"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." - John 3:36
And theological belief is that God's wrath and anger is against them until they repent and follow Jesus. Until they come into grace, God holds them at a distance and withholds good from them. His anger burns against them until the time of regeneration.
The problem with this belief system is that we don't see this in Jesus. And we HAVE to look at Jesus; not only is Jesus perfect theology, but He is the exact representation of Father and Father's heart towards the earth. To those whom religion would classify the objects of God's wrath and anger; Jesus ate with them, drank with them, attended their weddings, was invited to their homes and had his feet and hair washed by them. Those who were supposedly hated by God loved to hang around Him, they followed Him and listened to Him. He lived amongst them, He was good to them. He fed them when they were hungry, He healed their diseases, He had compassion on them and He raised their dead. He was extravagantly merciful, displaying His love at every opportunity. I wonder why? Maybe it was because of what Paul said:
"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" - Romans 2:4
Its God's kindness that is meant to lead people to repentance. The kindness of God is displayed in the person of Jesus and His finished work. This is the age of grace. Not the age of wrath. There will be a time of wrath that is coming. It is stored up, but it's on the back burner. Yes, it is a warning for those who die and aren't Christ's. But for goodness sake, the wrath isn't for now. Now is the time God has set aside for Him to display His kindness, His goodness and His love. To everyone.
So while it's true that God's wrath is coming, it has not yet. The truth is that God is over the top, abundantly and extravagantly, in love with you - sinner or saint. He is crazy about you! He longs to bless your business, heal your body and protect you family - whether you acknowledge Him or not, whether you believe in Him or not - and His goal, His supreme purpose for being so good to the world is so that his kindness would be displayed and would lead you to repentance.
Remember, Jesus didn't just heal Christians. He didn't just feed the church folk. Jesus loved everyone. He came to show the world that God is happy, God is not angry at them, God is willing to die than to spend eternity without them; and that He did. He died, as the greatest display of His love for His enemies, that He indeed loves them. He wishes not that the stored up wrath, that will eventually have to be released one day, would have to come on them, you or I.
Here's a few scriptures confirming the COMING wrath; not the PRESENT wrath:
"On account of these the wrath of God is coming." - Paul
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him." - Paul
"Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." - Paul
"The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth." - John
So repent (change your mind) from this belief. God is so so good. And His heart is for ALL men. Be a love encounter, be a grace encounter to everyone you come across, remembering that it's His kindness that leads people to repentance. Let Jesus be kind through you.
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