it in the same way we see a dog owner's attitude toward and treatment of an incessantly barking dog.
"For the wages of Sin is Death"
"the Soul that sins, it shall Die"
"For which things' sake the Wrath of God comes on the Children of disobedience"
God is not angry with us any more that the dog owner is angry with his dog. God wants us to " Follow Peace with all men, and Holiness, without which no man shall See the Lord:" () .
In most cases there are both positive and negative incentives involved in corrective action.
The Wrath Of God is not emotional or indicative of God's anger. It is simply an aspect of how He maintains order in His creation.
A wise man will stand being corrected and will change his behavior in order to avoid negative consequences to his actions.
A fool will stand in his own obstinance and suffer the consequences of his sinful actions repeatedly.
Note that the bark-collar-wearing dog never feels any pain (negative consequences) if he doesn't bark. In the same way, a person who obeys God's laws does not experience the negative consequences of breaking them.
Stop barking and the pain will go away.
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