Romans 1:18-32 - Why we Need the Gospel Part 2

Last week I gave you a brief overview of Romans1:18-32. This week I will deal with verses 18-23. There will be another post that follows dealing with the remaining verses.

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. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

The Wrath of God:

Wrath is God’s anger directed toward sin. It is determined holy indignation, not emotional or uncontrolled. God is perfect in His wrath just as He is perfect in His love. God’s wrath is an expression of His holy love. If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the Cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son. Wrath is essential. When this is realized, we understand that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31), that He has the power to save and destroy (James 4:12), and He is to be feared, because He has the power to destroy both body and soul in hell (Luke 12:4 and Matthew10:28). He perfectly hates evil, and He perfectly loves righteousness. In evangelicalism today, this is forgotten. After all, what are we saved from? God’s love? No, we are saved from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9). The Puritan Thomas Watson said, “Is God so infinitely holy? Then how unlike to God sin is…No wonder, therefore, that God hates sin, being so unlike to Him, nay, so contrary to Him; it strikes at His holiness.” Wrath is the only logical response that a holy God could have toward sin and evil.

Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

God’s wrath is being revealed because we do not honor Him as God, we do not give Him thanks, and we have exchanged the glory that belongs to Him and are giving it to idolatry. What Calvin observed long ago is still true today: the human heart, is an idol factory. Ken Sande wrote, “An idol is not simply a statue of wood, stone or metal; it is anything we love and pursue in place of God, and can be referred to as a ‘false god’ or a ‘functional god.’ In biblical terms, an idol is something other than God that we set our hearts on (Luke 12:29; 1 Cor 10:6), that motivates us (1Cor 4:5), that masters or rules us (Ps119:133), or that we serve (Matt. 6:24)”. A.W. Tozer said, “Idolatry begins in the mind when we pervert or exchange the idea of God for something other than what He really is” Have you replaced God with something or someone else? Is your idol health, wealth, pleasure, prestige, sports, education, success, power, YOU?

Hopefully you are giving consideration to how this works in your life. There is a lot of application that we could get into here. I trust the Holy Spirit will convict.


I want to briefly touch on how this applies to worship. Does your worship honor God, give Him thanks and give Him glory, or is your worship centered on you? The self esteem gospel made popular by Robert Schuller is going strong in many churches today. Worship has been reduced to whatever can be done in order for people to feel good about themselves. The result of this kind of worship can be found in the seeker sensitive, emergent, and liberal church movements today. Hymns have been replaced with music that has little or no theological substance. Preaching has been reduced to topical sermons about things that are important to the “Community”. Missions have been reduced to digging water wells in Guatemala and building restaurants in the Sudan. The gospel message is non-existent and replaced with old, new age philosophies. Glory, honor and thanks to God have been given over to glory, honor and thanks to self. We get what we want and we certainly will get what we deserve.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “The chief end of man is to glorify God (Lev 10:3, 1 Chron 16:24-29; Psalms 148; Romans 15:5-6), and for him to fail to give God glory is the ultimate offence.

Is there any hope? The hope is found in verses 16-17. "The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith." Our only hope is that the righteousness God demands from us would be freely given to us, namely, God's own righteousness, to be received by faith. You may have this now because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, who paid the debt so that everyone who believes in him might be saved.




References:
English Standard Version Study Bible
New American Standard Bible
Logos
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Kittle and Freidrich)
Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament (Rienecker and Rogers)
Calvin’s Commentaries Volume XIX
McArthur New Testament Commentary Romans 1-8

Romans 1:18-32 God's wrath on unrighteousness

I plan for this to be a multi-part posting. This is the first installment and others will follow as I can get them written.

This past week I've heard a number people talk about how bad things are and how they are only going to get worse. People speculate that America as we know it will never be the same. Others talk about selling everything they own and moving to another country. These, like so many others, felt that the person elected to be president would make or break this country. One was called the messiah by some and the other a maverick, both promising changes. Who we elect for president will NOT fundamentally change the problems we experience in this country or this world. I point you to Romans 1:18-32.

