The Kindness and Severity of God – Part 2
Standing at the foot of the cross, the beloved disciple did not know that the beatings, the crown of thorns, and the mangled flesh were all for him. Almost 60 years later, he would say: “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10). John came to understand that Calvary is the ultimate expression of God’s sacrificial love for humanity. Fittingly, since John’s time, our songs, our poetry and our prayers have celebrated the God of the cross who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love…” (Ex 34:6)
But although the cross is the ultimate expression of Jehovah’s mercy and compassion, it also reveals another aspect of the divine nature which is sometimes neglected or diluted – namely His holiness. Many take the view that holiness is the governing attribute of divine nature, and as Arthur Pink puts it, “Because God is holy, He hates all sin; and because He hates it, His anger burns against it” (The Attributes of God). And scripture has a lot to say about God’s anger. In Psalm 90, the writer laments: “For we have been consumed by Your anger and by Your wrath we have been dismayed… all our days have declined in Your fury … Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?” Later, Paul warns: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (Rom 1:18)
Of course, we must not leave the impression that divine anger involves loss of control or petulant temper tantrums. R C Sproul points out that “God’s wrath is never a capricious or uncontrolled rage. It is the settled and just opposition of His holiness to all that is evil” (The Holiness of God). And nowhere is God’s hatred of sin demonstrated more vividly than at the cross of Calvary, where Jesus, God incarnate, willingly endured punishment on behalf of fallen man. Thus, we sing “on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied” (see Part 1) because this is what Scripture teaches. Yes, the blood-soaked cross speaks to us of a loving God, but it also speaks of a God whose holiness would not permit Him to ignore the sin of His beloved children. Such a God is worthy of our love, respect and adoration
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