For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18 KJF)
The truth is that Christ delivered us from this wrath of God that is to come. But the deliverance that Christ gives us is a conditional deliverance, that is, we will only be free if we are with Christ.
In short, the truth is that God is angry right now!
The bible says not only angry, but furious in his anger, this anger is worse than any sentence.
At first glance, the only reason God's wrath does not destroy us, annihilate our existence at this very moment, is called Jesus Christ.
He has given us the time of His grace and mercy.
It is by the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions do not fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22,23 KJF)
In short, hell has its mouth open.
And what prevents us from being devoured by him is the rescuing grace of Christ.
A simple reading of the Holy Scriptures is enough to see the continuous presence of God's wrath in the world of men.
And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, that he may punish the nations with it; and he will rule them with a rod of iron; and he treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of Almighty God. (Revelation 19:15 KJF)
Although sometimes He abandons men who stubbornly refuse His help, removing His restraining and protective hand from them, and allows them to suffer the natural consequences of their sins (Rom 1:24,28).
Finally, biblical records demonstrate that when sending his righteous judgments on men, God makes use of various instruments, as well as angels, men, forces of nature, plagues, diseases and accidents.
In this way, his manifestations of anger have two aspects, one historical and the other eschatological.
Thus, although at present it is being revealed in the experience of those who distance themselves from God's truth, there still remains a future and final manifestation that will occur at the coming of the Lord and the final judgment.
The wrath of God in the Old Testament. The text of the Old Testament is full of information about divine wrath. Patriarchs, kings and prophets described it.
An analysis of its narratives and prophecies makes it clear what caused it, what its effects were on those who received it and the time in which it manifested itself.
The Causes of God's wrath. When considering the theme “The wrath of God” in the OT, it is clear that there are basically two causes.
In most occurrences it is caused by human actions that violate the covenant.
So also because of man's inhumanity towards his fellow man.
The breaking of the alliance. At first, making an alliance was the way found by the ancient world to form broader relationships that guaranteed greater security.
And this entire procedure provided the cultural context in which the covenant between God and Israel was formulated.
Such a covenant, made at Sinai – although it was unique in the sense that it did not occur with any other nation and placed Israel in a special relationship with God – corresponds to the pattern of this type of treaty.
It will occur by divine initiative as an act of sovereign grace (see Dt 4:13, 23, 32-40; 29:13) with a people that he himself redeemed.
And it stipulated, on the one hand, that God had adopted Israel as his people and that he would therefore protect and bless them richly and, on the other, that Israel would be holy to him (Lev 19:2; 11:44; 20:7,26) and obedient (see Exodus chaps. 20-24).
If they fulfilled their part they would enjoy God's favor and blessings (Dt 7:12-24; 28:1-13), but if they were rebellious they would receive curses (Dt 28:15-68) and God's wrath (Dt 6:10-19).
On the other hand, it is theologically significant that, in the OT, whenever a term for wrath refers to God, the divine name used is Yahweh, the covenant God (Ex 32:1-10; Deut 11:16-17; 2 Re 24:2).
Thus demonstrating the intimate association between God's wrath and Israel's historic covenant of faith (Am 3:2).
Thus, it is in this context of covenant theology that God's wrath in the OT must be understood.
Inhumanity. In Amos 1 and 2, nations are condemned for crimes against humanity.
Thus, while Israel and Judah would be punished for sinning against the revealed will of God, the other nations would be punished because they acted in disagreement with the natural light that all men possess.
They transgressed universal principles of morality and justice, which were written in the conscience of all people (cf. Rom. 2:14-15), being part of the universal morality of the human species that were from the beginning communicated through the divine Word, explicitly ordained (Rom 1:18-20).
God reproves them not for waging war, not even for trading slaves, but for their excessive cruelty towards the populations they had conquered.
He condemns the furious destruction and passion to humiliate, the suppression of all hope for the future of the country occupied by his troops, the complete elimination of opponents.
Even those nations that were used by God to punish his rebellious people will suffer his wrath due to their excesses in their mission to punish.
The effects of God's wrath.
There are two types of punishments.
The first refers to those that are natural consequences of acts of sin (Job 4:8; Ps 9:15; 94:23; Pr 5:22).
This can be seen in the poverty that results from laziness (Pr 6:9-11) and the ruin of the family due to drunkenness (Pr 23:21).
They often persist in accompanying man even when he repents and is forgiven, although there are situations in which they are softened or neutralized by the means that God has made available to us.
The second are the penalties imposed by God as judgment when sin is punished by a direct act of God.
Such as: the Flood (Gn 6-7), destruction by fire and brimstone (Gn 18:21-22; 19:23-25), war (Lv 26:17); the pestilence (Lev 26:25); exile (Lev 26:33); etc.
Noah's ark in the flood - Genesis 6 and 7
The Wrath of God in the New Testament.
In short, the focus of the New Testament message is the love of God manifested in the gift of Christ (John 3:16; Rom 5:8), to become one with us and die for us.
However, alongside this focus, the reality of God's wrath can also be perceived.
The arguments of the gospels, in accordance with the apostolic letters and the Apocalypse, point out what attracts God's wrath and the effects it has on men, as well as its manifestation in the events of history and its eschatological meaning.
The cause of God's wrath in the New Testament.
When approaching the theme of divine wrath in the NT, God is seen as the Creator of all (Rom 1:18-25).
The root cause of divine wrath is sin!
But what is sin?
In short, it is any lack of conformity with God's law.
On the other hand it is more than that because the law may not embody all that God's character is.
Thus sin is everything that contradicts the character of God, is an opposition to God, is the breaking of the personal relationship with God.
Therefore, sin is an action (1 John 3: 4), but also a state of will and personal condition that opposes God and his will (Rom 7:14; 8: 6-8).
So if there were no God nor the possibility of a relationship with Him, there could be no sin.
Therefore, in essence, sin is, from the Greek, asebeia (impiety – Rom 1:18) and covers a great diversity of human dynamics.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Rom 1:18
Or, as Paul described it, “everything that does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).
Thus, the awakening of God's wrath in the new testament is sin, God through Christ freed us from the slavery of sin, and when we practice it again God is angry because he gave His Son to free us from sin (Heb 10: 29).
The effects of God's wrath in the NT.
In short, the consequences of God's wrath can be seen basically in the human nature, impious and perverse and in continuous distancing from God (Rm 3:9-18).
Therefore, in the act of God abandoning men, allowing them to follow their own passions and receive the inevitable consequences of their sins (Rm 1:20-32) and in the application of punishments (Jude 7).
The nature of children of wrath.
The first effect of God's wrath on us is that we are (without Christ) “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3).
Thus the expression “children of wrath” is a Hebraism and means that we are worthy of wrath and are subject to it, while “by nature” means by birth.
By birth we are all children of wrath.
We do not immediately become, we are.
This text does not say that we are born into this world in a state of innocence and neutrality and that then, because of sin, we become sinners and then incur the wrath of God.
Finally, he says that sin is found in man as an innate principle, and that we were born into this world under the wrath of God.
Divine attitude of delivery.
The last verses of the first chapter of Romans describe humanity abandoned by God and the scene is terrible (Rom 1:28-32).
After discussing the impiety and perversion of men in their successive departure from God, and their refusal to respond positively to God's revelation, deifying human reason and reaching the point of madness in the most corrupt form of idolatrous practices (Rom 1:18-23 ).
In conclusion, the apostle uses the expression “God handed them over” three times. His words are:
“Therefore God gave such men over to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own heart” […]
“God gave them over to infamous passions;” […] God gave them over to a reprehensible mental disposition” […] (Rom 1:24-32).
This delivery did not originate the moral condition, as this condition already existed.
They did not slide down this path because God abandoned them or induced them to sin, rather God let them go unchecked along the path they were already on.
Source:
https://bibliaseensina.com.br/a-ira-de-deus/
