The Need for Righteousness

I want you to take a moment and imagine a world without any justice. Think about a world where evil is never punished and everyone goes about their day ignoring all the wrongdoing that is happening.

Each of us would be angry. We would think of it as being unfair. Non of us would want to live in a place that is like that.

Just as you and I desire justice in society, God, who is perfectly holy, must deal with sin righteously.

Today, I want to answer the question, why do we need God’s righteousness?

Why do we need God’s righteousness?

If you have your Bibles, go to Romans chapter 1. I will begin reading at verse 18.

Romans 1:18–32 NIV

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

The Reality of God’s Wrath

Romans 1:18 NIV

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

Some People like to think of God’s wrath as uncontrolled anger.

God’s wrath is not uncontrolled anger but it is His righteous response to sin.

Just like we wouldn’t like a world without justice, God doesn’t like a world full of sin.

Psalm 5:4–5 NIV

4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong;

Today we can see that God hates sin. God is not pleased with the sin that is taking place in our world today. God has never been pleased with sin.

We often talk about a future judgment but there are present consequences for sin. Those consequences are revealed as we see the moral decay in our society.

People today like to blame God for allowing the evil that takes place in this world. We like to point fingers at why this or that is happening. It all goes back to sin.

If God ignored sin, He would not be truly just.

The Rejection of God Leads to Corruption

Some people like to write God off. They are quick to say God doesn’t exist, but then those same people are quick to blame God when things don’t go their way.

Romans 1:19–23 NIV

19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

If we were to go outside right now, we could look around us and see the existence and power of God. We have no excuses to not believe that God is real.

The problem comes when people decided to exchange the glory of God for idols.

All throughout the Old Testament, you can read stories of how God’s chosen people allowed idols to take the place of God. If you want a great glimpse of this, read the book of Judges. God’s people would start worshipping idols and then God would raise up a judge to set things back in order.

Today, most of us don’t worship statues, but we idolize success, pleasure, power, and we promote self.

Anything that we have placed ahead of God is an idol. If you are giving anything first place in your life other than God, you need to repent and place God first on the priority list.

When we reject God and the things of God we are inevitably worshipping something else. When we worship anything other than God we are allowing a path that leads to moral and spiritual decay.

The Consequences of Sin

Romans 1:24–32 NIV

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Notice in verses 24, 26, and 28 Paul says three times, “God gave them over” or “God gave them up.” It means that God allowed these people to completely go their own way, experiencing the full effects of their “sinful desires” and “shameful lusts.”

The word “desires” refers to a very strong desire for ungodly sexual activity and pleasure.

Some of the worst diseases that humans can receive are sexually transmitted diseases. This is a possibility of God’s wrath today.

When people partake in sexual perversion for a long period of time and it runs its full course, it often brings harsh consequences and becomes its own form of judgment.

You cannot continue to reject the truth of God’s Word and look for pleasure through ungodly sensual desires and behaviors and expect to be free from God’s wrath.

God loves His people, but He hates the sin that they allow to corrupt their life.

God has two purposes in abandoning people to their own sinful ways.

1. He allows sin and its consequences to increase as part of his judgment on them.

2. He wants to bring them to a point of realizing their need for God’s mercy, forgiveness, spiritual salvation and a right relationship with Him.

God wants you to realize that you need Him. We have to get to the point that we look to the creator and not the creation.

God loves you and He knows what is best for your life.

Here is another warning for you. Sin is not just personal. It affects society, relationships, and future generations.

You can look at America and see the effects of the sin that America has allowed to ravage our nation for years. From slavery to prohibition to the sexual revolution of the 60’s to where America is today. Because of the sin that has ravaged America, we can see the decay of society. God wants to see people set free from the bondage of sin that consumed their lives.

The world’s brokenness is not just accidental; it is the result of humanity rejecting God’s righteousness. People want to live for themselves and not live for God.

It is time that we get back to righteous living and making God number one in our life.

The Justification for God’s Judgment

Everyone has sinned. And since we are all sinners, God’s judgment is completely justified. If you don’t acknowledge the reality of sin, then you cannot see the need for salvation. In order to be saved you must admit that you are a sinner.

Romans 3:21–26 NIV

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

True righteousness can only be found in Jesus. If you acknowledge that you are a sinner then you can be saved through Christ.

Romans 8:1 NIV

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Through Christ you are set free from your sins.

If you were to go to a doctor and they diagnosed you with a terminal illness but they offered no cure, you would feel like there was no hope. You would leave that office and make a preparation to die.

However, if you went to a different doctor and they diagnosed you with a terminal illness but this one offered you hope you would feel like there was a chance that you could survive this disease.

True love is telling the truth and providing hope.

This morning I love you enough to tell you the truth. I am not watering down the Gospel, but I am telling you that God hates sin. All of us are sinners. If you continue in your sin, you will die and go to an eternal place of torment. However, God loved you so much that He sent His son Jesus to die on a cross for you. If you will admit you are a sinner, believe that Jesus is the Savior you need and Confess your sins to Him, You will be saved.

God wants you to be with Him some day. The only way for you to experience life with God is through Jesus Christ His son.

Will you accept Jesus as your Savior today?