An Introduction to The Wrath of God
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning
Good Morning
My Name is Pastor Terry
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Next Saturday Michelle and I will be joining First Love Ministries on a Missions Trip to Peru. This year the team is small....We are going to travel around the entire 10 days.....Please pray for our safety and that that Like Paul instructs:
We would be able to impart a spiritual gift to strengthen the Peruvians.
We would be mutually encouraged be each others Faith.
That we would be able to share the Gospel in a way that it can be understood and recieved.
I don’t like letting people know when I am going to be gone because some see it as an opportunity to skip church or go grazing in other pastures.
You do not want to do that.....Pastors Rustan and Jackie are preparing messages that will be a continuation of our Journey through Romans. I want to remind you
Church is not a Building you go to, It is a Family of Believers You Belong To!
Would you pray with me this morning.......
Today we begin a 4 part leg of this Journey through Romans. As I have said the last three weeks we are Studying the Book of Romans verse by verse, section by section allowing God to lead us on a path of discovery through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
The title of today’s message is An Introduction to God’s Wrath
Last week I ended my message by talking about the path that God has set before us compared to the path we choose on our own.
What we see from verse 17 to verse 18 is a transition from Paul’s excitement to share the Gospel, to the very reason the Gospel is needed.
For the next 4 weeks Paul jumps back to Genesis and lays out the charges God has against Humanity.
Who here does not like Justice?
I mean when you see a Murderer captured, brought to justice, and then sentenced for their crimes; not make the world feel right.
What about a child abuser? All sorts of thoughts and emotions just flooded into every persons mind. We want these kind of people brought to justice. We want them Punished.
We want justice brought against everyone except ourselves.
Beginning in Verse 18 Paul enters the Court room of life, he is studied up, and like a well trained Prosecutor He is about to lay out the charges against every human that has walked the earth.
Your probably thinking..........Well today was a terrible day to invite my friends.
I told from the beginning that teaching the Bible this way would take us down some uncomfortable moments.
I want to reiterate to everyone here. We believe that all Scripture is God Breathed and that the Bible is a Book without Error.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
That being said let’s dive into today’s Passage.
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.
We live in a world full of Philosophy:
Simply put a Philosophy is a and theory or attitude that guides a persons thought process or way of life.
We see this play out all through out our society and if you study Roman times Philosophy ruled the day. Romans were high thinkers. Looking for answers to the worlds problems and looking for excuses to cover up their depravity.
One such Philosophy today is Atheism....There is No God....Everything happened by Chance....and just cease to exist when we die.
Here is the Problems I see with Atheism without even introducing God, Jesus, or The Holy Spirit
I have been taught all my life the 0+0=Nothing. If I am to believe the Philosophy of The Atheist I have to believe that everything that surrounds me came from nothing our of a giant cosmic bang that had no Cause.
I have a hard time wrapping my brain around Nothing coming from Nothing.
Therefore I believe and teach that There is a Cause that that happened in the Beginning......I believe in a Higher Power.....I know Him as God.......A Being Represented in The Persons God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Distinct Persons in One.
God the Father= The Mind
Jesus= The Body
The Holy Spirit= The Presence of God on Earth
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
God created all things, he set the laws of life and death, and therefore He Has all authority to sit in the place of Judge.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
The Wrath of God Poured Out
The Wrath of God Poured Out
Now God is not a raging lunatic, He is not prone to fits of rage. However He is the Judge and His Judgement is Righteous and Sovereign
Meaning is Judgement is Truth and The Supreme Authority.
We will all stand before God some day and we will be Judged. We will all be found guilty. The only saving grace for any is for those Who have Made Jesus Lord.
Our Choice about Jesus is what determines Our Eternal Destination.
Eternity with God or Eternal Separation From God
God is a gentleman who does not force anyone to serve him. It is our choice to choose him in this life.
Being a gentleman, If you choose not to serve him in this life, he will not force you to serve him for eternity.
Therefore God created an eternal place absent of his presence for those who choose ungodliness and unrighteousness to spend eternity.
You may be thinking eternity without God’s presence doesn’t sound so bad. However, Galatians 5:22-23 outline the attributes distributed through the Presence of God by the Holy Spirit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Now imagine a place absent of all these attributes for eternity. Eternal hopelessness. That is the place designed for those who reject God.
I hear all the time How can a loving God send someone to hell that never knew he existed. I can imagine that Paul had heard this same argument. So Paul begins to lay out his opening argument the charges laid out against humanity.
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.
This very statement by Paul takes away every excuse known to man about the inability to know God.
THE BIBLE CLEARLY TEACHES THAT THE ETERNAL POWER AND DIVINE NATURE OF GOD HAS BEEN UNDERSTOOD FROM WHAT HAS BEEN MADE, SO THAT YOU AND I..AND ANYONE ELSE IS WITHOUT EXCUSE.
This where we have to be careful.....We don’t worship The Created....We Worship the Creator.
I want to pause for a moment to think about God’s Creation, I want you to think about what he did in creation, the beauty of nature, the majesty that exists in each careful stroke of God Almighty’s creative power.
