an angry god?

My good friend Geoff has asked some excellent questions in the comment section to this post. I will not try to answer all of his questions, e.g., "how [do] you reconcile a God who hates sinners with your Calvinist position on predestination. God hates people for doing what he pre-destined them to do?" simply because (1) the space required is too big, (2) I'm just not that good at written communication, and (3) that's about Calvinism v. Arminianism and both need to wrestle with this so I think it would be distracting (although I did post a small bit here and here in the past).

But other aspects of his questions can fit nicely in a blog so here is my attempt to respond. I'd love to hear others weigh in on this. In short, I recommend reading John MacArthur's The Love of God and DA Carson's The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Here is a quick list of some excellent and some not so excellent quotes.

Now first let me clarify. God is love. God is not wrath and God is not hate. These are not His "nature". He is holy and righteous and just and these combined with His love lead to mercy for some and wrath for others. I should add that I'm frustrated with the discussion because clearly this is not our emphasis. I really don't want to begin spending a lot of time pressing this because it is not our call. I only post on it from time to time because so many these days either are unaware or wrongly dismiss the truth of this "emotion"/"behavior" of God's and they are wrong.

Regarding His wrath, from Tyndale Bible Dictionary:

A term for God’s displeasure with human beings and their sinful actions. The word “wrath” is a concept represented by many different words and idioms in the original languages of the Bible, all of which express the notion of justifiable anger for unjust actions.

In the Old Testament In the OT God is said to be angry with nations, sinners, and even with his covenant people. God’s anger is first expressed toward the covenant community of Israel for having refused to believe his word about entering into the Promised Land. After they had been rescued from Egypt, had received the Ten Commandments and the covenant, and had seen his glory (Nm 11:10; 12:9; 22:22; 32:10–14), they still disbelieved. Consequently, God in his wrath condemned the Israelites to wander in the wilderness until they died. The major reason for the Lord’s anger in the OT was that his own people constantly broke the covenant. They provoked him by their idolatry (Dt 2:15; 4:25; 9:7–8, 19; Jdg 2:14; 1 Kgs 11:9; 14:9, 15; 2 Kgs 17:18), by their mixing paganism with the worship of the Lord (Isa 1:10–17; Jer 6:20; Hos 6:6; Am 5:21–27); by their wanton rebellion (1 Kgs 8:46), their unbelief (Nm 11:33; 14:11, 33; Ps 95:10–11), and their disregard for his concern for love, justice, righteousness, and holiness (Ex 22:22–24; Isa 1:15–17; Am 5:7–12; Mic 3:1).

The wrath of God also extends to all humanity (Na 1:2). The concept of the Day of the Lord was developed by the prophets to warn Israel and the nations that no one can escape the righteous expression of God’s wrath (Am 5:18–20). The Day of the Lord is the day of his wrath (Zep 1:15).

The OT presents the concept of the wrath of God in balance with three other doctrines: his forbearance, his love, and his readiness to forgive. First, God is patient. The Hebrew word for “patient” is related to the word for “wrath” and means “length of wrath”; that is, God does not quickly become angry. He is longsuffering (Ex 34:6). Second, God is full of compassion and fidelity (Ex 34:6). Even when his children sin against him, he is like a father who is full of compassion and love. He is always faithful to his children. Third, he is ready to forgive those who sin against him when they atone for and are cleansed from their sins (Ex 34:6). The pleasure of his love is so much greater than his wrath (Ps 30:5). Micah prayed that the Lord may soon forgive and restore his people on the ground that he cannot be angry forever (7:18; cf. Ps 89:46; Jer 3:5). In Psalm 103:8–13, the psalmist likens God’s love and forgiveness to that of a father who does not harbor his anger continually, nor does he vex his children with discipline, so great is his love for those who fear him.

The purpose of God’s wrath is not to destroy humanity (Hos 11:9). His wrath is neither a vindictive, emotional overreaction, nor is it unpredictable. In his wrath he sovereignly imposes limits on nations (Babylon, Assyria) and disciplines his own people with the desired end that they return to him (Jl 2:13–14). The OT presentation of the Day of the Lord doesn’t end with God’s anger; it concludes with the restoration of the earth, when the whole earth will be filled with knowledge of God (Is 11:9; Hb 2:14) and wickedness will be no more (Is 65:25).

In the New Testament The NT also teaches the wrath of God side by side with the doctrine of his grace, love, and forbearance (Mt 3:7; Lk 21:23; Jn 3:36; Rom 1:18; Eph 5:6; Rev 14:10). Those who do not profess faith in the risen Christ remain in their sins and will be subject to God’s wrath, whereas those who believe in him are delivered from God’s wrath (Eph 2:3; 1 Thes 1:10). The good news of the NT is that Jesus has come to deliver us from the wrath of God (Rom 5:9). Those who have been delivered are reconciled with God (v 10) because they no longer are under condemnation (8:1).

