Treasury Of Wrath

Treasury of Wrath (Romans 2:1-11)

When I say the word “treasure” or “treasury” what is the image that comes to your mind? Do you picture a newly discovered ancient seaman’s chest filled with gold coins, priceless gems, and gaudy pearls? Maybe you think of a heavily protected national bank and its store house of untold wealth. There may be some of you that think very differently and instead of earthly treasures you conjure in your mind the treasure of heaven. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20 Lay not up for yourselves treasures` upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: The treasures of earth shall pass and be burned up in the fires of judgment but the treasures of heaven are incorruptible, undefiled, and never to fade away.

But I will go so far as to say that none of you envisioned the treasury that the Apostle Paul is portraying in verse 5 of chapter 2: A heaping brooding, ever-growing, cauldron of righteous indignation and Holy fury teetering precariously over the head of every hard-hearted and prideful sinner. When trying to perceive and understand the words in Romans 2:5, I picture myself standing at the base of a towering dam (much like the Hoover Dam). While standing before this colossal structure, I contemplate the weight of the water just beyond these walls of concrete is enough to crust me in an instant. As I reflect these facts, to my horror, I notice, a series of cracks rapidly developing and through these cracks, moisture is beginning to seep out. I watch as the cracks become longer and more pronounced. Water begins to gush in. There is no doubt, this dam is about to break. I turn to run, but the high rocky wall cliffs near-by yield no way of passage. There is no escape. Such will be the scene of many in the appointed Day of Judgment. “Make your calling and election sure” says the scriptures. Let’s look deeply into this treasury of wrath and see the fate of the ungodly. Notice first of all…

The Source of God’s Wrath

The apostle Paul describes a great storehouse of wrath. Wrath upon wrath being stored up, piling up higher and higher. Yet this wrath is stored up and held back until the Day it is unleashed in fury. The following verses contain words like indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish to describe the flood of God’s wrath. In Isaiah 30:13 there is a similar picture seen: “Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.” This swelling wall of iniquity weakens and weakens until at last it crumbles bringing down an entire structure. What has caused this wall to swell? What has caused this wrath of God to be stored up in an ever increasing heap? Well first of all notice…

The Hardness of Man’s Heart

In verse 5, the scripture says “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath…” This wrath is being built up, but where is it coming from what is its true source. Yes, this wrath will be unleashed by the Lord in the day of His righteous revealing. But according to our text, this outpour of wrath by God is reactionary. This wrath is God’s reaction to man’s attitude of hardness. This word hardness is defined as stubbornness, callousness, obstinacy. Proverbs 29:1 pictures this man’s heart attitude: “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” He is resistant and pulling away from God. Moments before the great preaching deacon Stephen died, he unloaded a similar word on the Jewish leaders of the day. In Acts 7:51 he said, “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. This and the following few lines were the straws that broke the camels back so to speak. They were resistant, gnashing their teeth in rebellion. Notice not only The Hardness of Man’s Heart but also…

The Haughtiness of Man’s Heart

Also this text indicates a source of wrath being man’s attitude of haughtiness. The word impenitent means without repentance, without remorse. In one of my favorite movies, Indiana Jones is looking for the Holy Grail. He has certain clues that will take him through the deadly traps that lay ahead. The first clue is this: “The Breath of God. Only the penitent man will pass.” Jones begins to repeat the phrase under his breath searching for its meaning, “Penitent man, penitent man, penitent, penitent. The penitent man is humble before God, He kneels before God. Kneel!” At that moment, as Dr. Jones falls to his knees, a giant blade swoops through where his neck was just a second before. Because of haughtiness and pride the impenitent man refuses to bend a knee. Refuses humble himself before the mighty hand of God. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Does this not sound like man in our world today, that shake their insignificant fist in the face of an all powerful God: A world that mocks and laughs at the testimony of scripture; that blasphemes Jehovah, and spits upon the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ? They are unrepentant in their violation of God’s law. God’s Response is a treasury of wrath. Notice not only the Source of God’s Wrath but the…