(This article is a continuation of the thoughts first developed in the blog: Recovering From a Toxic View of God.)
Having rejected the toxic Calvinistic paradigm of the self-centered, bitter, vindictive and aloof God in favor of the Biblical, other-centered, compassionate, relational paradigm of God, one comes sooner than later to the issues of how to correlate that loving God with punishment, wrath and judgment. That is the topic of this blog.
God’s motives and intentions are good
If God is good all the time and all the time God is good, then His motives and actions must be good as well. This means the intent behind His punishments must be restorative and redemptive versus the vengeful, angry punitive motives assigned to Him in toxic Calvinism.
Since relationship with man is His original and eternal goal, and the restoration of relationships the driving force behind atonement, all His behaviors and actions must be understood in that light. We should expect that all God’s dealings with man are meant to be redemptive (so far as it depends on God), including his motives and behaviors concerning punishment and judgment.
Rom 5:8-11 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. NASB
2 Cor 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. NASB
The fact is that not everyone accepts God’s redemptive overtures or Jesus’ offer of forgiveness from the cross. Some are eternally lost (a fact that grieves a loving Father). This negative outcome is never God’s desire and is regrettable to God (as with any good parent). It must be attributed to the abuse of man’s free will choices, because God desires that all men would be saved, as His actions in Jesus clearly show.
1 Tim 2:3-7 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. NASB
God sent His Son that the world might be saved. This speaks to His intentionality and motives. Salvation is offered to the whole world, to all mankind.
John 3:17-18 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. NASB
Anyone can be saved if they call upon the name of the Lord for salvation and follow that up with obedience and submission.
Acts 2:21 ‘And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ NASB
From the cross, Jesus offered forgiveness to everyone.
Luke 23:34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” …. NASB
All men everywhere are offered forgiveness, but not all men will receive it because they will not accept reconciliation with God on His terms. This lack of reconciliation is the consequence of man’s free will choices, not any plan or desire of a loving Father.
All too often we are like children who in their immaturity believe that they are the focus of the universe and are wiser than their parents. They think that their parents (and everyone else, for that matter) are put here to serve them and to assure that everything they wish for will come to pass. Lacking trust or faith in their parents, they sometimes malign their parents’ motives and accuse them of being unresponsive to their desires. This is perhaps understandable if the child is five but less so if the child is 25 or 35 of 50.
As a parent with more experience and wisdom, you usually know what’s best for your young children and, out of love for them, you act accordingly, realizing that they may not understand your actions until they are more mature. Your hope is that they will trust your motives and actions until the time when they can understand them.
We need to trust that God is at least as experienced and as wise as are we and loves us more than we love our own children. A central part of our salvation experience is trust which depends on our faith in God and His motives. All salvation is based in relationship and all relationship is based in trust.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (or not understood). NASB
Heb 11:6-7 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. NASB
It is a theological and psychological axiom that we tend to determine our image of God from our relationship with our father. That can be good news or bad news, depending on what our father was like. If he was stern, harsh, vindictive, punitive for his own sake, etc.,
we will see God like that and fall easily into the toxic Calvinistic paradigm. But if he was loving, gracious, obviously intent on our good will and sacrificial to his own needs, or if we have found a father-figure like that, we will read the Bible through those glasses. This latter father is what Jesus had in mind when He compared God’s motives and behaviors to our own father’s.
Matt 7:7-11 “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. 9 “Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “If you then, being evil (corrupted by sin), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! NASB
Luke 11:11-13 “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 “If you then, being evil (corrupted by sin), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” NASB
Jesus tells us pointedly
• that He and the Father are the same in nature
• and that if we have seen Jesus,
• we have seen the Father.
John 14:6-12 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. NASB
Perhaps we have embraced the loving, gracious father-model for ourselves regardless of how our fathers treated us. Perhaps we began to understand unconditional love once our own children were born. In any case, we should properly conclude that God must be at least as moral, ethical, loving and gracious as are we on our best day.
Jesus constantly compared the Father to Himself. “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” “I and the Father are one.” If we are unsure of the goodness of God, perhaps we should accept the perspective of Jesus in this area.
Why must a father punish a child?
