The following is a sample from Rich Wounds by David Mathis. Learn more about the book and download a free Lent or Easter reading plan working through the book here.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” – Galatians 3:13
Great hymns, as we have seen—whether about Christ’s “wondrous cross” or his “precious blood”—have the ability to unite the family of God throughout history and around the world, in the truths that matter most. But when voices from within the church begin to question or deny what the church holds most dear, great hymns also become flashpoints of controversy.
Such is the case with the modern-day song “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. The second verse includes these lines:
“Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied”.
The thought of God’s righteous, omnipotent wrath against us does make us tremble—and it should. But we are not left without a refuge to run to in Christ.
Some critics find this second line uncomfortable enough to change it, skip the verse or abandon the song altogether. The Father satisfied his wrath on his Son? Some allege “cosmic child abuse”, or at least feel discomfort in talking in these terms, and alter the line to read “the love of God was magnified".
But as we walk this stretch of our journey, glorying in particular at the achievements of Christ for us in his death, it is good for us to see that the controversial line, offensive as it may be to modern palates, is deeply biblical and profoundly good news. The thought of God’s righteous, omnipotent wrath against us does make us tremble—and it should. But we are not left without a refuge to run to in Christ.
It’s certainly true that the love of God was magnified at the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. And in Galatians 2:20, the apostle Paul refers to the magnifying of love at the cross when he speaks of Jesus as the one “who loved me” and who therefore “gave himself for me”.
The cross, as the pinnacle of God’s expression of his love for his people, is the most magnificent single act of love in all of history. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)—and even greater still was it when the Son of God himself offered up his life for sinners who had rebelled against him.
So, yes, “the love of God was magnified” at the cross. But why would some want to change the original lyrics, from one true line to another? Because they suspect the original to be untrue, and find it offensive to their sentiments—or the sentiments of others.
Unless your mind has been shaped deeply by God’s self-revelation in the Bible, rather than the prevailing winds of society today, you will find it offensive when God tells us in Scripture that we all, every one of us, are sinners. We were all born as rebels against him, and we have all lived that out, behaving as such. We all have sinned. And “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
The love of God in the Son of God rescued us from the wrath of God, without compromising the justice of God, to the glory of God.
All human sin is high treason against the God who made us and to whom we owe ultimate allegiance. Our sin is an affront to him. And it is such a serious offense for us finite creatures to rebel against our infinite Creator that the just punishment for our sin, even in the seemingly smallest of expressions, is eternal death. God is the infinitely valuable absolute Person, and any sin against him, whether we think of it as big or small, is incalculably egregious. The just punishment for it is an eternal punishment in hell.
Unless the grace of God intervenes.
Where does the wrath of God come in? It is his righteous response to the outrage that sin is. Note this well: it would not be good news if God were unrighteous, if he just swept sin under the rug, if he were not angry with genocidal dictators and the pimps of child prostitution. The love of God wouldn’t be comforting for long if God did not burn with righteous anger when evil people assault the weak and vulnerable.
If God were to stand idly by indefinitely, without wrath, when his loved ones were abused and hurt and mistreated, then we wouldn’t be very impressed or consoled by his love.
Because God is justly angry with human sin, the death of Christ at the cross was not only the magnifying of God’s love; it was also the satisfying of God’s wrath on behalf of those who believe in him.
Because the Father loved us, even while we were sinners, and because Jesus also loved us, they partnered together to bring about our salvation through the sinless Son of God willingly dying the death we sinners deserve.
If the love of God has made a way—through the wondrous cross and with precious blood—then we only diminish his love when we try to lessen his wrath.
The love of God in the Son of God rescued us from the wrath of God, without compromising the justice of God, to the glory of God.
The church has long had a precious doctrinal name for this reality, neglected today in some quarters: propitiation. To propitiate means to satisfy a divine demand, such that God becomes propitious or favorable to the one on whose behalf the sacrifice was offered.
Pagans may try to propitiate their man-made gods, seeking favor by offering them their possessions; but the true God is made eternally favorable to his people only through Christ himself becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).
That God has wrath against human sin that needs to be satisfied might be terribly offensive, if there were no Savior. More than offensive, it should be horrifying. But if the love of God has made a way—through the wondrous cross and with precious blood—then we only diminish his love when we try to lessen his wrath.
The way to let the love of God shine its brightest is not to try to mute his righteous wrath but to acknowledge it: to tremble at what we’ve been saved from, to stand in awe of the amazing self-giving of God’s Son, and to invite others into the rescue.
David Mathis serves as executive editor at desiringGod.org, pastor at Cities Church, and adjunct professor at Bethlehem College and Seminary. He and his wife, Megan, have four children.
