Tag Archives: angry

IS GOD ANGRY?

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This question has two answers, yes and no!

No! God is not angry with those He has redeemed. He was angry but no longer. He, Himself, bore the wrath we deserved for our rebellion. He came, in the person of His Son, to die in the place of sinners.

Jesus fully satisfied the wrath of the Father as the perfect substitute for the human race.

1 John 2:1-2 NLT
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

Romans 5:9 NIV
[9]”Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”

The Wrath of God
AN ESSAY BY
David Schrock
DEFINITION
“God’s wrath, in perfect harmony with all of his divine attributes, is the holy action of retributive justice towards persons whose actions deserve eternal condemnation.”

“On the cross, God the Son bore the full weight of divine judgment, even as he volunteered himself—in eternity and time—to drink the full cup of God’s wrath (Psa. 75:8). As we learn from his prayers in Gethsemane, there was no other way for wrath to be removed, but through his death on the cross (Matt. 26:39, 42). For all those who trust in Christ, this punishment is removed. For those who refuse Christ, God’s wrath remains (John 3:36; Rom. 2:6).”
(quoted from… https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-wrath-of-god/#:~:text=On%20the%20cross%2C%20God%20the,26%3A39%2C%2042).

The “no” answer, for all mankind, depends on every individual’s response to Jesus’ question.

Matthew 16:15 NIV
[15]  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

John 3:18 NLT
[18]  “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”

David recognised, in God’s dealings with him, how merciful God is towards those who fear Him.

Psalms 103:8-11 NLT
[8]”The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. [9] He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. [10] He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. [11] For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.”

Paul and Peter also commented on God’s patience with sinners.

1 Timothy 2:2-6 NLT
[2]”Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. [3] This is good and pleases God our Savior, [4] who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. [5] For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. [6] He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.”

2 Peter 3:8-9 NLT
[8] “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. [9] The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

God takes no pleasure in the death the wicked.

Ezekiel 33:11 NLT
[11]”As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?”

So great is His love for all mankind that He paid the price He demanded for our sin.

John 3:16 NLT
[16]  “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

However, God can do nothing for those who refuse His grace.

John 3:36 NIV
[36]”Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

And so, the answer to the question, “Is God angry?” is also “Yes.”

Psalms 7:11 NLT
[11] “God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day.”

Why is God angry with the wicked?

The Apostle Paul gives us the answer. In Romans 1, he charges the ungodly, those who reject and live without God, with what they have done with the truth.

Since Jesus is the embodiment of God’s truth, (“I am the truth”), whatever people have done to the truth, i.e., whatever God is, says, and does, they have done to Jesus.

1. They SUPPRESS the truth.

Romans 1:18 NLT
[18] “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who SUPPRESS the truth by their wickedness.”

“Suppress” means to forcibly put an end to; restrain; prevent the development, action, or expression of; prevent the dissemination of… the truth.

Wicked human behaviour deliberately squashes, pushes out of sight the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. How obvious it is that He is relegated to a nobody in most people’s lives.

2. They DENY the evidence of God in creation.

Romans 1:19-21 NLT
[19] “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. [20] For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. [21] Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks….”

The foolish and illogical theory of evolution is man’s futile attempt to argue God out of the universe. They deny God’s creative power by a “big bang” theory which only exposes their depraved minds. They reduce humans created in the image of God to animals who have no moral nature and are, therefore, not accountable to God for what they do.

3. They EXCHANGE God’s truth for a lie.

Romans 1:21-23 NLT
[21] “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. [22] Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. [23] And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”

Romans 1:25 NLT
[25] They TRADED the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

They create gods that resemble the creatures God made and give them attributes as wicked as their own wicked selves.

4. They PERVERT natural human behaviour by homosexual acts that deliberately contradict God’s order for male and female.

Homosexuality and all its spinoffs, is not an alternative lifestyle, as humans have foolishly decided, but deliberate disobedience to God’s holy laws. Homosexuality is the pinnacle of rebellion against God, explicitly undermining God’s creation ordinance and purpose for marriage. God instructed the first pair to multiply and populate  the earth. Homosexuality destroys God’s intention for a man and a woman to become one in marriage to reflect on earth the unity of the Godhead and to reproduce offspring as God intended.

5. They REVERSE truth and lies.

Romans 1:32 NLT
[32] “They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.“

So, all sin is the result of suppressing, denying, exchanging, perverting, and reversing the truth. To treat Jesus with disdain and ignore who He is, is to open the door to every form of rebellion against the truth.