Now regarding hate, I've already posted about that recently. Here's an excerpt:

God's love is true (and amazing!) but today over emphasized by those who focus on man's brokenness over his rebellion. To fully return to the Father we must realize both. Perhaps it is in reaction to an over-emphasis of God's judgement but as I listen to and read many today they seem to be in denial of God's wrath toward evil-doers (Psa 5.5; 11.4-5; Hos 9.15; Mal 1.2-3; Rom 9.13; Jn 3.36; Eph 5.6; Col 3.6; 1 Thess 1.9-10).

I think Justin Taylor does a fine job of fleshing this paradox out in this post. John MacArthur also makes some great points of clarification which deal with Geoff's question regarding Rom 5.8 and Jn 3.16.

Romans, chapter 9, God says, "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated." It doesn't say He hated Jacob, as the question indicates, but He says, "I love Jacob and I hate Esau." Now the question is, "Does God hate the person or does He hate what the person does?" Well, what does John 3:16 say, "For God so loved the whole world." So we know that everyone falls under the general category of the love of God, but there are a number of times in Scripture when God is expressed as "hating." I was thinking of Psalm 5:5 where it says, "The boastful shall not stand before Thine eyes; Thou dost hate all who do iniquity." Then over in Psalm 11:5, "The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates." Then over in Psalm 26:5, "I hate the assembly of evildoers." In Proverbs, an even more extensive statement is made in that familiar text of chapter six, verse sixteen, "There are six things which the Lord hates, seven are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers." And then, of course, in Proverbs 8:13, you probably have something which makes it very clear. It says, "The fear of the Lord (or true worship of God) is to hate evil; pride, arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth I hate."

Now in all of these cases you can see clearly that what it is that God hates is not the individual but--what? The sin. He even lists the sins that He hates. When a person persists in those sins, it is the sin in the sinner persisted that God hates. Even God says, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." The New Testament says that "The Lord does not desire that any should perish." And so it is the sin that He hates. In Jeremiah, I was just thinking of chapter 44, verse 4, it says, "I sent all my servants the prophets again, and again, saying 'Oh, do not this abominable thing which I hate.'" It is the deed of the sinner that the Lord hates. It is the act of sin that the Lord hates. But, it is also true that the sinner who does not repent, who continues in the sin will feel the fury of God's hatred. In Malachi 1:4, it says that, "The Lord," towards people who sin, "is indignant forever."

So God hates the sin, but if the sinner persists in the sin, then the sinner feels the hatred of God. With regard to Esau, I might just say as a footnote, nowhere in Genesis does it say that God hated Esau--it doesn't say anywhere that He hated Esau. It was only after Esau had chosen sin and abandoned God for many, many years--over a thousand years before God would look back and say, "Esau have I hated." By that time it was clear to all where Esau stood. So once the sinner is inexorably and finally identified with the sin, then the sinner feels the hatred of God.

The fact that some sinners are not elected to salvation is no proof that God’s attitude toward them is utterly devoid of sincere love. We know from Scripture that God is compassionate, kind, generous, and good even to the most stubborn sinners. Who can deny that these mercies flow out of God’s boundless love? Yet it is evident that they are showered even on unrepentant sinners.

I want to acknowledge, however, that explaining God’s love toward the reprobate is not as simple as most modern evangelicals want to make it. Clearly there is a sense in which the psalmist’s expression, “I hate the assembly of evildoers” (Ps. 26:5) is a reflection of the mind of God. “Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee? I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies” (Ps. 139:21-22). Such hatred as the psalmist expressed is a virtue, and we have every reason to conclude that it is a hatred God Himself shares. After all, He did say, “I have hated Esau” (Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:13). The context reveals God was speaking of a whole race of wicked people. So there is a true and real sense in which Scripture teaches that God hates the wicked.

So an important distinction must be made. God loves believers with a particular love. It is a family love, the ultimate love of an eternal Father for His children. It is the consummate love of a Bridegroom for His bride. It is an eternal love that guarantees their salvation from sin and its ghastly penalty. That special love is reserved for believers alone.

However, limiting this saving, everlasting love to His chosen ones does not render God’s compassion, mercy, goodness, and love for the rest of mankind insincere or meaningless. When God invites sinners to repent and receive forgiveness (Isa. 1:18; Matt. 11:28-30), His pleading is from a sincere heart of genuine love. “‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11). Clearly God does love even those who spurn His tender mercy, but it is a different quality of love, and different in degree from His love for His own.

Now many may disagree with this but I have yet to hear a better explanation. Worse, too many have dealt with this by simply sweeping away huge portions of Scripture to fabricate a god of their own design. This is abhorrent and it is because of those that I bother to spend any time on this.