We don’t worship the created, We worship the Creator and Scripture declares that the created glorifies God.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
DR. DAVID AMRINE DVM, PHD (CAND), IS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST AT THE KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE IN MANHATTAN, KS. HAVING COMPLETED HIS UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE IN BIOLOGY, HIS DOCTORATE IN VET MEDICINE AND NOW A PHD IN EPIDEMIOLOGY He WAS ASKED.....
“DAVE, IN ALL YOUR STUDIES…HAVING BEEN AROUND ‘NON-THEISTS’ AND ‘EVOLUTIONISTS’ SO MUCH…HAS YOUR FAITH EVER BEEN SHAKEN? HONESTLY, HAS IT EVER WAVERED?”
HIS SIMPLE REPLY, “NO…NO IT HASN’T. BECAUSE OVER AND OVER AGAIN I SEE THE CREATIVE POWER OF GOD IN NATURE AND I AM CONVINCED THAT SUCH ORDER COULD NOT HAVE COME FROM SUCH CHAOS.”
YOU SEE, GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US…FROM WHAT HAS BEEN MADE.
WE SEE THE GLORY OF GOD IN CREATION ALL THE WAY AT THE BEGINNING. IN GENESIS 1:1 WHERE THE BIBLE SAYS, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
AND THERE, IN THE VERY BEGINNING, HIS GLORY BEGINS…BUT MOSES RECORDS MORE......IF WE WERE TO READ GENESIS 1:2-31 WE WOULD SEE THE PATTERN OF CREATION PENNED OUT BY MOSES.
The Pattern of Creation
The Pattern of Creation
a. The Creative Word – “…God said”9x
b. The effect of God’s Word – “…and it was so” – 6x
c. The approval of God’s work – “…it was good” – 7x
d. The naming of God’s work – 4 specific,
e. The numbering of each day – 6 days
ONE OF THE GREATEST DISCOVERIES OF SCIENCE IN THE 20TH CENTURY IS THAT THE UNIVERSE HAD A BEGINNING. HUGE DISCOVERY…THAT OF COURSE LED TO WHAT’S CALLED THE ‘BIG BANG’ THEORY.
YET, THE BIBLE THROUGH A MAN NAMED MOSES, TOLD US THAT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO WHEN HE SAID… “In the beginning…God….”
THESE WORDS BEGIN THE STORY OF GOD’S REVELATION OF HIMSELF…HIS POWER, HIS GLORY…
THROUGH CREATION.
AND STILL TODAY YOU CAN FIND A MULTITUDE OF OPINIONS REGARDING THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE. AND THERE ARE A LOT QUESTIONS BELIEVERS HAVE…STILL UNANSWERED. GENESIS CHAPTER ONE DOESN’T ANSWER THEM ALL.
BUT, IT IS GOD’S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN ON HOW THIS ALL BEGAN.
LET’S JUST CONSIDER FOUR THINGS WE SEE IN GOD’S CREATION:
1. IN CREATION WE SEE GOD’S GLORY
1. IN CREATION WE SEE GOD’S GLORY
NO SCIENTIST CAN IMPROVE UPON THE FACT THAT…
“In the beginning…God.”
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
23 “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.
23 YEAR US AIR FORCE METEOROLOGIST SR. MASTER SARGENT RICK FISKE EXPLAINS HOW A RAINDROP WORK.
BOTTOM-LINE – INCREDIBLE DESIGN!!!
“If there were any variance in atomic weight, the atmosphere, gravity, etc. raindrops would continue to collide together and form larger droplets the size of bowling balls or larger. At this mass, their terminal velocity would increase and their destructive power upon impacting the earth would be catastrophic.”
OR
“If rain drops were any smaller, just by the smallest fraction, we could never have light refraction through a drop and we’d never see a rainbow. A raindrop is exact, to its atomic and molecular weight, friction, and surface adhesion. Every factor we can think of is exactly as it should be, or it wouldn’t work.
YOU SEE, GOD HAS GLORIFIED HIMSELF IN CREATION SO THAT MEN ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.
THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD! AMEN!
SEE, THE CREATION STORY IN GENESIS 1 ADDRESSES AND ANSWERS ALL THE ‘ISMS’ OF THIS WORLD:
The atheist must admit that creation was the work of God.
The polytheist must contend there is only one God.
The pantheist comes to understand that God is apart from or independent of His creation.
To the evolutionist - The universe was created / did not evolve.
To the materialist - That matter is not eternal but was itself created.
To the existentialist - Creation has a purpose.
2. IN CREATION WE SEE GOD’S AUTHORITY
2. IN CREATION WE SEE GOD’S AUTHORITY
THE HEBREW NAME FOR GOD IN GEN. 1 IS ELOHIM. IT’S PLURAL, YET WRITTEN IN THE SINGULAR. OF COURSE, REVEALING THE TRINITY, WHICH THE REST OF SCRIPTURE SHOWS IS AT WORK IN CREATION – GOD, THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE SPIRIT!
