The Wrath of God
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Romans 1:18–20 (ESV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
The wrath of God is the expression of His righteous anger against unrighteous people.
How does God express this anger?
In a number of ways.
His wrath is often displayed in the OT through natural disasters, plagues, famines, sickness and disease.
We also see God bring His wrath upon people through the use of other nations through war.
God has at times sent fire from heaven to consume those under His wrath and opened up the ground to swallow them up in His wrath.
We see God’s wrath displayed in many of these ways in Revelation as well.
The day of the Lord, the day of Christ’s return, will be a day of judgement when His wrath is poured out on all unrighteousness without restraint. It will be a day unlike any other day.
Now all of this may cause us to wonder, is God right in expressing His wrath in these ways?
After all, it doesn’t seem very loving of God to punish people for their sins.
God’s anger is not like man’s anger.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
2. God’s love and His wrath are not in opposition to each other.
It is God’s love for us that causes Him to be angry when we sin. If He did not love us their would be nothing to provoke His anger.
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3. Because God is righteous, He must punish evil.
The irony is that we want God to punish evil when it is committed by others but not when we are the ones at fault.
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4. We don’t get to make God who we want Him to be.
His character is unchanging. He is who He says that He is. We don’t get to create God, He created us.
The object of God’s wrath is people who suppress the truth.
Every act of rebellion against God, every sin, every unrighteous thought, is an active denial of the truth.
160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Truth Matters!
The God of the Bible is a God of truth, and we know the truth through His Word.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
It is impossible for Him to lie.
Every Word that He has spoken is true.
Truth is true even if no one believes it and a lie is a lie even if everyone believes it.
We must be those who build our lives on the truth, even if it places us in opposition to the whole world.
Do you know the truth?