04 The Wrath of God

Paul is certainly known for tackling difficult subjects throughout his various epistles, and there are probably few as difficult as the subject of God’s wrath.

The problem really isn’t with the subject itself, but rather with the fact, that many refuse to believe that a loving God will pour out His wrath upon even sinful man.

The texts under consideration, begin a new section in Romans chapter one, a section which is almost exclusively dedicated to the sinfulness of man.

1 The Wrath of God

While some find it hard to believe that God will act in wrath toward sinners, there are others who view Him as mean, ready and waiting to pour out the harshest judgment possible on humans.

That attitude is completely contrary, to what is probably one of the most well-known passages of Scripture:

John 3:16

For those who are still convinced God simply wants to render the harshest judgments upon sinners, there is a second verse which show how love motivated the Father send His Son to die in our place:

Romans 5:8

Therefore, God’s wrath is the last resort, and is meted when man continually rejects every opportunity the Lord affords for repentance and reconciliation.

It is because of God’s righteous (just) and sinless character, that He must decisively deal with those who’ve rejected the only means for their salvation – which is the finished work of Christ at Calvary.

That’s the background and context from which Paul then began addressing God’s wrath:

Romans 1:18

By stating that God’s wrath comes from heaven, it points to the ultimate place of authority, and being rendered upon earth, where the offenses have taken place. This shows the justification for the wrath.

The wrath is directed toward the ungodliness and unrighteousness of unbelieving men.

We’ve already looked at the fact that man does not have any righteousness in themselves, something he will cover in detail in subsequent chapters. The believer’s righteousness only comes through our relationship with Jesus.

Therefore, those who aren’t “in” Christ, are subject to God’s wrath.

In the text, Paul states that the unrighteous “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”. That speaks of the suppressing the truth of God.

We see that, in how many will attempt to deny God, or to disavow His Word, all as a presupposition to justify their own sin.

In many respects, that is their attempt to be their own god, and thus to do what the Bible shows is impossible for man to do – to justify oneself.

The Bible makes it clear, that any attempt at man-led justification is futile, since there is only One who justifies – Jesus:

Romans 3:24-24

2 God Has Shown Us

Paul then began developing how God not only revealed Himself to mankind by “special” revelation through His Word, but also through “natural” revelation, which is through the Creation itself:

Romans 1:19-21

David showed this in Psalm 19, and in the following verses, we see the intentionality of God as Creator:

Psalm 19:1-3

After establishing his foundation, in verse 20, Paul is able to state how unbelieving man is “without excuse”.

In verse 21, he then shows that the issue isn’t that these men “didn’t know (of) God”, but rather that they didn’t glorify Him.

To glorify the Lord, means to give Him the honor which is rightfully due Him.

Therefore, these are individuals who, while they give an intellectual assent to the existence of the Lord, they rarely consider anything beyond that.

They might even acknowledge that He is Creator, but do not believe that He is anything other than the “Divine Architect” and therefore isn’t involved in the affairs of man. This has led to the growth of the “Open Theism Movement” in the 1980’s.

When man fails to honor and glorify God for His sovereignty, then it opens the door for man to place himself on the throne of their lives.

Another problem which is borne from such an attitude, is the individual may attempt to fashion a “god” in their image and liking. Thus, rather the glorify the Lord, they have in effect become an idolater.

Verse 21 then speaks of these individuals as being “unthankful” which would lead to them becoming “futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened”.

God’s Word is replete with the command for us to give thanks to the Lord.

When one understands that we are the recipient of God’s mercy and love, it should automatically lead to our being thankful to Him.

Our thankfulness is an acknowledgement that all good things come from the Lord:

James 1:17

Thus who fail to glorify and acknowledge the Lord, then become ungrateful, and resort to the futility of attempting to live according to their abilities.

The phrase “futile in their thoughts” is translated as “made vain in their reasonings” in Young’s Literal Translation.

Both translations point to the hopelessness of those who refuse to surrender to the Lord, as they invariably either look upon themselves or someone else as the ultimate authority in life.

When man believes that he has all the answers, they then come to the conclusion, that they don’t need God, which leads to what Paul describes as “their foolish hearts (are) darkened”.

This spoke of having a “blurred or obscured vision”. It leads to darkness dominating every aspect of their life.