Basic Training 02 Series

Welcome back to Basic Training. We have 9 weeks remaining in our study of the book of Romans.

My prayer is this, as we go through the book of Romans, each of us will begin to experience personal revival in our lives. In order for this to happen I challenge you to read through this book during the next few weeks. Read through the book of Romans 2 or 3 times.

Allow it to stir up that which is in you.

My prayer is that Prairie Family Church will be stirred up by the power of God.

Let’s pray,

Father,

Open my eyes so I can see Your truth.

Open my ears so I can hear Your voice.

Open my mind so I can understand Your Word.

And open my heart so I may receive all that You want me to receive.

AMEN

Today we will be examining the wrath of God.

How many of you think that sounds good? It doesn’t sound good. Think about this, would you like to have the wrath of God poured out into your life? I don’t think so.

Paul finishes his introductions and he wastes no time moving into the doctrinal issues. The first issue that Paul brings before the Roman church is the moral condition of mankind.

Paul has some good news and he has some bad news and he was going to bring the bad news first.

Here was Paul’s bad news… All of mankind needs to have atonement for their sins.

Before we can really appreciate the good news we need to know the bad news. So before Paul tells us about the gifts of God we hear about the need of man.

In Romans 1:18-32 we see the condition of mankind. According to Paul the whole earth is morally bankrupt.

Now remember, Paul is writing this about AD 56. Basically 2000 years ago before any of our modern modes of communication were thought of. Before television, before movies, before internet; Paul calls the world he lived in a depraved world. He called it a world that lacked morals or Godly values.

He says that the world was morally bankrupt then. To be bankrupt means to have nothing.

I want you to grasp this because when Noah was alive God destroyed the earth because it was morally bankrupt.

This is important to note because when God saw the moral condition of Sodom and Gomorra, He destroyed those two towns.

Now compare the days of Noah and the days of Lot with what Paul is seeing and then compare those with the moral condition of our day and age.

What do you see?

When you take a careful look at things not much has changed. The world we live in today is just as morally corrupt today as it was in the days of Noah, the days of Lot, and the days of Paul. Maybe even more so.

Paul brings all this up in Romans 1. Last week we looked at Paul’s opening comments to the Roman Church. He told them that God has set for a righteousness in the Gospel message.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 NIV

But before he can explain the righteousness and before he can explain the grace he has to talk about something that is not popular. That is what we are going to look at today.

In Romans 1:18-32 NIV

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.