Romans 1:18 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (ESV).
In order to engage in useful dialogue and make meaningful choices, facts matter. There has been great concern as of late as to who publically controls access to information. When Biblical truth is branded as “hate” and is censored in public discourse, people are publically denied access to the Gospel which is the only means of salvation. The immediate implications for a society are profound. Lack of respect for God leads to a lack of justice for people. History demonstrates that nations that forsake God lose their concern for the rights of the individual. To forsake God is to forsake his creatures. As a national policy, atheism grinds its people under the collective heel of what they impose and call it “what’s best for society.”. It is a wicked thing to “suppress the truth.” Truth cannot be changed, but it can be held down or stifled. Wickedness “denies … truth its full scope” (Knox). God has revealed to all humans His eternal power and nature. Yet people refuse to believe, and as a result their understanding is darkened. To turn willfully against God is to move from light into darkness. The blindness that follows is self-imposed (Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 77). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
In the beginning of Romans 1:18, the Apostle Paul begins to unfold the details of the gospel of God in which God’s righteousness is revealed (which he specified in vv. 16–17). The opening of this sentence with the word “for” indicates a link of purpose. “For” links this statement to the preceding one and gives a reason for it. The gospel is necessary because there is such a thing as the wrath of God, because only the gospel of salvation by grace through faith (vv. 16–17) brings deliverance from that wrath (Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 74–75). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.)
In understanding the necessity of the Gospel, Paul is now going to explain the consequence of the rejection of the Gospel. The condemnation of unredeemed humanity that extends through chapter 3 and verse 20. He starts with an unequivocal affirmation of God’s righteous wrath. Orge (wrath) refers to a settled, determined indignation, not to the momentary, emotional, and often uncontrolled anger (thumos) to which human beings are prone. For Paul, fear of eternal condemnation was the first motivation he offered for coming to Christ, the first pressure he applied to evil. He was determined that they understand the reality of being under God’s wrath before he offered them the way of escape from it. That approach makes both logical and theological sense. A person cannot appreciate the wonder of God’s grace until they know about the perfect demands of God’s law, and they cannot appreciate the fullness of God’s love until they know something about the fierceness of God’s anger against the sinful failure to perfectly obey that law. People cannot appreciate God’s forgiveness until they know about the eternal consequences of the sins that require a penalty and need forgiving. Forgiveness is no cheap gesture. It is as costly as the cross (Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 77). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.)
The idea of a wrathful God goes against the wishful thinking of fallen human nature and is even a stumbling block to many deceived Christians. Much contemporary evangelism talks only about abundant life in Christ, the joy and blessings of salvation, and the peace with God that faith in Christ brings. All of those benefits do result from true faith, but they are not the whole picture of God’s plan of salvation. The result truth of God’s judgment against sin and those who habitually participate in it must also be heard. A disease has to be recognized and identified before seeking a cure means anything. In the same way and for the same reason, Scripture reveals the bad news before the good news. God’s righteous judgment against sin is proclaimed before His gracious forgiveness of sin is offered. A person has no reason to seek salvation from sin if they do not know they are condemned by it. No one craves spiritual life unless they first realize they are spiritually dead.
When God reveals the truth of His judgement, He reveals His standard and the eternal consequences of rejecting Him. In the brief scope of one verse of Rom. 1:18, the Apostle Paul presents six features that characterize God’s wrath: Here we see its: 1) Quality (Romans 1:18a), 2) Time (Romans 1:18b), 3) Source (Romans 1:18c), 4) Extent and Nature (Romans 1:18d), and finally its 5) Cause (Romans 1:18e).
