God's Not Mad?

God is not mad at or about the world or about people or about sin.
But he is rightously angry at sin and at the rejection of his salvation.

God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. Psalm 7

David Singleton said:

Christians often try to paint a picture of a God that is never angry because we don't want him to look bad or evil. I even hear a lot of preachers saying this. But the opposite is true, all of the evil that is going on in the world makes God mad because he is good. How could a good God not be mad about how people treat each other. That is what this song is about.

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He is a loving God and "slow to anger".

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them."
Psalms 103:8-18, KJV

David Singleton said:

Christians often try to paint a picture of a God that is never angry because we don't want him to look bad or evil. I even hear a lot of preachers saying this. But the opposite is true, all of the evil that is going on in the world makes God mad because he is good. How could a good God not be mad about how people treat each other. That is what this song is about.

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Without Christ we'd have little hope. Without abiding in Him after we are saved, we could not get far in producing the lasting good fruit from Him we are to produce (John chapter 15).

For those that reject the good, reject Him, there are outcomes like this: Malachi 4 ESV

David Singleton said:

How could a good God not be mad about how people treat each other.

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The issue is more complicated than that. Have you ever did something you now regret doing? If so, then there's something you know now that you didn't know then. God sees all of that.

David Singleton said:

Numbers 11:33 "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people"

Matthew 22:7 "The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city." The king is God in the parable

John 3:36 "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."

Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

Dictionary.com Mad- very angry

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You need to re read my last sentance.

There is nothing that is uncontrolled or mad about Gods anger.

David Singleton said:

God is very patient, kind, loving, and merciful. But if God is slow to anger by it's very definition it means God does get angry.

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Of course.

God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's sins against them. God loves you. God has forgiven you. God is not angry at you.

David Singleton said:

Numbers 11:33 "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people"

Matthew 22:7 "The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city." The king is God in the parable

John 3:36 "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."

Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

Dictionary.com Mad- very angry

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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."

This is important: "the wrath of God remains." As wilful rejectors of His Love we start from a point of His righteous wrath being upon us.
Paul says while we were still His enemies Christ died for us.
There should be no doubt that the Creator of the Universe is terribly angry with those of us who wilfully sin against Him.
But it also shows His incredible Love.
Even while He with holds the wrathful destruction that is rightfully ours, because we are the proud self absorbed enemies of our Creator, He gives us the most beaitiful gift of His own life, so that all we have to do is look to Him and trust Him and we are given the right to become His children.

charsan said:

God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's sins against them. God loves you. God has forgiven you. God is not angry at you.

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He is not angry towards those of us who are righteous.
It maybe cuturally expediant to down play the wrath of God, for the sake of winning those who don't understand the role of anger in Love, and who have no respect for authority. But we who are mature should also understand Who we are dealing with when we deal with YHWH.

Anguspure said:

He is not angry towards those of us who are righteous.
It maybe cuturally expediant to down play the wrath of God, for the sake of winning those who don't understand the role of anger in Love, and who have no respect for authority. But we who are mature should also understand Who we are dealing with when we deal with YHWH.

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I will disagree with you

David Singleton said:

Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

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No doubt the scriptures tell is much about God's anger and God's wrath. But, what is God's wrath? Here's one way to think about God's wrath. God's wrath (def.): God allowing the full consequences of sin and evil to obtain. Sin and evil are destructive, they are contrary to life. Love works in favor of what is good, in favor of life. Sin and evil work against what is good, they work against life. Sin and evil are, by nature, destructive. If God allows the consequences of sin and evil to obtain, without stopping it, then the end result is destruction. From where we stand, God allowing sin and evil to destroy is frightening, as it should be. Destruction is frightening, even when it happens ever so slowly by our choices and misdeeds. We experience divine wrath when we experience the destructive consequences of sin and evil.

The Romans passage you quoted is helpful. In Romans 1:18 and following, we are told what God's wrath looks like. Here is the question: What is God doing when God's wrath is being revealed? According to Romans 1, God isn't doing anything. God's wrath is simply "giving them up" (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). God gives humanity up to the desires of a darkened mind. In other words, God allows humanity to continue down the destructive path that sin and evil necessarily walk down.

I think we have to be careful to what extent we anthropomorphize human emotions onto God. Whatever anger looks like from God's experience is outside of our epistemic ken. I know there are a plethora of passages that speak as if God is petty and merciless like ourselves. I think we need to be careful not project onto God our sinful tendencies. The best way to understand God is by allowing who we know in Jesus Christ to be the lens through we which understand God and interpret passages about God. And, since the fullness of God dwells in Christ (Colossians 2:9), we are warranted in doing just that.

charsan said:

I will disagree with you

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It is a cultural thing, I understand.
In our culture, if a man is angry with the person who beat his daughter to death, he is regarded as evil. In our culture legitimate authority is viewed with contempt and distrust.
What chance does an Almighty God who is angry with those who hurt His children, have of turning those people to repentance?

Anguspure said:

It is a cultural thing, I understand.
In our culture, if a man is angry with the person who beat his daughter to death, he is regarded as evil. In our culture legitimate authority is viewed with contempt and distrust.
What chance does an Almighty God who is angry with those who hurt His children, have of turning those people to repentance?

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Nope not culture your just dead wrong and interpret Scriptures very wrong

charsan said:

Nope not culture your just dead wrong and interpret Scriptures very wrong

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No interpretation, just a straight reading.

Love always protects (1 Corinthians 13). Protection against sin and evil necessarily involves wrath and anger to a greater or lesser degree.

To say that God is not wrathful or angry against His enemies, the destroyers of His Loved ones, is to paint Him as deficient in Love.

Another example: The Son who "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." showed anger and wrath in a number of ways:

• A vitriolic statement against religious leaders: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation." Matthew 23
• A threat against those who would aid and abet the sin of righteous children: “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. So watch yourselves!" Luke 17
• His actions against the money changers and other people profiting from the work of the Temple: In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” John 2

So it can be seen that the very Word of God is angry and wrathful against those who harm His children.