God will reward rebellion with the judgment it deserves, the end result of every lustful desire. It seems to me, then, that at least part of God’s eternal judgment on sin, the lake of burning sulphur, will be the unfulfilled burning passions of sinful behaviour, culminating in unsatisfied sexual lust.

Romans 1:27 NLT
[27] “And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, BURNED WITH LUST for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.”

How does God judge human wickedness?

Romans 1:28 NLT
[28] “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.“

God gives them WHAT THEY WANT. His judgment is as simple as that! Written into every requirement is God’s just consequence for obedience and disobedience. He does not speak twice. If people refuse to obey, the consequence is automatic.

David felt the terrible consequences of his rebellion against God’s law when he stole Uriah’s wife and murdered Uriah to get her.

Psalms 32:3-4 NLT
[3] “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. [4] Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.”

Is God angry. Yes! He is angry with the wicked every day. He is angry because people treat the mercy He showed to sinners by sacrificing His own Son, with contempt.

Is God angry! No! His mercy toward repentant sinners is as high as the heavens are above the earth. He calls them His children, holy and beloved.

Where Was The Sacrifice?

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WHERE WAS THE SACRIFICE?

“That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. ’Who does He think He is? That’s blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins.’ Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, ‘Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,’ or to say ‘Get up and start walking?’ Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorised to do either, or both…’ He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: ‘Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it — got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way.

“The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous — and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, ‘We’ve never seen anything like that!'” Luke 5:21-26 (The Message).

Aha! Now it’s clear what the scribes and Pharisees were up to. They were not after Jesus because they loved His teaching or what He was doing. Far from it. They had a more sinister motive for following Him from one end to Israel to the other.

At this early stage in His ministry they had already recognised Him to be a threat to their cushy lives. Instead of applauding Him for rescuing a man from his miserable existence, they pounced on Him for “blasphemy”.

Well, from their point of view, it must have been exactly that. No man had the right to declare anyone else’s sin forgiven unless, of course, he was a priest and the offender had offered the appropriate sacrifice prescribed by the law. But Jesus was forgiving sin as though He were a priest — and where was the sacrifice? They were outraged at His audacity. Wouldn’t you be? But wait a minute. Jesus? Sacrifice? Makes you think!

Then He went and poured fuel on the fire by sending the man home, walking! That put the cherry on the top! He challenged them and they lost. He couldn’t do that unless He had the authority and power from God to heal a man. That meant that He also had the authority to forgive sins, and that pulled the rug from under them.

The people, on the other hand, loved what Jesus was doing. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by listening, watching and believing in Him. He was so different from their religious leaders who nit-picked about everything and added more and more petty rules to burden their lives. They were excited about what God was doing. They were not interested in theological skirmishes when they were seeing God at work in front of their very eyes.

But what about the paraplegic? It took the determined faith of his four friends to get him in front of Jesus but after that they could do no more for him. It was over to him. What would he do? Hearing Jesus say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ was easy. He didn’t have to do a thing — or did he? Even that took faith and prepared the way for the next step — ‘Get up and walk.’

But what did his sins have to do with his paralysis? As a Jew he was obliged to offer sacrifice for the forgiveness of his sins, but as a paraplegic it was impossible for him to do that. After years of being stuck on a sleeping mat, what a mountain of sin he must have carried on his conscience! But now he was being told that his sin was forgiven — and what’s more he felt it!

With an inner peace he had never experienced in his life, he could activate his unresponsive body in an instant in response to Jesus’ instruction, and that happened too! It took his faith to step into forgiveness and healing.

The scribes and Pharisees were dumbstruck. They had nothing to say to counter His visible proof of His claim — “Son of Man” — and they knew what that meant! But instead of fuelling faith, it only fuelled angry hatred and made them even more determined to do him in, if they could only find a way.

What do Jesus’ words and actions say to you? Do you say that He is the Son of God? It’s a question you and I will have to answer — eventually.

Truth!

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TRUTH!

“All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well He spoke. But they also said, ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since He was a youngster?’

“He answered, ‘I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, “Doctor, go heal yourself.” Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum. Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during those three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.’  Luke 4:22-27 (The Message).

‘Hey Jesus! Aren’t you treading on thin ice? That’s not the way to win friends and influence people!’