Here we can read the indictment, the judgment, and the result of that judgment. Man has failed to give glory, honor and thanks to God, indictment. Therefore He has "given us up", judgment. The result of that judgment is man's wickedness to the extreme, a problem that cannot be fixed by a president. This is why politics and so many other things must be much less a priority and replaced with the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, the problem we have is a sin problem which can only be solved by repentance of our sins and putting our trust in Jesus Christ. This is no longer a nation that trusts God. It’s a nation that has turned away from God and has put their trust in man. In effect, what we have done is create an idol, a god to suit ourselves, and turned away from the God of the bible. If you are putting your trust and faith in President elect Obama you will be sadly disappointed. The same is true to those who thought that Senator McCain would do any better. As long as our dependence is on someone other than God we will continue in the direction we are heading and things will only get worse. Our dependence needs to be on the One who gave us life and continues to do so.

Indictment
Judgment
Result of the judgment

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness – Romans 1:18-32 (ESV)
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. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Lord willing, the next posts will expound further on the text above. Potential titles:

The wrath of God
The Indictment
God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity
God gave them up to dishonorable passions
God gave them up to a debased mind
Now for the good news

The Day After the Elections of 2008 - James White

Psalm 2
1Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves,and the rulers take counsel together,against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apartand cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my Kingon Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree:The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of ironand dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;be warned, O rulers of the earth.11 Serve the Lord with fear,and rejoice with trembling.12 Kiss the Son,lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.



From Alpha and Omega Ministries

John Piper's Heart in the 2008 Election

Psalm 93

The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;

The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength;

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

Your throne is established from of old;

You are from Everlasting.

Ten Indictments Against the Modern Church - Paul Washer

Preached Wednesday, October 22nd at the Revival Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul Washer delivers a urgent appeal to the Christians and Churches in North America that many have been believing a false gospel and have false assurance of their salvation. He lists 10 indictments against the modern Church system in America. We need a reformation and revival of a biblical standard! It will not happen unless we stop what we are doing and turn towards God and God alone. The sermon is long but it will provide enough for you to meditate on for months to come.

1. A practical denial of the sufficiency of scripture.
2. An ignorance of God.
3. A failure to address man’s malady.
4. An ignorance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
5. An ignorance of the doctrine of regeneration.
6. An unbiblical gospel invitation.
7. Ignorance regarding the nature of the church.
8. A lack of loving and compassionate church discipline.
9. A silence on separation – A lack of teaching on holiness.
10. Sociology and psychology has replaced the scriptures.

You can listen to the sermon here.

Transcript part 1
Transcript part 2
Transcript part 3

Paul Washer at Deeper - The Idolatry of Decisional "Evangelism"

"The greater part of America claim to be born again and they are not."

The Valley of Dry Bones - Ezekiel 37

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

It is Not Death to Die - Sovereign Grace

It is not Death to Die

It is not death to die

To leave this weary road

And join the saints who dwell on high

Who’ve found their home with God

It is not death to close

The eyes long dimmed by tears

And wake in joy before Your throne

Delivered from our fears

Chorus

O Jesus, conquering the grave

Your precious blood has power to save

Those who trust in You

Will in Your mercy find

That it is not death to die

It is not death to fling

Aside this earthly dust

And rise with strong and noble wing

To live among the just

It is not death to hear

The key unlock the door

That sets us free from mortal years

To praise You evermore

Original words by Henri Malan (1787–1864). Translated by George Bethune (1847).

Music, chorus, and alternate words by Bob Kauflin

MP3 Download

If God is so powerful and so good, why does bad stuff happen? Voddie Baucham

If this is your question then you don't understand the issue.

9/11 and My Sin

I remember exactly where I was on September 11th 2001. I was working in Rhourd El Baguel, Algeria when a friend came to my office to tell me that an airplane had just flown into one of the twin towers in New York City. The thought of such a thing was beyond belief but it was true. Every year since I think about that day, my thoughts, fears and a hatred I had for people who would do such an evil thing.

A thought comes to mind as we get close to 9/11. When I recall the events of that day and the days afterward, I think that the evil acts of that day are no different than the evil that I commit when I sin against a holy, holy, holy God. What I saw on 9/11 gives me a glimpse of what my own sin is like. It’s evil and it’s against the one who gives me life and who has provided for me, though his Son, forgiveness of my sin. What Jesus bore on the cross was my sin, my very own sin and He died as a once for all time sacrifice so that I can know forgiveness.

Romans 12:9 says “Abhor what is evil”. The word “Abhor” means to despise, to hate bitterly. It expresses a strong feeling of horror and contains the idea of separation.

