Ungodly wrath is a work of the flesh.  Ungodly wrath is a selfish and very often an uncontrolled anger.

Godly wrath or righteous indignation is always controlled, is always focused against sin and rebellion against God and His Word, and is always intended to rebuke the sin that leads to eternal death, out of love for and out of a desire to save the sinner and or his victims.

God's spirit is the spirit of the power of godly control of our emotions and the power of a balanced, controlled, Sound Mind.

We should put into practice with all our hearts; self control, patience and forgiveness to the point where we are never offended by personal issues. 

Yet, we must also be filled with godly righteous indignation at all the sin and evil we see and pray in faith and hope that such evil will be expunged from the world as our Deliverer comes to rule the earth.

Right now we are powerless to remove sin from the world, that is for another time.  Yet we have the opportunity, the responsibility and the moral obligation to rebuke and condemn sin in the congregations and in the world.  That is called "Feeding the Sheep:  and "Preaching the Gospel."

James

Works of the Flesh ~ Wrath

This week we pick up from where we left off last summer and continue in our series on the study of the "works of the flesh" that are listed in Galatians 5:19-21. In this study we take a look at the fleshy work that is manifested as "wrath" and see just how destructive it is.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Greek word for "wrath" in this verse is thumos (Strong's #2372) and means: fierceness, indignation, wrath, an outburst of passion, wrath. From thuo; passion (as if breathing hard) -- fierceness, indignation, wrath. Compare psuche. (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance)

This kind of wrath, which is another word for anger, is everywhere in our world. We see it every day in varying degrees; outbursts of anger; people becoming easily offended at the slightest provocation, frustration at simple inconveniences in life; violence directed at those that don't do what they want them to do; tempers flare at those they perceive as hurting them and they want to get even; and sometimes anger can even lead to murder in a fit of rage. The headlines it seems, daily now, report the news of people who go on a shooting or stabbing rampage and murder innocent people who were in the wrong place when this person decided to take out his frustrations.

In these modern times it seems that we are exposed to anger and rage more and more; in our homes, our workplaces, our schools, in shopping malls. [Just look at what happens on "Black Friday"!]. Crime statistics keep climbing in the area of domestic violence, child abuse, riots, road rage, street fights and racial tensions. We see that even in the affluent western nations we are a society of ever increasing violent tempers and fits of rage. 

Our media is guilty of promoting anger and even glamorizing it in most of the films, songs, TV shows, video games and news reports. Look at some of the professional sports that thrive on violent moves against each other even in the game itself. The coaches and players are so full of a competitive spirit that if one team wins or gains an advantage they become sore losers and get into brawls right on the field. The players are filled with anger toward the other team and do much harm and don't care that their rage results in other athletics becoming injured and crippled, yet the fans just keep clamoring for more. And then even the fans often get into brawls if their team does not win.

All of us struggle with anger at times and it is something that begins from infancy. Those who have children or those who care for children know that even babies can get "mad" at times. And they don't even need be taught how to have temper tantrums; it just comes naturally.

There is one person in the Bible who struggled with anger all his life even though God used him as one of the mightiest leaders of all time. That person was Moses and even he at times had a problem of letting his temper gain the upper hand and that got him into trouble. Moses struggled with this carnality of the flesh right up into his old age.

Moses and his Lifelong Struggle to Manage his Anger

Moses is called one of the greatest prophets of all time. In Stephen's defense speech to the high priest and the council when speaking about the history of the Israeli people, talked about Moses and said that he "was mighty in words and in deeds." (Acts 7:22)

When Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, God, Himself, came down and defended Moses. When they accused Moses of taking on too much of a leadership role and criticized his marriage to an Ethiopian woman, God told them that Moses was His entrusted servant and was faithful in everything God had given him to do, and that He (God) had a special relationship with him.

Numbers 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

And just after Moses died, it was said of him:

Deuteronomy 34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord  knew face to face, 11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, 12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

As these Scriptures show, Moses was a great man in the eyes of God. He was a faithful and a dedicated servant of God who had done mighty works as a leader of the Nation of Israel in the last forty years of his life. 

But even Moses had a weakness. The Bible records the great exodus out of Egypt and the many events that happened as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. It also records several instances where Moses lost his temper. 

In Numbers 12:3, we read that Moses was more meek than any man on earth, yet from what we read from Scriptures, we see that he had a problem controlling his anger. His anger was not just a mild kind of anger problem, but the kind that caused him to go into an explosive rage at times.

When Moses saw an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrews, one of his own countrymen, he became so angry that without thinking of any of the consequences, he killed the Egyptian and then tried to hide what he had done.

Exodus 2:11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

When Moses witnessed the scene of idolatrous worship, the disgraceful dancing and immorality of the people, he instantly became filled with anger. As a result he threw down the tablets of stone that he had just received from the Lord while being with Him for 40 days. When talking to God earlier Moses had passionately intervened on behalf of his people when God told him how stiff-necked they were. God wanted to destroy them and then start over with Moses and make him into a great nation. Moses talked God into turning from His anger at the people.

But when he came down off the mountain and actually witnessed the wickedness that they were doing in the camp with his own eyes, he became so furious that he threw the tablets of stones with the Ten Commandments written on them down to the ground and smashed them. When he actually saw certain things being done with his own eyes, that stirred up sudden emotion and he then instantly responded without thinking of what he was doing. And even after smashing the tablets he took out his anger some more by grinding up the golden calf and making the people drink it.

