The Revelation of God's Wrath, part # 1

Romans 1:18–25 (ESV)

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, …²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking…²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

This passage connects man’s inability to respond to God as the Creator to God’s wrath.  Though God created man to rethink God’s thoughts and recreate his creation because of unrighteousness his natural inclination is to go the other direction.  In this the wrath of God is revealed.    

Verse 24 gives us the first way that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.  Because natural man has chosen to not honor God or give thanks and has begun to worship false gods, God gave them up to in their lusts to impurity.  God is not the author of sin and therefore did not tempt them, but because of their rejection he allowed their lusts to grow and they in turn dishonor their bodies among themselves.  This comes about because they did not follow the truth, but made a lie and worshiped the created being instead of the Creator Himself.  Many have argued or taught that the wrath is revealed simply in the consequences of sin, that is not the case.  Yes, God’s wrath in Scripture is a consequence of sin, but here the construction of the verse brings us to an understanding that the entanglements of sin are a consequence of the wrath of God as well.  Though God has given them over to this sin it does not mean that he has forsaken them entirely.  Though unregenerate man’s entire goal is to “suppress the truth” he is, to be sure, not entirely successful in his endeavor and is never as evil as he could be; he is quite inconsistent.  We call this area of inconsistency Common Grace.  It is to this natural knowledge of God and the discrepancies of lifestyle that the gospel appeals.    The majority of men will never come to Christ so will not see as Romans 2 says, “that God’s kindness leads them to repentance.” 

Romans 1:26–27 (ESV) ²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

God’s wrath is further revealed as women and men choose to do what is contrary to nature and are consumed with passion committing shameless acts and thereby receive in themselves what is due to them because of their ungodly choices.

 Our hope is that each listening may experience the mercy of God by repenting of their sin.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton First Word # 76

Reasons for God's Wrath

Romans 1:18–23 (NKJV) ¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Professing to be wise, they became fools,

²³and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

The first reason for God’s wrath mentioned in this passage is that men “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”  The sinful actions of men suppress or keep God from being known as He should.  Men love darkness rather than light, so when it comes to truth they do all they can to avoid it and not let it be a part of their life.

Paul continues in verse 21 and says that they “did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful.”  When man chooses to live following his own desires he does not consider God’s.  In doing this, he tries to glorify himself rather than choosing to revere and honor God.  He fails to thank God for the life that he allows them to live, for the provisions that he gathers for them, and every other area of blessing that comes from God.  Since God is not getting any credit this man’s thinking is futile or vain.  There is no purpose in it, it is simply useless.  This results in a darkened heart a heart that has no light from God in it.

In their self-proclaimed wisdom reveal their foolishness by giving up the worship of God and begin to worship false gods made after the image of man and animals.  This worship is not always as easily seen as an individual bowing before an idol though in places it can be.  For many it is   simply the worship of self or another that they make more important than obeying and revering the almighty Creator God.  When our ways are better than God’s ways and we choose as Proverbs says to “lean on our own understanding” rather than acknowledging God (Prov. 3:5-6) we have made ourselves God.

Remember these individuals are under the wrath of God.  When they suppress the truth they are directing people away from the God of the universe.  When they fail to be thankful they take credit away from the great and loving Shepherd who provides all.  When they allow other gods to take the place of the True God they are guilty of idolatry and God is a Jealous God.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 70

No Excuses!

Romans 1:18 – 21 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be made known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

God's wrath is revealed against man that is rejected him. Every man is accountable because God has revealed himself to them. God reveals his attributes through creation and through these created things takes away all our excuses for not submitting.

“Paul’s point here is that, even apart from His written revelation, that which is known about God is evident within even pagan Gentiles, for God made it evident to them. The Lord testifies through Paul that His outward, visible manifestation of Himself is universally known by man. It is evident within them as well as without them. All men have evidence of God, and what their physical senses can perceive of Him their inner senses can understand to some extent. The Philistines both saw and acknowledged God’s power, as did the Canaanites, the Egyptians, and every other people who have lived on earth. The rebels who built the tower of Babel both saw and acknowledged God’s greatness, as did the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. All men know something and understand something of the reality and the truth of God. They are responsible for a proper response to that revelation. Any wrong response is “inexcusable.”

Unregenerate man has “no help and [is] without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12), not because he has no knowledge of God but because he naturally rebels against the knowledge of God that he has. As Paul has already attested (Rom. 1:18), sinful mankind naturally suppresses God’s truth with his own unrighteousness.”^[1]

No one can claim that they were ignorant of God.  Everyone is accountable to God to respond to His revelation.

David affirmed in Psalm 19 that God reveals Himself in nature.  Psalm 19:1–3 (NKJV)  ¹The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. ²Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. ³There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.

God’s revelation makes all of us accountable to Him such that when the day of judgment comes we will indeed be without excuse and though we will bow the knee and confess Christ as Lord then (Phil 2:10-11) for many it will be too late.  They will be subject to the wrath of God as it is released.

 May you come to know the God of Creation!

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^[1] John MacArthur, Romans (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996), 77.