AS WE COME TO THE MOMENT OF THE CREATION OF MAN WE SEE GOD DECLARE, “let us make man in our image” --- AGAIN PLURAL IN THE HEBREW!
BUT, THE BASIC ROOT OF ELOHIM IS EL WHICH MEANS “mighty, strong, prominent.”
AND WHAT DO WE SEE IN CREATION, BUT THE PHRASE:
“and God said”…AND WE SEE IT 10 TIMES. THE HEBREW WORD MEANS HE WILLED, DECREED, APPOINTED.
AND EACH TIME GOD SPEAKS – IT HAPPENS. E
IT IS DECREED AND IT HAPPENS.
IT IS WILLED AND IT IS DONE.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS ARE GREAT.
FIRST, IT MEANS THAT EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS MUST BE UNDER GOD’S CONTROL; THAT THE CREATED IS SUBJECT TO THE CREATOR.
SECOND,
THE ACCOUNT ALSO REVEALS THE BASIS OF THE LAW. IF INDEED GOD WAS BEFORE ALL THINGS AND MADE ALL THINGS, HOW FOOLISH IT WOULD BE TO HAVE ANY OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM!
THERE WERE NONE.
IF INDEED GOD MADE MAN IN HIS IMAGE TO REPRESENT HIM, HOW FOOLISH IT WOULD BE TO MAKE AN IMAGE OF GOD!
IF INDEED GOD SET ASIDE ONE DAY FOR REST FROM HIS WORK, SHOULD NOT MAN WHO IS WALKING WITH GOD FOLLOW HIM? THE COMMANDMENTS FIND THEIR RATIONALE HERE.
ANY WONDER MAN STRUGGLES TO BELIEVE ANYTHING BUT --- “GOD CREATED”. BECAUSE IN THE ACT OF CREATING, IS HIS AUTHORITY OVER IT ALL – INCLUDING MAN HIMSELF!!
3. IN CREATION WE SEE MAN’S ACCOUNTABILITY
3. IN CREATION WE SEE MAN’S ACCOUNTABILITY
AS WE READ IN OUR TEXT TODAY:
ROMANS 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men 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 men are without excuse.
DON’T BE DECIEVED…A DAY OF RECONING IS COMING. A DAY WHEN EVERY MAN WILL STAND BEFORE GOD AND ANSWER THE QUESTION, “WHO IS JESUS CHRIST AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM.”
SCRIPTURE CLEARLY INDICATES THAT ONE OF THE WAYS GOD HAS CHOSEN TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO MAN IS THROUGH HIS CREATION. WHY? IT’S VERY SIMPLE…
“SO THAT MEN ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.”
FINALLY…
4. IN CREATION WE SEE OUR DESTINY
4. IN CREATION WE SEE OUR DESTINY
AT THE CONCLUSION OF CREATION......
AS GOD HAS TAKEN AND ORDERED OUT OF THE CHAOS OF THIS WORLD…
AND THEN HE MAKES MAN…
HE MAKES HIM IN HIS OWN IMAGE.
HE BREATHES HIS BREATH OF LIFE INTO HIM.
AND AS THE STORY UNFOLDS ---- AS MAN CHOOSES THE WRONG PATH
WE SEE GOD’S LOVE. AND HIS MERCY. AND HIS PASSION FOR HIS OWN CREATION!!!
SOMETHING POWERFUL HAPPENS IN CHAPTER 2 WE SEE A DIFFERENT NAME FOR GOD USED IN THE NARRATIVE:
CHAPTER 1 – ELOHIM
CHAPTER 2 – JEHOVAH
AND FROM THAT NAME COMES THE RELATIONSHIP…
WITH ABRAHAM AND MOSES AND ISRAEL….
LEADING TO GOD’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF MANKIND THROUGH HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST!!
ALL OF THIS MAKES ME THINK OF ACTS 17 WERE WE SEE PAUL IN ATHENS.
THE CENTER OF PHILOSOPHY OF THAT DAY.
WE READ THAT PAUL GREW VERY SAD AND DISHEARTENED AS HE WALKED AROUND AND NOTED ALL THE VARIOUS TEMPLES AND IDOLS!!!
PAUL CAME PREACHING A SIMPLE MESSAGE ABOUT GOD COMING TO EARTH IN THE FORM OF A MAN – AND CAN’T YOU JUST HEAR PAUL…
“YES THAT MAN WAS THE ONE WHO WAS CRUICIFIED ON A CROSS”…
YOU CAN JUST HEAR THE SCOFFERS OF HIS DAY MOCKING PAUL AND HIS STORY OF THE GOD-MAN WHO DIED…
SO ABASED. SUCH A LOWLY A STORY!!
SO, THEY BRING HIM TO THE Areopagus (or MARS HILL!)
SO WISE OF PAUL --- IT SAYS IN VERSE 22:
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
33 So Paul went out from their midst.
34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
We live in a world so consumed by UNKNOWN gods. The worst of these is the The god Pleasure.
Paul is very clear throughout his letters Who the One True God
One Day We Will All Stand before his Judgement
We will all be out of excuses.
CLOSE…
Holy Spirit.........