The Wrath, Grace, and Mercy of God
Note: Months back, I posted an article on the Theology of the Attributes of God. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read that previous post first, as it does a deep dive into how we can accurately view God’s characteristics. I hope it will give you a better understanding of how to view God’s attributes before reading this article.
God’s Wrath
The wrath of God is probably his most disliked attribute. It isn’t popular.
Most people want a God who is all-loving with “their standards.” Meaning, God should love all of them including the sin they hold so dearly. Or, since he is a God of love, he can overlook the sins in their life. These kinds of people do not know who God is. Instead, they would rather idolize their sin than hate what God is wrathful about.
So the question to quietly reflect on is, do I love, laugh, or let slide the things that he hates and has anger towards? How easy it is to dismiss what God hates because your affections are somewhere they were never meant to be. God does not hate you. He loves you more than you could ever imagine. But, because of his love and for the sake of his glory, sin angers him.
Tozer says, “If we take away any of the attributes of God, we do not weaken God but we weaken our concept of God.” [i]
Sproul also says, “We cannot embrace the attributes of God that make us comfortable and reject the rest.” [ii]
We have to be careful not to do this with God’s wrath. Don’t deprive yourself of who God has revealed himself to be. Also, remember He does not express his attributes individually but simultaneously. His wrath does not stand alone but it is also equally holy, just, wise, omniscient, etc. Time and time again we see his patience, grace, and mercy intertwined with his wrath. Yet, time and time again, we eye man loving and idolizing sin.
“Don’t deprive yourself of who God has revealed himself to be.”
Since God hates sin and He is also just, he has to act upon it. What kind of God would he be if he loved sin or tolerated it? Would he be a God you would want to adore and praise?
Let’s look at some examples of God’s wrath:
Genesis 3 is the fall of man, Genesis 6-7portrays the flood, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19,because God says in Genesis 18:20athat, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave…”. In Exodus 14-15, Pharaoh and his army drown in the Red Sea. Numbers 16portrays the earth swallowing up some of the Israelites, fire consuming 250 men, and 14,700 people dying from a plague.
While it may be natural to believe, it is important to know that God is not extra wrathful in the Old Testament. Each of these instances in the Torah has a recurring theme. Man sinning and rebelling against a holy God, and a holy God responding with just wrath.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)
Do we choose to sin? Yes. However, are we also born with a sin nature and we fall short multiple times a day without realizing it? Absolutely! We were born broken and unholy which means that we as sinners are qualified to endure God’s wrath.
“Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire. The rocks are broken into pieces by him.” (Nah. 1:6)
I deserve God’s terrifying wrath. But, I can confidently say that I will not taste his anger. Why? Because who endured his indignation? Christ. Who endured the heat of his anger? Christ. A punishment he was the last one to deserve.
If God’s wrath would not have been appeased, hell would be stuffed with men’s souls and that would be just. Apart from the Gospel, life and death would be the most terrifying and hopeless reality for us. This is where grace and mercy come into play, (which we will unpack a little later.)
Luke 22:41-44 covers Christ in the garden before his crucifixion, “And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
The cup of God’s wrath was poured out on his perfect, loving Son. Christ felt the full anger of his Father for all sin. Christ was in excruciating agony for you and for me. What love!
R. C. Sproul says, “The most violent expression of God’s wrath and justice is seen in the cross. If ever a person had room to complain for injustice, it was Jesus. He was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God. If we stagger at the wrath of God, let us stagger at the cross. Here is where our astonishment should be focused.” [iii]
“The cup of God’s wrath was poured out on his perfect, loving Son.
As believers, the wrath of God is something we will never fear enduring. God’s wrath should quiet our souls as we ponder the punishment Christ endured. A punishment our finite minds could never possibly fathom. Also, let us in haste share with a lost world about God’s wrath in combination with the good news of the Gospel.
Ray Comfort says, “It is amazing that we hesitate to talk about the wrath of God for fear of making sinners feel fearful. The fear they feel on this side of the grave will be nothing compared to the fear they feel when they stand before Almighty God.” [iv]
Everyone is going to receive a death sentence of some sort. Which means everyone will have an eternal reality—heaven or hell.
Is It Ever Right For Us to Be Wrathful?
Is it ever possible for believers to express wrath without it being sinful? Wrath is one of the communicable attributes meaning God has shared this attribute with us. Oftentimes, wrath is almost always viewed in a negative way. The majority of the time sin may be the object of what causes our wrath. When our heart explodes it reveals where our heart is at.
However, if God is simultaneously perfect and wrathful, that means it can be possible for us to be wrathful but not sin.
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph. 4:26-27)
Paul does not say, “don’t get angry for that is sin.” But, apparently it is possible to be angry without sinning. Also, the fact that Jesus was perfect but wrathful means our anger can at times be God-glorifying.