Is it reasonable that a good father would never punish his child? Is it intrinsically wrong to punish our children? Hebrews 12 is a definitive chapter on discipline.
Heb 12:5-13 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him. 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. 12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
The word for discipline here (paideuo) refers to training as well as reproof. It is the Greek word from which we get the English word student or pedagogue. Discipline is a sign of God’s fatherhood to us and of our legitimacy.
Good fathers make sure their sons are prepared to function in the adult world (Training). They teach them how to work hard and effectively. They teach them how to persevere. Good fathers make sure their sons are morally upright, confronting sin and bad behavior in them from their earliest days (Reproof). Bad fathers ignore their sons’ work habits and morality. These fathers are not actually fathers at all. They certainly are not good fathers.
Discipline causes us to grow up right and become successful. Our earthly fathers disciplined us for temporal purposes. Our Heavenly Father disciplines us for eternal purposes. This speaks us and informs us about the real motive and intent of God’s discipline and His redemptive heart.
Discipline by nature is sometimes momentarily less than pleasant. No pain, no gain. Afterwards it yields much-needed and desirable results. Therefore, we should embrace God’s discipline (Training and Reproof). We should seek out the discipline of the Lord. We need to intentionally put our hand to the task. We need to strengthen our knees (and our resolve). We need to go do that which is “set before us.” Then that which is weak in us will become healed or whole. If not, our circumstances will only get worse.
Heb 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
A wise man will pursue sanctification so that he might be able to see (discern) the Lord. Long after he has ceased being disciplined for childish behaviors, a wise man will continue to seek correction, discipline and confrontation for his sins. King David tells us in no uncertain terms that this is so. God’s discipline, including punishment, is for our benefit in the same way we will seek invasive and sometimes painful surgery to save our life.
Ps 51:1-4 For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against Thee, and Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.
Ps 51:5-9 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. (This means that I have a fallen nature and a propensity to sinfulness.) 6 Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. 9 Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Ps 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.
Ps 51:14-17 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise. 16 For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
When we reject the discipline of God, we condemn ourselves to destruction, even eternal destruction. I believe that God Himself damns no one, but He allows us to choose to abandon Him when we consistently reject His attempts to redeem us. When people reject the things of God and later wish they had chosen otherwise, it may be too late to repent.
There is no chance to repent after death. Standing in God’s presence and seeing what has been lost will result in many tears and great anguish. There will be no place for repentance at that point. There will be only remorse, horrible, painful, desperate remorse.
We can get so committed to the world that we cannot repent even though we now see what is right. The only truly unpardonable sin is unrepentance. That is the meaning of what the Bible calls “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” (Mt 12:31). It is the rejection of the basic ministry of the Holy Spirit, the unwillingness or inability to repent. Some people become too proud to admit their mistake even when they see it clearly.
Some people reject God so long and so strongly that they put themselves horribly, permanently outside of God’s grace because they unable or unwilling to receive it. Their decision becomes FINAL in their hearts. God accepts their decision and ceases to pursue them to repentance.
Hos 4:16-17 Since Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer, can the LORD now pasture them like a lamb in a large field? 17 Ephraim is joined to idol. Let him alone. NASB
God eventually calls off His prophets when it is apparent that we are not going to be responsive. God’s attempts at reaching us are progressive in intensity and methodology according to Psalm 32: 8-10
Ps 32:8-10 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go. I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. NASB
A well-trained obedient son responds easily to just his mother’s gaze. If you and your brother are wrestling around on the bench at church and your mother just looks your way, you straighten up. Your training and your obedience render such correction a painless process. A sensitive man can be “led by the eye” of others in knowing what to do.
A less sensitive creature with the aptitude of a horse is led by the bit and the bridle, a less comfortable mechanism of training and reproof. God can use health and finances, for instance, as mechanisms to get our attention so we will turn our eye back to Him for direction.
When that level of discipline fails because we are too hard-hearted, God lets us have our way and suffer the consequences in hopes that those consequences will turn our hearts back to seek Him. The Prodigal Son was Jesus’ poster child for this level of discipline. In every case, the motive and intent of God is redemptive, restorative, loving and positive. Unfortunately, there are going to be some children who will never respond to the Father and disconnect themselves even from His grace. In the end, they condemn themselves.
