The Wrath of God

We believe in holy Scripture, God reveals who we is and therefore we must accept what God says about himself, rather than basing out ideas of God on their own ideas are what our society tells us about God's is why at Calvary we come back week after week, day after day to Scripture, so that what we believe about God. What we believe about every subject will not be based on our own ideas on what society says, but rather will be true to the inherent perfect word of God and in our study of Romans that we come this morning to Romans chapter 118 that if you have your Bible turn with me there beginning in this verse, Romans 118 to the end of Romans chapter 4 Paul is telling us about the gospel. Verse 17 verses that we've considered really on an introduction to the book of Romans. Last week we thought of the key verses. In fact, Paul gives us the theme of Romans. In Romans one verses 16 and 17 when he tells us that is not ashamed of the gospel of God, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes in it that is in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, says Paul Jost shall live by faith. And now, as Paul begins to prepare us to hear the message of the gospel, the good news is starting point in Romans one, verse 18. After the introduction after giving us the theme of Romans in verses 16 and 17. His starting point. I think you will agree rather surprises us. I think if you or I would writing the gospel.

We probably would not begin at this point, but this is Paul's point and it is appalling we must understand because Paul is writing as an apostle, under the inspiration of the holy spirit.

He has explained in verses 16 and 17 that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel and now in verse 18. He's going to write of the revelation of the wrath of God against all unrighteousness. The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, but the wrath of God is revealed against all on righteousness's are subject this morning is the wrath of God. I realize this is not a popular subject is probably not one I would choose myself, but as we see the word of God. Seriously, we can't ignore this verse because this concept is very very key to Paul and without understanding it. We will not have a true understanding of the good news of the gospel. Sadly, many people reject this idea of the wrath of God on the judgment of God, even in many churches, it is dismissed or ignored as an outdated primitive idea and that I was. I think of the subject of the wrath of God that are possibly two preliminary objections to it first.

There are those who say when we read the Bible, it is clear that in the Old Testament God was a God of wrath, and he seems angry God is a vengeful God is giving out his judgment in the Old Testament, but over the years. As we come to the New Testament God has a as God has, as it were mellowed is changed does God change over the years.

We do our society does the Bible tells us that one of the key attributes of God is that he is immutable that he changes not how can God change I will read that Jesus Christ who is God is the same yesterday today and for ever and it if you wonder about the New Testament says about the judgment of God. Listen to these verses in second Thessalonians 1 verses seven and nine Paul writes about the Lord Jesus when he is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Whether you look to the Old Testament, or whether you look to the New Testament, you will find that this subject of the wrath of God and the judgment of God is central to the revelation of the true God but say someone well that is probably true that Paul writes about the judgment of God. You just read some of these verses. But I am a follower of Jesus rather than the theology of Paul Paul Sims are kind of harsh individual.

One of these harsh Jewish rabbis tough not, after all, before he came to Christ. He was persecuting the church. Perhaps he had some personality disorder. Perhaps he was an angry man is the teaching of Jesus different from the teaching of Paul, absolutely not.

Even a superficial reading of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John will demonstrate very very clearly that our Lord Jesus perfect God, perfect man spoke of the subject of the judgment of God and spoke of how itself and so as we come to the subject and as we read Romans one verse 18 remember that while we're looking at a particular virus. This is true of who God is and if you're going to understand the good news of the gospel. It is essential that you understand what Paul is saying here in this very very important – let me read it with you. Romans one. Verse 18 Paul says for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

I want this morning to think first of all, of the nature of the wrath of God.

Secondly, the manifestation of the wrath of God. And then thirdly how we may escape the wrath of God first, the nature of the wrath of God. This is divine wrath. Notice what Paul says in verse 18 for the wrath of God, not man nor the apostle some angry people. This is the wrath of God.

Furthermore, to emphasize that he says it is revealed from heaven. God's wrath is coming down from heaven, the righteousness of God.

Paul says in verse 17 is revealed in the gospel. The wrath of God is revealed same word is revealed from heaven.

Member has the book of Revelation begins the first word in the original Greek in Revelation 1 verse one John the apostle writes of the apocalypses. This is the same root word tear apocalypse all here is the revelation the manifestation of the wrath of God, and it is coming not from man this coming from God, not what you think of when you come here this morning and I begin to speak of the wrath of God to say well it's not really why I come to church I come to church to feel good about myself to get prepared for a tough week ahead. I don't know if I want this John this talk about the wrath of God will what is your view of God. God is a God of love. God is a God of compassion.

