The Character of God

Someone asked me if it was true that God is our enemy before we come to Christ. There is no argument that we are enemies of God. The Scriptures tell us that we are enemies in our “mind” (see Colossians 1:21), and if we are a friend of the world, we are an “enemy of God” (see James 4:4). So, it’s clear that we are enemies of God, but is He an enemy to us? The Bible tells us that when we were in our sins His wrath hovered over us (see John 3:36), and every time we sinned, we stored up further wrath (see Romans 2:5). The fullness of His fury is going to be revealed on the Day of Wrath, in which He will give “tribulation and anguish” to the disobedient (see Romans 2:8-9). Colossians 3:6 calls humanity “children of disobedience” upon whom will come “flaming fire” and “everlasting destruction” (see 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). So there’s not exactly a state of peace between us and Heaven. We are at war. So is God our enemy? To answer that, ask yourself if a good judge is the enemy of a vicious murderous rapist who stands before him in court. In a judicial sense, he is. The judge is furious at the man, and he will fulfill his wrath through the path of justice. In these days where God’s disposition is painted as one of passive benevolence and He is therefore everyone’s buddy, it’s essential that our preaching reveals His true character as portrayed in Scripture. He is the ultimate righteous and just Judge. He is wrath-filled, and He has appointed death as an officer of the Law that will eventually arrest the guilty. He will charge them with crimes against the Law, and it is those crimes that will take humanity to the prison of Hell, and slam the door. What a fearful thing. However, there is a huge difference between those who are our human enemies and a holy God. When Jesus told us to love our enemies, He said “that you may be children of your father in Heaven: for He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:44-45). That love was ultimately expressed at the cross.