… for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
Summary: What is “wrath?” Is it something we should worry about? Does God really get angry with us? These questions are important when we consider where we want to spend eternity after this body of flesh we live in stops working.
When we say the prayer Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6: 9-13), we begin with “Our Father.” The reason this prayer begins this way is because God is our Father. He is the father of all of us.
When we accept God as our Father, we step into a relationship with him like no other. Our Father loves us and dotes on us. He protects us and is always ready to teach us. The closer we come to him, the nearer he is to us.
However, God isn’t nice to everyone.
God has emotions. We know this because the Bible says we are made in his image (Genesis 1:27), and we have emotions. In Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word for “wrath,” “orgé,” is defined as a “violent passion.” Then Strong’s adds the words “anger, indignation, vengeance, [and] wrath.”
What can we mere humans do to make God angry?
The Number One answer to that question is to deny he is God. The first Great Commandment (Matthew 22: 37-40) is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
God expects us, his creation, to acknowledge him and love him. When we don’t, it makes him angry.
When I was young, my dad would get angry over trivial things. He was inconsistent and unpredictable. Even later in life, when I was an adult, he would still become enraged at me, and I had no idea why.
God is never ambiguous. He has told us plainly in his Word that he is God and we are not. Moreover, he sent his Son, Jesus, to redeem us from death. He wants to be in a loving relationship with us. If we love him and trust him, he is a forgiving God. He knows we fall short of the mark in this life.
But if we rebel, if we remain apart from God and reject him, God becomes angry. It is not like we don’t know God exists (Romans 1:20). Some of us simply choose to turn our backs on God, and that irritates him. The word “wrath” wraps up the anger, indignation, and vengefulness that God feels when he is rejected by his Creation. It also describes the punishment God inflicts on those who reject him.
We have a choice. God’s love is unlimited. He is willing to forgive anything if we turn to him and confess our sins. But he does not forgive the unrepentant, and there is no place in heaven for those who reject the God of heaven. Instead, they get wrath.
Application: Confess the name of the Lord and turn away from wickedness. (2 Timothy 2:19)
Food for Thought: How is being disobedient different than making a mistake?
A very short study at what brings God’s wrath:
Afflicting widows and orphans
God’s people making idols
Breaking of God’s law/irreverence for God
Unatoned sin
Sacrifice to other gods
In short you might say, ignoring the greatest commandment.
How is being disobedient different than making a mistake?
Easy difference, planned vs oops.
There can be more nuance, I’m trying so hard not to do one wrong thing, that I unintentionally do five other wrongs.
Trying to break a bad habit (or rather a sinful one) it’s so ingrained into your life that you aren’t intentionally sinning, but you aren’t intentionally not sinning. The key to this one is that you recognized the behavior and you are actively trying to remedy it. Ask God where things stand on behaviors you haven’t realized the need to change. Then we all know where the sinful behaviors you see but choose to do nothing about fall.
A,
I like the “planned vs. oops” response.
Could that also be understood as “intentional vs. accidental”?
Well yes, but that’s far less fun.
🙂
How is being disobedient different than making a mistake?
If we know that truth, and the truth is evident in the forefront of our mind, and we choose disobedience, then we are not summitting to God’s will. If we know the truth, or we don’t quite have a full understanding of it yet, but realize our mistake, it is an opportunity to submit and “put off the old self” and have ” a renewal of our mind.” That is a beautiful part of God’s grace. To mindlessly make a mistake, and it become something that brings us closer to God, instead of being condemned for it. To have that change us from mindless to mindful, and that mindfulness be directed at God.
Chris,
I appreciate the way you point to the power of forgiveness and renewal with Christ in our lives. That is so important to understand. Thank you!
08-11-2-23, How is being disobedient different than making a mistake?
The term “mistake” implies an error in judgment—something done unintentionally.
My wife and I go walking each afternoon. As we walked one day she began laughing and asked me to look at my feet. I had a white tennis shoe on one foot, and a black one on the other foot. My mistake which would possible bring a little humor into the lives of others.
Romans 2:15, John 16:8, both teach, all mankind has been made fully aware of the difference between sin and righteousness, and are without excuse.
But when people refer to a sin as a mistake rather than a sin, they are either consciously or unconsciously evading responsibility—even while they claim to accept responsibility. We can call sin a mistake, an error, or a psychological twist, but God still calls it sin.
By claiming sin was a mistake:
We minimize our sin by calling it a mistake.
We avoid responsibility of our sins by calling them a mistake.
We deny God’s gift of conviction, guilt as we refuse to accept responsibility.
We avoid repentance, God’s mercy and power to change direction.
We break our relationship with God as we choose to live with our sin by avoiding forgiveness and cleansing.
Romans 2:15 states: The requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.
John 16:8, When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
Ecclesiastes 5:6, Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake.
Proverbs 12:15, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
Ron,
As I read your comment today, it seems like you have created a third category.
1. The mistake: White shoe, black shoe.
2. The sin: It’s against the law to wear a white shoe with a black shoe.
3. Wearing the white shoe and black shoe and then claiming it was a “mistake.”
If I understand you correctly, I agree, trying to rationalize sin is not going to work before God.
YES!
There have been many “shoe” moments in my busy little life. I do hope our Lord does smile every once in awhile.
Ron
Like the sock puppet comedian once said, “There’s no business like shoe business!” 🙂
Intentionality. You can make a mistake and still have good intentions.
Rich,
Yes. They say the road to hell is paved with “good intentions.” But this is not the same as intending to serve God and falling short, is it?
I think I might not be completely understanding the question. Which is ok. I don’t understand a lot of things😊
I’m right there with you, brother! 🙂