Romans - Lesson #2

“Our Sin Reveals The Wrath Of God”

By Pastor Rich Paradis

Romans 1:18-32

As we enter the first section of doctrinal discussion in Romans, we must do it with a mind for what we have just considered. As the theme of Romans was unveiled in 1:16-17, the “righteousness of God” expressed uniquely in the Good News of Jesus Christ, we now see the reason or need for this provision in Christ. The problem is sin, not just the presence of it, but also our love of it. In this section, we will see the ongoing wrath or disdain of sin by God and mankind’s reaction to His desire for us to live a life of faith which evidences His righteousness.

I.                   The Wrath of God Is Revealed    Romans 1:18-23

a.       Just as the righteousness of God is revealed “from faith to faith”, God’s wrath is revealed in the ungodliness and unrighteousness of man. The word “revealed” is the same in both cases, meaning “to uncover, to make known”. In other words, God’s righteousness is made known or uncovered in our righteous living and His wrath is made known or uncovered in our sinfulness.

                                                              i.      Ungodliness – Not an atheist, but to act as if God doesn’t exist. Craig Groschel refers to this as “practical atheism”.

                                                            ii.      Unrighteousness – The result of ungodliness. We do these things because we disregard God.

b.      It is important to understand that God’s wrath is not like ours. One of the reasons that we have such a hard time with a God that demonstrates wrath is that we think He demonstrates it for the same reasons that we do. That is not true. God’s wrath has its origin in His righteousness, not His sin since He is sinless in His nature. Even though it is possible for us to display a righteous indignation and anger, we most often do it from a platform of sin. God’s wrath is exhibited in a holy revulsion against what is contrary to and opposes His holy nature and will.

c.       So who is this wrath revealed against? The balance of this section gives us the answer:

                                                              i.      Those who suppress the truth in their sin – (Verse 18) The truth of the Good News is suppressed, restrained or hindered, by the sinful actions of man. The witness of the gospel in a believer’s life is hindered when sin is allowed to reign.

                                                            ii.      Those who deny God’s revelation of Himself in nature and Creation – (Verses 19-20) No one, even those that have not heard of the Bible or of Christ, has an excuse for not honoring God, because the whole created world reveals Him. The term for this is natural revelation, and even though it is not enough to save a person it is enough to point a person towards the  God who can save. That is why we must continue our missionary efforts to the entire world.

                                                          iii.      Those who have exchanged His glory for a fake – (Verses 21-23) This lack of recognition of Him, lack of gratitude towards Him, and ultimately their futile and foolish hearts drove them to “exchange” one thing for another; the real God for a fake god (themselves and deities that they have invented for themselves, in other words idols).

II.                How Is This Wrath Revealed?    Romans 1:24-32

a.       As we look at this section, we must consider 2 demonstrations of the wrath of God:

                                                              i.      Future – This is the wrath that we most often consider. This is the wrath of God against sin in the life to come.

                                                            ii.      Current – This is the wrath of God that is demonstrated in our lives today. This is the wrath that we are considering in this passage. It is a “turning over” of the sinner to his ways and the results of those ways. The sins would now be allowed to run its course as an act of judgment. What a sad reversal of God’s plan in giving us free will. That free will was supposed to be so that we could choose Him, but now it is being used to choose sinful behaviors and acts.

b.      As we now consider this “giving over”, we must remember that these that commit sin are not somehow victims. They are actively pursuing sin and God is grieved over it. Because of the sin that was considered in the previous verses, God now turns these that have sinned (all mankind, but predominantly the Gentiles in this portion of the argument) over in 3 ways:

                                                              i.      He gives them over to the lusts of their hearts – (Verses 24-25) This is the forbidden things of their hearts. Why? So that the results of these forbidden things would in fact even be looked down on by those committing those sins. Some commentators say that Vs. 25 helps us to understand this particular sin as that of some cultic prostitution. Paul would have been aware of this sin as he writes from Corinth.

                                                            ii.      He gives them over to degrading passions – (Verses 26-27) In these verses, we have one of the most clear insights into the sin of homosexuality. The homosexual will see this verse and say that the condemnation is toward a heterosexual person engaging in homosexual activity (unnatural) and it being alright for them because it is natural for them and not unnatural. Of course, this is a very poor translation of this text and is only evidence to the whole argument.

                                                          iii.      He gives them over to a depraved mind – (Verses 28-31) This is a mind that is “not as it ought to be” according to the definition of depraved in the original language. The evidences of this are noted in the verses that follow. Look at all of resulting sin that comes from not acknowledging God and His righteousness.

c.       In Verse 32, we have one of the saddest portions of this entire passage. All of this sin is not a result of ignorance of what God requires or desires. It is a result of self-will and rebellion in the heart of the sinner. And it not only is celebrated with the knowledge of the penalty of this rebellion (death), but it is done with the most blasphemous and rebellious spirit. This spirit not only celebrates its own sin, but also the sin of those that are doing the same things. In other words, the sinner applauds the sin of others.

III.             An Application For All Of Us

a.       The wrath of God is just as real as the love of God.

b.      Just as the righteousness of God is revealed as we live righteous lives, the wrath of God is revealed in our sinful living.

c.       We are not victims of sin; we choose it.

d.      The Good News that Paul is speaking of will be the only antidote to the wrath of God against our sinfulness.