"I could never believe in a God who would send people to Hell." "If God is so good, why is there so much suffering in the world?" "I like what Jesus stood for a lot more than the angry-faced God of the Old Testament." 21st Century Western culture is obsessed with a grandfather-God full of love and acceptance. On the surface, who wouldn't want a supreme being with the universe at his fingertips bestowing abundant, unending blessings on us? Any hint at a God who possesses characteristics that seem to clash with this idea causes most to balk at either the idea or the deity in question.
If we assume that there is a God, it isn't a far step to take to also assume him to be perfect. God always acts in accordance with what is right asserts theologian Wayne Grudem*. Let that simmer for a moment. If God is perfect and always does what is right, which would need to be true for a God to be worthy of trust. (Could you really place faith in a deity who was occasionally a liar or manipulator or lover of evil?) Beyond perfection, however, if God always acts in accordance with what is right, that would speak clearly of His justice. Without justice, we as a society have little hope. Justice keeps society filled with evil and wrongdoing safe. Our society loves the idea of justice. Public wrongs that go unpunished or held unaccountable become cultural dartboards. At the core of our being, we know that evil must be dealt with.
If God loves all that is right and good and all that conforms to his moral character, it should not be surprising that he would hate everything that is opposed to his moral character*. So if God is perfect and always does what is right, it would stand to reason that He would oppose what is wrong/evil/unjust. This is good news! To have a god who loved those things would be truly terrifying. To have a god who was lukewarm toward evil would leave mankind in a similarly destitute place. But when we are powerless to stop or fight evil, having a god who is perfect and able to thwart and punish evil should be a comfort to us.
The focus of God's wrath has always been and always will be on evil. Because it is in God's nature to do and love what is right, He could never damn good people to Hell. Since God does what is right, hates evil, and requires justice, the evil in the world demands punishment (specifically, from Him, since he is the only perfect being). When Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins, it showed that God was truly righteous (just), because he did give appropriate punishment for sin, even though he did forgive his people their sins.
I am grateful that, in His perfection, God loves what is good and hates what is evil. This gives me hope in a world chock-full of pain and suffering and wrongdoing, because God is the ultimate definition of justice. Yet, I am also grateful for His mercy in taking that punishment that I deserve (for all of the evil and wrongdoing I have done) upon himself, in the form of Christ.
*quotes from Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem (1999), pages 93 & 94
