A Hike, a Cop and a Wrathless God?

I was recently out for a hike with the kiddos up on A-Mountain. It was another no-car day for some reason, so the boys and I had extra walking to do. We had tried several times already when the Mountain was closed, so not to be deterred again, I decided we would walk the whole way. They were troopers. We reached the backside lookout, and I noticed a man who seemed to be giving a lecture and instructed the boys to be quiet while we looked around. Little did I know it would be me making all the noise.

We stood looking over the cliffside, and to my surprise and delight, the man was preaching to a couple. I quietly listened until I heard the phrase, “God loves you, you just have to believe you are already a part of his family.” And I was like whaaaatt? I kept listening to make sure he was saying what I thought, and then I politely interrupted. “If you repent and place your faith in Christ,” I spoke, hoping the man was just forgetting something so obviously a part of the Gospel. Nope. He read what I said as legalism, and immediately began explaining that there is no wrath from God, no punishment in the offering. He said, “wrath was man’s idea, not God’s”. God loves his children, and we simply need to discover that we already are his children.

Apart from the heterodoxy, I discovered very quickly that this man speaking was a police officer. He wore one of those black vests that said police on the front. A bicycle cop. He was a nice enough guy, but his theology was very poor. I took him to an easy one, John 3:16 where it quite clearly says, “whoever believes will not perish.” There is a necessary response and a certain perishing to avoid. He pushed back that we are all children of God simply by being human. I respectfully explained to him that we were not, per the fall. The Gospel is about people responding to their very real, and dangerous state of being in sin and rebellion against a Holy God until we do. John 3:18 tells us we are condemned already. 

He pushed back that children do not have to earn the right to be children of God. He tried to use my boys, who were climbing all over the structure as an example. I looked to my youngest to assure him that I wasn’t being arrested, but that Daddy and the nice officer were just having a conversation. I responded that, yes they were my children, and, no they didn’t have to do anything to earn that. However, the Word of God teaches us the nature of God and our relationship with Him; it is not some derivative information we can map onto God by our personal experiences. I explained that the idea in scripture was of adoption, not of natural birth. Of course, we don’t earn it, I said, we repent and believe. I explained to him that faith was not a work. But no matter what I said, he argued against some sort of legalism as if preaching the Gospel for a response in faith was such a thing. We went back and forth for a while, and it became apparent that this man was listening to some bad teaching. The wrathless God kind. The universalistic kind. 

It went something like this. Wrath is man’s idea not God’s. Therefore the idea of future wrath in hell or judgment is also man’s idea. Therefore, what the fire is, it is a mere refining process–a purgation. (Sound familiar) So everyone would eventually get it. So, preaching was just waking people up to the reality that they are already children of God. The purpose was so they could live a fuller life now, even though they would still get it. Um…that is Rob Bell, Brian Zahnd, and Richard Rohr wrapped up into a jumbled mess. That is when you appeal to the emotions of man when interpreting the Gospel rather than letting the scriptures speak. So I want to place some obvious texts down for us to consider. If you are encountering this false teaching that ultimately isn’t going to help anyone, please consider this:

On Adoption:

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)

There is a distinction being made here. It is between those who are children of God and the world which doesn’t know him. If there are two groups, what demarcates them? Think of the picture of sheep and goats. Seems pretty clear, here is another one:

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9:8)

That is about Israel versus those who believe in Jesus by faith, but it should be obvious; if not even being a Jew makes you a child of promise, then neither does being a garden variety pagan. It is not by ethnicity, nor by virtue of having a belly button. 

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:26)

I don’t see how it can get any clearer. The cross did not create a universal condition that everyone is automatically in. ‘Twould be nice, but this is not at all the message of the Gospel. The entire book of Galatians is quite clear on this point. Paul is painstakingly drawing out that it is by faith. It is not automatic. To be a child of promise is to be in Christ, which is different from being a child of wrath.  

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3)

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 To redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7)

That is not natural born, but it comes by faith. Remember, Jesus tells Nicodemus, you must be born again. But I think the point has been made. So let’s move on to this idea of a Wrathless God. I have already written about this from the point of God as judge, but let’s just drop a few more verses down for posterity. We have already mentioned John 3:16 and 18, but let’s jump down to the bottom of that chapter. 

On Wrath:

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)

The apostle John is usually quite clear, and this is no different. The whole time I was talking to the police office, I was thinking, have you never read the book of Romans? So let’s see if Paul is mixing words and clouding the issue. 

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

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)

Paul seems quite sure about this. Isn’t there anything that can be done? Of course! That is what the Gospel is for. The response to the call is by faith for justification; being made right standing before God. God adopts us when we come. 

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9)

And finally, Paul reminds those who practice sin and are unrepentant not to be deceived. We should not be taken in by cheap knock-offs of the Gospel, even if someone is giving you nice-sounding-light-and-airy but unbiblical teaching. 

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:6)

Now, this isn’t about winning an argument, this is about the consequence of getting the Gospel wrong, and it has everything to do with a person’s eternal soul. I am not a child of God because I was born in this world. I am a child of God when I repent and place my trust in God for the forgiveness of my sins, resulting in my adoption into the family of God. That is not a work. I only respond to the call of Christ because God draws me as John 6:44 teaches. That is a gift of God, it is grace. 

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2) 

I do not earn anything. I simply, by faith, trust in Christ and then walk after him. Like we did on the hike. God leads, we follow. God was working, and I got to join him for a short moment in time. I hope the couple heard that I was using the Word of God to preach the Gospel and not my personal ideas of wrath or earning or whatever. If we do not get our Gospel from the Word of God, it is not Jesus’ Gospel we are sharing, and as Jesus said, “Woe to anyone who causes one of these little ones to stumble.” Learn the Word of God, and then preach. 

thanks