The theme of the wrath (or anger) of God toward sin and toward sinners is clearly and widely taught in the Bible. And this truth is so interwoven with the hope of our peace with one another and with God that, if we lose our grasp on the one, we lose our hope of the other.

The anger of God is not like human anger.
When we speak about the wrath of God, remember that it is the wrath of God. Everything that we know about Him—that He is just, that He is love, and that He is good—needs to be poured into our understanding of His wrath.

The words ‘anger’ and ‘wrath’ make us think about our own experience of these things. You may have suffered because of someone who is habitually angry. Human anger can often be unpredictable, petty, and disproportionate. These things are not true of the anger of God. God’s wrath is the just and measured response of His holiness towards evil.

Here are five ways God’s anger is different from ours.

1. God’s wrath is provoked.

Do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness (Deut. 9:7).

This kind of language is used repeatedly in the Bible. The anger of God is not something that resides in Him by nature. It is a response to evil. It is provoked.

There is a very important difference between God’s anger and his love. The Bible says, “God is love.” That is His nature. God’s love is not provoked. God does not love us because He sees some wisdom, beauty, or goodness in us. The reason that God loves us lies in His nature, not in ours.

But God’s wrath is different. It is His holy response to the intrusion of evil into His world. If there was no sin in the world, there would be no wrath in God.

It has often been pointed out that the opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference. What hope would we have in a world stalked by terror if God merely looked on with a weak smile or even a disapproving frown? Hope for a world whose history is strewn with violence lies in a God who is relentlessly opposed to all evil, and who has the power, the capacity, and the will to destroy it.

2. God is slow to anger.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ps. 103:8).

These qualities are repeated over and over in the Old Testament, as if they were the most important things you needed to know about God.

Why does God allow evil to continue in the world? Why does He not come back now and wipe it out? 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

God offers grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. People are coming to Him in faith and repentance every day, and God patiently holds the door of grace open. The day of God’s wrath will come, but He is not in a hurry to bring it—because then the door of grace will be closed.

3. God’s wrath is revealed now.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18).

When you read on in Romans 1, you find that sinners go in one of three directions. They suppress the truth about God, they exchange the truth for a lie, and they worship created things rather than the Creator. How does God reveal His wrath when sinners do these things? God gives them up.

Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity (Rom. 1:24).
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions (Rom. 1:26).

When we see the moral fabric of our culture being torn, Christian believers should cry to God for mercy on the basis of Romans 1: “Lord, what we see around us is a sign of your wrath and judgment. Be merciful, O Lord, and please do not give us up completely.”

4. God’s wrath is stored up.

Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed (Rom. 2:5).

The whole Bible story leads up to a day when God will deal with all evil finally and forever. On that day, God’s judgment will be fully revealed. This will be the day of wrath when God will recompense every evil.

God will do this in perfect justice. No one will be indicted on a single sin that they did not commit, and the punishment for every sin will match the crime. Every mouth will be stopped, because everyone will know that He judged in righteousness. Then God will usher in a new heaven and earth which will be the home of righteousness.

5. God’s wrath is on sinners.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (Jn. 3:36).

John does not say, “The wrath of God will come on the disobedient.” He says, “The wrath of God remains on him.” It is already there. Why? By nature we are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). It is the state in which we were born.

Here we stand face to face with the human problem at its core. What is it? It is not that we are lost and need to find our way on a spiritual journey. It is not that we are wounded and need to be healed. The core of the human problem is that we are sinners under the judgment of God, and His divine wrath hangs over us, unless it is taken away.

God’s wrath was poured out.
This takes us to the heart of what happened at the cross. The divine wrath toward sin was poured out, or spent, on Jesus. He became the ‘propitiation’ for our sins (Rom. 3:25) as He became the sacrifice for us. This big word ‘propitiation’ means that the recompense or the payment for our sins was poured out on Jesus at Calvary.

The outpouring of God’s wrath on Jesus Christ was the greatest act of love this world has ever seen. And Jesus stands before us today, a living Savior. He offers to us the priceless gift of peace with God. He is ready to forgive your sins and to fill you with His Spirit. He is able to save you from the wrath and to reconcile you to the Father. He has opened the door of heaven, and He is able to bring you in. Are you ready to find peace with God through Him?





This article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Overcoming Evil with Peace”, from his series, Overcoming Evil.

