Did God change? People often ask this when comparing perceptions of the God of the Old Testament with those of the New Testament. A superficial reading, mixed with our expectations and misunderstandings of God’s holiness, may lead us to think, “God of the Old Testament bad, God of the New Testament good.” This view misrepresents God’s consistent character and goodness. God is not schizophrenic or irrational, nor is He like us. He is holy, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and loving. The truth is, God remains the same in both Testaments. As we’ll see, His wrath was satisfied at the cross but remains relevant today and in the future.
God is Serious About Sin
Continuing from the previous thought, it is important to understand that God hates sin and what it does to human beings and His creation. God, against whom sin has been committed, rightly responds in wrath. His justice demands proper punishment for wrongdoers. However, do we see this same reality of wrath in the New Testament? The answer is yes. Have you ever asked yourself, in all the quoting of John 3:16, why did Jesus have to come? Well, it wasn’t to simply give us moral teachings to make us better people. In verse 17 of that same chapter, it tells us why, “for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). Well, save humanity from what? Verse 18 says, condemnation, a result of our sin.
If you follow the logic, God hates sin, which separates humanity from a right relationship with their creator, but because God is just, He must judge sin. Since we all have sinned, we stand condemned. In short, the guilty will receive judgment or face the wrath of God, His judgment against sin. So, Jesus came to take our place, to bear the judgment and wrath due to us; the righteous suffered for the unrighteous. So, those who trust in Christ are no longer under condemnation, because who the son sets free is truly free. Again, at the Cross, we see the justice and grace of God.
Does the Wrath of God Continue?
Is the wrath of God over? The New Testament shows God’s wrath is both active now and a future reality for those who reject Christ. Paul states, “The wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (Colossians 3:6). Saints are justified by His blood and saved from coming wrath (Romans 5:9).
Revelation describes God’s justice on unrepentant rulers and vindication for the righteous. John writes that the unrepentant cry for the rocks to hide them from “the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16-17). Here, Jesus executes divine judgment, as all authority belongs to Him.
“Grace does not eliminate wrath; wrath is still stored up against the unrepentant. But grace does eliminate the necessity for everyone to experience it.”
God’s wrath is evident today as people reject the truth and choose their own way. This leads to darkened understanding and the spread of destructive behaviors. As Paul says, “God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right” (Romans 1:28). Being abandoned to corrupt thinking and desires has natural consequences, a form of judgment we see in today’s culture.
The Result of Rejecting God
As a result of people suppressing the truth, they worship the idol of self, influencers, and wealth, and live for self-fulfillment. People then live to do whatever they please without fear of judgment. They live a life of debachary and encourage others to do the same. Sex, as God designed, becomes warped as a human invention to do with as you please. Media that enslaves becomes what we celebrate. Ultimately, this leads to an insensitivity to the truth of God and a hardened conscience. Suffering from the results of sin, instead of leading to conviction, leads to a worse condition. Paul writes, this is what an adondoing by God looks like. So, “God gave them over” this time to a “depraved mind” (Rom. 1:28, NASB), which means a mind that cannot form right judgments.
With all this in mind, the question then arises: Is God the evil, maniacal, unjust, vengeful, ogre that is smiting people left and right? If we are honest with the entirety of Scripture, God isn’t like us. He is both holy and love. He is good and offers just what He did in the Old and now in the New: a way of escape by trusting in Him alone.
Yahweh alone brings salvation, and our redemption is fully realized in Jesus Christ.
How does this understanding of the Wrath of God lead you to view the God of the Bible?
Sources
Jimmy A. Millikin, “Wrath, Wrath of God,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. Chad Brand et al. (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1689.
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 519.
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