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Wrath of God

Thu, May 14, 2009
Course Specific Materials

Dear Friend,

On the cross, Christ absorbed every ounce of God's wrath, but for believers only. God's present and future wrath will be poured out on His enemies, who refuse to repent.

Verses such as Romans 1:18 make this distinction clearer:

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, Romans 1:18 (NIV)

The wrath that Jesus absorbed at the cross was for all who would repent and believe, but the wrath that is being revealed right now and will be revealed in the future is "against all the godlessness of wicked men..."

Just as all people were "in Adam" when he sinned, therefore all are guilty from birth, so all believers were placed "in Christ" and on the cross God vented the full fury of His wrath, that was due to us, on His Son. Jesus drained the "cup of wrath" fully, so that there is not an ounce left for believers to drink.

Proverbs 16:14 prophecies of the "Wise Man" (the Lord Jesus) Who would appease the King's wrath:

¹⁴ A king's wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will appease it. Proverbs 16:14 (NIV)

But this "appeasing of God's wrath" is only for His own, for those chosen from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), for all who would repent and believe the good news. And now the remaining wrath of God, both present and future, is for those who are unbelievers, God's enemies:

²⁵ Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland. Jeremiah 10:25 (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 him. John 3:36 (NIV)

Specifically, Romans 2:5 makes repentance the issue between those who are saved from God's wrath through the cross, and those who will experience that wrath in the future:

⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2:5 (NIV)

Revelation 14:9-10 also clarifies that the coming wrath is for unbelievers, those who "worship the beast" and "receive his mark."

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, ¹⁰ he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. Revelation 14:9-10 (NIV)

So the distinction is made between believers, those in Christ, who will be free from the wrath to come because Christ received all of it for them on the cross, and unbelievers who must "drink of the wine of God's fury" for their refusal to repent and believe the gospel.

I do thank God so very much that as believers we are not "destined for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Oh how that rejoices my heart in Him.

grace and truth,
Mike Cleveland
team member www.settingcaptivesfree.com