God is a God of forgiveness. God is a God of grace would been singing about that but I wanted to understand that when we think of God, and we think of the attributes of God. God's attributes are perfectly balanced.

God is a unified and harmonious being as human beings we all have our strengths but we also have a limitations and we have her weaknesses with human beings we are unbalanced. We know that about ourselves unless we are self deceived.

We set receipt and other people. People are strong in one area which is very good and yet that we can another round they struggling another. That's true of all humanity. It is not true of God. God has no strands because he is no weaknesses or limitations God and God alone is perfect and who he is and in everything he does. He's God. Whenever we you look at God is perfect, whatever attribute can you inspect God is infinite and that attribute everything God does is perfect. You can't improve on anything… Siu sign that you can't teach God anything because he knows everything about everything.

He is on this is God gracious yes, but he's also truthful is God compassionate yes, but he's also just is God loving yes, but he's also holy. As I listen to a wonderful orchestra this morning playing that wonderful song holy, holy, holy, give us a glimpse into heaven itself into the perfection of who God is. The Bible says that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all and then heaven. The perfect unfallen Sally Freeman carrier beam.

Praise God continually and say, holy, holy, holy. He is so holy that can't even look at them. They put up their wings and hide her face from the holiness of God. God is forgiven God who grants forgiveness. Praise God for that, but is also, as Paul says here, however unpalatable it may be to us living in 21st century Western civilization. God is a God of wrath.

Never anything of God's wrath.

We must be careful not thinking of unemotional rage an outburst with think of someone who is angry who lashes out and they do died of great deep anger and emotion and that I rationalized that were talking about one commentator puts it, God's wrath is a deeply personal abhorrence of evil writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 1 verse nine that God loves righteousness and hates wickedness. God hates something. Yes he loves righteousness. On the other hand, because of his holiness.

He hates that with that which is on righteous God is perfect in his holiness from the talk of the wrath of God. Therefore, we are talking about the reaction of a holy God to send God's hatred of sin. God's hatred. Hatred of evil and wickedness is as wrath.

It is his implacable hostility and opposition to rage. John Stott writes God's wrath is his holy hostility to evil.

His refusal to condone it or come to terms with it is just judgment upon it, God settled and perfectly righteous antagonism to evil the wrath of God. John Murray puts it this way wrath is the holy revulsion of God's being against that which is a contradiction of his holiness. Beginning to understand this. Would God be a perfectly good God and a holy God if he tolerated sin and ungodliness with the gasket.

What would be your reaction if someone abused her five-year-old daughter. In my case, my five-year-old granddaughter. We would be outraged when I did. We think when we heard of the wickedness in Las Vegas with a man who obviously with great planning and determination, and sadly with great scale plots the death of innocent people and more sometime. We just say oh that's too bad, pooh-poohing man know we raged, we say something has to be done about this. If we knew it was going to be happening again, we would do all we could to stop such madness and badness in evil we would be justifiably angry.

So then if that is true, and I think this why would we struggle with the concept of the wrath of God. We get outraged because of some evil and we are evil ourselves.

Not one person here is sinless.

So if we get upset when someone does evil against us and our loved ones as we do should should we be surprised that the Bible tells us clearly throwing Scripture that when we do that which is ungodly and unrighteous. God is angry and if we continue in that path.

The wrath of God is going to come with a big problem for me approach the subject is that we as a nation, even as a church with loss are sensitivity to sin. The instead of being upset about said, we often laugh about it will entertain Bryant were hardened against that we enjoy its were no longer shot Jeremiah in the Old Testament talks about people or people who had lost their ability to blush is not where we are today. Even young children, children at elementary school children and mint middle school and opposed to utter depravity and we think in society. Things well is it. Is it really that bad. We compare our conduct by the standards of society rather than by what God says in this book can remind you, as Paul is doing God's standard stunt change according to the culture reform was a very decadent society. The United States is a very decadent society. God is holy and God is always angry at sin and all of us and under the wrath of God.

This is the nature of the wrath of God for the bike. The manifestation of the wrath of God. Secondly, what does Paul say why is God angry the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. The reason for God's wrath is our sin. Paul describes it as I'm reading from the English standard version. I would, ungodliness, and on righteousness. This is what is difficult for us as because preaching about sin is not popular. I wanted to be a successful preacher. I wouldn't talk about sin, or tell you wonderful people and prop you up in your own desires and sprinkle a little of Jesus over the congregation. We come here and have a good time and we leave in reality as the lights will either no different from the unbelievers around us so we don't like to hear about sin and the whole trend of our society is away from personal responsibility. It's away from the concept of guilt. Some people don't even believe on it instead of taking personal responsibility for our own wrongdoing, which can be difficult for us for so many people.