This is what happens when comprehension isn't there.

that is the problem when someone think his kind of comprehension is THE pathway to heaven / salvation.

Becket Cook joins Eric Metaxas to discuss his powerful story of redemption from being a gay atheist to finding Jesus Christ.

wow, a powerful testimony indeed.

sadly, this isn't considered politically correct there, even in some USA church. out of some weird reason, they think that homosexuals isn't a sin.

Blessings everyone, grace and peace to all of you, including LS advocates.

I'm going by scripture.

Salvation is God saving you. Hence, the meaning of Savior. One who saves you. If you have a part in Salvation (IE your obedience), it would be recorded quite clearly in Bible but it's not there.

If you say that obedience is required in Salvation, that makes it works base Salvation because it is "required" of you "doing" for Salvation.

And to say that Salvation by grace is erroneous, sorry to say the Bible does not agree with you.

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

Emphasis on underline and bold part.

We obey God because of WHO God is.

We don't obey God to get Saved.

There is a difference.

The works of Salvation is of spiritual nature, something I would say ..to make it plain and simple; is pure if not holy where there can be no mixture of any of Man's performances or effort. It is God's Work.

If God require Man's obedience to be saved, it would be recorded in the Bible but it's not there. God alone is the one saving you.

Romans 4:4-5 (NIV) - Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 5:19 (NIV) - For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

I think the part where LS advocates do not understand is that they think when we say obedience cannot be a requirement, they interpret it as.."OH these people are asking people to disobey God".

See the problem?

And yes, to the other brother has comprehension problem, I said you will not find Jesus being angry towards any sinners who come to Him, you won't find it in the Bible. So what happen next? he go and post 2 article of talking about God's wrath and anger by the phrase "someone said jesus was never angry".

That is indeed comprehension problem.

2 Thessalonians 1:8 (NIV) - He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

1 Peter 4:17 (NIV) - For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Romans 10:16 (NIV) - But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

Okay lets look at these verse as quoted.


Not sure what Romans 10:16 has to do with obedience required for Salvation, don't see it in this verse.

Lets look at 2 Thessalonians 1:8 & 1 Peter 4:17,

what is obeying the Gospel Of Jesus Christ?

We look at the entire message in the Bible.

The Gospel = Good News that everyone can be saved from their sins via Faith in Jesus Christ. Many times in the Bible God has repeated warned those who reject Christ for Salvation, these will be condemn by their own self-confession to eternal separation from God the Father, agree?

To obey the Gospel means to Submit to what the Good News proclaim; Which is to believe and accept Christ saving you from your sins. What does it even mean here?

To Submit that, CHRIST is the one who saves you. Not you. Your obedience cannot save you.

To Add so that you know.

Of course the other important overall message is repentance from Sin.

But yet many tend to forget; when you accept and believe in Christ Jesus for Salvation, He will also send the Holy Spirit into the believer's life to transform the person's heart for the redemptive work. The work will be there. And as I said many times you cannot use the Work of the Holy Spirit as pre-requisite because God is the one working after the pre-requisite has been met. Let God work, you pray and continue to love others.

BTW food for thought.

If the work of the HS comes after the pre-requisite of Faith being the criteria , how can it still be a pre-requisite as criteria? Even LS theology readily agree that one is saved before any works is manifested.

Pre-requisite would mean you MUST be already obedient before you are saved. It just doesn't make any sense would it?

And I completely understand that you criticize all these because you are worried of false conversion IE false believer or even false teachers and things like this, my answer to this is;

Have faith that God is stronger and able to reach the person but you have a responsibility to pray for the troubled believers / back-slided believer if you are worried about this issue and IF you are really worried or care about the said person.

But will you do this in obedience to God? Just some self reflection.



This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Feb 20 2023, 11:52 AM

well, look like someone's English comprehension differ greatly from mine. When I read those proposed by lordship salvation camp, actually i didn't get any idea work is needed for salvation. It occur to me, it is more like a strawman argument of the said person, he put up a point, which isn't backed by original post, and attempt to show he can defeat it with grand slam. Although i don't agree fully with John Macarthur since his point since probably more on Calvinist side. but i concur the different is minor and doesn't affect the main doctrine of Christianity.

well let see what John MacArthur said about repentance, which is like the word 'work', another word some church now avoid like plague.

