Are The Grace Of God And Wrath Of God In Conflict?

Are The Grace Of God And The Wrath Of God In Conflict?

The biblical answer is no.

Rather than being in conflict, God's wrath and God's grace are complimentary of each other.

The Bible speaks of God's wrath as the process of purifying the earth from all that is evil, sinful, and hurtful, and creating a new earth that is free from all that is unrighteous and ungodly...an earth where there is no more sorrow, pain, death, tears, etc...

It is a new earth that reflects his love.

It is an earth where everyone is loved and everyone loves.

God's wrath is motivated by his love.

God's wrath is an expression of his love.

God is love, and love does not delight in evil.

Therefore, in his loving wrath, the Bible speaks of God removing all that is evil, ungodly, unrighteous, sinful, and wicked from the earth, thus creating an earth that is peaceful and pure...the earth we all long for deep inside our hearts.

The problem for us is we, the human race, are part of the source, along with Satan, of all that is evil on the earth.

Our hearts are where sin resides.

The heart of mankind is sinful, wicked, evil, impure, unrighteous, unkind...and the list goes on and on.

Therefore, for God to remove all that is sinful from the earth, purifying it so that the earth reflects only his love, he not only has to remove all that is sinful, but he also has to remove sinners in his judgment/wrath...which is all of us.

But God is love...it is not his heart to remove sinners from the earth.

His heart longs for a relationship with us on the earth.

That is why we were created...to be in a love relationship with God.

So what did he do?

Paul, in Romans, tells us the human race, everyone, is sinful, are sinners, and under God's wrath, deservingly so.

That is why God gave the Ten Commandments...so we would recognize our sinful state and trust Jesus who took God's wrath for our sins upon himself.

Paul teaches in Romans that "God demonstrates his own love for us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

This is the grace of God in action...God's grace (Jesus dying for us) taking upon God's wrath so that we could be reconciled to him in a loving relationship.

That is love!

The book of Romans explains in detail God's love demonstrated in his grace.

Romans 1-3:20 teach us the entire human race is ungodly, sinful, sinners...deserving of judgment and wrath.

Yet Romans 3:21-8:17 teach us that God, through his grace freely given to us in Jesus, justifies the ungodly when they believe...when they trust Jesus...when they place their faith in Jesus, and then his wrath is removed from us and he becomes our loving Father...which is the desire of his heart.

Romans teaches us that those who have faith in Jesus are declared righteous by God, at peace with God, under no condemnation (wrath, judgment) from God.

As a result, he does not see us as ungodly, unrighteous, or sinful.

We are no longer sinners in the eyes of God, but we are saints...made holy, clean, and pure by the blood of Jesus.

According to Romans, his Spirit lives in us...he gives us a new heart that contains his love (Romans 5:5).

So what about those who reject God's grace freely given to us in Jesus?

Paul is very clear about this in Ephesians 5:6 and Colossians 3:6.

Paul teaches that God's wrath will come upon those who are "sons of disobedience," which are those who have not come to faith in Jesus.

They will not remain in God's kingdom or live on the new earth, but they will perish in God's wrath.

However, it is not too late for someone to come to faith in Jesus...to receive God's of gift of grace freely given to us in Jesus (Romans 5:17).

The Bible teaches that now is the day of salvation...now is the day of grace.

The Bible teaches us to not hear about God's grace in vain...ignoring it by not coming to faith in Jesus (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Today could be your day to come to faith in Jesus.

And how do you do that?

Here is a simply prayer that may help you:

"God, I am beginning to understand just how much you love me. You desire to be in a loving relationship with me. Yet I also understand that I am sinful, a sinner under the wrath to come when you remove all that is sinful and all sinners from the earth...when you purify the earth where nothing remains but your love. Because you love me so much, Jesus took my sins upon himself...you took my wrath...my judgment...my death. As a result, you are no longer counting my sins against me. Today, I place my faith in Jesus...I receive your grace...your forgiveness...your righteousness. I am no longer under your wrath, but now I am your dearly loved son/daughter. You are my loving Father. You love me greatly and have forgiven me completely! I believe Jesus rose from the dead. I believe he is now living in my heart by his Spirit. I believe Jesus will one day return and establish your kingdom on earth. I am now a citizen of that coming kingdom, and one day I will live on the new earth. Thank you God for your grace which you have given me in Jesus. Your grace is amazing!"