Paul has made his point that he is proud of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. It provides deliverance from the penalty of sin (death) and freedom from sin’s power over us now (it no longer masters us). For in the gospel he points out that a righteousness from God is revealed. The way of being made right with and before God has been declared, but more than that you have been made right and righteous in your spirit and soul. Now, Paul comes to establish the truth that ALL are unrighteous and in need of this salvation and righteousness. He does this by proclaiming that “Wrath Is Revealed” as we read in Romans 1:18-32
I well remember my Dad telling me that I could learn the easy way or the hard way. The lessons of life are sure to be learned one way or the other. Most of us choose the hard way don’t we? As one Auto Insurance Company advertises, “Life comes at you fast.” So get ready to learn the easy way or the hard way.
God can be known the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is spoken of by Paul in Romans 2:4 and 11:22. God’s “kindness or goodness leads you toward repentance. . . Consider therefore the kindness of God.” God is a God of love and mercy. But He is also a God of wrath and justice or judgment. Therefore, you may get to know God the easy way or the hard way. The point is, God is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and Life!
Before I say anything more, I must establish the responsibility of ALL people everywhere to acknowledge the existence and the basic character of God. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “He who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him” (11:6b). You may or may not acknowledge Him, however I’m warning you that it’s your responsibility to do so! If you don’t, that’s where the wrath of God comes in and you’ll learn the hard way.
Now the wrath of God is not an irrational burst of anger such as we humans often exhibit. Rather, it’s the outworking of the consequences of sin upon persons by a holy, righteous God. C.K. Barrett says, “It’s God’s personal reaction to sin.” It’s divine displeasure or retribution in a morally ordered world that God created. What wrath reflects is the downward spiral of human behavior as God withdraws His presence and His restraining influence in your life and in His world. At the same time, lacking respect for God leads to a lack of justice for persons as well. History well demonstrates that nations who forsake God lose their concern for the rights of individuals. We can see that right before our eyes here in America today! So recognizing that God’s wrath is a reality what do I hear this passage of Scripture saying as “Wrath Is Revealed?” First of all as wrath is being revealed it says:
I. GOD CAN BE KNOWN verses 18 – 20
Verse 18 indicates wrath is being revealed in the present tense which has continuing action, from heaven which equals from God. It’s being revealed against those who don’t respect God and those who lack justice for people, who also restrain, withhold or stifle the truth. That being the fact, the truth really is:
A. People by nature know God verses 19 – 20
People have no excuse for not knowing God and the word here “without excuse” is a legal term meaning stripped of any defense. The reason being and why wrath is revealed is God has made it perfectly clear to mankind, He has made it evident within them as well as in His creation. Theologians call this General or Natural Revelation. God has provided sufficient evidence of Himself to hold every person accountable for knowing Him. The Message Bible says, “By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.” However:
B.People by bent and rebellion reject God verse 21–23
Running throughout this passage (21, 28, 32) is the consistent reminder that ALL people have knowledge of God . . . . The basic problem of people is not ignorance of the truth, but rebellion against the One who is truth. From the very beginning humans have been rebels. Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan’s lie that God was withholding something from them. So our first parents rebelled and the entire human race has suffered the effects of that rebellion.
So, by nature or bent people neither give God glory for who He is nor give Him thanks for what He has done. As a result, their reasoning went astray and their stupid, senseless hearts plunged into darkness. To turn from the light of revelation is to head into darkness. It’s impossible to turn from the truth of God and not suffer the consequences. Just look at America as we have taken God out of schools, government and everything else possible. Verse 22 indicates that in rejecting God people claimed to be wiser than God. However, making oneself god lies at the heart of human rebellion. You become an empty head. Verse 23 reminds us that God prohibited the Israelites from making images shaped like man or animals or creatures. Whenever man rebels against the knowledge of God he goes lower and lower. People by bent and rebellion reject God and when they do the wrath of God is revealed. However, God can be known and you can know Him today by believing in Jesus Christ. Not to do so means, Wrath is being revealed and that means:
II. GOD GAVE THEM UP verses 24 – 32
In the next 9 verses Paul uses 3 identical phrases in verses 24, 26, 28 saying “God gave them up, God gave them over, He gave them over.” Then 3 times Scripture says in verses 23, 25, 26, “They exchanged, they exchanged, the women exchanged.” Then verse 29 says “they became filled.” When God’s wrath is revealed, when He withdraws His restraining presence and when the consequences of sin work themselves out in your life:
A. God gives you over to them verses 24, 26, 28
God is saying in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” God allows sin to run its course as an act of judgment. You can’t turn your back on God and not suffer loss, harm or get a penalty. It’s not exactly like football where you get a penalty, but a part of God’s wrath is the removal of restraint that allows a person to reap the just retribution of their rebellion. The word picture that the commentator Godet draws is God “ceased to hold the boat as it was dragged by the current of the river.” Divine judgment is God permitting people to go their own way. God will give you over to your own self-destruction and sinful choices.
The Message Bible puts it this way: “So God said, in effect, ‘If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.’ It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them . . . Worse followed. Refusing to know God they soon didn’t know how to be human either – women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to me men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men – all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it – emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.” At the same time God gave them over:
B. They Exchanged God for a god
Verse 25 in the NEB says, “They have bartered away the true God for a false one.” They bartered away the glory of God and they bartered away the truth of God. And what did they get in exchange? Hardly a bargain! They got idols and a lie. The lie they bargained for led them to worship and serve that which is made rather than the Maker. All too often today we worship things; that which is created, rather than the Creator who is to be praised forever! Amen! God created you and me for fellowship and relationship and for you to deny that intended purpose, is to enter the darkness of meaninglessness and purposelessness.
Verses 26 – 27 contain the clearest teachings in the NT on homosexuality. It’s described as shameful, unnatural, indecent and as a perversion. In the Greco-Roman society of Paul’s day it was tolerated with considerable ease, but in Jewish culture it was an abomination. Leviticus 18:22 specifically prohibits it. “Don’t lie with a man as one lies with a woman, that is detestable.” Then Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “homosexual offenders will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” They exchanged the glory of God who can not be corrupted for corruptible man. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones and they have become filled with every kind of evil, verse 29 . . . They become filled with unrighteousness when God wants to reveal a righteousness in the gospel from God, that is by faith and fill you with Himself, His godly life, His Eternal Life, His Holy Spirit.
You do have a choice! You can learn the easy way or the hard way. Just this week I’ve been reading again a book by Steve McVey, “A Divine Invitation: Experiencing the Romance of God’s Amazing Love.” Let me close with an excerpt that I found meaningful. “Our relationship with God exists, not because we one day decided to ‘do the Christian thing,’ but because God sovereignly chose us, then set all of His divine resources in motion to bring to pass what He determined to accomplish in us. The cross changed everything for you. When, by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, divine love satisfied the demands of divine justice, YOU became the beneficiary. When Jesus cried out ‘It is finished!’ from the cross, He declared that believers owe God nothing.”