What was He thinking? Was that the way to cash in on His popularity? Why antagonise the people of His own hometown when He had the opportunity to gain a strong following from the ones who already knew Him?

But Jesus was not interested in popularity. He was continually sifting people’s hearts —   looking for followers who would stick with Him through thick and thin because they believed in Him and were convinced that He was the Son of God. He purposely said things to offend, not to be offensive but to expose their reactions.

He knew that “familiarity breeds contempt”. Because He was so well known to them, they would not examine the evidence but write Him off because He was “just a village kid.” They knew His parents and there was nothing special about them.

But there was an even deeper offense that Jesus raised in His examples — Gentiles! This was always a flashpoint for them. It was the Gentiles who had been their undoing throughout their history — they were surrounded by them and they persistently followed their ways and their gods. They had failed to extirminate the Canaanites from the Promised Land. God had warned them that, if they did not, they would be a “thorn in their sides” and they were.

It was the Gentiles who were causing their suffering now, and any mention of them, and especially God’s kindness to them, was like a red rag to a bull. Jonah’s bad experience came from his effort to escape from having to take a message to Nineveh that he knew would result in God’s mercy to THEM if they repented and he was not prepared for that! The people of Nazareth were just like Jonah.

“That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw Him out, banishing Him from the village, then took Him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw Him to His doom, but He gave them the slip and was on His way.” Luke 4:28-30 (The Message).

That didn’t turn out very well, did it? Out on His ear the first time He preached at home. Where did it all go wrong? His fellow-villagers were so blinded by familiarity that they were not prepared to examine the evidence. And they were not the only ones. Wherever He went, there were those who rejected Him because they believed they were right.

It’s this arrogant assumption that we are right that robs us of the wonder of exploring, evaluating and embracing truth wherever we find it. Jesus kept saying, “Look at the evidence,” and His opponents kept insisting, “You are wrong; we are right!” And they killed Him because they believed they were right.

When He walked out of the tomb, who had egg on their faces?

Occupied Territory

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OCCUPIED TERRITORY

“The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got — all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.

“He discussed it with the Jews and other like-minded people at their meeting place. And every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along. He got to know some of the Epicurean and Stoic intellectuals pretty well through these conversations. Some of them dismissed him with sarcasm: ‘What an airhead!’ But others, listening to him go on about Jesus and the resurrection, were intrigued: ‘That’s a new slant on the gods. Tell us more.'” Acts 17:16-18 (The Message).

Angry? Why was Paul angry when he saw the city of Athens dotted with idols? Did it really matter that they used images to decorate their city?

Yes, it did matter to Paul because idols were the evidence of “foreign occupation”. The city of Athens, capital of Greece. was announcing, through the visible symbols of their allegiance, that they were part of the devil’s domain. They were “occupied territory” and subject to his rule. and, therefore, they would not be rescued without a fight.

Unlike the countries that Germany occupied during WW2, the people of Athens, and the rest of the world, accepted Satanic occupation without resistance. You see, they didn’t know any better. Satan exploited their ignorance and their gullibility to entrench himself in their belief system because they knew of no alternative.

It is the devil’s avowed intention to wrest worship from the rightful King of the universe, Jesus. Long before God prepared the earth to be a suitable home for man, He evicted the devil from His domain for rebelling against Him, and banished him to the earth.

“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:7-9 (NIV).

Why was Paul angry? Was he angry with the Athenians for worshipping idols? No, he was angry with the devil for hoodwinking the people. All they needed to do was to follow the whims of their rebellious hearts and they were suckers for any lying suggestion the devil made to them.

Without supernatural revelation from God, human beings cannot know Him or even conceive of a being like Him. All we can do is create beings in our imagination who are caricatures of human beings, and can never be any greater than we are, and then worship them as though they really exist. And the devil is laughing because he is the inspiration behind our foolishness and gets the glory for it.

Whatever we put our confidence in that is not God is an idol. The tragedy is that we become what we worship. People who put their confidence in money, for example, are most often times greedy, stingy and even dishonest to hold on to what they have and to get more.

God said of His people: “When they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.” Hosea 9:10b (NIV).

People are not only held captive to Satan’s lies but also suspicious of the truth. Some Athenians laughed at Paul and walked away. Others waited around a little longer to listen to him. What does it take to convince a person that God is telling the truth? It takes an honest person and a mighty, supernatural act of God’s Holy Spirit to rescue a deceived soul from the clutches of the devil and transfer him into the realm of God’s truth.