The Wrath of God

“Why is justification by faith the only way of salvation?”

1. The Concept of Divine Wrath
a. Most people deny the wrath of God to a degree, no matter what their theological persuasion
b. Why do they reject divine wrath?
(1) Denial of a reality they cannot face
(2) Unified with evolution—if there is no God, there is ultimately no accountability
c. Various viewpoints among the professedly believing church.
(1) Ignore wrath and preach only "love"
(2) Ignore love and preach only wrath...
(3) Balance is required, but not often present!
d. The Biblical viewpoint—divine wrath is not an essential attribute of God, but it is a natural divine reaction to sin
(1) Wrath is not the central attribute of God—that is His Holiness
(2) Wrath is not the defining attribute of God--Love defines God.... ("God is Love....") God does not delight in wrath—
(3) Divine Wrath is the right and natural result of an absolutely Holy God being defied and spat upon by His creatures

e. Why Study the Wrath of God at all?
(1) The Bible deals with it at length
(2) To understand why people need salvation
(3) To appreciate God's Grace and Mercy to us
(4) To understand the Cross
(a) The Holiness and Justice of God require that He deal with sin--If He does not deal with sin, He denies His own law.
(b) The Wrath of God is the natural result of Holiness offended.
(c) But the love and mercy of God toward the human race are so great that He would rather pour His wrath out on His own Son than on us.

2. Understand the wrath of God in the light of His love
a. Concept #1--God Is Love, but God Has wrath.
b. Our sin, rebellion v God’s Justice and Holiness
c. Holiness encountering rebellion will result in wrath
d. God’s wrath, then, is reactive--before there was sin, there was no wrath. His wrath is a natural and just reaction to our sin and rebellion!!
e. FOR ....The Wrath of God is REVEALED--What is the "for" there for?
(1) Context--Rom 1:14-17
(2) Divine Wrath against sin is the reason the plan of salvation was required!!!
(3) The Cross of Christ was not an example o
(4) The Cross of Christ was not a message
(5) The Cross of Christ was a sacrifice to avert the righteous wrath of a Holy God against the sinful rebellion and enmity of mankind.

3. The wrath of God is real "...the wrath of God is REVEALED from heaven....." --it is not contrary to the loving nature of God to also have and express wrath.
a. It is terrifying wrath--For those who have seen evidence of the Wrath of God, it is a sobering experience indeed. When those who reject God, or who imagine Him to be incapable of wrath, when those people encounter the God of wrath in the last day, they will experience terror beyond imagination—Jer 10:10, Rev 6:16-17
b. Wrath abides on all the lost--a lost man or woman needs to carefully consider this—
(1) The Only all-powerful, all knowing God knows your sin and rebellion. You cannot hide from Him, nor can you by any work you may do turn aside His wrath against your godlessness and wickedness.
(2) If Christ does not become your Savior and Lord, you will one day encounter and eternally endure the wrath of Almighty God—Eph 2:3, Col 3:6
(3) No wrath against the people of God--1 Th 1:10, 1 Th 5:9, Rom 5:9

4. The Revelation of Wrath--How is the wrath of God revealed?

a. It is revealed from Heaven by Word—
(1) The prophets of old, the Lord Himself in His earthly ministry, and the apostles, all taught the wrath of God. The Psalmist—Psa 2:12, Jer 10:10, Mat 3:7
(2) The Lord Jesus Christ--many times He pronounces woes on cities, groups of men such as the scribes and Pharisees, etc. Christ often speaks of the awsome prospect of Divine judgment

b. It is revealed from Heaven by Deed--God has executed His wrath against nations and individuals.
(1) God Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross sins
(2) God Consumed Pharoah's Army—Exo 15:7
(3) God overthrew Babylon, God revealed His wrath on the cross, God has revealed His wrath by giving over nations to their own destruction
c. The wrath of God will be completely revealed in the end—Rev 6:16-17

5. The reason for the Wrath of God-- Godlessness and Wickedness—
a. Mankind, by our sin and rebellion, has shut God out of the picture.
b. The key words in Rom 1:18
(1) Ungodliness—from a word which means “Not Godly” or “Not Reverent”
(2) Unrighteousness—“what is not right”
(3) Suppress—“to hold down”
c. Paul is summing up mankind’s violation of God’s law with two words, much as Christ summed up the law…Mat 22:36-40
(1) Godless—sins against the Truth of God’s nature and against God Himself
(a) These are sins against God Himself—and they reveal an attitude rebellion and irreverence against our Holy Father.
(b) These are violations of the first of the Great Commands—to love God with all our Heart, Soul, and Mind.
(2) Unrighteousness—the second category of sins falls under sins against our fellow man, sins that violate the second of the great commands. These sins are a natural consequence of a life lived without God.
b. And Paul says that in thus sinning against God and against our fellow men, we humans suppress the Truth.
c. Results of the revealed Wrath of God--God gives man enough rope to hang himself.
(a) God Gave them up......Rom 1:26-27
(b) God Gave them over......Rom 1:28
6. Redemption From the Wrath of God
a. As we will see in later lessons, God's wrath is the reason for the necessity of the Gospel (Rom 1:16-18)--atonement and salvation by grace are required because of God's wrath against sin.
b. For the believer, deliverance from wrath is our great hope (1 Thess. 1:10).
c. God's wrath is turned aside (propitiated) for believers by Christ’s Blood (Rom 3:25-26, 5:8-9).
d. God's wrath against sin and sinners is so great that He sent His Son to die in the place of those who were to be redeemed--no lesser sacrifice would do. If we deny wrath, we essentially deny the gospel.

7. Retribution by the Wrath of God—
a. Those who are unsaved shall share in the final retribution of the wrath of God against the rebellious race which repudiated Him and rejected the gracious offer of redemption through His Son:
b. Rev 16:1, 19:11-16, Rev 20:11-15

8. Overview: Romans 1:18-32 is a story of decline and ruin, and it has happened more than once in history since the Fall.
a. First: between Adam and the flood.
(1) Adam and Even knew God
(2) Abel, and Cain had knowledge of God.
(3) Seth was a man of God, and his son’s birth heralded a revival— Gen 4:26
(4) Enoch was a man of God—Heb 11:5
(5) Lamech, Noah’s father, was a man of God who prophesied over Noah--but what of the other children of Lamech? The Bible says nothing, but we know that only Noah, of Lamech’s children, was alive and faithful to God when the time of the flood came—Gen 5:28-29
(6) Except for Noah’s family, man was in a pit of absolute wickedness and sin—Gen 6:1-5
b. The second decline was between Noah and Babel—Noah had a commission from God: Gen 9:1—The human race was to multiply and to spread out and fill the earth--but what did they do instead? They found a great leader to follow, and they concocted a mission of their own, in violation of God’s commission—Gen 10:8, Gen 11:4

c. What are the essential elements of decline?
(1) Sin against the knowledge of God
(2) Not glorifying God
(3) Reliance upon human wisdom
(4) Results
(a) Idolatry
(b) God withdraws His restraints
(c) Acceptance of sexual perversion
(d) “All Hell” breaks loose in society
d. And Paul says that in thus sinning against God and against our fellow men, we humans suppress the Truth.
(1) What Truth?
(a) God, Creation, Purpose—Ps 19:1-6
(b) Conscience—Rom 2:16
(c) Law, sin, righteousness
(2) The Godlessness and wickedness of men suppress the Truth about how God wants life to be lived.