Over the years I’ve encountered a number of Christians who struggle with passages in the Bible dealing with God’s wrath. As I read through the book of Lamentations this morning, I was reminded of how the Lord’s judgment could appear excessive to some. Amid the Babylonian siege, the thought of small children starving in the streets of Jerusalem and mothers eating their dead children to survive greatly offends modern sensibilities.

The idea of a vengeful God is especially repulsive to the secular mind, yet it is a major theme that runs throughout the Scriptures. Yet, sadly most pulpits are completely silent on the subject. We’ve come a long way from Jonathan Edward’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” to what Richard Niebuhr called “a God without wrath bringing men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” Cultural influence has led us to believe that love equals affirmation. To condemn anything in a person’s life is construed as hateful. Through the teachings of Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuller, Joel Osteen and others, God has been reduced to a personal advisor, life coach and cosmic bellhop. To a great degree, the seeker sensitive movement has removed wrath, judgment and hell from many pastors' sermon repertoires.

The demise of damnation in the American church reflects a growing ignorance of God’s holiness. His wrath is in perfect harmony with all his attributes and is his retributive justice towards sinners. The prophet Nahum wrote: "The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies." (Nahum 1:2)

If the Bible's portrayal of God's vengeance is a struggle for you, I would say three things:

First, the Bible reveals that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He is slow to anger and great in mercy. His anger toward sinners is never capricious or some kind of divine temper tantrum. His judgments are always perfectly just and righteous. In the midst of Lamentations, Jeremiah reminds us that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning.

For centuries, the Lord sent prophets to call his people back to obedience and faith in him. However, they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy (see 2 Chronicles 36:16).

Second, God’s wrath motivates repentance. Could the failure to preach God’s wrath be responsible for many churchgoers who are comfortable in their sin and who remain unconverted? Edward’s famous sermon led to revival in the 18th century, resulting in the conversion of thousands. The prophet Joel proclaimed to rebellious Judah, “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.” (Joel 2:13 NLT)

Third, God’s wrath magnifies his love. The Word of God teaches that love devoid of a moral standard is not love at all. If you love your children, you hate anything that would threaten their well-being, including their own sin. God’s love is best understood against the backdrop of his hatred for sin. It was love that led Jesus to drink the cup of divine wrath because there was no other way sinners could find forgiveness and for all who trust in Christ there is no condemnation.