Exodus 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

It was proper of Moses to become righteously angry when he saw what the Israelites were doing, but to throw down the tablets of stone appears to be a reactionary response by which he took out his anger by throwing whatever he had in his hands at the time. God had to later rewrite the commandments on another set of tablets of stone.

Exodus 34:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

The worse outburst of anger was when Moses did not obey or hollow God in just "speaking to the rock" to bring forth water for the Israelites, but instead he violently hit it with his rod twice. At the same time he yelled at the Israelites, calling them "Rebels" and saying "must we fetch you water out of this rock?" This was so serious an infraction that as punishment God told Moses that he would not be allowed to take the people into the land himself but would only see the Promised Land from a distance.

Numbers 20:7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Just like Moses, we too have our struggles against the "works of the flesh" and we usually know (painfully) very well what our weaknesses are, and perhaps those closest to us may have come to know what they are as well.

But with Moses, God had some of his mistakes recorded for all the world to read about in the Bible [just as with David] as an example for others who would read about them. The Lord inspired the writers of Scripture to record these men's weak moments so that we could read about them and learn from them, but also to be encouraged by how they overcame their weaknesses.

The accounts are there in the Bible as lessons for those who would come after to show us that these great men are just like we are. Why? Because everyone has certain weaknesses; just like the great men and women of the Bible had their own weaknesses. God has also recorded how they dealt with and overcame their problems and He lets us know in another place in the Bible (Hebrews 11) that these same men and women who did repent and did overcome will be in God's Kingdom. 

God gives us these examples in Scripture to show us the consequences of such behavior and that we are not to replicate their mistakes. But on the other hand God gives us assurance that even though all have weaknesses and we struggle in areas where each of us need to overcome; we can be encouraged by their examples to never give up when they made their mistakes. Like these great men of the Bible, we must keep fighting our battles that we have of the flesh; learning to look to God to help us in all of our spiritual battles and to seek His forgiveness when we do fail.

If these great men (like Moses and David) who did wonderful exploits for God, had times of failure (of anger or lust issues) and could overcome them with God's help, then all of God's called-out ones can follow their examples of determination to overcome their weaknesses. We too can have hope that it is possible to have victory over anger, and the rest of the "works of the flesh" that are listed in Galatians 5. With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

But when we do neglect to control our emotions as a response to life's challenges and give in to moments of anger and frustration, we can in a matter of seconds or minutes, bring about negative consequences to our lives just as Moses' sudden angry outburst did. 

How we handle those emotions can make a big difference as to the outcome of whatever it is that we are facing. The way we handle a certain frustration or problem that comes up in our life can either "make us or break us"; it can help take our character to a higher level if we handle it right; or if we let anger take over, it could bring disastrous consequences such as ruining a cherished relationship for good; or it could even totally ruin our lives.

Be Angry But Do Not Sin

As we saw earlier, the dictionary defines anger as a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism and can result in anything from a sarcastic or rude remark, all the way to a passionate outburst or violent fit of rage. God tells us through the apostle Paul that this behavior is unacceptable to Him and God wants us to put such emotions away from us; and then to replace wrath with forgiveness and kindness.

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: [your exasperation, your fury or indignation] 27 Neither give place to the devil. [Leave no such room or foothold for the devil; give no opportunity to him. Brackets - Amp. Bible]

This verse in Ephesians 4 shows that it is natural to get angry at times, just like it is natural to have other human emotions and it is not necessarily wrong to have those emotions. But it's what we do with those emotions, including anger, that counts!

Paul exhorts us to get control of it quickly ( i.e. "let not the sun go down upon your wrath"). The next verse tells us what happens if we do not get control of it quickly; we open a door of opportunity for Satan to do a work in our life as a result of not controlling our angry feelings and then venting them in negative and explosive ways; just as Satan would like us to do.

A few Newsletters back we talked about Cain and how his jealousy led to anger toward his brother Abel.  Because Cain refused to get control of, or "master his anger", he allowed it to take over and he became infuriated. In his murderous rage, he killed Abel, his own brother. Cain showed by his actions that he had no rule over his angry emotions.

Uncontrolled anger causes very troubling spiritual problems. For one thing, a person that is angry will lack inner peace and joy. The working of God's Holy Spirit in us is impeded when we let anger rule in our hearts.

Hidden anger can be just as devastating as explosive violent anger, as it will manifest itself in passive aggressive ways or eventually implode by bringing severe psychosomatic health problems. Both types of anger are destructive and are very devastating when we allow the "works of the flesh" to take over our emotions.

And if we hold pent up anger continually over the years trying to just stuff it and deceive ourselves and others that we are not angry, it can become a walking time bomb that can go off in ways that we cannot foresee or even imagine. We see evidence of this in the daily news where someone who was thought of as meek and mild, one day shoots up his work place or his school. Angry people can be very dangerous people. Anger is an emotion that we must not dismiss as something minor that does not need to be seriously addressed, especially for those who profess to be followers of Christ.

