Is God Violent?

At times, certainly. For anyone that’s read through the Psalms or parts of the Old Testament, it would be difficult to argue otherwise. But is it fair to portray God as a violent, war-like God whose awful, impending wrath we need to be saved from?

One controversial author in a recent book asked the question this way:

“What gets subtly taught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that, that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news?”

(Many of you will know who I’m referring to, and while there were certainly many questionable things about this book, I bring up this quote not to promote him or say I agree with him but as an example that there are, in fact, preachers conveying the Gospel in this kind of way.)

My wife and I recently sat through a church service where this kind of doom and gloom message was preached for about an hour, using Psalm 18 as a reference point. It wasn’t all bad and it certainly wasn’t on the same level as many street preachers, but I found myself feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. Not because of simply dealing with the wrathful, violent part of God’s character, but because of what the message was insinuating.

That God is violent, that we’re in the midst of a war (our enemy went largely unnamed), and that we’d better beg Jesus for help to save ourselves from this wrath.

That we need Jesus to save us from God.

Though I think that there are aspects of the above statement that one could argue are true and while I certainly believe in sin, the consequence of sin, God’s holiness and wrath, and the necessity of faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to be saved from our sins, communicated poorly, a message on God's wrath can lead to incredibly dangerous conclusions.

I don’t think Scripture conveys God as an old, mean, angry God who begrudgingly created mankind only to hold the threat of torture and wrath over their heads for as long as they live.

Scripture says that he takes no pleasure in the death of a man, that his desire is that all be saved, and that he created a beautiful, perfect world for us to live in and created us in his own image. Jesus, God in the flesh, comes to earth and loves and serves and shows compassion instead of looking to pour out wrath at the slightest misstep. He even dies on a Cross and takes the wrath of the Father upon Himself so that those of us who believe will never have to experience that.

And yes, Jesus will come back, evil will be defeated, and there will be punishment for sin, but that will be a display of God’s justice against all people, powers and authorities that have sinned against God and fallen short of his holiness. Jesus has saved us from our own sin, failures, and shortcomings, not from God himself. God’s wrath is a consequence of sin – not something that he longs to pour out on us.

A God that we need saving from would be the one towering over the Cross and pounding in the final nail himself. A God that is just, gracious, and merciful and that saves us from the sin and the wrath that we're deserving of would take the form of a servant and humbly hang on a Cross. That's the scandal of the Cross, and that's what the preacher's depiction of Jesus in Psalm 18 was missing yesterday.

Psalm 18 is one of my favorite Psalms. The way I read it, it speaks of God’s love and compassion and mercy upon those who follow Him and trust Him, despite even the “worst”, most despicable sins and failings we might commit. And it portrays his power and majesty in response to even the slightest cry for help from those who love him.

I thank God for His grace and mercy, that though I am deserving of God’s wrath and violence, Jesus came to save me - not to save me from God, but to save me from myself and the decisions I’ve made.

Your thoughts?

-CK