Punishment is necessary also because of justice issues. If one child is abusing another child, it would be unjust for a father to do nothing. As much as he would prefer not to punish either child, justice requires that he protect the innocent from the abuser.
Sometimes God’s punishments are seen on a global scale in order to save one group of people from the behavior of another. The flood comes to mind. Noah’s flood served to prevent the human species from extinction. The confusion of the language at the tower of Babel was done on a large scale to prevent having to redo another global flood-like event.
God sometimes limits just judgment for the sake of the innocent as seen is the passage below about the great tribulation.
Matt 24:19-23 “But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! 20 “But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath; 21 for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. 22 “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short. NASB
Even when God sends His people into exile as a group because of the overall scope of their corporate sinfulness and mistreatment of their neighbor, He assures the few righteous among them that He will be with them in the midst of their exile.
Isa 3:10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them (in exile), for they will eat the fruit of their actions. NASB
Throughout the Old Testament and even into modern times, God uses one nation or nations to punish other nations. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans were used this way in the ancient world. The Allies were used to punish the Axis nations in the same manner in World War II. In every case, God is using one imperfect people to discipline another imperfect people, because He cannot find any perfect people to use as His rod of discipline. Imperfect people are going to do things imperfectly.
Old Testament nations have no chance to act out of a New Testament understanding of grace, and we are foolish to expect that they would. God used the imperfect Israelites to discipline the Amorite, Canaanite peoples in Moses’ and Joshua’s days. People who fail to understand Progressive Revelation are quick to take God to task about this practice. A thorough explanation of Progressive Revelation can be found in my blog by the same name.
Some have criticized God for using nations to “drive out nations,” but consider the options. If God, who has all authority to punish His people, uses nuclear-like obliteration as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, He leaves no land to pass on to the sons of Abraham. If he uses vast epidemics and plagues on a global scale, He creates an ecological nightmare that once again eliminates the land for usage for generations to come. The Bible tells us that the Amorites had 400 years to repent and follow God, but they did not.
Gen 15:13-17 And God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” NASB
God told Joshua to “drive out” the Amorite nations, and if they would not leave, to destroy them. It is by their choice that they were annihilated. God was bringing His holiness into Canaan and His wrath drove out all unholiness from before Him, including the people who clung to their unholiness rather than converting to Israel’s God. After all, the land had always belonged to God. It was His right to give it to whomever He chose.
The Gibeonites in Joshua 9 are one small group that found a way to convert and live. David’s army was full of non-Israelites that became a part of Israel and lived. Even Caleb, one of the faithful spies, was an Edomite (Kenezzite) on his father’s side (Gen 15:19; Gen 36:11-15, 42).
For scriptures concerning “drive out,” see Ex 23:28; 33:2; 34:11, 24; Lev 20:23; Num 33:52-55; Dt 11:23; Josh 16:10; 17:18; Jdg 1:19-33; 2:21; 2 Chron 20:7; Ps 44:2; 80:8.
Understanding the Wrath of God
Let’s start by quoting Nelson’s Bible Dictionary on WRATH.
The personal manifestation of God’s holy, moral character in judgment against sin. Wrath is neither an impersonal process nor is it irrational and fitful like anger. It is in no way vindictive or malicious. It is holy indignation, God’s anger directed against sin.
God’s wrath is an expression of His holy love. If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the Cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son.
The Bible declares that all people are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3). “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18). Since Christians have been “justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom 5:9). The magnitude of God’s love is manifested in the Cross, where God’s only Son experienced wrath on our behalf.
“The day of the Lord’s wrath” (Zeph 1:18) is identical with “the great day of the Lord” (Zeph 1:14). These terms refer to “the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:16), Jesus Christ, that will fall on the ungodly at His Second Coming (1 Thess 1:10; 5:9; 2 Thess 1:7-10). (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Toxic Calvinist paradigms again corrupt the understanding of this attribute of God and turn it into a mean, vindictive and angry reaction against fallen man. Biblical paradigms of God teach that God is not mean. He is just “other.”