Genesis 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, [angry and indignant] and his countenance fell [looked sad and depressed]. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. [sin crouches at your door: its desire is for you, but you must master it]

Cain actually had the privilege of having Elohim, who later became Jesus Christ, speak to him personally on this matter, and even then, he refused to listen to His advice and went ahead and let his emotions rule his actions. He killed Abel, rather than humbling himself and admitting that he was wrong to be jealous and angry of him.

There are many verses in the Bible that have to do with anger and the importance of keeping it in check. Some very good verses to study and meditate on and then apply to ourselves are found in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

Sinful Anger Versus Righteous Anger

Just like grief, joy, sadness, fear, desire; anger too is a basic human emotion. If not controlled properly or kept in balance; any one of these emotions can be sinful and destructive. But if properly channeled with the help of God's Holy Spirit, they can be used for godly purposes. We all get angry from time to time, and we can either use our anger to motivate ourselves to try to rectify the problem in a positive way; or we can allow anger to control our words and actions causing damage and harm to ourselves and others.

How can anger be used in a positive way? Jesus on many occasions displayed anger, but it was a righteous anger and it was used to bring about good or to rebuke evil.

John 2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (See also Matthew 21:12-13 where He did this on another occasion.)

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

From his quote as written in John 2:14 we can see that Jesus was thinking of this verse from Isaiah and it angered Him that these greedy merchants were making a mockery of what His Father's house was supposed to represent. They had brought dishonor and blasphemy with their corruption by taking advantage of the people who had come to genuinely worship God and offer up their sacrifices. It was because of His hatred of evil and the blasphemy against His Father that Jesus became justifiably angry.

He then made a scourge of small cords and cleansed the temple by literally driving the moneychangers out. He was directing His anger toward the people's sin and it was a demonstration of His intolerance to it. He controlled Himself at all times by the power of God's Holy Spirit.

By Christ's example in this instance, He implies that we too should hate evil enough to become angry when we see sin running rampant and we have the opportunity to speak out against it.

Using Our Anger to Motivate Us to Do Good

This is a lesson for us that we should have righteous anger when it comes to sin and evil. Paul in Ephesians 4 says "be angry" but then implies that we are to use it to do good in the world against the forces of darkness.

David also says in one of his psalms: "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." (Psalm 97:10)

And another place David says that God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

If we love God and love everything that He is about, than we too will hate evil and be angry with the wicked. We watch what is happening in the world, the horrible, wicked things that people do to each other and especially to the innocent little children and it can make us very angry. One thing we can do is to pray passionately for God's Kingdom to come soon. Throughout the ages God's people have witnessed the evil in the world and God commends those who cry and sigh for the abominations that are done against humanity.

In fact, it is our duty to be angry in certain respects at the injustices we see; but we must never be angry in a sinful manner, never let anger grow into bitterness or allow anger to get out of control.

As far as men making merchandise of God's people, this too is still happening in our modern day Ekklesia, which is the spiritual temple of God. There are those who are making a mockery of what God's purpose is for the church and are taking advantage of the people's sincere desire to follow and worship God. 

These leaders do this by teaching them traditions of men and there are a few that actually demand that church members send them huge offerings, get second mortgages on their homes, sell their personal belongings and send it to their headquarters. Some leaders teach non-Biblical things about extra tithes and offerings that are not even commanded by God in either the Old or the New Testament.

When we read about some of these organizations and their leaders that are misleading their members with their false doctrine and telling them that they must do whatever they, the leader says to be one of the firstfruits and to be part of the resurrection of the just. So we too can feel godly righteous indignation  like Jesus did and want to "chase them out" and then direct the people to God, and let them know that it is Him only that we are to obey and to only follow men as they follow Christ. (1st Corinthians 11:1).

And we can only know if men are truly following Christ by doing our own study and researching of what the Bible teaches, proving what traditions are true from the Bible and what are from man's own imaginations. (Revelation 2:2)

No, we cannot chase men out with whips in our day and age but we are to lift up our voices like a trumpet and show all the people their sin of following and supporting these false leaders and refusing to check up on the false doctrine that they propagate. God commands us to use our emotions, including anger in this way as a form of righteous anger or zeal to turn the people back to Him.

Isaiah 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, [earnestly] and delight to know my ways, [as if they were in reality] as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God [in visible ways but not really in their hearts].

In Isaiah's day, the nation of Israel was insincerely worshiping God and it was necessary for God to send Isaiah to wake them up to the fact that they were only going through the motions and that their hearts were not sincere in their obedience to God. The Israelites were not wholeheartedly obeying all of His commandments, statutes and ordinances. They were keeping these things in name only, making an appearance that they were righteous by outward religious activity; but they were not really keeping God's commandments in their day to day activities and in how they treated each other.

This is exactly what has been happening and is still happening in the spiritual nation of Israel (the Israel of God - Galatians 6:16) in these last days. Some of God's faithful people, who do want to sincerely obey God and His whole Word, are coming out from this kind of worship and there is a growing movement of a few who are seeking God with all of their hearts and gladly accepting correct understanding after proving certain things from their study of the Scripture for themselves.

Jesus' Anger for the Pharisee's Lack of Compassion

Another example of righteous anger that Jesus exhibited for us was when He entered the synagogue and saw a man with a withered hand and then witnessed the hard hardheartedness of the religious rulers.

