Is God Angry?
Text: Rom. 1:18-23
Introduction
1. Marvin The Martian Video
2. This morning I want to ask the question, "Is God angry?"
3. According to the Apostle Paul he most certainly is angry. However, unlike ourselves or Marvin The Martian, he has good reason to be angry.
4. God is angry because people are...
A. Suppressing the Truth
B. Ignoring His Power And Divine Nature
C. Foolishly Discarding His Glory
5. Let's stand together as we read Romans 1:18-23.
Proposition: It's time for the church to proclaim the foolish behavior of humans and encourage them to turn back to God.
Transition: First, God is angry because people are...
I. Suppressing The Truth (18-19).
A. Suppress The Truth
1. The thought of God's anger, or more literally, his wrath, is not an idea with which we are very comfortable.
A. We like to think of God as a loving and merciful God, which he most certainly is, but to dismiss his anger at sin is to ignore an essential aspect of his character.
B. The Bible makes it clear from the OT that God's wrath is the basis for his judgment.
C. Therefore, anger or wrath is necessary to a biblical understanding of God as long as God is God (Moo, NICNT: The Epistle To The Romans, 99-100).
D. Now some might say, "But Pastor, that was God in the OT and he's different in the NT, right?"
E. The answer to that is "No!"
F. In fact, Hebrews say that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
G. So we cannot ignore the fact that yes God gets angry.
2. In v. 18 Paul says, "But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness."
A. Paul indicates that God's anger is shown from heaven against all sinful, wicked people.
B. Those two terms in Scripture are synonymous and refer to sins against God in general.
C. This is seen in the added comment that they "suppress the truth by their wickedness."
D. To suppress the truth means to "hinder" the truth of God by opposing it.
E. The end result of wickedness is to bury the truth of God under a mountain of rationalization and evil behavior (Osborne, 46-47).
F. That is what we find in our society today. People like to say things like, "that may be wrong for you, but it's not for me," or "truth is all subjective to whatever you believe."
G. In other words, if I think it's okay for me it is no matter what someone else might say, even if that someone else is God!
H. They try and sweep the Bible under the rug by saying that the Bible is just a book of myths and fairytales written by men.
I. But it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming!
3. Then in v. 19 Paul contines his argument saying. "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them."
A. The truth about God has been clearly revealed by God. The clues to God's existence and character have traditionally been called general or natural revelation.
B. God could have kept humans in ignorance about himself. But he chose to reveal himself, generally in nature and specifically through the Scriptures and Jesus Christ.
C. Because God has made certain facts about himself known instinctively, people will someday have to give an account before God of why they chose to ignore his existence and his character (Barton, 582).
D. Paul says that people have always known the truth about God and therefore are responsible to him for their actions. So God is justified in bringing his anger upon them (Osborne, 47).
E. Just because people want to ignore the truth about God doesn't mean that they are not responsible for their sin.
F. Despite what our society may think there is such a thing as true truth!
G. John 17:17 (NLT2)
17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
B. The Truth
1. Illustration: One of the most telling examples is our view of truth. In the 1960s, 65 percent of Americans said they believed the Bible is true; today that figure has dropped to 32 percent. Even more dramatically, today 67 percent of all Americans deny that there's any such thing as truth. Seventy percent say there are no moral absolutes.
(Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, p. ix. 10,000 Sermon Illustrations).
2. One of the main reasons God is angry is because people are denying the truth about Him.
A. People say that there is no such thing as absolute truth, but Jesus said...
B. John 14:6 (NLT2)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
C. So if Jesus said he is the truth, and people say there is no absolute truth, then what they are really saying is that Jesus is a liar!
D. What people are displaying by their actions is that I don't like your truth so I'm going to make up my own.
E. The reality is there is absolute truth. The absolute truth is if I hit you over the head with a hammer it's going to hurt!
F. It is absolute truth that if you run your truck into a tree that tree isn't going anywhere and the only place your truck is going is to the junk yard. That's truth...and trust me I know this from personal experience!
G. It is absolute truth that God hates sin and all of us have sinned. Unless we are forgiven of that sin we will go to hell for eternity.
H. It's absolute truth that Jesus died on the cross so we could be forgiven.
I. It's absolute truth that we need to accept Jesus as our Savior in order for that forgiveness to happen.
J. It's absolute truth that nothing is going to change that truth. Not now not ever!
Transition: The second reason that God is angry is because people are...
II. Ignoring His Power And Divine Nature (20-21).
A. They Have No Excuse
1. One of the most amazing testimonies to not only God's existence, but also his power and divinity is nature itself.
A. If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon or seen the Pacific Ocean then you know the power of God.
B. If you've ever been to the Alps or seen a Redwood tree then you know of God's majesty.
C. Yet many people who have seen these things deny not only God's power to create such natural wonders, but even his very existence.