If one goes into a CDC clean room laboratory, one must shower, don a protective suit and walk through a gateway chamber where electronic scrubbers attack all dirt, bacteria and foreign substances in order to keep the laboratory clean and pure so as to not corrupt the integrity of the experiments. The activity in that gateway chamber is akin to God’s wrath. It breaks out against all unholiness, but it is neither angry nor mean.
If God dwelt in the ocean and we wished to dwell with Him, we would be in trouble because we could not breathe underwater. The water is neither angry nor mean. It is just “other” than us. In this analogy, Jesus grants us His righteousness which would be like giving us gills so we can dwell safely with God.
If I pick up a fallen 220 wire laying on the ground after a storm and I am ungrounded, it will kill me but it is neither angry nor mean. It is just “other.” In this analogy, we must be grounded in Jesus to handle the wire safely.
Biblically speaking, God’s wrath is His holy nature that pushes out all unholiness so that He and we may dwell in holiness. It is not aimed at punishing people. It is aimed at purifying the environment so that we may dwell in safety with God. In the same way, light drives out darkness without anger or vengeance.
God’s culture of holiness drives out unholiness. If men let go of their unholiness to dwell in God’s holiness, they are saved. If they are so committed to their unholiness that they cling to it, they will be driven out along with their unholiness, but it is not what God wants for them. It is their choice.
Understanding the Judgment of God
Judgement is the requirement of justice. Authentic judgement is always the result of choices made in the face of principles or rules defined. A holy God reveals Himself and His Torah, His basic operating principles. A proper biblical understanding of Torah Law is necessary to understand the judgment of a loving God. The subject is immense, but for our purposes it can be summarized in the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and in an understanding of Psalm 19.
Certain rituals of Law are not able to able to save us. Therefore, they are not binding upon Christians, but Jesus tells us clearly that we must keep the Torah Law, even when we no longer have to honor certain of its rituals.
Matt 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. NAS
Torah Law (vs. ritual law) includes (as outlined in Ps 19:7-11)
• God’s precepts,
• His testimony,
• His commandments,
• His judgments and the fear of the Lord
• (the requirement to respect God as above us).
Ps 19:7-9 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
Some people think the Law is all about dos and don’ts, but it is much bigger than that.
• “The Law” (torah) is divinely revealed teaching,
• God’s “Ways,” expressed in the following term:
• “Statutes” or “Testimony” (edot) are God’s covenant terms to be kept.
• “Precepts” (piqqudim) are detailed rules for life.
• “Commands” (miswot) are the insistent will of a personal God who is Israel’s Lord.
• “Decrees” (huqqim) are rulings written down and prescribed for permanent observance.
• “Laws” or “Judgments” or “Ordinances” (mispatim) are verdicts of the divine Judge covering a full range of circumstances.
• “Fear” (yirah) is dreadful respect.
• “Words” is the translation of two Hebrew words:
i. (dabar) is the communications of God’s will to His people, and
ii. (imrah) is used to convey God’s promises.
iii. The Torah is seen as God’s perfect revelation in words.
iv. Jesus is seen as God’s perfect revelation in human form,
1. the perfect reflection of the Father.
2. All of these nouns go to make up God’s Torah.
Ps 19:10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned. In keeping them there is great reward.
The “Torah” of God is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean and true. The Torah principles are more to be desired than honey or gold, and by the “Torah” of God we are warned against the five-step progression of sin seen here below.
Ps 19:12-14 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13 Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins. Let them not rule over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. NASB
First in the progression comes “Errors,” simple mistakes in behavior or character. We have no culpability at this level; e.g., a baby’s anger. We are just making mistakes in our ignorance. We do not understand it is wrong and are not yet willful in our sinful behavior.
Next comes “Faults,” cracks in our character. Bad habits develop in our behavior due to a repetition of errors, but there is still no culpability until we are confronted by “Torah,” because they are not yet willful. Knowing our Bible helps us to avoid the errors that become hidden faults.
Presumptuous sin follows when we intend to sin. Now we are knowledgeable, self-willed and culpable. We know something is wrong, but we do it anyway. Knowing and willful sin (presumptuous sin) can permit, allow and authorize demonic activity and, eventually, demonic takeover in us. We commit the sin willfully. We ignore or reject “Torah.”