When God reveals the truth of His judgement, we can see:
1) The Quality of God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18a)
Romans 1:18 18 (For the wrath) of God (is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth). (ESV)
First, the quality of this wrath is seen in the fact that it is divine, it is of God. It is therefore unlike anything we know of in the present world. God’s wrath is not like human anger, which is always tainted by sin. God’s wrath is always and completely righteous. He never loses His temper. The Puritan writer Thomas Watson said, “Is God so infinitely holy? Then see how unlike to God sin is.… No wonder, therefore, that God hates sin, being so unlike to him, nay, so contrary to him; it strikes at his holiness.”. There is an essential relationship between God’s righteousness and his wrath. If God responded to wickedness with no more than a benign tolerance, his righteousness could be called into question. (Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 76). Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to 1 Samuel 2
I’ve often heard from cults who deny the eternal realty of hell to reason such judgement from earthy perspectives. But it is foolish, not to mention unbiblical, to measure God by human standards and to discount the idea of His wrath simply because human anger is always flawed by sin. God’s anger is not impulsive, irrational rage but is the only response that a holy God could have toward evil. God could not be holy and not be angry at evil. Holiness cannot tolerate unholiness. Hannah prayed to God in praise focusing on His character, in 1 Samuel 2:
1 Samuel 2:1–3 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; MY horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.2 “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. (ESV)
• Since there is none besides God, there is absolutely no holy being besides the Lord. Only the Lord is God, He is our “Rock,” referring to His protection and strength (e.g., Deut. 32:4, 15; 2 Sam. 22:2; 23:3) which 1 Pet. 2:6–8, notes of having a messianic significance pointing to its fulfilment in Christ. Since the Lord is a God of knowledge (v.3) this knowledge extends even to the motives behind human actions. Yet His actions are not weighed, or subject to human judgment, since only He is God and absolutely holy (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 493). Crossway Bibles.).
Quote: Even in the warped and debased societies, indignation against vice and crime is recognized as an essential element of human society. We expect people to be outraged by gross injustice and cruelty. The noted Greek exegete Richard Trench said, “There [can be no] surer and sadder token of an utterly (miserable) moral condition than … not being able to be angry with sin-and sinners” God is perfectly so all the time with a holy fury. (Richard Trench . Synonyms of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983], p. 134).
Illustration: GOD—WRATH OF
A lot of people can’t conceive of a God who would ever punish anybody. They say that wouldn’t be loving. But we also need to understand God’s holiness. Just considering our own lives: “If someone backed into the door of your new car in the parking lot after the service, and you went to court and the judge said, ‘That’s no problem; They didn’t mean it,’ you’d be up in arms. You’d want justice. “If you went to a Baseball game, and the pitcher of the team you root for threw a strike down the middle of the plate, and the ump said, ‘Ball four,’ and walked in a run, you’d be out there arguing furiously with the ump, because you want justice.” After coming to this point and realizing that we wouldn’t want a God who wasn’t just, and rest assured that God is just, consider the implications: That means He metes out justice to anyone who has not had Christ pay their penalty. As Jonathan Edwards said: “The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present. They increase more and more and rise higher till an outlet is given. The longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course when once it is let loose”. (Jonathan Edwards as recorded in Zuck, R. B. (1997). The speaker’s quote book: over 4,500 illustrations and quotations for all occasions (pp. 173–174). Kregel Publications.)
