Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Theme: Walk by faith
Lesson 2: The wrath of God revealed
18 For the wrath of God
Word fact check
wrath(orge) – anger, displeasure
Wrath in this context refers to God’s righteous judgment upon evil on the unrighteous.
What would anger a loving, long-suffering, compassionate God?
- Unrepentance – Refusing to believe and accept the gift of life that was freely given by God – John 3:18,
- Pride – shunning God’s provision for us to be saved by declaring we are fine and do not need salvation – Proverbs 16:18
- Conceitedness – Rejecting redemption because of self-righteousness, when God sees our hearts (Daniel 2:22)…
- Unrighteousness – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – he was made unrighteousness for those who would accept Him, Only the righteous (Ps 11:7) – We have no righteousness of our own except that which is imputed upon us by accepting Jesus
is revealed from heaven
Word fact check
revealed(apokalypto) – disclosed/unveiled/shown
Both unveiled and disclosed creates a sense of understanding that there was something that was unseen or unknown before, this a point of revelation
Why is it important God communicates with us in all seasons?
- Helps us in Prayer – We can know that we do not need to hide from God even when we do wrong, He will be there , loathing the sin, but loving the man – Psalm 51:17, Hebrews 12:6
- Opens us to Wisdom – God will give us wisdom when we seek to change from unrighteousness – Proverbs 4:7, James 1:5
- Brings us to Repentance – God’s displeasure should lead us to repent and realign with him, so being aware is important – Jonah 3:5-7
Reflection
Is God’s wrath just every time?
Numbers 21:5–9 (ESV) – 5And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
God responds to his children Accusations decisively, to correct as well as to encourage Those who would believe, When we are corrected we should pause and thank God for setting us straight because he chastises those he loves like any good guardian for our own good
Ponder and Journal
God’s righteous anger is shown against a blatant disregard for what is godly and right. Wilful endeavours to rewrite the truths the creator has already revealed causes the wrath of God to manifest. Anger as an emotion serves to convey a feeling of disagreeableness. Given that God is the author of all things, disagreeing with Him means whoever does so is by default wrong. The wrath is shown when there is an insistence to perpetuate the falsehoods instead of the truth of God, thereby dishonouring and distorting God and his creation. God strikes at unrighteousness while still being capable of love because He is just. For instance He sends serpents to punish the children of Israel because they distorted the truth in their unbelief :
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”, but He also provides them with a way for redemption because of His everlasting faithfulness and love. Note that righteous anger brought repentance as soon as it was revealed .
A quick tangent for those in no longer under wrath…
A look at those who are now alive in Christ, no longer under the wrath of God. Those who are raised through faith, like those who were about to die in the wilderness looked up at the raised bronze serpent. Looking to Christ versus looking to hold onto that which brings the wrath of God.
- Colossians 3:1–7 (NKJV) – 1 If then you were raised(??? Egiero- means raise up or get up… requires my effort and work/input vs Synegiero – were we get the word synergy meaning together, synchronous, not apart, a good example would be watching synchronized swimming, there is no visible separation between the participants, Christ does the work on the cross, my effort is in the form of my faith and these are synergised ) with Christ (it means you are now alive ,which suggests that your previous state was either dead or dying), seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above,
- What are these things above? – Spiritual endeavors
- Can we access these things above? – Deuteronomy 4:29, Hebrews 11:6
- Daniel 9:3 – dissect for understanding
- Matthew 5: 3-6 – compare and discuss in relation to Daniel 9 passage
- How do you access these things above? – Discuss
- (What are these things on earth? – Why should we not be preoccupied with these- Discuss)
- 3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ => no longer accessible to death
- Word study:
- hidden/krypto – covered up/sheltered/concealed/buried… like a treasure –
- Same word for cryptocurrency which means a currency which is not physically there, you cannot locate it , only the owner of the currency and the owner of the purse know where it is
- Word study:
- in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears,– remember you were dead, so without Christ, you are still dead then you also will appear with Him in glory.Why? – As mentioned, every believer is now bound or synchronised to Christ. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: –
- Why would we want to put wickedness to death? – Because we should now be synchronized/in agreement/in alignment/ with Christ and what He has declared to be the judgement of sin and unrighteousness Romans 6:23 .
- So what are some of these earthly members you have to put to death?
- fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
and then back to Romans 1:18 to connect….
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
Word fact check
unrighteousness(akidia) – injustice
Both unveiled and disclosed creates a sense of understanding that there was something that was unseen or unknown before, this a point of revelation
Why is it important God communicates with us in all seasons?
- Helps us in Prayer – We can know that we do not need to hide from God even when we do wrong, He will be there , loathing the sin, but loving the man – Psalm 51:17, Hebrews 12:6
- Opens us to Wisdom – God will give us wisdom when we seek to change from unrighteousness – Proverbs 4:7, James 1:5
- Brings us to Repentance – God’s displeasure should lead us to repent and realign with him, so being aware is important – Jonah 3:5-7
who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Word fact check
suppress(katecho) – hold fast to, restrain
Suppression is done wilfully and is calculated. There is an effort to restrain the subject/object at hand
The unrighteous find meaning in holding fast to injustice. There is a concerted effort to celebrate falsehood and alternatives to the reality of God.
Psalm 71:4–5
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
In Psalm 71, David seeks God’s help in dealing with a situation where he is facing falsehood. The cruelty of what he points out in his psalm is that the unrighteous person knows what is good and chooses not to allow it to be observed. So David takes refuge in God and seeks His divine judgement to be passed on such a person. The suppression of the truth can also happen within the congregation to suit individual agendas or hold people in bondage because of an unwillingness to repent and accept that certain things you know are wrong. Paul is also addressing this reality in amongst the people who are being addressed in verse 18.
How can we find ourselves suppressing the truth successfully?
Final Thoughts
A Righteous stand
The ‘UNrighteousness’ is always seeking you
Ephesians 5:6 (ESV)
6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
The enemy is wily and always looking to create seperation from God. Be vigilant is every aspect of your life, staying careful so as not to allow sin in unintentionally.
Ponder and Journal
Questions to Ponder
- Do you find it easier or more difficult to speak God’s truth in the places you find yourself?
- Do people around you tend to affect the way that you speak about God and who He is in your life?
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