God’s Wrath
 
By A. W. Tozer
 
 
To understand God's wrath we must view it in the
light of His holiness. God is holy and has made holiness
to be the moral condition necessary to the health of His
universe. Sin's temporary presence in the world only
accents this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral
sickness that must end ultimately in death.
 
     The formation of the language itself suggests this,
the English word holy deriving from the Anglo-Saxon
halig, hal meaning well, whole. While it is not wise to
press word origins unduly, there is yet a significance
here that should not be overlooked.
 
     Since God's first concern for His universe is its moral
health, that is, its holiness; whatever is contrary to this
is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. Wherever
the holiness of God confronts unholiness there is conflict.
This conflict arises from the irreconcilable natures of
holiness and sin. God's attitude and action in the conflict
are His anger. To preserve His creation God must destroy
whatever would destroy it.
 
     When He arises to put down destruction and save the
world from irreparable moral collapse He is said to be angry.
Every wrathful judgment of God in the history of the world
has been a holy act of preservation.
 
The holiness of God, the wrath of God and the
health of the creation are inseparably united. Not only
is it right for God to display anger against sin, but I
find it impossible to understand how He could do otherwise.
 
God's wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever
degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother
hates the diphtheria or polio that would destroy the life
of her child.
 
God's wrath is the antisepsis by which moral putre-
faction is checked and the health of the creation main-
tained. When God warns of His impending wrath and
exhorts men to repent and avoid it He puts it in a
language they can understand: He tells them to "flee
from the wrath to come." He says in effect, "Your life
is evil, and because it is evil you are an enemy to the
moral health of My creation.
 
     I must extirpate whatever would destroy the world
I love. Turn from evil before I rise up in wrath against
you. I love you, but I hate the sin you love. Separate
yourself from your evil ways before I send judgment
 upon you."

"0 Lord, . . . in wrath remember mercy" Hab. 3:2.

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Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.