Posted on Mar 21, 2026 by Mike LeDuke

What do you think of when you think about God? Does He scare you? Do you think about an angry God who feels fury over sin? Or do you think about a God of love? Maybe both?< /p>

I’m always struck by people’s answers when I ask them this question. Some people are genuinely terrified. They’ve been taught that hell is a place of eternal torment where your immortal soul suffers endlessly. Indeed, that does sound terrifying! Believing that God is so angry with sin that He sends people there would definitely affect your perception of Him!

Others revel in God’s goodness. Still others aren’t totally sure what they think. They believe in a God who punishes sin. But they also believe in a God of love.

So where do you land?

Our theology often shapes our view of God. Just like those who believed in a fiery hell of torments felt afraid of God, those who have different theological ideas have a different understanding of God.

In this next series of posts, we’re going to explore what the Bible says about God specifically what it says about him in the context of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Traditionally, this is where many churches teach an angry God. They say that sin was so evil and God was so disgusted with it that only a perfect sacrifice like Jesus could satisfy His anger. Walking through the logistics of how this worked, they state that when Jesus was on the cross, he literally took all of humanity’s sins upon himself. He became responsible for everything bad that had ever been done. On the cross, God therefore unleashed His wrath on Jesus. It’s at that point, these churches claim, that Jesus stated, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 26:47).

The technical term for this view is penal substitutionary atonement. It teaches that God is love and thus devised this plan, but at the same time, God is furious over sin.

But that view is missing something. Indeed, God is love (1 John 4:8). And, God does feel anger towards sin (Romans 5:9). Yet God isn’t an angry God. He isn’t a God who would unleash His wrath upon Jesus, the only one to have ever lived perfectly. Instead, God is a God who wants to save. He is a God who loves life. Thus, in this series together, we’ll explore what Christ’s death meant. And we’ll revel together in God’s goodness.