"The Wrath of God as an Aspect of the Love of God"

'The fourth way in which God’s wrath is muted is that found in the majority of Western evangelical churches today. The wrath of God is not denied and is indeed given formal recognition. But in practice it is neglected. In preaching and teaching it is ignored, largely or totally. “Those who still believe in the wrath of God . . . say little about it. . . . The fact is that the subject of divine wrath has become taboo in modern society, and Christians by and large have accepted the taboo and conditioned themselves never to raise the matter.”57 This is a very serious matter, for, as Brunner comments, “a theology which uses the language of Christianity can be tested by its attitude towards the Biblical doctrine of the wrath of God, whether it means what the words of Scripture say. Where the idea of the wrath of God is ignored there also will there be no understanding of the central conception of the Gospel: the uniqueness of the revelation in the Mediator.”58 More simply, “only he who knows the greatness of wrath will be mastered by the greatness of mercy.”59'

-- Tony Lane, "The Wrath of God as an Aspect of the Love of God"