THE WRATH OF GOD
Rom. 2:1-9
I. THE PURITY OF GOD’S WRATH
A. The wrath of God is not like human wrath.
1. Humans get angry for different reasons.
a. hurt pride, questioned authority, desires not met and so on.
b. our sinful natures usually pollutes our anger.
2. This is why we shouldn’t push our idea of anger onto God.
B. God’s wrath is pure because it is related to His holiness.
1. Christ’s cleansing of the temple was a demonstration of His holy wrath (John 2:13–16).
2. Christ will one day open the seven seals of His wrath (Rev.6)
C. God’s wrath is also pure because it is related to His justice.
1. Remember what happened to Achan? (stole from Jerico) Josh. 7:19
2. Before being put to death he confessed God was just in his wrath.
3. God never makes a mistake in exercising His wrath. He doesn’t fly off the handle in a momentary fury. When He is angry, it is the right expression of His holiness and justice.
II. THE REVELATION OF GOD’S WRATH
A. Paul said God’s wrath is revealed from heaven (Rom. 1:18). The literal rendering is, “is constantly being revealed.”
B. God revealed His wrath in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were thrown out of paradise, the earth was cursed, and death became a terrible reality.
C. We also see God’s wrath in the Flood, He said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them” (Gen. 6:7).
D. God also demonstrated His wrath in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
E. Some say God is a God of love not wrath
1. The Bible speaks of His love in 280 verses
2. The Bible speaks of His judgment in 285 verses
3. This proves His balance of love with wrath
F. Some ask “why can some sin and get away with it, will God’s wrath ever fall on them?”
All who live in sin will experience God’s wrath. Jonathan Edwards illustrated it this way:
“The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose.
It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God’s vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, pp. 21–22).
The Bible says “and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)
III. THE PERSONAL NATURE OF GOD’S WRATH
A. God reveals His wrath from heaven through personal involvement. He is not a cosmic force who made physical and moral laws and just lets them run their course.
B. The Bible shows a very intense personal reaction to sin within His heart. (Rom.2:8-9)
C. The word translated “anguish” literally means “narrow” —referring to the narrowness or confinement of a place. This confinement produces unimaginable discomfort, and it refers to the kind of distress that the ungodly experience in hell. (Rom. 2:9)
IV. THE OBJECT OF GOD’S WRATH
A. God’s wrath is revealed “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18).
B. His wrath is against sin. It’s not the uncontrolled irrational fury of a criminal who might take his or her vengeance out on the nearest person, but rather it is discriminatingly and carefully pointed at ungodliness and unrighteousness.
C. “Ungodliness” is the result of a person’s broken relationship with God. God’s anger is against those who are not rightly related to Him.
D. Not being rightly related to God leads to the evil treatment of others.
E. God hates sin because it’s the one thing that will keep any person from entering His presence and from treating other rightly.
V. THE REASON FOR GOD’S WRATH
A. There are many reasons for God’s wrath, but let’s focus on just one, which is the sin of rejecting God’s revelation of Himself in creation.
B. (Rom.1:21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
C. When Miss Sullivan first tried to tell Helen about God, Helen responded that she already knew about Him—she just didn’t know His name.
D. The worst crime ever committed in the universe is the failure to give God glory or credit for who He is. But that is the essence of fallen men and women.
VI. FLEEING FROM GOD’S WRATH
A. Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest monarchs in the history of the world. As king of a mighty empire, he became proud and set himself up as God. He had a ninety-foot image of himself built out of gold and forced the people to bow down and worship it (Dan. 3:5). Such was the strength of Nebuchadnezzar’s ego. However, the king later testified that God broke his pride, humbled him, and turned his heart toward Him in faith. That all began when the king had a dream. In his own words he tells what happened:
B. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me (Dan. 4:4–5).
C. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride (vv. 35, 37).
D. He got a taste of God’s wrath and it changed his mind about himself and God.
Conclusion: One day all who live in there sins will taste God’s wrath and they to will have there minds changed. But for them the Bible says it will be to late. Jesus said in that day He will say to them “ depart from me you workers of iniquity I never knew you”.