Life is about self-fulfillment. Life is about self-acceptance. Life is about feeling good about ourselves.

Life is about pursuing that which makes us happy, which makes us prosperous, which makes us have more friends in other words, we want a life where we can do as we like the Scripture saying all right. You have the choice as a human being. But remember this, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. So I see myself not provide. Lisa motivated order storyteller, but rather a proclaimer of God's truth is, unless we understand how we are before God, we will never truly understand the wonder of our Savior, the wonder of the gospel as Paul is going to unfold drug this wonderful book that were studying the wonder of salvation that God in his grace, which is done to us in our sin in our ungodliness and unrighteousness and forgives us and delivers us from the guilt and the chains of sin, so don't see yourself as a victim rather see yourself as someone who is desperately in need of the forgiveness of God and the grace of God and the transformation of God in your life pulsates here in verse 18. First of all, he says, it is revealed from heaven against all on godliness. Incidentally, God not society, not Congress, not the courts. It is God who defines what is godly and ungodly God defines sin and God is saying we are on godly this primarily as referring us to our relationship with God meant the 10 Commandments. We can divide them roughly into two sections for me think of ungodliness would first of all, talking about the first five of the 10 Commandments, which emphasized a relationship not so much to one another without relationship to God.

As far as God is concerned we are on godly, we want God out of her life is not to be wonderful if God was that of your life. You think that is we are self-centered, rather than God centered. We have some knowledge of the truth.

And Paul is going to develop this as will see next week, but he says here at the end of verse 18 we suppress the truth we reject God in our hearts.

Perhaps not in her mouth, but in our hearts were saying no leave me alone. Ungodliness as the roots of the problem of relationship with God is broken. Furthermore, since Paul. He uses this word not only ungodliness he says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men looking at the English standard version or the new international version rather the translation is wickedness in the fruits of this wickedness, the fruits of this unrighteousness. Paul is going to describe very graphically at the end of this chapter.

If ungodliness is emphasizing our relationship with God. Unrighteousness is emphasizing a relationship to others. The persistence and unrighteousness leads us deeper and deeper into certain and Paul is going to present brilliantly in this epistle is going this summer summarize it all and say all of us have sinned all of us are ungodly. All of us unrighteous.

We are selfish, self-centered people. I live my own life. What is the great motivation to most people today. What is at the center of their life is a really life towards God or is a life towards themselves. No self-fulfillment, pleasure making life comfortable making life Pleasurable motivates most people rather than the motivation of living a life to the glory of God will ask you to sit here this morning, or the center of your life is your life consist on you doing your own thing or does it consist in a desire to live for the glory of God.

Paul is saying we are ungodly and on righteous on May 11, 1960, a team of Israeli Mossad agents kidnapped Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann off the streets of Venice Ibis Argentina. Some of you know the story that took him back to Israel to stand trial, Eichmann had deported millions of Jews during World War II and deported them to concentration camps when many of them died in many were tortured, and so on. And now he was going to stand trial in Israel and the Jewish court was the first silent history apparently to be broadcast on television and it's in its entirety and it is said that the most dramatic moments of the trial began when you hear will denote a concentration camp survivor took the sentence. The lure survivor from the concentration camps walked into the courtroom and stopped as he saw Eichmann. This was the first time the New World had seen Eichmann since he had sent him to Auschwitz 18 years earlier and endure the concentration camp survivor sobbed uncontrollably and collapsed on the floor and the judge pounded his gavel for order in the crowded courtroom.

Mike Wallace later interviewed the neuron and asked him about that moment, he says will you overcome by hatred by fear by parted memories.

Knowing said is none of these things rather all at once he realized Eichmann was not the godlike Army officer who had sent so many to their deaths. This Eichmann was an ordinary man and newest at something very insightful.

He said I was afraid about myself.

I saw that I am capable to do this. I am exactly like he Wallace summed up the nearest terrible discovery with a terrifying phrase.

Eichmann is in all of us that doesn't mean that all of us send innocent people to concentration camps, but it is a recognition on the true recognition and a biblical recognition that all of us here. Every single one of us sitting here not only as tempted to sin, but we do sin and apart from the grace of God in our life. Every single person here could do tremendous atrocities so the FBI and all of the experts are trying to work out the motivation of the loss Vegas shooter what we call because a man to do this. I have some of them discussing them is about a mental disorder. Well, perhaps he does.