When God reveals the truth of His judgement, we can see:
2) The Timing of God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18b)
Romans 1:18 18 (For the wrath of God) is revealed (from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth). (ESV)
Second, the timing of God’s wrath is seen in the fact that it is revealed, a better rendering being “constantly revealed.” God’s wrath is continually being revealed, perpetually being manifested. Apokalupto (revealed) has the basic meaning of uncovering, bringing to light, or making known. God’s wrath has always been revealed to fallen humanity and is repeatedly illustrated throughout Scripture. It was first revealed in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve trusted the serpent’s word above God’s. Immediately the sentence of death was passed on them and on all their descendants. Even the earth itself was cursed. God’s wrath was revealed in the Flood, when God drowned the whole human race except for eight souls, in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the drowning of Pharaoh’s army. It was revealed in the curse of the law upon every transgression and in the institution of the sacrificial system of the Mosaic covenant. Even the imperfect laws that governments make to deter and punish wrongdoers reflect and thereby help to reveal the perfect and righteous wrath of God. By far the surpassing revelation of God’s wrath was that placed upon His own Son on the cross, when Jesus took to Himself the sin of His people and bore the full divine force of God’s fury as its penalty. God hates sin so deeply and requires its penalty so that He allowed His perfect, beloved Son to be put to death as the only means by which fallen humanity might be redeemed from its curse. The British commentator Geoffrey B. Wilson wrote, “God is no idle spectator of world events; He is dynamically active in human affairs. The conviction of sin is constantly punctuated by Divine judgment” (Geoffrey B. Wilson. Romans: A Digest of Reformed Comment [London: Banner of Truth], p. 24). The historian J. A. Froude wrote, “One lesson, and only one, history may be said to repeat with distinctness; that the world is built somehow on moral foundations; that, in the long run, it is well with the good; in the long run, it is ill with the wicked” (J. A. Froude. Short Studies on Great Subjects, vol. 1, “The Science of History” [London: Longmans Green and Co., 1915], p. 21).
Illustration: There was once a group of godly farmers in a Midwest community being irritated one Sunday morning by a neighbor’s plowing his field across from their church. Noise from his tractor interrupted the worship service, and, as it turned out, the man had purposely chosen to plow that particular field on Sunday morning in order to make a point. He wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper, asserting that, although he did not respect the Lord or honor the Lord’s Day, he had the highest yield per acre of any farm in the county. He asked the editor how Christians could explain that. With considerable insight and wisdom, the editor printed the letter and followed it with the simple comment, “God does not settle [all] His accounts in the month of October” (Donald Grey Barnhouse. Man’s Ruin: Romans 1:1–32 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1952], p. 220).
When God reveals the truth of His judgement, we can see:
3)The Source of God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18c)
Romans 1:18 18 (For the wrath of God is revealed) from heaven (against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth). (ESV)
God’s wrath is rendered from heaven. Despite Satan’s present power as prince of the air and of this world, the earth is ultimately dominated by heaven, the throne of God, from which His wrath is constantly and dynamically manifested in the world. Paul frequently speaks about the wrath, indicating a specific time or type of wrath. There is a definite article before wrath in Romans 3:5, which should read, “who inflicts the wrath.” In chapter 5 he speaks of our being “saved from the wrath of God through” Christ (v. 9), in chapter 12 of our leaving “room for the wrath of God” (v. 19), and in chapter 13 of believers being in subjection to God “not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake” (v. 5). The indictment here is that failure to acknowledge God as Creator results inevitably in a sequence of false relations toward God, toward others, and toward creation itself. ( Dunn, J. D. G. (1988). Romans 1–8 (Vol. 38A, p. 56). Word, Incorporated.)
Please turn to 1 Thessalonians
Heaven reveals God’s wrath in two ways, through His moral order and through His personal intervention. When God made the world, He built in certain moral as well as physical laws that have since governed its operation. Just as a person falls to the ground when they jump from a high building, so does one fall into God’s judgment when they deviate from God’s moral law. That is built-in wrath. When a person sins, there is a built-in consequence that inexorably works. In this sense God is not specifically intervening, but is letting the law of moral cause and effect work. The second way in which God reveals His wrath is through His direct and personal intervention. He is not an impersonal cosmic force that set the universe in motion to run its own course. God’s wrath is executed exactly according to His divine will. Although God will inflict his wrath on sin finally and irrevocably at the end of time (2:5), there is an anticipatory working of God’s wrath in the events of history. Particularly, as vv. 24–28 suggest, the wrath of God is now visible in his “handing over” of human beings to their chosen way of sin and all its consequences. (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 101). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
In his letter to the church in Thessalonica Paul assures believers that Jesus delivers them from God’s wrath as he specifies in Chapter 1:
1 Thessalonians 1:2-10. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (ESV).
• Paul is confident that the Thessalonians are elect because of God’s blessing on the missionaries during the mission and the authenticity of the Thessalonians’ reception of the gospel and subsequent obedience. How can you be assured of being delivered from the wrath of God? Can you point to evidence of works of genuine love for God and His saints? Is your assurance based on the explicit teachings of scripture? If none of these are evident then the wrath of God hangs over you.
