How can God's wrath & His love coexist?

Some of us really need to read this. If you have ever wondered how Heaven & Hell could both exist, let me try to bring clarification. And, I am open to further explanation if anyone would benefit. 

I have told some of you that I am doing an in-depth study of the book of Romans. I recently completed a study very similar to this in the book of Galatians. In essence, I am taking each phrase of text in the book & examining it in its original language & then developing commentary as I read through several commentaries & studies. This proved life-changing in Galatians & have considered making it available as a resource to others. 

That led me to this point: God's wrath is in vivid detail in Romans 1, yet how can God's wrath coexist with His love? Specifically when we consider Jesus' teaching on anger (comparing it to murder). Let's consider: 

(For clarification, I am using Stott's outline as my guide)

What is God's wrath? 

For one, God's wrath is not like our wrath. As humans, our wrath or anger is mostly "an irrational & uncontrollable emotion, containing much vanity, animosity, malice, & the desire for revenge" (Stott, 71). God's wrath is empty of these ingredients. 

For those of us who have ever wrestled with God's wrath, I must conclude that we are approaching this viewpoint from the wrong perspective... we haven't yet understood the biblical description of God's holiness. God's wrath is His righteous opposition towards evil; He refuses to support evil & will not become indifferent towards it. 

Against what/whom is God's wrath revealed?

Paul said that God's wrath is being revealed "against all godlessness & wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness." Evil arouses/awakens God's anger. 

Stott said, "Scripture is quite clear that the essence of sin is godlessness. It is the attempt to get rid of God &, since that is impossible, the determination to live as though one had succeeded in doing so" (72). 

When people choose to live as though they have "gotten rid" of God, their human rebellion reveals God's wrath. They have chosen to live for themselves rather than for God & others; it is the ultimate in self-centeredness. They are deliberate in suppressing God's truth in order to pursue their own self-centered path. 

How is God's wrath revealed?

Consider these quotes:

"When we hear of God's wrath, we usually think of 'thunderbolts from heaven, & earthy cataclysms & flaming majesty', instead of which his anger goes 'quietly & invisibly' to work in handing sinners over to themselves" (Neill, 12)

God's wrath "operates not by God's intervention but precisely by his not intervening, by letting men & women go their own way" (Ziesler, 75). 

"God abandons stubborn sinners to their willful self-centeredness, & the resulting process of moral & spiritual degeneration is to be understood as a judicial act of God. This is the revelation of God's wrath from heaven" (Stott, 75). 

Conclusion:

I have often been blinded by my own sin. The majority of the time, my greatest enemy is my pride, my refusal to accept anything that challenges my ego. I have found that the most loving thing someone can do is to confront my harmful behavior & action. Rather than act indifferent towards my sin, people who love me the most will confront me. Yet, there comes a point when after they have confronted me time after time & if I do not turn from that behavior, they will allow me to face the consequences of my actions. 

The mere thought of God handing me over to my own sin is terrifying. Yet, I do not have to fear for I am trusting Christ as my Savior. And for those who trust & believe in Christ, they realize that God's wrath has been poured out against their sin upon Jesus. Jesus literally bore the sins of those who trust & believe. As one of my seminary professors said, "There is more injustice in Heaven than there is in Hell." Each of us are deserving of God's wrath. Everyone of us has lived for themselves & pursued their desires rather than God. Yet, God lovingly sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin. For those who would die to self & live to Christ, forsaking all hope except Jesus, these would be called the children of God.

To be continued...