But one thing we know the heart of its was a rebellion against God's a distant regions of the law of God that clearly says I shall not murder, and demand for whatever reason chose to live life, his own way and will face the wrath of God before God's will and godly and righteous in God's wrath against sin is certain if you're familiar with the by your Bible, you know that's true.

Think of God's wrath. In the past. Think of the flight here is not building an ark. Jesus is it at first with the New Testament says that the flood came and took them all away was the flood. It was the judgment of God was the wrath of God on man living hundreds of years ago who lived in defiance of God, who worked ungodly and unrighteous think of Sodom and Gomorrah with all of their sin in the judgment of God in the fire of God came and consumed these ancient cities. Think of the judgment of God on his own people in Israel with the Assyrian and the Babylonian captivity's and one could give example after example after example of how God's judgment.

In the past has come on unrighteousness and ungodliness, and God's judgment. In the past is a foretaste of the coming judgment in the future as we saw when we studied Revelation recently and then verses 24 through 32, which will look at the couple weeks. Paul is going to explain something I think we have not grasped that what is happening at the end of Romans one and what is happening in our own country. Now is a sign of the judgment of God in the present and when we think of the judgment of God. We always think it's in the future, and it will come in the future. This section but think of it this way. Over the years as a pastor I bet with many parents who come to me and to have told me this basic story. They have a son or daughter. Perhaps he's 15 or 16 or 17 or 18, and they say pastor. Our son will take a son, but that sometimes her daughter.

Our son is out of control. Say what you mean. This is a Christian couple. This is a couple who love Christ and they say well he's got involved in drugs.

In fact, we know you will realize that he is selling drugs and it's even worse. We are firing to our shock. I can picture the couple sitting in front of me told me the story. He said they said to our astonishment in the deep, deep heartache of her son took the drugs into Intuit on home and started giving them to his brother 13 or 14. Furthermore, this young man when he thinks were asleep, sneaks his girlfriend into into his bedroom. He's violating all of the rules.

He is causing the whole family to the upside is having a tremendous negative impact on the rest of the brothers and sisters in the homeland there in tears and they don't know what to do and sometimes it's their decision when they do that sometimes. I've known a couple to say to their son to say to her daughter like this, you must leave home without terrible terrible decision to make. Some of you may have made that some of you know friends who have had to make that decision at the young man and the young woman when they hear that initially they think oh that's great normal restraints I can go and live my own life. But we know and soon they will know that they will reap the consequences of the growing rebellion in their own choices in life that that what they look on as a blessing. I'm free I can do what I want now what they think was a blessing. In fact, is the very very opposite is true to people say not just teens but all of us say from time to time.

I want God to leave me alone can I plead with you, don't ever, ever say that.

Don't ever say to God, leave me alone because sometimes God does leave people alone.

And when God leaves people alone. It is not a sign of his blessing. It is a sign of his judgment. Thank God's young man young woman. If you have a father or mother youth pastor friends who confront should and Saiz don't live that way. Stop what you're doing.

You're on the path of ruin and chaos. I generally think you're going to reap havoc in your own life and in the lives of others. And Paul is going to tell us in the next verses that will occurrence how he says three times over God gave them up.

God gave them up. In other words, you want to live that way you want to ignore me you really think you're smarter than I do you really want to ignore the word of God. You want to pursue your own pleasures. You want to do things your own way. All right, go ahead. Restraints are off. And of course not only chaos in the short-term, but the coming wrath of God in the long term. And of course God's wrath will be revealed in the future. The Bible says is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment. CS Lewis says that her only two kinds of people in the end those who say to God, your will be done those to whom God says you will be done. Sin is mine saying to God away and leave me alone.

Hell is God saying to man, you may have your wish, you may have your wish you one that Patel hell is God leaving you alone as you have chosen eternally and hopelessly separated from God. That is the point I want us to grasp the context of what Paul is doing is enrollment so well. Paul is preparing us for the gospel you're wondering why does he begin in such a negative way.

He's preparing you for the good news and is preparing you and preparing me for the good news by telling us that unless we get right with God.

The wrath of God is coming on us and he's emphasizing in the first three chapters, the universality and the depravity and the depth of sin.

God's wrath on sin is certain. The question I want to conclude with is this who can stand against the wrath of God. Anyone here anyone who could stand against the wrath of God is impossible.

Other than through Jesus Christ. Finally, the escape from the wrath of God.

Do you understand no that we can't save ourselves. We are ungodly and unrighteous.

