The Wrath of God | Romans 1:18-19
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Wrath’s Reality
Wrath’s Reality
First we must recognize the reality of God’s wrath. We don’t like the word wrath, especially when we’re speaking about God. In fact, there are may who would love to unhitch the God of the New Testament from the Old Testament because the God of the old is very wrathful.
Many struggle with the idea of God’s wrath. How can a loving God punish so severely the sins of men. It’s a valid question. How is it just for God to be wrathful.
We tend to look at things through the lens of our own experience, and have a difficult time understanding things that are outside of that experience. Let me give you an example, when deaf people think, what does it sound like in their heads? I know when I think, my mind forms english words that I can recognize, but if I had never “heard” english, or any language, what would I think like?
Or do dogs think in barks? Babies in Babbles? Think about it. It’s almost impossible for us to think of how this works out.
It’s the same with God. So when we are talking about God’s wrath, what do we mean?
When we speak of wrath, we must first define what wrath is. The wrath of God is almost totally different from human anger. It does not mean that God loses his temper, flies into a rage or is ever malicious, spiteful or vindictive. His wrath is his holy hostility to evil, his refusal to condone it or come to terms with it, his just judgment upon it.
It’s God’s righteous reaction to sin.
So what can we learn about God’s wrath in scripture, and particularly in Romans?
God’s Wrath is JUST
God’s Wrath is JUST
As Pastor Collin Smith notes:
“God’s wrath is his holy response to the intrusion of evil into his world. If there was no sin in the world, there would be no wrath in God. So the Bible’s teaching about the wrath of God is different from ancient mythologies, gods who run around frustrated and fuming. God’s anger is his settled resolve that evil will not stand.”
Because God’s wrath is against evil alone, we must see that God’s wrath is just, because God is just:
The object of God’s wrath is not on the person but on the sin that has corrupted and destroyed the person. The purpose of wrath is the destruction and eradication of the evil that has broken his image in the creation.
God’s Wrath is TERRIFYING
God’s Wrath is TERRIFYING
And rightfully so. Sin brings death into the world.
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Because we have all fallen short before glory of God (Romans 3:23). God’s wrath is to be feared because we are justly condemned sinners apart from Christ (Romans 5:1). God’s wrath is to be feared because he is powerful enough to do what he promises (Jeremiah 32:17). God’s wrath is to be feared because God promises eternal punishment apart from Christ (Matthew 25:46)
Hell is a real place. I know it’s not something we like to talk about. It’s not the subject we care to speak of. But just as heaven is a real place, hell is a real place too. I’m not telling you this to scare you into heaven, but to contrast the reality of hell with the gift of eternal lfe. Hell is literally the absence of God. It is GOd giving us what we want: Freedom from God. Hell is a place of torment, and burning and pain because it is God pouring his wrath upon us, and withholding his love and presence.
God’s Wrath is his LOVING response to Sin
God’s Wrath is his LOVING response to Sin
Now this may seem like an oxymoron. How can God’s wrath be loving. The answer can be found in the text.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Notice what sin does. It suppresses the truth. Sin is the suppression of the truth and the celebration of a lie. It’s sin, and it destroys not only the one sinning, but also the one who is increasing the sin by leading others into sin.
That’s why Jesus warns that:
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Therefore, the most loving thing for GOD to do is to destroy sin with a vengence. If my 16 year old steps into a hornet’s nest and I leave it for my 10 year old to step into then I am not being loving to my 10 year old. No, what I need to do is to get a gallon of diesel fuel, pour it in the hole they are nesting in, and light them on fire. That’s loving.
In the same way, God’s wrath is loving. It’s love for us, and it’s love for his own holiness and character.
Joseph Shuemman notes:
God is love, and God does all things for his glory (1 John 4:8; Romans 11:36). He loves his glory above all (and that is a good thing!). Therefore, God rules the world in such a way that brings himself maximum glory. This means that God must act justly and judge sin (i.e. respond with wrath), otherwise God would not be God. God’s love for his glory motivates his wrath against sin and against those damaged by sin.
Yes, his wrath is against sinners because of their rejection of his gracious holy love.
God’s Wrath was PAID by Jesus on the Cross
God’s Wrath was PAID by Jesus on the Cross
God’s Wrath was PAID by Jesus on the Cross. On the cross God poured out his wrath for sinners upon his Son Jesus. “I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you” (Ezekiel 7:8). This takes us to the heart of what happened there: The divine wrath toward sin was poured out on Jesus. He became the “propitiation” for our sins (Romans 3:25), which means that the payment for our sins was poured out on Jesus at Calvary.
This is the height of God’s love. God, because of his great love for us, took the righteous demands of our sin upon himself so that he might save us and bring us into community with him. That’s the gospel.