Mark 3:3 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the ma n which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

The religious leaders and the Pharisees were watching Jesus to see if He would heal this man on the Sabbath day, just so they could accuse Him if He did. And Jesus asked them "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil?" and they would not answer him but kept quiet. He went ahead and healed the man's withered had and made it completely whole again. 

Jesus could see through their hardheartedness and their hatred for this man and it ANGERED Him. It grieved Him to think that these men who claimed to be the epitome of righteousness as the religious leaders of the people, would be so cold and lacking in love, compassion, and mercy, by trying to deny this man a healing of a debilitating disability. They had their own man-made rules of what they believed constituted the keeping of the Sabbath day and did not want Jesus to heal this man. They were spiritually blind to the concepts of mercy and compassion of God for this disabled man.

But Jesus cared nothing about what they would think but healed the man any way and showing these self-righteous Pharisees that they were wrong. He demonstrated a righteous anger and and His anger spurred Him to put these hypocritical leaders in their place with His question to them (a type of rebuke) and then went ahead and healed this man in spite what these leaders were thinking of in their hearts.

What are the differences between anger that is sin and anger that is a righteous anger?

Anger that is sin is selfish; it is a work of the flesh, and occurs when we feel we have been slighted, neglected of our own needs and desires, that our demands are not being met, or when some one gets in our way (think road rage). 

It is rooted in pride, for we think we are deserving of respect, preferential treatment or privileges and when some one steps on our toes, we tend to think "how dare he (or she)." We then feel a need to give a peace of our mind to that person as to how they should be properly treating us. Or what they should be doing to make things easier for us; we want to punish those that offend us by retaliating, wanting to make them feel the same kind of pain that we have "suffered".

Anger that is sin concentrates on satisfying the self and its desires and preferences; or it is getting perturbed when we do not get our own way. Sometimes anger comes as a result of ego because the person who is angry is all about himself and his own "self-importance".

When we do not control our selfish anger, it leads to sin, causing us to do things that we may regret after we do them. On the other hand righteous anger is restrained and it is directed at sin and injustices, not necessarily people.

As we saw earlier, Jesus was angry at the merchants because they were using the necessity of the people to exchange their money or to buy animals for proper sacrifice, to take advantage of them to make a profit and line their own pockets. In Mark 3, we read that Jesus was angry at the religious leaders for their lack of compassion for the man with a withered hand.

We can also read the whole chapter of Matthew 23 of how Jesus showed anger for many other things that the Scribes and Pharisees were doing and for their hypocritical attitudes.

Righteous anger seeks to rectify the wrongs and contains no malice or hostility, it doesn't seek to retaliate or to hurt people and it does not grow into bitterness against others. It only wants to see them repent for their own good and for the good of others.

Righteous anger comes from a sound mind that God has given to us when we are imbued with His Holy Spirit. We are to let His Spirit guide us rather than the spirit of Satan that influences us toward becoming emotionally charged and then taking things into our own hands. By using God's Spirit, which is the spirit of a sound mind, we can grow into spiritual emotional maturity. We grow by bringing our feelings and passions into alignment to the mind of Christ and having our mind always on God's laws, principles, and precepts and meditating on them day and night rather than focusing on past hurts and grievances.

As Paul told Timothy, and he is also saying to us, stir up the gift of God, filling ourselves up with the oil of His Holy Spirit that we received at baptism and laying on of hands and exercise the mind of God which is a sound mind.

2nd Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God wants us to remain calm and to use wisdom, to use our minds to intelligently reason out what the best course of action should be in any given situation. We are to seek God's will in prayer and to seek His wisdom by going directly to His Word to see what He has to say about a particular situation in the Bible that may be similar to what we are going through. 

We can pray to be able to discern if our feelings are really based on injustice and if there is something positive we can do about a particular situation. Perhaps the injustices are against us personally and to take things into our own hands would be an ungodly thing to do. 

We may need to seek to have humility, knowing that all we can really do is suffer for righteousness sake and let God take care of the situation in His own way. Our spiritual battles belong to the Lord and He will fight them in His way and in His perfect timing.

1st Corinthians 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Discerning between the two kinds of anger can be tricky for we can deceive ourselves into thinking that our anger is righteous when in fact we may be angry for selfish reasons. This is an area where all of us will be tested from time to time, but with God's help we can grow to be able to tell the difference as we spiritually mature and seek to overcome any anger problem we may have.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Steps We Can Take to Overcome Sinful Anger

So what steps can we take to help us to overcome this work of the flesh that God calls "wrath" in Galatians 5?

When we see sinful anger working in our flesh we must recognize it and acknowledge that we do have a anger problem to ourselves and to God. We must go to those we may have hurt with our anger and ask them for forgiveness, but our real sin is toward God. (Psalm 51:4) In fact reading the whole chapter of Psalm 51 is a good place to start. We then can read the following verses that are very helpful in reminding ourselves that God is merciful, He understands and He will provide us with the help we need if we genuinely repent and then earnestly seek His spiritual help. God will enable us to overcome the works of the flesh if we sincerely repent and seek His help.

1st John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Then we must search our hearts to determine what is causing our anger. If Cain would have done this, he would have seen that it was his jealousy of Abel that was causing him to be angry.

Anger is really a symptom of what is going on in our heart. It could be fear, because sometimes we fear losing something that we already have, so we get angry when someone threatens to take away something that we don't want to lose. We may be too exacting in our expectations of others and get angry when they "don't measure" up to our idea of perfectionism. As we mentioned earlier, it could be pride and selfishness; there are many underlying reasons for people to harbor anger. 

