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Of all of the attributes of God, none is rejected as easily as

His wrath.1. Many so-called "Christians"

reject the wrath of God.

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a. Some are perplexed about it, still others wish it didn't exist.

b. The atheist usually believes that evil - which he considers God's wrath

to be, proves that there is no God especially a good and Holy one; "How can God's Holiness and Goodness be reconciled with His wrath and other

evils in the world.

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2. It is shallow thinking or closed mindedness to conclude that God's goodness and holiness must cancel out His justice.

a. Goodness and holiness demand justice. b. God would be neither good nor holy if He failed to render justice, who is ready to call a judge "good" that never renders a verdict to

punish the evil doer? Only the criminal and evildoer would say

that!

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c. God is a God of wrath - Deuteronomy 32:39, 41;

Romans 1:28, Psalm 95:11, Ezra 5:12; Hebrews 10:31 .

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God's wrath is free from injustice, unethical, and hasty qualities.

1. The wrath of man usually stems from his enraged sinful attitude or Ephesians 4:26; 6:1-4.

2. God's wrath should be looked upon as the natural expression of His nature: ABSOLUTE HOLINESS manifesting itself against the willful, highhanded,

deliberate, inexcusable sin and iniquity.

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3. The sin of Adam and Eve illustrates God's Justice;

a. After creating them, God gave them a positive divine law, which also included the penalty for violating the law - God's justice and goodness.

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b. The next test for God after giving this law is a test of His truthfulness -

will He keep His word? c. A careful reading of the Bible

reveals that God always revealed what was required, as well as the

punishment for not doing what was required - this is true Justice

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Man's failure to understand the severity of God, may stem from mans failure to see the enormity and

sinfulness of sin.1. Men have a tendency to regard sin lightly to cover up its ugliness and make excuses for it.

2. The more we study God's holiness, the more we shall be able to understand the heinousness of sin.

a. We will also understand, why even one sin is sufficient to separate us from God - Isaiah 59;1-2.

b. Sin is rebellion against God's holiness, sovereignty and authority; therefore, it demands

punishment.

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Therefore, we must conclude that the sum total of God's mercy is found in His

giving Jesus Christ to atone for our sins.

If we reject Christ we reject the mercy of God and the Almighty has no alternative

but to punish us for the sins we have committed and ultimately for our

disobedience.

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Furthermore, since He having informed us that the UNRIGHTEOUS

will be cast into hell.

He would be unjust if He did not reward the faithful who are clothed in CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS through

the blood of Christ with an eternal home.

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The terrible nature of hell should serve to make man turn to God and no doubt that is one reason God has made hell so terrifying.

A man who had been taught that there is no eternal punishment was once heard to say,

"Well, if there isn't a hell I might as well go on living a life of sin because the worst that can

happen to me is that I will cease to exist."

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No doubt many people would make NO effort to

serve God if they were not aware of the awful

consequences promised for a life of willful sin.

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Many a person, has wondered why a just God allows the wicked to prosper, and the righteous sometimes to suffer.

This was the problem of Habakkuk. The prophet asked God' why He allowed evil to go unpunished.

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Jehovah replied that He was raising the Chaldeans to punish the

Jews. Then Habakkuk asked why God

would allow a terrible, evil nation like the Chaldeans to punish a

country more righteous than it.

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The answer of God was that there would be a day of reckoning for all

and that the Chaldeans would eventually be punished for their

sins, for, as the editor expressed it. "God does not settle everything in

September"

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David wrestled with the same problem.HE counseled, "Rest in the Lord, and wait

patiently for Him: don't worry yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked

things to pass . For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord,

they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be.“

(Psalm 37: 7, 9, 10.)

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Jesus shows in the parable of the talents that God's retribution

against evil will await the judgment (Matthew 13), and Peter assures us that ungodly men shall be brought to an accounting in that day.

(2 Peter 3:7)

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THE POTTER AND THE VESSEL. In Romans 9 Paul raises several questions relating to justice. He

asks why God hardened Pharaoh's heart when Israel was led out of

Egypt by Moses.

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In answering Paul, compares the role of God in making man to that of a potter who

makes a vessel. He shows that as the potter can make a vessel to suit himself, so God, being the creator, can use us as

He sees fit. If God is TRULY God the creator and

sustainer of all things then in reality, it is not our place to argue with our maker.

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Paul reasons that Pharaoh was a vessel fitted for destruction, that is, that he was of bad character, and that God simply used him to demonstrate His

divine power.

We know that when Pharaoh was placed in a certain set of circumstances his evil nature came to the fore.

God may bear patiently with an evil man to display His power, but He never will make a good man do

evil.

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WHY DOES GOD ALLOW MAN TO SIN? God, in placing man in the Garden of Eden, could

have kept him from sinning by removing all temptation. Since death and suffering entered the

world by sin, why did He not do this?

The answer is found in the nature of man. God created us as free moral agents capable of

choosing our own course, making our own decisions but He warns us that if we make the

wrong decisions we have to live with the consequences.

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We all prize our liberty and our right to make our own decisions, even though

they may not always be best.

Rather than make us robots, God, in His wisdom, saw fit to give us the choice that we might serve Him

willingly instead of by compulsion.

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We are made in the image of God, but if our power to

choose and think for ourselves were removed, we would cease to be like

Him.