Why is God dealing in grace rather than wrath with the wicked world today?
God is dealing in grace rather than wrath today because the present era is the age of grace. For nearly 2,000 years He has not poured out wrath, even on the ungodly and those steeped in wickedness; He continues grace, not judgment.
Les explains that verse 18 presents the flip side: God is also a God of wrath. Yet for nearly 2,000 years God has not been pouring out wrath. Events like catastrophes, earthquakes, and disasters may get man's attention, but they are not God's wrath. This is the age of grace, and even the ungodly world and those steeped in wickedness are still under grace, not judgment. Les also uses the flood as an example: though awful, it was not God's wrath. God was brokenhearted because everything He had begun had fallen apart and turned in rejection. It was an act of mercy to unborn generations because violence filled the world, and it cleansed the slate and started over.