This article only touches the surface of the subject of anger, for there are many verses in the Bible that address anger and its causes. There are many examples of anger and what it has done throughout history in many of  the books of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. If you do a word search on anger, wrath, strife, you will see that this subject is vast but is very much worth the time to do an in-depth Bible Study on it.

After determining what is really causing our anger we can seek to replace the anger with the fruits of God's Spirit. We are to seek to be filled with the fruit which is love, peace, joy, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith (that all things will work together for the good if we love God) meekness (humility), and temperance (self-control). Each and every one of these fruits of the Spirit will serve to counteract anger (and all the other works of the flesh as well).

We can overcome anger if we forgive those who hurt us even before they ask us for forgiveness, (and they may never ask us for forgiveness) and by not holding grudges or bitterness against anyone. Patience and forgiveness are two very powerful tools in combating anger. If we stubbornly refuse to forgive others it will turn into anger that becomes toxic and then turns into bitterness. The secret to getting rid of anger is to be able to forgive. But if a person can't forgive, if he can not release his anger, then it is a sinful anger and he will begin to think of ways to do harm. This is what Paul calls "malice" which is a word that means that a person who has it really does desire to harm in some way to get even, and it is very destructive.

Therefore we must control our anger, by controlling what is in our hearts and what comes out of our mouths. We must show empathy and compassion for one another, being sensitive to each others needs, and be forgiving to others when they offend us just as God forgave us. Often we just need to exercise patience, knowing that usually people just don't know any better when they annoy us or say evil things against us; realizing that God in His patience and perseverance may be working in ways with them that we just cannot see yet.

Paul's following advice to the Ephesians is timeless in combating anger, and if we would only follow it and apply it we would avoid many misunderstandings, hurt feelings, severed relationships, congregations splitting from each other, and on and on. 

The more we become grounded and settled in our own relationship with God, having faith in His Providence and Sovereignty over all things, the more equipped we will be in our fight against this destructive force (work of the flesh) we call "anger".

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

If God is calling us and has given us His Spirit, then we can overcome the ways of the world (including the way it expresses anger) and God will give us the victory over this work of the flesh. We need to be in God's Word daily and in this way we take on His very own divine nature.

1st John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Galatians 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We need to engrave this verse into our hearts, for it is only by Christ living in us, empowering us if we have believed the Gospel, repented of our sins and have applied Christ's atoning sacrifice to all our sins and then resolve to go and sin no more. Only then can we triumph in our Christian walk and have any victory over all the works of the flesh, including any anger problem we may have.

Moses Overcame His Anger Problem and So Should We

So what finally happened to Moses after he sinned by striking the rock in his anger? In chapter 32 of Deuteronomy we read that he was not allowed to go into the Promised Land with the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 32:48 And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

But not to worry; for Moses is listed in the faith chapter (Hebrews 11:23-29) as one that was faithful and will be in God's kingdom. Moses just like Abraham (and as we are to do), "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Hebrews 11:10)

Moses appeared in the transfiguration vision along with Elijah (Matthew 17:1-4) and Jesus would not have featured Moses in this way to the disciples if Moses had disqualified himself because of his outburst of anger. 

Moses was already 120 years old when they reached the Promised Land. When he brought the children of Israel right up to the edge of the land, his job was finished, and it was now up to Joshua to take up the mantle of leadership and take them into the land to conquer their possession.

God perhaps used the consequence of not being able to enter the land to show Moses (and those learning from this Biblical example) the seriousness of his uncontrolled angry outburst; but Moses repented and was forgiven and will be there in the coming spiritual Promised Land.

Hebrews 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

Along with Peter, perhaps Moses could say to us as well:

1st Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, [including anger] which war against the soul;

Moses was one of the greatest men to have lived on earth and he did overcome his anger problem and he will be a king and priest in God's Kingdom.  

If we remain faithful, endure to the end, and overcome our sins, including any anger problem that we may have, we too will be with Moses along with all the rest of God's faithful people.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

Constance

Romans 1:18-20 Commentary

The Wrath of God

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

If wrath is such a negative emotion and can wreak such devastation in our lives, then what is the "wrath of God" all about? If wrath is one of the works of the flesh, how can it be a useful tool in the hands of a loving and just God?

This subject can be difficult to understand because the world and it's religions for the most part teach a misconstrued idea of the love of God and of His grace; they advocate that because of His love for us He tolerates people's sin. Most of us were taught before we were called by God that "Christ died for us and therefore the law is done away because He kept the law for us." Or that "God's laws were nailed to the cross". The doctrine of "eternal security" teaches that those who just profess "Christ as personal Savior" are saved and can never lose their salvation no matter how they live: "once saved, always saved."

There are many books, sermons, articles that focus on the more seemingly positive aspects of God; like "God loves everybody and there are many paths to God; we can pick and choose the path we want to take to finally meet up with Him someday." These kinds of teachings permeate our modern day culture and sometimes even show up in movies and television shows. Even if we see the lack of logic of such thinking we can still be influenced into not taking seriously the side of God that says that He is an angry God and that He is angry at the sinner every day.

Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. 

