The New Testament has a lot to say about anger. It says, “Be angry, but don’t let the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph. 4:26). But there are also the warnings of our Lord against unjustifiable anger. And there’s never ever a justification to be angry with God. How dare you be angry with the God of the universe who does everything well?
Now, understandably, when things go wrong and people shake their fist in the face of God, we understand. And as our former president used to say, we feel their pain, and all of that. And there have been lots of people who have been angry at God. But when they are angry at God, they are revealing that they don’t really understand a whole lot about who He is and how holy He is.
There’s a sign on I-4 that says “God is not angry,” and so there are people who think that it’s not right for God to be angry with us. But let me tell you something, He’s angry about that sign on I-4. And He’s angry about people who say He has no wrath, because the biblical God reveals not only His tender mercy, but also He reveals His wrath.
But again, we have no just cause ever to be angry with God. And if I find myself feeling angry with God I should ask myself not “What’s wrong with God?” but “What’s wrong with me?”
Lightly edited for readability, this is a transcript of R.C. Sproul’s answer given at our 2015 National Conference. To ask Ligonier a biblical or theological question, email ask@ligonier.org or message us on Facebook or Twitter.
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R.C. Sproul
Dr. R.C. Sproul was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., and first president of Reformation Bible College. He was author of more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God.