We deserve God's wrath. Just this would be sad of the of God poured out his wrath on this right now the for the beginning of their seating is very significant. Verses 16 and 17 again but I'm not ashamed of the gospel. What is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek put in the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth that is the revelation of the righteousness of the gospel of God in the gospel is necessary because of the revelation of the wrath of God against sin. The revelation of the wrath of God against sin makes it abundantly clear that there can be no question of being declared righteous by this holy God apart from faith and his wonderful son, Lord Jesus Christ and you and I are far too sinful to achieve our own salvation. The only way of salvation is through the power of God in the gospel received by faith. This is why we need to understand the exceeding sinfulness of sin why we need to understand this wrath of God. Paul is preparing us for the good news which is going to come in chapter 3 verse 21 Moffat rights only those who are prepared to acknowledge that they are unworthy can put faith in the giver of grace. Many people don't put their faith in Christ because they will not admit their sin and the need of a Savior know where is the escape from the wrath of God. Paul is going to give us the wonderful solution in Romans I want just to give you is that what I pick previewed.

The only way of escape from the wrath of God is through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ look over to chapter 3 because in Christ death on the cross, God's Roth on sin is averted and satisfied. We call that propitiation the lands and wonderful words as we go through Romans.

Romans 323 for all have sinned, that it is and fall short of the glory of God but you that's me I verse 24 wonderful magnificent horses and are justified last week with other justification declared righteous and we are justified by his grace was grace.

What you don't deserve by his grace, and in case you don't get it. Paul adds as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Verse 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith is the wrath of God, which is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteous to be undrafted.

I desire that you desire the Paul is saying no, God is a marvelous thing in his grace he sends his magnificent son, our Lord Jesus Christ into this world and he comes to redeem us the buyers back becomes to take that wrath, which we deserved and makes propitiation for us so that the wrath of God which we desire falls on our Savior. And as we receive Christ through faith we are saved we are delivered from this coming wrath of the cross of Christ.

We see how much God hates sin and we see how much God loves the sinner is turning away of the wrath of God, look at Romans five verses eight and nine.

Romans five verse eight but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners is not great. It is wonderful in the gospel is and you messed up. Not like soft, adult, and once you get your life started out you can be saved is not the gospel. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have not been justified. There's a word that we thought of last week.

We have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be seeing shall we be saved by him from what the wrath of God wrath the same word that Paul uses in chapter 1 verse 18 we are saved from the wrath of God is the remedy of a holy God.

Absolutely perfect, sinful people like you and me who deserve the condemnation of God and he sends his son.

This wonderful mediator is bridge between a holy God and sinful people and to bridges that golf at the cross we sometimes single the love that Drew salvation's plan or the grace that brought it down to man or the mighty golf that God did span at Calvary there is a great gulf between a holy God and sinful people like us is bridge's at the cross. The cross in the ceiling to remind us of the central truth of the gospel that Christ comes to us in love while we were yet sinners.

Why would ungodly and unrighteous and he dies for us and he calls on us to stop what we're doing to repent of our saying that prior to him and to receive a mental hearts in life as our Savior and Lord. So what does John writes in John three verse 36 we hear this or close. Whoever believes in the son has eternal life. You believe the day in the in the son of God, you will have eternal life.

Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides remains on him, wrath, same word that we have in Romans one, verse 18. Serve. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ I receive eternal life. If I don't obey the gospel. If I put it off. If I reject it.

The wrath of God remains on me and some under the current condemnation of God. And when I die I will experience the eternal wrath of God, so is a close, I plead with you, I plead with you to put your faith in Christ. Some of you have never yet done that you've never open your heart to Christ. The gospel offers you freedom and forgiveness and eternal life and supernatural power and not loving relationship with God referred to the judgment of God coming on ancient Sodom and Gomorrah described in in Genesis 19 Lot and his wife and his daughters are escaping from Sodom and Gomorrah because they been told that the fire of God in judgment is about the common law says escape for your life, and he escapes for his life and his daughters escape from further life and his wife looked back, hankering after the old sins of Sodom and Gomorrah and she's turned into a pillar of salt judgment of God falls, I say to you escape for your life. This could not be more serious. Judgment is coming escape for your life. Trust Christ believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved to make those of us who are following Christ made the subject of the wrath of God be a tremendous motivation to live clean holy, pure life's an addicting world shining for Jesus Christ. Let's pray together eternal God, we thank you for your grace. This is a tough subject but we thank you for your perfect revelation of yourself in Scripture and may these truths be used by your spirit to open hearts to convict the people Boys and Girls Club young people in men and women even though they be trusting the Savior, we ask Christ