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 

Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

People misinterpret God's blessings as rewards for being pretty good people and don't like the thought of being recipients of His wrath. The Israelite nations have been under the blessings of Joseph and have not experienced war, famine, natural disasters like some of the third world nations in other parts of the globe. We have lived in a "land flowing with milk and honey" because of the promises made to our forefathers and we have enjoyed an affluence unprecedented in all of history. The people living in such affluence begin to believe it is because they are entitled or have somehow earned the protection and prosperity that they have enjoyed. Therefore they think nothing "bad" can happen to them.

The baby boomer generation and those born after, have lived in the most prosperous time in all of history, so when someone brings up the subject of God's wrath, that person is usually looked upon as judgmental and negative because the majority believe that national catastrophe will never happen in their counry. Most of us would rather hear about love, peace, grace, and how to prosper rather than hear about how God is angry with us.

We very much live in an ungodly politically correct world today. This "political correctness" is becoming more and more pervasive making its way into becoming the law of the land of the modern day Israelite nations with its proponents persecuting and punishing those who do not agree with their "progressiveness", just as it was in Isaiah's day. 

God says in Isaiah 30:9-10, "That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.." 

In ancient Israel when the people departed from their covenant promises and instead embraced the idolatry of the surrounding nations, the people did not want to hear about God's truth and about His laws. It is the same today in modern day Israel; they do not want to hear the truth, especially about God's wrath. 

This has occurred in our nations and has also occurred and continues to happen in the church of God to this day. There are those who are tickling people's ears with their teaching and preaching the traditions of men (fables) as they seek to entertain the people rather than teach them sound doctrine.

Jesus said about the people in His day and foretells of what it would be like there after; "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them".  (Matthew 13:15)

Romans 1:18-20 says if people do not hear and follow God's Word, if they reject God as their Creator, and replace the worship of Him with the worship of created things, they will come under God's wrath.

Many in the church do not want to hear what the Bible says about drunkenness, adultery, fornication, lying, unequally yoked marriages, divorce and remarriage, not polluting the Sabbath or any of the other sinful activities that cause people to incur God's wrath . 

People do not want to give up their sinful behavior and for this reason many elders in the church are not preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God.  People complain if sermons are too "negative" and in essence want their teachers to "speak to us smooth things".  For the most part many elders are preaching and teaching only what the people want to hear and what will bring in new "converts". And now in some segments of the church many of the sermons and articles that are being presented in the church would be readily acceptable in any mainstream Protestant church.

The reason for this neglect to teach about God's wrath becomes apparent when we understand what is going on. Most people want to hear "smooth things" and the topic concerning the "wrath of God" is hard for people to think about or accept. So it is easier for the elders to just overlook this subject and instead talk about the more positive aspects of God's love, for many in the world and even now in the Ekklesia think that God's wrath is inconsistent with His love.

In our modern day society the subject of divine wrath has become taboo and people just don't want to hear about it. Yet, the Bible has much to say about the wrath of God . If you were to do a word search on "God's anger", "wrath of God", "God's indignation" or "God's vengeance" you would be amazed at how many times God brings up the subject. The Bible is filled with warnings about God's wrath and about His condemnation against rebellion and wickedness. God speaks plainly about this subject and for good reason, so it is in our best interest to learn about the "wrath of God" and do all in our power to come out from being the objects of His wrath.

The study of God's wrath in the Bible is vast and would take quite a number of articles to explain the various aspects, the prophecies and all the ramifications of what the wrath of God entails. For this short commentary we just want to touch upon the subject briefly as per the definition of God's wrath compared to what it means to manifest man's wrath by the works of the flesh; and also some of the things that Paul had to say about it in his epistles, most specifically in Romans 1:18-32.

The Real Meaning of God's Wrath

There is quite a difference in the definition of wrath as one of God's attributes compared to the definition of wrath that is a work of the flesh which is our main topic for this week. It's important to get a proper definition because when we use the word "wrath" we tend to think of uncontrolled anger, losing one's temper, or holding a grudge.

A more decriptive definition comes from the HELPS Word-studies which has this to say about the kind of wrath that God has:

It is His "settled hostility" [or opposition] toward sin in all its various manifestations. The words "settled hostility" means that God's holiness cannot and will not coexist with sin in any form whatsoever. His wrath is His righteous indignation at everything that is wicked and evil. God's wrath is His holy hatred of all that is unholy.

Which means that God's wrath is not the same thing as the wrath that we observe in man when men are manifesting the works of the flesh. God's wrath is not uncontrollable rage, an outburst of passion, vindictive bitterness, and God does not lose His temper.

God's wrath is God's righteous response to sin wherever He sees it. He will not overlook it, He does not wink at sin and He does not go into denial that it exists when it does exist (unlike men).

God is pure holiness and when He sees the wicked deeds of men it causes Him to become angry. The same when He deals with rebellion, He does not overlook it and because He is just, He will bring about justice through His wrath. Because God is righteous, holy, good, just, pure and loves His creation He will not tolerate sin and will not sit idly by while mankind destroys himself, others and the earth. He is not going to tolerate mankind denying His existence and His holy commandments. Wrath is in essence an aspect of God's love for humans.

*Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

*Romans 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

These verses say that God pronounces His judgment on all mankind because they reject the knowledge of God and refuse to acknowledge Him as the Creator of all living things and all that is in heaven and earth. God is angry with men and women for they are without excuse because they should be able to see that there is a Creator and that He has made His existence known by the things in nature that show that there is an incredibly good God that made all that is in the world. Because mankind is in rebellion, God has to respond and He does it with His wrath. Paul continues in Romans 1:21-32 with the reasons for which God is going to exercise His wrath from heaven.

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

God is fair and will judge according to how much of the truth a nation or a person has and even if they are not called to understand the whole plan of God, He will judge them on the fact that they denied Him and sinned in ways that all people should know are wrong.

God does not unfairly accuse anyone and when He pronounces the Gentiles as guilty, He does it on grounds that they can see that the creation itself provides ample evidence that there is an all-powerful awesome God who has created the heaven and the earth, the creatures and mankind as well. They should see that there is order and beauty in the things that God has created and that there are some things that totally go up against a loving and good Creator, like murder, abusing others, stealing, improper marriage and family life, and not providing for and caring for their young. All people should know better than to commit these kinds of sins against humanity, whether they are being called or not.

David too had this to say about the evidence shown in the heavens that should be enough to make thinking men and women conclude that a marvelous God exists who has made all things.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.

It is God who says we are without excuse if we refuse to admit the obvious truth about who God is and how He loves His Creation.

In the Book of Acts, Paul appealed to the crowd in Lystra yo acknowledge the existence of God by telling them that God has not left himself without a witness by doing good and providing good things for all the nations. If men were to look at the obvious evidence and be convicted of their deliberate ignorance of Him, they would worship God in awe instead of worshiping the creatures that God created.

Acts 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: 16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 

Romans 1:21-32 shows a progression from denying God's existence, to suppressing the truth about God which excuses them to ignore His laws; the lawlessness progresses to wickedness and the wickedness spirals ever downward to outright perversion.

What is Paul saying in this passage? That wicked behavior comes from refusal to believe in God and to take His Word seriously. When men mislead themselves and others by denying the truth about God, they head toward apostasy and then perversion. It begins with believing that it is all right to reject God and to deny His existence, and if they do not believe in Him, they feel there will be no retribution for the things that they want to do. 

According to what one believes is how one will tend to live; and if one believes it is okay to sin and there will be no consequence, then his sin will increase and he begins to degenerate to the most degrading and perverse sin imaginable.

The bottom line is that without God, man becomes wicked and totally depraved. Men's moral standards become more perverse and perverted as time goes on. This has been going on since Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden. Every baby that comes into the world starts out innocent but quickly takes on carnal human nature and as the child grows, that human nature, or spirit of rebellion grows in enmity against God. This enmity tends to cause men to suppress the truth about God and gives them license (in their own minds) to sin against God and some go on to do the most horrendous and despicable acts as we read about every day in the News.

This has been going on in every generation and every culture not just in the nations of Israel. And the truth is that this includes every individual on earth. Satan has deceived the whole world and all have suppressed the truth about God to some degree or another. Without God taking the veil from our eyes and without being called by Him to understand spiritual things, we all turn to wickedness.

These verses in Romans 1 about God's wrath involve all people. That is what Paul is trying to teach us and that unless we believe in Jesus, repent and continue to grow in righteousness, that we too will be kept under the wrath of God.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

God does not wink at sin but he delays punishment sometimes to work out His great plan that will benefit most individuals eventually. We, sometimes like Asaph, wonder why wicked men seem to get away with unrighteousness and good men suffer in this life.  But God allows certain things to go on to test all men and He sometimes uses the wicked as His instruments in molding and fashioning those He has called to become His sons and daughters. But as Asaph had to learn, God has appointed a day of wrath for those who persecute and hate the righteous.

Psalm 73:16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. (All of Psalm 73 makes a good study on this subject)

Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

As Christians we Must Love the Truth, Live it, and Teach it to Others

God says that those who do not love God's truth and refuse to teach and preach the whole Word of God will be held accountable for what they have done or have failed to do.  Those who God has called to be leaders in the church are ultimately responsible, for God says:

Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 

The apostle Paul fulfilled the responsibility that God called him to and he seems to be implying this principle from Ezekiel 3 in his farewell message to the elders in Asia, that we become guilty when we refuse to teach and preach all the truth of God's Word when he said:

Acts 20:26 Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

If we refuse to teach and preach "the whole counsel of God" or when the elders and leaders in the Ekklesia fail to see that it is taught, we will cause the people to stumble and fall into the correction that is coming, and we too will suffer the same consequences and will come under God's wrath. We must live and teach all of the Lord's will so we can be counted worthy to escape the wrath that is to come.

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The day of God's vengeance is coming but in His patience He has delayed His ultimate wrath these 6000 years of man's rule, allowing time for mankind to learn their lessons that unrighteousness and refusing to acknowledge Him only brings misery and every evil thing. 

It is sometimes hard for us to understand the wrath of God and the mercy God shows at the same time. It is different for each individual according to what God deems best. God in His wisdom uses His wrath to motivate men to come to repentance and it is according to His merciful timing as to when and how He does this, either by the trials and discipline we go through in our lives; or by the coming correction that will be accomplished by going through the tribulation.

God's wrath is a part of His incredible love that He has for humanity and wants each one to be ultimately saved from total destruction. His wrath may hurt us for a season but the goal is for all of us to repent of our evil and go on to perfection so that we can become a part of the Family of God some day. 

