The Wrath of God Revealed, Romans 1:18

Reading: Rom 1:15-20

Why is justification by faith the only way of salvation?”

Why can’t man save himself, in whole or in part?

1. The Wrath of God Is Part Of the Gospel "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."

a. FOR ....The Wrath of God is REVEALED—What is the "for" there for?

(1) Context—Rom 1:14-17

(2) Divine Wrath against sin is the reason the plan of salvation was required!!!

(3) The Cross of Christ was a sacrifice to avert the righteous wrath of a Holy God against the sinful rebellion and enmity of mankind.

b. False Doctrines About God’s Wrath

(1) The Star Wars teaching

(a) There are those who represent the Wrath of God as an Old Testament doctrine only

(b) They teach, or imply, that the God of the OT is not the same as the God of the NT

(c) That Idea is a heresy known as dualism, perhaps best compared with the idea of “the Dark Side and the light side of The Force” in the “Star Wars” movies

(2) The Cave Man God
(a) There are also those who turn God into some kind of cosmic cave man with a club, waiting to bash people with glee. That is also a heresy

(b) (Ezek 33:11) ""Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. '"


c. The Truth is, that the Wrath of God is a New Covenant teaching as well as an Old Covenant teaching.

(John 3:36) ""He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.""


2. What is the Wrath of God? "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."

a. The Wrath of God is the just, judicious, measured, and tempered outpouring of God’s anger against the sin and rebellion of His creatures.

(1) God is just and holy, without any blemish or lack of purity, and He Hates sin

(Hab 1:12-13) "Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? …13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.”

(Prov 6:16-19) "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."

(2) Divine Wrath is the right and natural result of an absolutely Holy, just, and perfect God being defied and spat upon by His creatures

(3) Were He to be unmoved by sin He would be unjust and unholy

b. Wrath is not the central attribute of God—that is His Holiness

(Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""

(Rev 4:8) "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""

c. Wrath is not the defining attribute of God--Love defines God.... ("God is Love....") God does not delight in wrath—

d. But, because God’s justice, His own rightness, and His support of His own Law is at stake, the Wrath of God Comes From The Throne of God itself—"...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."

3. The Wrath of God is Real—"...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."

a. Wrath Revealed—

(1) present tense, a continual revealing

(2) This is a frightening concept—the most powerful Being in the universe, the most powerful being that could possibly be, is angry at our sin!

b. Wrath is revealed from Heaven by Word—

(1) The prophets of old, John the Baptist, the Lord Himself in His earthly ministry, and the apostles, all taught the wrath of God.

(2) The Lord Jesus Christ—many times He pronounces woes on cities, groups of men such as the scribes and Pharisees, etc.

(3) Christ often speaks of the awesome prospect of Divine judgment Mat 24-25

(4) It is a major concept in Romans

(Rom 2:5) "But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,"

(Rom 2:8) "but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath,"

(Rom 4:15) "because the law brings about wrath…”

(Rom 5:9) "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

(Eph 2:3) "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

(Eph 5:6) "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

(1 Th 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."

(1 Th 5:9) "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""

(Rev 15:7) "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever."

(Rev 16:1) "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.""

c. Wrath is revealed from Heaven by Deed—God has executed His wrath against nations and individuals.

(1) God Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross sins

(2) God Consumed Pharaoh's Army—Ex 15:7

(3) God overthrew Babylon

(4) God revealed His wrath on the cross—Rom 3:25-26

d. The wrath of God will be completely revealed in the end—Rev 6:16-17


4. The reasons for the Wrath of God—Godlessness and Wickedness—(Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"

a. Mankind, by our sin and rebellion, has shut God out of the picture.

b. The key words in Rom 1:18

(1) Ungodliness—from a word which means “Not Godly” or “Not Reverent”

(2) Unrighteousness—“what is not right”

(3) Suppress—“to hold down”

c. Paul is summing up mankind’s violation of God’s law with two words, much as Christ summed up the law…Mat 22:36-40

(1) Godlessness—sins against the Truth of God’s nature and against God Himself

(Mat 22:36-38) ""Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment.

(a) These are sins against God Himself—and they reveal an attitude rebellion and irreverence against our Holy Father.

(b) These are violations of the first of the Great Commands—to love God with all our Heart, Soul, and Mind.

(2) Unrighteousness—the second category of sins falls under sins against our fellow man, sins that violate the second of the great commands. These sins are a natural consequence of a life lived without God.

(Mat 22: 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.""

d. And Paul says that in thus sinning against God and against our fellow men, we suppress the Truth.

e. Results of the revealed Wrath of God--God gives man enough rope to hang himself.

(1) God Gave them up......Rom 1:26-27
(2) God Gave them over......Rom 1:28

5. Redemption From the Wrath of God

a. As we will see in later lessons, God's wrath is the reason for the necessity of the Gospel (Rom 1:16-18)--atonement and salvation by grace are required because of God's wrath against sin.

b. For the believer, deliverance from wrath is our great hope (1 Thess. 1:10).
c. God's wrath is turned aside (propitiated) for believers by Christ’s Blood (Rom 3:25-26, 5:8-9).

d. God's wrath against sin and sinners is so great that He sent His Son to die in the place of those who were to be redeemed--no lesser sacrifice would do. If we deny wrath, we essentially deny the gospel.

6. Retribution by the Wrath of God—

a. Those who are unsaved shall share in the final retribution of the wrath of God against the rebellious race which repudiated Him and rejected the gracious offer of redemption through His Son:

b. Take your opportunity when it comes—(Psa 2:12) "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."

(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""

(Rev 15:1) "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete."

(Rev 15:7) "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever."

(Rev 16:1) "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.""

(Rev 19:15) "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."