The meaning of the word repentance has been twisted in recent years to the point that its biblical meaning is now obscured in the minds of many. The idea that genuine repentance could result in anything but a change of life is completely foreign to Scripture.

What does the Bible teach about the relationship between salvation and repentance? First, it teaches that repentance is essential to salvation. One cannot truly believe unless he repents, and one cannot truly repent unless he believes. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin (but they are not synonymous terms). Acts 11:18 and 2 Peter 3:9 are two of the many verses that teach that repentance is necessary for salvation. Perhaps 2 Timothy 2:25 best sums up the relationship between repentance and saving faith when it speaks of "repentance to the acknowledging of the truth" (see also Acts 20:21).

Second, the Greek word for repentance (metanoia) means "to have another mind," but it cannot properly be defined to exclude a sense of hatred of and penitence for sin. The biblical concept of repentance involves far more than merely a casual change of thinking. Biblically, a person who repents does not continue willfully in sin. Repentance is a turning from sin, and it always results in changed behavior (Luke 3:8). While sorrow from sin is not equivalent to repentance, it is certainly an element of scriptural repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Finally, despite what is being widely taught today, affirming that repentance and acknowledgement of Jesus' lordship are necessary to salvation does not "add" anything to the requirement of faith for salvation. It is not "faith plus repentance" that saves, but rather a repentant faith. The notion that salvation is possible apart from a genuine, heartfelt repentance, which includes a deep hatred of sin, is a relatively new one, neither believed nor taught by the people of God until the twentieth century.

You know, it is quite puzzling when NIV replace the word 'work' with 'deeds'.

Faith and Deeds
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

compare that with ESV

Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

And ASV

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. 18 [h]Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. 19 Thou believest that [i]God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 [j]Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23 and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, [k]And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; [l]and he was called the friend of God. 24 Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

About the good thief, was there anything else that the good thief could have done for it to be considered as works or deeds while hanging on the cross ?

So now it's no longer talking on anger with regards to comprehension, now it's diverted to repentance?

Sure, scripture can explain those too.

The Greek word use for repentance is "metanoia" = change of mind. That is the accurate definition. Change of mind to believe that God is good. That is repentance. You can study the 3 parables of lost sheep, coin and prodigal son, it's in line with that.

Most people would think repentance has to do crying at the altar, being sorrowful over your sin or to turn away or do restitution. Sure it can involve all those but is that the kind of repentance that God teach in the Bible?

Consider this fact; Judas who betrayed Jesus.

Matthew 27:3 (NIV) - When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

Was he sorrowful over his wrong? Yes scripture recorded he was seized with remorse
Did he do restitution over his wrong? Yes, he returned 30 silver.
Did he realize he was wrong? Yes, verse 4 says he acknowledged he "betraying innocent blood"

Did Judas repented? You tell me, why he wasn't granted Salvation? Well I know, but you can ponder about it.

I submit to you, the repentance that Bible ask is this

Romans 12:2 (NIV) - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

There you go again, change of mind that leads to Godly changes.

Some people perhaps are so afraid of the word mental assent, they demonize it. But not for God. God uses what little Faith, the moment we change our mind and agree with Him, BANG! The Holy Spirit goes to work in our lives.

With this understanding in mind, we can then take look at all the scripture used supposedly needed for Salvation. It is the same in principle for Act 11:8, 2 Peter 3:9 and 2 Timothy 2:25

We'll look at Acts 11: 18 as example.

But before that, if you read in Acts 10;

The message which Apostle Peter preached in Cornelius house, he did not use the word repentance to the gentiles and yet the Holy Spirit fell on them, you can read this account in Acts 10 the chapter before Acts 11:18. How is that possible without the requirement for repentance as criteria? How come???

But what you will notice is that, what was preached was the message on "forgiveness of sins". <---This.

After this account then....

Acts 11:18 (KJV) - When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Once you understand the context in Acts 10, then you will be able to understand Acts 11:18 better.

KJV brings out the message better. If it can be paraphrased; God has granted the Gentiles repentance unto Life , this is why we believe repentance is also a grace gift.

God is the one who gives them the grace of changed of the mind unto life. It didn't say the gentiles believers themselves acted on their own in repentance (whatever "action" it was) first in order to qualify for Salvation. Nothing of this was recorded of this in Acts 10.

Same thing you will notice even in 2 Timothy 2:25, God is the one granting repentance to the knowledge of truth. (Nothing to do with Salvation here).

Nothing whatsoever.

Precisely. 🙂

And of course nobody is capable of repentance unless God is the one working in the person's life. Many times the way words are being phrased, it's as if the person is capable of repentance on his own strength. This is an error, if you think you can on your own.

What is the will of the Father?

John 6:40 (NIV) - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

No such thing as if anyone believes that Jesus had forgiven their sins but there is no need to stop sinning. What I said about the misunderstanding is being exhibited. haih.

Thank you. The basis of Salvation granted to that dying is the same for all of us.

lol, now the good thief? I assume it is directed at catholic? since catholic themselves didn't say you can achieve salvation by work, i just put what they said below (disclaimer here: i actually think that catholic and traditional protestant is closer in their doctrine if compared with some 'new' church today):-

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

With these words, St. Dismas (one of the two thieves crucified with Jesus) was saved by Our Lord who promised: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).

Unfortunately, some Christians cite this beautiful story as evidence against the Catholic theology of salvation, claiming that salvation is by faith alone and anything in addition is contrary to the gospel. (This is the Reformation doctrine of sola fide). After all, they point out, the thief on the cross was never baptized, never received the Eucharist, never did any good works—yet he was saved!


But there are several problems with proof-texting St. Dismas in this manner.

First, a rather large assumption is being made concerning the thief’s sacramental record. How do we know he wasn’t baptized? The Bible doesn’t say he was—but it doesn’t say he wasn’t. We certainly would not want to argue a positive case from silence, but neither should those who assume the thief was not baptized (the Bible doesn’t report the apostles’ baptisms either!).

It is also noteworthy that the good thief seems to have been catechized to some level. He knew Jesus had done nothing wrong, that Jesus was Lord, and that Jesus was going to his kingdom after he died (something Jesus made clear only to his disciples—see Matthew 13:10-11). It is possible, then, that the thief on the cross was a fallen-away disciple (cf. Matt. 27:44) who repented on the cross. If so, it’s likely that he would have been baptized.

The second and much bigger problem is that even if the good thief had never been baptized, the analogy between his life and most other people’s is insufficient to support sola fide. One issue is that the thief lived and died under the Old Covenant. The sacraments, such as Christian baptism and the Eucharist, are part of the New Covenant, which was not fully in place until Jesus died (Heb. 9:15-18, Acts 19:1-6).

Another problem with the analogy is that the good thief’s situation was unlike virtually any person’s in history. What God does for someone in an extremely unusual context should not reassure anyone outside those same conditions. Further, treating this “edge case” as a general principle actually proves too much. Would any Christian agree that the gospel can be boiled down to asking to be remembered in Jesus’ kingdom? Moreover, if the good thief is a standard-setting example, why not others? Jesus forgave the sins of many people in a wide variety of circumstances that few consider normative today. In Mark 2:5, for instance, Jesus forgives a man based on his friends’ faith! What does that do for “salvation by faith alone”?

A third reason why this story doesn’t support sola fide is that the good thief on the cross actually seems to have exhibited all the faith and works that he could, given his situation. The fact that his physical limitations made it impossible for him to do anything more than speak was certainly not lost on God! Amidst all the assumptions made about this short story, one that seems safe is that had any sacrament been made available to the good thief for salvation, he would have received it. This hardly supports the theology behind sola fide, which eschews the need for good works under any circumstances.

In conclusion, it is important to understand that the Church makes many normative statements that are easily criticized when made into absolutes, and the sacraments fall prey to these illicit attacks all the time. The Church actually teaches that although we are bound to God’s sacraments, God is not. The Church baptizes because that is how God revealed that New Covenant believers enter into salvation (e.g., Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38, 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21)—but this does not mean God cannot save without baptism (see CCC 1257-1258). The same might be said of the Eucharist (cf. John 6:53-54). God looks on the heart, not just the body—and a person who unwillingly cannot participate in the sacraments is not judged for that.

There are unusual and extreme situations when normative salvific requirements cannot be met, and yet salvation remains possible. God knows this, and the Church teaches it. But unusual circumstances do not disprove normative expectations. By his grace, God can save through (genuine) faith alone, of course, but it is a mistake to make an exceptional act into a theological rule—especially one that directly contradicts Scripture.

I love this verse the best

Acts 20:21 (KJV) - Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

What is repentance "towards" God?

Anyone want to try?

eh, now you don't like NIV? how sad

21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.