God's Case Against Ungodliness and Wickedness In Men 2-20-2022

WALK WORTHY GOD'S CASE AGAINST UNGODLINESS AND WICKEDNESS IN MEN Sunday February 20, 2022 Scripture Reference: Romans 1:18-20 (NLT) Intro. A. Let's look at our scripture for today found in Romans 1:18-20. "But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." Romans 1:18-20 (NLT) 1. Today we are turning the corner or turning the page, whichever metaphor you wish to use in Paul's words to the church at Rome. So far, we have heard Paul introduce himself to the church. We have seen the partnership we have with him and all other believers in telling others about this Good News. We have heard Paul's encouragement to the church and to us and we have seen that he is not ashamed or afraid to proclaim this Good News anywhere and everywhere. He told us that we are made righteous, right with God by placing our faith in Jesus and Jesus alone and that we must now live by that faith. 2. Now in V.18 Paul makes a very definite transition in his thoughts and admonition to the church. Here is another one of those passages I can use someday when I do my series on the Big But. It might not be apparent at first glance, but this is indeed a Big But that is used to begin this verse. We spent two weeks look at V.16-17 and in those verses, Paul tells us that this gospel is nothing to be ashamed of, but in fact it is a wonderful and glorious message. It is a message that God is a powerful God. Powerful enough to destroy sin in us, powerful enough to forever remove our guilt and shame and powerful enough to transform us into a New Creation. Then comes the Big But. I want you to see for yourself the transition Paul makes here in these verses, so let's read again V.16-20. "For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." 18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." Romans 1:16-20 (NLT) 3. This But tells us that while God is a merciful and gracious God, He is also a just God and He will not ignore or brush aside sin in our lives, but that He will in fact punish sin. I get it. I fully understand that this is not the message many wish to hear, but it is the whole truth and nothing, but the truth and it cannot and MUST NOT be ignored. Trans. I am hoping to share four points with you today about God's case against ungodliness and wickedness, but we will see how God leads. The first thing I must tell you is this. I. SINFUL MAN IS SUBJECT TO THE WRATH OF GOD. Friends let's not allow ourselves to be deceived. A. God's Wrath Is A Reality. 1. The NLT translates the word here as "anger". I don't think many of us like to have this mental picture of God being angry. There are several reasons for this. One being that we simply don't want to acknowledge that God will actually punish sin in us. Some seem to feel that in the end God is going to say, "Hey forget all that stuff I said about sin and punishment. I would never allow anyone to spend eternity in Hell." Another reason the idea of God's anger makes us uncomfortable is because of how we see anger. For many of us anger is an uncontrolled outburst where someone get hurts, physically or emotionally. I have many faults as you well know, but the one fault I hate the most in me is my anger. I feel like Paul and whatever his throne in the flesh was. I wish God would remove it, but He hasn't, but my anger, and YOUR anger are NOT GOD'S ANGER. The anger of God is a decisive anger. It is an anger that arises from very thoughtful reasoning. The anger of God arises from his mind and not His emotions. It is an anger that arises against all the things He is. It arises against sin, evil, violence, immorality, and injustices and not the so-called injustices we hear talked about today. God's anger does not dispense revenge, it dispenses justice. a) We can see the righteous anger of God in His judgements. Look at these verses. "But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. 9 There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil-for the Jew first and also for the Gentile." Romans 2:8-9 (NLT) "All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else." Ephesians 2:3 (NLT) b) We see God's anger in our disobedience. "And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment." John 3:36 (NLT) c) We can see God's anger in the hardness of our hearts. "He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!" Mark 3:5 (NLT) 2. Let me make one more point about this wrath or anger of God. Paul tells us that it is revealed from Heaven. There are actually two revelations given to us here and they are both found in the gospel that Paul is proclaiming. The first revelation is that Christ was crucified, risen from the grave and coming again and as we saw last week it is through faith in Him that righteousness if offered to us. The second revelation is just as real, and it is that God's wrath will judge our sin. The gospel is not only about the mercy of God, it also tells us, and mercifully so I might add that there is Divine judgement to come for those to disobey or ignore God. The grace of God is not cheap. It cost the son of God on the cross of calvary, which by the way also reveal the wrath of God. Sin must be dealt with. The harsh reality is that everyone person will deal with sin. We will deal with it, with Christ or without Christ. Trans. Now let's talk about why this wrath is being administered. First it is: B. Because Man Is Ungodly And Wicked. 1. Now I understand that most sinful men do not acknowledge that they are ungodly or wicked. We may consider ourselves less than perfect, but we are certainly not sinners. Well, this is not my judgement, it is Gods and remember this judgment is right and perfect. 2. Paul uses two different words here to describe sinful mans condition. a) The first word is translated "sinful" or "ungodly". Now let me say first that both of these words used, whether it is the word "sinful" or wicked" represent sin or rebellion against God, but they refer to two different ways we sin against God. The first word, "sinful" or "ungodly" refers to people who fail to love or obey God. They are not like God in that they choose not to be holy, righteous, or pure. They are not working to develop a godly nature. They do not honor God by word or deed. These are people who want to do what they want, whether it contradicts the teaching of God or not. Sadly, these are people who might even offer lip service to God, but they actually spend their day to day lives ignoring Him. It is not even that they do not believe in God it is that they neglect Him. Now I know this was a cool song in the day, but I just never could get past the words it used. "Jesus Is Just Alright With Me". Friends, if Jesus is just alright with you, then I am afraid you don't know my Jesus. Here is what the Bible tells us. "And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God," Titus 2:12 (NLT) b) The second word Paul uses here is "wicked" or "unrighteous". The word here refers to how we treat others. It is possible here that Paul was making reference to the Ten Commandments. You may recall that the first four commandments have to do with our relationship to God and the last six deal with our relationship with each other. This can also take us back to what Jesus told us when he was asked what the greatest commandment was. Here was his reply. "Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT) To be unrighteous or wicked means that we are living at odds with what is right. Trans. So we are told that God's wrath is being revealed because we ignore God, and we ignore he word. Now let's look at another reason for God's wrath against sinful man. C. Because They Suppress The Truth. 1. What does this mean that they suppress the truth? The word literally means people who try to cover up or who try to hold back the truth. You might even use the example of someone who doesn't want to hear something, so they cover their ears and talk loudly. They try to drown out what they do not wish to hear. Probably most of us have experienced this in our attempts to witness to someone in our Oikos. Not that they put their hands over their ears, but they try to divert attention from the truth we are trying to share with them. They try to come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses for why they do not want to accept this message. These people want to live as they wish not as God wishes. 2. Now notice that Paul tells us that they suppress the truth by living in unrighteousness. These are the people who seem to think that their sinful behavior is not all that bad since they continue to do these things and appear to get away with it, but the Bible answers that argument. "But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the LORD, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23 (NLT) They know the truth, but they continue to live as though it doesn't exist. Sadly, there are those who keep trying to convince themselves that there is no God, but the Bible answers this over and over again. "Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!" Psalms 14:1 (NLT) Trans. I want to finish this point today, by reminding you that the wrath of God is real. It may not be pleasant to talk about, but that does not make it go away. His wrath is against those who do not love Him or obey Him. His wrath is against those who do not love others as they love themselves and His wrath is against those who try to cover up this truth by the ungodly lives they live. Listen to what the Bible tells us. "For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Titus 2:11-14 (NLT) Conclusion A. Well I told you I had four points to share with you and I have given you one of them. Next week we will continue in this passage to look at God's Judgement against sinful men with V.19 & 20. I know that the subject of God's wrath is not a pleasant one, but it is a necessary one to talk about if for no other reason than the fact that the Bible speaks of it and as the Bible itself tells us. "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) 1. I said earlier that we ought to be thankful for these warnings that are given to us in these verses. God is being merciful to us by placing these warning signs for us to read so that we will not make the same mistakes these people did. The Bible even addresses this, let's see. "I don't want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, "The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry." 8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. 9 Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don't grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. 12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (NLT) 2. Friends, just as Paul said in V.18, God's anger has been revealed and it has been revealed so that we can know how to not experience it. Let's thank God for His great mercy and grace and let's continue to learn and grow in His grace so that these terrible things that dishonor God and bring His judgement will not happen to us. 2