Is God Angry with Me or Does He Love Me?

The following is a devotion I sent in for our local newspaper, the Dillon Herald:

     Psalm 7:11 states, “…God is angry with the wicked every day”. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world…” Well, which is it? Should we think God is only angry with us or that He only loves us? There are two types of people I want to address: those who say, “I’m a good person and don’t deserve God’s wrath” and those who say, “I’m a horrible person and don’t deserve God’s love.” God wants each of you to think hard about these two verses before you die. 

     If you’re in the “I’m good” group, take a hard look at Psalm 7:11. Over 400 times in the Bible God expresses righteous anger/wrath. Maybe you say, “But the verse says God is angry with the wicked, and I’m not wicked”. “The wicked” here are not just suicide bombers, drug cartels, or homicidal dictators. God hates all sin, not just the “big” ones. “Small” sins like gossip, lust, ingratitude, selfish pride, lying, and filthy language (and the list could go on) are highly offensive to God too. That’s why we teach our children against these “small” sins. Picture heaven, where there is only holiness, love, and purity everywhere. Add one lie or one foul word or one lustful glance and the whole place would be contaminated. Would you drink coffee if it had only one drop of arsenic in it or eat brownies with a tiny speck of rat poison? No way! Yet that is how offensive one sin is before God. Plus, God weighs our every action, word, and thought. Let’s say you only sin once a day and live to be eighty. That’s over 29,000 sins before the eyes of a holy God! He wouldn’t be a just Judge to let you off the hook. Then how can anyone be saved, you may wonder? Hold that thought while I address the other group. 

     If you’re in the “I’m horrible” group, take a hard look at John 3:16. It says God so loved “the world”, not, “God so loved the morally good people in the world”. Romans 5:8 says, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If God loved us based on how good we were, none of us would be good enough! Jesus said, “no one is good, except God”. He said we were wicked in heart and in need of a spiritual heart transplant (Mark 7:21). So don’t worry if you’re not good enough. You’re actually better off than those who assume they are good enough. A patient who denies she has cancer after several doctors say otherwise is only deceiving herself. Jesus came to save those who admit they are slaves to sin and in need of His grace, not those who say they are good enough. Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” But how can someone as “bad” as you receive God’s love and avoid His wrath? One way: the bloody death of God’s only Son. The cross of Jesus is the intersection of God’s judgment and grace. God had to punish your sin, so He sent His Son to bear that punishment. We offended God, but Jesus took the blame. Also, God will credit you with His righteousness if you turn to Jesus. All who trust in Jesus’ death to save them, expressed in repentance, have the righteousness of Christ credited into their bank accounts. If you confess you’re “poor in spirit” God will give you the riches of eternal life in Christ. If you think you're fine without such radical faith, you’ll remain bankrupt, no matter how many good deeds you perform. So, will you turn to the cross and believe? At the cross God expressed His anger toward your sin by punishing Jesus and His love toward sinners like you if you will only turn to Him and be saved. I’ll conclude with 1 John 5:12, which states, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”