Dominion (demonic takeover) can be the next stage in the progression. This is demonic assistance that takes us over, controls us. The sin “controls” us (vs. we do the sin) usually even more than we wanted or planned. Our willful sin provides a legal right for the demon to move in. Jesus said that even if we sweep the house clean of demonic activity, if we do not fill it up with the Holy Spirit’s righteousness, the demons can come back in greater strength and the second condition will be worse than the first.
Matt 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” NASB
Then can come the Great Transgression, the unwillingness or inability to repent. If we cannot or will not repent, we become delusionary in our thinking, and depraved in our minds, believing that evil is actually a good thing and that good is evil (Rom 1:18-32).
Let’s use a concrete example. A baby cries because he is wet or hungry. Usually, his mother responds promptly, but on one occasion, the mother is distracted or asleep and does not hear him. Eventually the baby gets angry and shrieks until someone comes. His anger is inappropriate, but he is a baby and he does not know that. He has made an error that he does not understand and for which he is not culpable – yet.
When over time the baby uses anger with increasing frequency to get his way, he develops a fault in his character, an inappropriate response that becomes habitual. Because he does not yet understand God’s Torah, he is still not culpable, just morally damaged.
Then he comes to an age where he can understand right from wrong. He is taught how to respond to difficulty or frustration and he modifies his behavior accordingly, Or he decides he does not care if it is wrong. He just knows it is effective as a strategy to get whatever he wants. He uses anger to manipulate and control people even though he knows he should not. He has now opened himself up to possible demonic activity.
The Bible suggests that demons have specific evil natures or tendencies; e.g., anger, lust, murder, a lying spirit, etc. A demon of anger roaming around looking for a place to dwell (a human to inhabit) sees Johnny and his mechanism for using anger as a weapon. To the demon of anger, Johnny looks like a perfect home, so he moves into Johnny who willfully, but probably unknowingly, receives him.
Now Johnny has a serious problem. He no longer controls his anger. His anger controls him, takes him over. He finds himself becoming angry when he did not really mean to be or more than he intended to be and anger begins to dominate his life. He destroys relationships because of his fierce and incontrollable anger. He gets fired because he becomes angry with his boss when he actually did not want to or could not control it.
The demon now has dominion over Johnny. If he does not repent and seek deliverance, the demon will lead him into other perverse behaviors; e.g., violence, and away from God and His Torah until he is totally lost.
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If we ultimately accept the Lordship of God and seek to walk in accordance with His Torah principles, we will be accepted into His presence both now and for eternity. God will be our proud and happy Father prepared to share His reality and presence with His obedient children. If we ultimately reject the Lordship of God and seek to walk in opposition to those Torah principles, we will condemn ourselves to separation from God both now and for eternity. The same loving Father will be grieved but unable to negate the consequences of our choices.
He will try to reach us over our lifetime to persuade us to choose to follow Him. He reveals Himself in creation. He reveals Himself in our consciences. He sends prophets. He reveals Himself in His word, the scriptures, and He ultimately reveals Himself in Jesus through both His words and His death on the cross. Therefore, we are without excuse. He allows us to choose and suffer the consequences if we ultimately choose to reject Him and His Torah.
Rom 1:16-25 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore, God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NASB
Rom 1:26-27 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
Rom 1:28-32 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. NASB
Rom 2:9-16 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. NASB
In summary, the judgment of God is the result of the free will choices of man. God gives us the knowledge of Who He is and what He values and the free will to choose how we will respond to that. He fervently wishes that none would be lost but that all might come to the knowledge of the glory of God and enter eternally into His presence. He grieves as would any good Father when we temporarily or ultimately choose to reject Him and His offer of intimate fellowship.
He disciplines us to encourage us to return to Him or to protect the innocent from our behaviors due to the need for justice. By His presence in our midst, by His Son come among us and by His church, God pushes back the darkness and the ungodliness to allow us to have the opportunity to come into His presence both now and for eternity. That is the true understanding of His wrath.
We do not always understand all of His behaviors among us. No child, while they are young, ever fully understands the disciplinary motives and behaviors of their parents. But if we believe in the biblical loving Father God Who is good all the time, if we have faith in His goodness, we can trust that someday we will see that all of His actions and motives among us are benevolent, compassionate and necessary.