Illustration: When Copernicus, the Polish astronomer, started to study the heavens, he gradually came to the conclusion that the earth was not the static center around which the universe revolved but, rather, was a moving planet which itself revolved around the sun. He was, however, strangely reluctant to publish his findings, no doubt because he knew what a battle he would have trying to convince his contemporaries that people and their world are not the center of all existence. People have always felt that they are the center and everything revolves around them. To be told otherwise, whether by an astronomer or a theologian, has always presented people with extreme problems. To insist that the core of truth is in “Christ” rather than “us” and that we find our significance revolving around Him rather than us, poses a problem similar to that of Copernicus, because it cuts to the heart of human pride but it is evident in what has been revealed from heaven. (Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Romans (Vol. 29, p. 40). Thomas Nelson Inc.).
When God reveals the truth of His judgement, we can see:
4) The Extent and Nature of God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18d)
Romans 1:18 18 (For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, (who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth). (ESV)
The fourth and fifth features of God’s wrath concern its extent and its nature. God’s wrath is universal, being discharged against all who deserve it. No amount of goodwill, giving to the poor, helpfulness to others, or even service to God can exclude a person from the “all” Paul mentions here. As he later explains more explicitly, “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, … all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:9, 23). Obviously, some people are morally better than others, but even the most moral and upright person falls far short of God’s standard of perfect righteousness. No one escapes. Humanity’s relative goodness compared to God’s perfect standard can be illustrated by a hypothetical attempt to jump from Ajax to Oshawa. Some people could not manage to jump at all, many could jump a few feet, and a rare few could jump twenty or twenty-five feet. The longest conceivable jump, however, would cover only the smallest fraction of the distance required. The most moral person has as little chance of achieving God’s righteousness in their own power as the best athlete has of making that jump to Oshawa. Everybody falls short.
The second emphasis of this phrase is on the nature of God’s wrath. It is not like the wrath of a madman who strikes out indiscriminately, not caring who is injured or killed. Nor is it like the sin-tainted anger of a person who seeks to avenge a wrong done to them. God’s wrath is reserved for and justly directed at sin. Asebia (ungodliness) and adikia (unrighteousness) are synonyms, the first stressing a faulty personal relationship to God. Unrighteousness encompasses the idea of ungodliness but focuses on its result. Sin first attacks God’s majesty and then His law. People do not act righteously because they are not rightly related to God, who is the only measure and source of righteousness. Ungodliness unavoidably leads to unrighteousness. Because people’s relation to God is wrong, their relation to others is wrong. People treat one other the way they do because they treat God the way they do. Ungodliness has to do with (relationship), our relation to a sovereign God. Unrighteousness has to do with morality, our relation to our fellowman. Ungodliness is sin against the being of God. Unrighteousness is sin against the will of God…The unrighteous live as if there were no will of God revealed. The ungodly live as if there were no God at all. God’s wrath is against both. (Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M., eds. (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2209). Thomas Nelson.)
Please turn to the book of Jude
Ungodliness refers to lack of reverence for, devotion to, and worship of the true God, a failure that inevitably leads to some form of false worship. Although the details and circumstances are not revealed, in Jude 14-16 He describes that coming:
Jude 14-16. 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. (ESV)
• Here we see that the Lord will return with hosts of angels to execute judgment on all the ungodly. Enoch (and thus also Jude) focuses on blasphemy against God (e.g., in vv. 3–4, and the opponents’ denial of Jesus Christ). The outpouring of God’s wrath on the unrepentant is one of a judgement. (as in John 16:8). (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2451). Crossway Bibles.).