2. As you might imagine this doesn't make God happy. In v. 20 Paul says, "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."
A. In Isaiah 55:8-9 it says, "my thoughts are not your thoughts...my ways are not your ways."
B. However, what needs to be known about God has already been made clear through creation.
C. The phrase "they can clearly see," is similar in meaning to "revealed" referring God's special revelation in His Word, but here it speaks of natural revelation.
D. This idea of natural revelation is seen clearly here in this verse. God has revealed himself every since the world was created.
E. Even in the Garden of Eden God was revealing himself to Adam and Eve through nature.
F. So the Gentiles, even without God's Word, have known of God's invisible qualities.
G. Now these things are his divine attributes because God cannot be seen, since he is spirit, and is therefore invisible. So without the Word humans can only know those aspects that God has made plain through nature.
H. However, through nature they can see his eternal power and divine nature.
I. We can see the power of God through things like the vastness of the universe, or the power of a single atom.
J. In addition, these also demonstrate the reality and necessity of his deity.
K. The odds of the perfection of the natural world happening by chance are so incredibly small as to be next to none.
L. When we understand how DNA works, how cells function, or how a perfect baby comes into the world through a sperm and an egg, the reality of God becomes crystal clear.
M. And because of all these things Paul insists that people are without excuse.
N. We have already seen in the previous verse how human beings suppress the truth, but this deliberate rejection of God's self-disclosure is the basis of their guilt (Osborne, 47-48)
3. Furthermore, Paul says in v. 21, "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused."
A. People's denial of their own awareness of God is what left them without excuse.
B. When Paul says that they knew God, he is not describing a knowledge that could save them but a knowledge that simply recognized God's existence. He was describing an awareness of God, that, if not suppressed, would be nurtured by God.
C. But since human beings have, in fact, suppressed the truth about God, the following calamities ensued: (1) they wouldn't worship him as God; (2) they couldn't give thanks; (3) in the void, they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like; and (4) in the end their minds became dark and confused.
D. When people refuse to recognize God as Creator, they will also fail to glorify or thank him for his gifts of food, clothing, shelter, even life itself.
E. When they neglect God, they open the door to evil. To omit what is good inevitably leads to committing what is evil.
F. Ingratitude may seem like a small thing, but it begins the downward spiral into depravity.
G. To forget to thank God for all he is and all he has done reveals a dangerous self-centeredness. This causes futile thinking and planning, darkness, pride, blindness, and finally total departure from God that bursts into a flood of sin (Barton, 583).
H. First, they thoughts became futile or empty and void of understanding.
I. the word foolish here means "to make empty, vain, useless, confused. The word describes the perverted logic and idolatrous presumption of those who do not honor God or show him any gratitude for his blessings on humanity (NSFLSB, 1441).
J. Second, Paul say their minds became dark and confused meaning that they completely rejected the light of God (Osborne, 49).
K. In 1 Corinthians Paul says that "the cross is foolishness to the world, but the wisdom of the world is foolish to God."
B. Ignoring God
1. Illustration: C.S Lewis: tells the story of a wasp enjoying himself sucking the goodness on the jam whilst the rest of its body has been decapitated. The wasp continues sucking unknowing to its condition. He says it's a picture of human nature today. We enjoy the sweet pleasures of life yet we fail to see the consequences of ignoring God. Our sin is deadly, and our relationship with God has been lost.
2. Humans have closed their hearts and minds to God, and our arrogance will be our downfall.
A. Ephesians 4:17-19 (NLT2)
17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.
18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
B. Human have no excuse for not knowing God.
C. He has made himself known through nature.
D. He has made himself known through the woods and forests.
E. He has made himself known through the lakes, rivers and oceans.
F. He has made himself known through the fish, birds and mammals.
G. And yet in spite of all this humans have said, "No, God, we don't want to know you!"
H. They have said no because of their arrogance and pride.
I. They have said no because they don't want to serve him, and in doing so have made it plain that they want to be God!
J. But God will have the last say, and people will face the consequences for their sin!
Transition: Thirdly, God is angry because people are...
III. Foolishly Discarding His Glory (22-23).
A. Claiming To Be Wise
1. St. Augustine said, "It is pride that turns man away from wisdom, and folly is the consequence of turning away from wisdom" (Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture NT, vol. VI, 40).
2. In v. 22 the Apostle Paul says, "Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools."
A. Without answers based on the reality of God, people seek heroes among those who claim to be wise and will boldly say there are no answers.
B. Under such circumstances, it is seen as a sign of sophistication and intelligence to refuse to acknowledge God's existence.
C. But by biblical definition, people who refuse to believe in God are utter fools (Psalm 14:1). The evidence of God's existence is so plain and clear that to ignore it is totally foolish.
D. 1 Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT2)
19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”
20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.
E. To some people, statements like these by Paul appear to be intolerant of other religions and views.
F. The objection is often voiced in a question: "Well, after all, the point is that people are naturally somewhat religious; so isn't the most important thing not what religion you follow, but that you follow some religion?"
G. The fallacy behind the question is that it still assumes that man is at the center, not God. The emphasis is not on believing what is true but on believing.
H. Paul was speaking in a world that was inundated with gods. He would have been horrified to think that anyone would understand him to be saying that a little religion is a good thing!
I. To Paul, even a lot of religion was bad if it was not true (Barton, 583).
3. Then Paul declares just how foolish they have become. In v. 23 he says, "And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles."
A. Whether they claim it or not, people are religious beings. By their very nature, they are bound to worship and serve something beyond themselves.
B. It may be another idea of God, a person, a thing, or even some false notion that no God exists.
C. Anyone who rejects the Creator will end up worshiping the creature. And how foolish that they turn their backs on the glorious, ever-living God in order to worship idols' things created by humans.
D. Because they were created by humans, they owe their existence to humans. This places people in control of their own gods.
E. How can intelligent people turn to idolatry? Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to him as the Creator and sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe.
F. They soon invent gods that are convenient projections of their own selfish plans and decrees.
G. These gods may be wooden figures, or they may be things we desire - such as money, power, or comfort.
H. They may even be misrepresentations of God himself - a result of making God in their image, instead of the reverse.
I. The common denominator is this: Idolaters worship the things God made rather than God himself (Barton, 583).
J. Exodus 20:4-5 (NLT2)
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
B. The Fool Says
1. Illustration: Friedrich Nietzsche, the philosopher, said of Christians:
"Look at whom they worship. Look at this God whom they worship. How foolish and imbecilic to follow one who died, and then to claim that that death is victory! There is foolishness and there is foolishness. There is madness and there is madness, but to call death victory is the ultimate madness of all. This is a pathetic deity and he is followed by a pathetic people."
Paul says those people who believe like Nietzsche are "perishing."
2. It is utterly foolish to worship either yourself or something you made rather than worshipping the one who made you.
A. Psalm 14:1-3 (NLT2)
1 Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!
2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.
3 But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!
B. The wise ones, the intellectuals of this world, tries to tell us there is no God and that we are fools for following someone who doesn't exist. But the truth is we all worship something.
C. So the choices are actually limited. First, you can worship yourself. Now I don't know about you, but the last being I'm gonna worship is me! In high school I failed Biology one year and passed it with a D the second time. So I'm not on the list.
D. You could worship a carved idol. But what sense does it make to worship something somebody made with their own hands? Something that someone could burn or crack and won't pass the test of time. So that's off the list.
E. You could worship money. Ask someone that lost all of their money in the Stock Market during a crash, or someone who lost all their money when someone hacked their bank account. It's here today and gone tomorrow. So that's off the list.
F. You could worship nature. But what happens when that tree gets old or diseased and falls to the ground? And when was the last time you asked an animal for help in time of need? How did that go? So that's off the list.
G. So what's left? How about the God who created all of those things and could do so again just by speaking it into existence!
H. I don't know about you, but I would rather worship the God who died for me! The God who saved me, sanctified me, and baptized me with his Holy Spirit!
I. I don't know about you, but I'd rather worship the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever!
J. I'd rather worship the God that has promised never to leave me or forsake me!
K. I'd rather worship the God who promised to go and prepare a place for me in paradise!
L. That's the God that I want to worship!
Conclusion
1. This morning I want to ask the question, "Is God angry?"
2. According to the Apostle Paul he most certainly is angry. However, unlike ourselves or Marvin The Martian, he has good reason to be angry.
3. God is angry because people are...
A. Suppressing the Truth
B. Ignoring His Power And Divine Nature
C. Foolishly Discarding His Glory
4. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. GOD IS ANGRY AND HE IS COMING BACK TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
B. YES, GOD IS ANGRY, BUT HE IS ALSO A LOVING AND FORGIVING GOD WHO ACCEPTS ANYONE WHO TURNS TO HIM IN HUMBLE REPENTANCE.
C. IF I AM WRONG, AND GOD DOESN'T EXIST, BUT YOU FOLLOW HIM ANYWAY YOU'VE LOST NOTHING. BUT IF I'M RIGHT AND YOU DON'T FOLLOW HIM YOU'VE LOST EVERYTHING!