Just like a good parent who learns of his son's wrongdoing and has to discipline. The parent knows he has to mete out punishment in order to teach his child that certain acts are wrong and to see that sin brings consequences. It is not a pleasant thing for a parent to have to discipline, but the long term goal is to impart responsibility for one's actions in the child; and hopefully that child will grow up to be a god-fearing mature adult as a result of his father's discipline. 

Likewise it is God's desire that each individual come to a sincere repentance if at all possible in this present lifetime, in the Millennium or in the time of the Great Fall Harvest.

2nd Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

Proverbs 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. 

The prophet Jonah eloquently expressed God's mercy and His willingness to turn from His wrath when men and women repent and turn from their evil.

Jonah 3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. 

for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

In these last two verses we see the the loving attributes of God the Father and God the Son and we see first of all Jonah says that God is a gracious God. The word "gracious" means: (in Christian belief) showing divine grace, merciful,  compassionate,  kind, forgiving,  lenient, clement, forbearing, humane,  tenderhearted,  sympathetic, indulgent, generous, magnanimous, benign,  benevolent. (On-line Dictionary)

In addition, God is slow to anger, is merciful, of great kindness and He will turn back from bringing calamity if a people or nation repents. All of these virtues combined together with patience, allow God to work with people so they can have time to learn their lessons and perhaps turn from evil. He allows them to often remain alive long enough so that they may come to see the futility of wickedness and will eventually transform into the kind of persons God wants them to become; sons and daughters conformed to His image.

Jonah displayed the typical human type of anger and was displeased because God did not annihilate the wicked in Nineveh. But because God is GRACIOUS He was not willing to strike out at them immediately but allowed them time to show forth the fruits of repentance and when they did, God relented of the punishment that He had originally intended. If God struck down people instantly in livid impatience over their sins (like humans frequently do) no one would be able to remain alive for very long.

Paul understood this aspect of God's wrath and correction when Paul commanded the church in Corinth to disfellowship a man that was sinning and who at that time was unwilling to repent. Later the man came to his senses and did repent due to the fact that the congregation was willing to do the hard thing and hold him accountable for what he was doing. The actions of these leaders saved the man from perishing eternally even though he may have suffered the shame of being shunned by his brethren.

1st Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Going From Being the Children of Wrath to the Children of God

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

The English definition of "nature" has a range of different meanings of which the correct meaning must be determined by the context. In Ephesians 2:1-3 Paul defines it for us by listing the things previous to this statement that make us the children of wrath and how we came to be in that condition.

1. We were dead [doomed to die] in our transgressions and sins 

2. We walked according the course of this world, according to the prince of the      power of the air 

3. We were disobedient

4. We had our conversation [conduct] in the lust of our flesh 

5. We fulfilled the desires of our flesh and of our mind

Every one of these things listed by Paul in these verses is an indictment against the behavior we formerly engaged in. By these assessments we see that he is not referring to a passive acquisition of a sinful nature [being born into sin]. But rather Paul is talking about what we once did because of our natural habits and our inclination toward sin built up through years of unrighteous living before the time God intervened and called us to repent and to take on His righteousness.

Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Here Paul talks about how Gentles, who have never been taught about God and His law naturally make up their own laws and that their consciences can either accuse them or excuse them. It is how they behave according to their nature without God's intervening to teach them what they must do to live righteously.

Therefore something has to happen that changes the direction of our lives from being the "children of wrath" that we became as a result of our nature. And that change of direction comes as a result of God's calling us to become one of His beloved children. Sometimes we do not realize just how miraculous this intervention on God's part is. It is indeed a miracle!

God opens our mind to the truth and if we respond positively we then have the opportunity to repent and become one of His sons in lieu of remaining a child of wrath. Paul continues this line of thinking by then saying:

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

We cannot be in the kingdom and under the wrath of God at the same time; something has to change us and that change is possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ who saves us from the wrath to come.

Some of the same kind of sins that were mentioned in Romans 1:18-32 that bring on God's wrath are listed here to the Corinthians who used to do these things. But in these verses God tells them that they have been washed, they are now sanctified by Christ's sacrificial death applied to all their past sins.

1st Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

These verses teach that we are delivered from being under the wrath of God and from His ultimate wrath which is the lake of fire. It is what Christ has done for us if we sincerely repent, accept Christ's sacrifice and are forgiven. This is not just for those who God is calling now but this deliverance will be extended to all humanity at some point in each person's life. For all those who sincerely come to repentance and want to become a child of God, they too will have the opportunity to be a part of God's family where they will no longer be under His wrath.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

If we are called to believe in God, repent and become baptized, and commit to go and sin no more and remain faithful; we have nothing to fear from the "Wrath of God" for the heavenly Father has called us to be delivered from His wrath and attain salvation through the means that He has provided by His Son.

1st Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1st Thessalonians 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is because God loves us enough to use His wrath to discipline us when we sin and if we respond to that discipline, we then become delivered from the final wrath that is reserved for those who stubbornly refuse to repent.

When it is the work of the flesh "wrath" can bring us to destruction and ruin if it is not repented of; but the wrath of God brings about spiritual health and eternal life if we humbly acknowledge God's rule in our lives and respond with sincere repentance and in obedience when He disciplines us.

1st Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Constance