Illustration: Grass Fire
In the days of the pioneers, when on the prairie plain and people saw fire was coming, what would they do? Since not even the fastest of horses could outrun it, the pioneers took a match and burned the grass in a designated area around them. Then they would take their stand in the burned area and be safe from the threatening prairie fire. As the roar of the flames approached, they would not be afraid. Even as the ocean of fire surged around them there was no fear, because fire had already passed over the place where they stood.
When the judgment of God comes when He pours out His eternal wrath, there is one spot that is safe. Nearly two thousand years ago the wrath of God was poured on Calvary. There the Son of God took the wrath that should have fallen on us. Now, if we take our stand by the cross, we are safe for time and eternity. (Green, M. P., ed. (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Baker Book House.)
Finally, when God reveals the truth of His judgement, we can see:
5) The Cause of God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18e)
Romans 1:18 18 (For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men), who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (ESV)
“But how is it,” we ask, “that God can hold everyone responsible for moral and spiritual failure, and be so angry when some people have so much less opportunity than others for hearing the gospel and coming to know God?” The answer is that, because of sinful disposition, every person is naturally inclined to follow sin and resist God. Unrighteousness is so much a part of human nature that every person has a built-in, natural, compelling desire to suppress and oppose God’s truth. This phrase could be rendered, “who are constantly attempting to suppress the truth by steadfastly holding to their sin.” All people, regardless of their relative opportunities to know God’s Word and hear His gospel, have internal, God-given evidence of His existence and nature, but are universally inclined to resist and assault that evidence. No matter how little spiritual light one may have, God guarantees that any person who sincerely seeks Him will find Him. “You will seek me and find Me” He promises, “when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Truth” in the NT is not simply something to which one must give mental assent; it is something to be done, to be obeyed. When people act sinfully, rebelling against God’s just rule, they fail to embrace the truth and so suppress it (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 103). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
But People are not naturally inclined to seek God. That truth was proved conclusively in the earthly ministry of Christ. Even when face-to-face with God incarnate, the Light of the world, “men loved darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19–20). As David had proclaimed hundreds of years earlier, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good” (Ps. 14:1). Sinful people oppose the idea of a holy God because they innately realize that such a God would hold them accountable for the sins they love and do not want to relinquish. Every person, no matter how isolated from God’s written Word or the clear proclamation of His gospel, has enough divine truth evident both within and around them (Rom. 1:19–20) to enable them to know and be reconciled to God if their desire is genuine. But whenever the truth starts to exert itself and makes people feel uneasy in their moral nature, they hold it down, suppress it. Some drown its voice by rushing into their immoralities; others strangle the disturbing voice by argument and by denial” (R.C.H. Lenski. The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans [Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1945)
This is where the gospel begins. There is good news and the good news is Christ has taken the full fury of God’s wrath, if you’ll accept His gracious substitution for you. We pray that no one would leave here this morning under judgment, or condemnation, but we pray that you would accept the gracious provision of Christ who took that stored up dam of fury at Calvary’s-cross. We pray that you would climb to that island of safety so that when the dam breaks again at the great white throne of judgement you’ll already have entered into the paradise prepared for those who repent of sin and trust in Christ for eternal life. Let me encourage you that if you don’t know our Lord Jesus Christ this morning this would be the time, no time like the present. No one knows how much time you have. In the silence of your heart you can open your life to Christ, ask Him to remove you from the wrath to come, accept the fact that He bore your sin in His own body on the cross and freed you if you put your faith in Him. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2014). John MacArthur Sermon Archive. Grace to You.)
Prayer: Father, may this be the time of salvation for one who has now understood your coming wrath. May this be the day when heaven rejoices over one who has stepped out from under your wrath and into the protecting love of Christ. God, we know You’re angry over sin, we know how You hate sin yet we are stunned that you love the one who has repented so much that your wrath falls upon your Son that you love so much. We thank you Lord for that love, forgiving love, merciful love, gracious love. We pray that no one will leave without receiving that from Your good faithful hand. We thank You for this time together, we praise You for all that You’ve accomplished in Christ’s name. Amen.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 59–68). Chicago: Moody Press.)
