The Character of God

We do not get to choose a favorite attribute and hide the rest. The God of Scripture is one. What He is, He is entirely.

Holy

The seraphim do not cry love, love, love in Isaiah's vision, though He is love. They cry:

Isaiah 6:3

Holiness means He is set apart, morally perfect, not to be managed. Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:16

This is why Atonement is not optional. A holy God cannot wink at sin and remain Himself.

Love

1 John 4:8

Love is not a mood God works Himself into. It is what He is. And John will not let us define that love as sentiment:

1 John 4:10

The cross is how we know what love costs. See The Cross.

Mercy and wrath are not opposites

Wrath is holiness answering sin. Romans 1:18 Mercy is holiness providing a way home. Both appear in the same God, and both appear at Calvary. Moses heard them in one name: merciful, and yet He will not clear the guilty. Exodus 34:6-7 If either is deleted, the gospel collapses into something smaller than Scripture.

A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy