Scripture clearly represents God as wrathful. Yet this raises an important theological question: is wrath part of God’s essential nature, or is it His righteous response to sin? In the previous articles we saw that divine wrath is not opposed to divine love and that it provides comfort for those who suffer injustice. Still, the doctrine of wrath can stir deep anxiety in believers who struggle with the assurance of God’s love. If wrath belongs to God’s very nature, how can we trust that He will continue to love us when we fail? Biblical counselors must wrestle carefully with this question. Wrath is not an eternal attribute of God apart from sin, but the expression of His righteousness in response to it.
The Puritan Thomas Goodwin spoke of God’s wrath and judgment as His “strange work.” Like many before him, Goodwin contended that mercy is “more natural to him than all acts of justice itself that God does show, I mean vindictive justice” (quoted in Dane Ortlund. Gentle & Lowly. Crossway, 2020. 139). Mercy is God’s natural work, but wrath is strange in that it is not out of His direct nature but an exercise of His justice against opposition. Without sin and rebellion there would be no wrath. Justice would remain, but not wrath. Wrath is part of God’s response to the world because His justice requires that rebellion be judged. But were there no sin He would not exercise His justice in this way.
This is not merely a theological construct drawn from later reflection; it arises from Scripture itself. Take, for example, Lamentations 3:33:
for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. (ESV)
Speaking of God, this passage tells us two important things. First, God does afflict. He is the one who issues punishment. The temptation by some to make God’s wrath a metaphor or to depersonalize it is not consistent with Scripture’s teaching. God actively punishes the wicked. Multiple places in Scripture teach us that God deals out punishment upon unrepentant sinners. We’ve demonstrated this in previous posts. Second, however, this text tells us that God does not afflict from the heart. As Dane Ortlund writes:
Here in Lamentations, the Bible is taking us deep into God himself. The one who rules and ordains all things brings affliction into our lives with a certain divine reluctance. He is not reluctant about the ultimate good that is going to be brought about through that pain; that indeed is why he is doing it. But something recoils within him in sending that affliction. That pain itself does not reflect his heart…God is indeed punishing Israel for their waywardness as the Babylonians sweep through the city. He is sending what they deserve. But his deeper heart is their merciful restoration. (Ibid. 138)
Punishment is the active expression of a holy and righteous God against sin, but it is not natural to His eternal inner life as God. Punishment is not the natural delight of God’s heart.
This is similarly communicated in Hosea 11:8-9. Within this text God is preparing to punish Israel for her rebellion and idolatry. But when He moves to exercise His justice in wrath, He says, “My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender” (v. 8). Again, it is not His heart’s delight to punish the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11).
It’s important that I not be misunderstood here. God’s love and justice are not at odds with one another. God is “simple,” as theologians say. Meaning He is not composed of parts but a unified whole. God is all that He is all of the time. Nor am I suggesting that it is wrong or contrary for God to exercise wrath. His justice demands punishment for rebellion and sin. Wrath is part of God’s dealings with the world, but not part of His eternal life apart from sin. God is not eternally wrathful. God is eternally righteous and eternally loving, and it is His natural work to show mercy. As Goodwin says, “All his attributes seem but to set out his love” (ibid, 141). God does express wrath, but it is best to understand it as a “mode of divine justice” (Wynne, Jeremy. Wrath Among the Perfections of God’s Life. T&T Clark, 2010).
Many Christians struggle in their security before God because they fear that His justified anger at their sin will lead to condemnation. They worry that God cannot truly be merciful and forgiving towards them. Scripture tells us, however, that God will not always be angry (Ps. 103:9). God is “slow to anger” but He is “abounding in steadfast love” (Ps. 103:8). He is, as our pastor says, “trigger happy with mercy.” He is eager to show mercy. And because His eternal nature is not predisposed to be wrathful we have every reason to believe Him when He says “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). God poured out His wrath upon the Son such that those who are united to Him have nothing left to fear (Rom. 5:8-9). Wrath is the exercise of God’s justice, but He is not eternally wrathful. We can hope in His character as we come to Him in repentance. Wrath is part of God’s dealings with the world, but not part of His eternal life apart from sin.
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