God’s wrath and grace go together. When God comes to judge, he also comes to save. The judgment of the wicked is the salvation of the righteous.
Revelation 19 describes the judgment of Christ upon the nations of the earth. “He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Rev 19:15). As the wicked are destroyed heaven erupts in praise saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” (Rev 19:1)
2 Thessalonians 1 describes the righteous judgment of God. It describes angels “inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess 1:8). On that day the saints will glorify him for their salvation has come (2 Thess 1:10).
The Psalms are filled with this theme of judgment and salvation. “From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth” (Ps 76:8–9).
When God judges the wicked, it is salvation for the righteous. When God visits men in judgment, he visits his people in salvation. When God makes known his wrath, he also makes known his grace.
God’s Wrath Today
Why is this principle important for us to recognize? Because it is clear God’s wrath is being revealed today.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Rom 1:18). This verse and the remaining verses of Romans 1 describe our society today. We live in an age where the “wisest minds” are fools and suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (v. 22). We live in a culture where people do not want to give thanks to God or honor him as God (v. 21). We live in a time when so much is known about God’s universe, yet people exchange the glory of Creator and worship the creation (vv. 19–20, 23).
The rest of Romans 1 speaks about God turning a people over to their own sinful passions and desires. It describes sodomy and lesbianism as the revelation of God’s judgment. To be clear, the celebration of LGBTQ today is not going to incur God’s judgment, it is God’s judgment. He’s given people over to their corruption. We’re so foolish, we don’t even know what a man or woman is today. We live in an age defined by the “debased mind” (v. 28) that gives hearty approval to all manner of ungodliness.
Many have pointed out the similarities between God’s wrath revealed in Romans 1 and our society today. My intention is to remind you that God’s wrath always coincides with his salvation. As seen already, when God comes to judge, he also comes to save. God’s wrath is being revealed today all around us, therefore, his salvation is also at hand.
Our church saw this, in part, during COVID. We witnessed God’s judgment and God’s salvation. Disease and inept leaders are signs of God’s judgment. Calvin once said that when God wants to judge a nation, he gives them wicked leaders. Government policies bringing hardship upon the people are a form of judgment upon a godless nation. (We’re still suffering from COVID policies that caused rapid inflation.) Policies that sought to restrict worship of Christ’s church were also signs of God’s judgment upon a wicked nation and heartless pastors. But God was also working to save. Never have I experienced a time when people were so primed for the gospel. Never did we, nor other churches, experience so much vitality, hope, salvation, and sanctification as we did during those trying years. When God comes to judge, he comes to save.
The same will hold true in our woke, LGBTQ-promoting, climate-alarmist, religiously pluralistic culture. God is certainly here to judge, but take heart, he is also here to save.
Three Recommendations
Here are three pieces of advice given the outpouring of God’s wrath and grace today.
1. Don’t Despair
God’s judgment upon our nation and its opposition to the truth is a sign of their destruction and our salvation. As the church stays on mission and stays united, not frightened in anything, “this is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God” (Phil1:28).
God is dealing with a people bent on bursting their bonds apart (Ps 2:3). He sits in the heavens and laughs (Ps 2:4). Take comfort. Don’t despair. Yes, God is here to judge, but he is also here to save. The fields are ripe for harvest. Pray to the Lord of the harvest.
2. Don’t Side with Evil Doers
As Christians, we want to put ourselves in the way of grace, rather than in the path of wrath. When the days are evil and God’s judgment is at hand, “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph 5:11). In this day of evil, we should not be “bridge-building” by being soft on sin. It is common today in evangelicalism to be understanding and soft to sodomites while being judgmental and vicious to those on the theological right. There is always the perpetual danger of wanting to win the world by being loved by the world, forgetting that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).
We must seek what is pleasing to our Lord lest we get caught up in his judgment. We must flee Sodom without looking back. As our Lord says, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).
3. Don’t Retreat
In evil days when the wrath of God is being revealed, we may be tempted to retreat. We want to keep out of the rain until the sun starts shining again. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15–16). This passage reminds us that in evil days we want to be careful to make the best use of time. The day of God’s wrath is not a day of retreat for God’s people. When God comes to judge, this is a time to shout for joy and go forth to plunder the kingdom of the evil one.
This is a time for warrior psalms sung with joy and thanksgiving (Eph 5:19–20). This is a time to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Phil 2:15). This is a time to go forth and make disciples (Matt 28:19). Let us not retreat in fear as God’s judgment comes to our nation, but go forth on mission, in joy, seeking to do the will of the Lord, taking every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:5).
Take heart. He is with you always, to the end of the age.