Darkness Revealed Series

Darkness Revealed

Roman’s Series

CCCAG June 7th, 2020

Scripture- Romans 1:18-32

This morning, we will be taking a journey that for some may be a little uncomfortable. Most of the time we come to church to be encouraged and strengthened for the next week, and that’s part of what coming to church is all about. We get that strength through worshipping God and hearing His Word.

Another function of the church service is discipleship- training you in the bible’s truth’s and its message to all of us.

That central theme we see in the bible is God’s love for His creation, and His means of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But what did Jesus come to save us from?

Many people would say our sins, and they would be partially correct. Jesus Christ indeed came to save us from sins influence in our lives,

Most importantly Jesus came to save us from the consequences of sin.

That consequence of sin is experiencing what the bible calls the wrath of God.

How many people feel immediately uncomfortable with that thought?

Be honest, because it terrifies me.

It brings up my mom saying, “Wait until your dad gets home!” because you know there is a whole can of whooping coming with him.

How much more so should the thought of Almighty God coming in wrath fill us with dread?

It’s probably the reason most Christians love to stay in the New Testament and just skim the Old Testament, and skip Revelation all together.

God takes sin very seriously as we will see this morning.

So buckle in, and turn in your bibles to Romans 1:18-32, and we will have Conrad read it for us this morning.

Romans 1:18-32

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.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Prayer

I. Wrath of God (Verses 18)

Today we will start by asking and answering the question- Why is God wrathful?

Within these opening verses, we see two words that are triggers for God’s wrath- Godlessness and Wickedness

Lets define them

Godlessness is something that does not reflect God’s image or purpose.

ILLUSTRATION

Has anyone ever helped their grandfather or father fix something, and you are using their tools, and using it incorrectly.

My father was a mechanic, and he also did renovations in the various houses he owned. When I was living with my dad as a teenager, we gutted his entire house and redid every wall, doorway, floor, plumbing, and electrical. One time I was on a ladder, and I saw a nail sticking out a little wear we were going to hang some paneling.

Don’t judge- it was the 80’s- paneling was the cool way to finish your basement.