“And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” (Mk. 11:15-17)
As we just read, Jesus was angry because the temple was being misused. We have to understand that Jesus did not overreact here. He rightly reacted to a major issue. Seeing that Jesus had righteous anger means we should too in certain situations.
Revelation 20 promises that Satan and his demons will be tormented under God’s wrath for all of eternity. That same chapter also states that those not named in the Book of Life will be subject to God’s eternal wrath. The wrath of God is a hard reality and characteristic to swallow. However, we have to trust that it’s just and right and holy and true.
Wrath is a communicable attribute meaning we can also rightly express wrath. Although it is a characteristic of God we do not wish to be poured out on anyone. Christ is returning soon. In the meantime, we have been instructed to proclaim the good news of the Gospel hoping that hearts would turn from the destruction of the wrath to come.
Point 2: Grace and Mercy
Grace and mercy are oftentimes viewed as sister attributes. They both have separate but similar meanings. I used to think that grace and mercy were words I could use interchangeably. They were Christianese words I could throw in when it felt appropriate even when I did not understand the true definition of the word.
Definitions:
Justice is getting what we deserve.
Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Grace is getting what we do not deserve.
This article does not cover justice but I pulled out the definition to use as a reference for the definitions of grace and mercy. In simpler terms, mercy is withdrawing what we deserve and grace is extending to us what we do not deserve.
Wrath, grace, and mercy truly intersect one another like the rest of the attributes. God’s grace and mercy wouldn’t be needed if God lacked the attribute of wrath. What would we need to be saved from if there was no judgement or consequence for our sin? Also, would God truly be holy, just, loving, wise, or good if his wrath for sin was non-existent? Would Christ’s sacrifice even have been necessary if God’s wrath, grace, and mercy didn’t exist?
If wrath did not exist then Christ would not have to die for the death we deserved. Or, if Christ endured God’s wrath but grace and mercy weren’t extended to us then we would not have hope for eternal life with God.
The reason we are saved is because of mercy, God withholding his wrath and judgment from us; and grace, God lavishing his salvation and eternal life on us due to Christ’s sacrifice. Remove one attribute of God and the rest of his characteristics unravel. Grace and mercy is joyous news for anyone who knows they deserve judgment.
“Remove one attribute of God and the rest of his characteristics unravel.”
The Gospel comes into play when you realize you are hopeless and the only one you can turn to is God.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph. 2:4-9)
Concerning mercy, Charles Spurgeon says, “God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.” [vi]
As Spurgeon says, the mercy of God is vast.
As I’ve already said, the attributes of God overlap. God’s grace and mercy are infinite, loving, wise, etc. Which also means that the grace and mercy lavished on you is never-ending. We are promised that because of Christ, no sin, no mistake, no matter the size, could cancel God’s grace and mercy. His grace and mercy will never shrink, vanish, or fail!
So if all of this grace and mercy has been extended to you how should you, as a believer, be called to apply these two attributes?
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Lk. 6:35-36)
We are meant to imitate our Father. Since God is merciful that means we should be merciful. This, of course, applies to grace as well as all of the communicable attributes. Also, verse 35 shows how we need to extend grace to others, loving your enemies is extending both mercy and grace.
If this is how we are supposed to show this love to our enemies we, of course, are meant to do the same to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are a unified body and we should fellowship with one another in harmony. In this broken world, the church is not fully perfect yet. You will sin, your church will make mistakes, and conflicts will arise. How can these issues be dealt with? By returning to the Gospel and extending to others the grace and mercy that you have received.
Mimic Christ and shed his grace and mercy upon others!
Finally, the cross seals us for eternal life, and extends grace and mercy for us. We see this promise fulfilled and grace and mercy in full at the end of time.
We get to confidently walk in God’s mercy, knowing that because of the Gospel the wrath of God has been withheld from us. We also get to boldly trust in God’s grace. He promises us a kingdom and forever fellowship with him which we could never deserve or earn.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Rev. 21:3-5)
[i] Aiden Wilson Tozer. AZQuotes.com, Wind and Fly LTD, 2026 https://www.azquotes.com/quote/944916, accessed June 27, 2026
[ii] R.C. Sproul. “God’s Wrath.” Ligonier, October 30, 2005,https://learn.ligonier.org/sermons/gods-wrath
[iii] R. C. Sproul (2010). “Classic Teachings on the Nature of God”, p.89, Hendrickson Publishers
[iv] Ray Comfort (2012). “Threefold Gold”, p.260, ReadHowYouWant.com
[v] Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1988). “Spurgeon at His Best: Over 2200 Striking Quotations from the World's Most Exhaustive and Widely-read Sermon Series”, Baker Publishing Group