Sin is not cute or funny or to be lightly regarded or excused. Sin is despicable and deadly, and God’s instructions to His people go past that of not sinning ourselves, but commands us to detest, loathe and hate sin. It is not to be tolerated or danced around or chucked under the chin, as would a mother pet a favored child. For sin is insidious and to be greatly feared. Make no mistake, sin is evil.

Do we see our sin properly?

Do we see our sin the same way God sees our sin?

Take this 9/11 to consider your sin and what it really is and how you should really feel about it.

Father, help me to feel the same way about my sin as I felt about the evil I saw on 9/11/2001. Father, help me to see my sin the same way as you see my sin. Amen.

Yet I Sin

Eternal Father,
Thou are good beyond all thought,
But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;
My lips are ready to confess, but my heart is slow to feel, and my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to thee; break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.
Unmask to me sin's deformity, that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.
My faculties have been a weapon of revolt against thee; as a rebel I have misused my strength, and served the foul adversary of they kingdom.
Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly,
Grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard, that evil paths are wretched paths, that to depart from thee is to lose all good.
I have seen the purity and beauty of they perfect law, the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns, the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls, yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.
Thy loving Spirit strives within me, brings me Scripture warnings, speaks in startling providences, allures by secret whispers, yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt, impiously resent, grieve, and provoke him to abandon me.
All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them cry pardon.
Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief that trembles and fears, yet ever trusts and loves, which is ever powerful, and ever confident;
Grant that through the tears of repentance I may see more clearly the brightness and glories of the saving cross.

The Valley of Vision

Prayer by C. H. Spurgeon December 30, 1877:

"Lord, there are so many today who are running away from the truth. Oh, that You would be pleased to speak by Your Spirit that Your word may be known. Lord, hold us fast to the truth of Your word, bind us to it. May we not be ashamed of the truth of Your word but proclaim it boldly without compromise. May we not wish to be thought cultured, nor aim to keep in step with the times. May we be side by side with You, O bleeding Savior; and be content to be rejected, be willing to take up unpopular truth, and to hold fast despised teachings of sacred Scripture to the end.
Oh make us faithful unto death."

John Bunyan - Scripture Memory - Pilgrim's Progress - John Piper

Three times Bunyan says that the key was in Christians "chest pocket" or simply his "chest." I take this to mean that Christian had hidden it in his heart by memorization and that it was now accessible in prison for precisely this reason. This is how the promises sustained and strengthened Bunyan. He was filled with Scripture. Everything he wrote was saturated with Bible. He poured over his English Bible, which he had most of the time. This is why he can say of his writings, "I have not for these things fished in other men's waters; my Bible and Concordance are my only library in my writings." Charles Spurgeon put it like this: "He had studied our Authorized Version . . . till his whole being was saturated with Scripture; and though his writings . . . continually make us feel and say, 'Why, this man is a living Bible!' Prick him anywhere; and you will find that his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak with out quoting a text, for his soul is full of the Word of God."

Bunyan reverenced the Word of God and trembled at the prospect of dishonoring it. "Let me die . . . with the Philistines (Judg. 16:30) rather than deal corruptly with the blessed word of God." This, in the end, is why Bunyan is still with us today rather than disappearing into the mist of history. He is with us and ministering to us because he reverenced the Word of God and was so permeated by it that his blood is "Bibline" and that "the essence of the Bible flows from him."

Jimmy Finds Real Life - Part 2

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound - Romans 5:20

Jimmy Finds Real Life - Rev J. W. Lawless Jr

My sister sent this to me today and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. The first time I heard my dad preach was on skid row in downtown Ft Worth. The first time I handed out a tract was with my dad while he preached open air. My dad was attending seminary preparing for the ministry and I was in 2nd grade. After he graduated and took his first church in Central, NM he continued to preach open air but this time it was a family affair. We sang, my dad preached and we passed out tracts. I remember these times like they were yesterday. Below is a story my dad wrote. I will deliver it in 2 parts over the next few days.

Is He just a ticket to heaven or do you truly love Him?

I found the following posted on the Slice of Laodicea blog.

Is Jesus Christ supremely valuable to you? Or is He just a ticket to heaven?

Yet I Sin - Valley of Vision

Eternal Father,

Thou art good beyond all thought,
But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;

My lips are ready to confess,
but my heart is slow to feel,
and my ways reluctant to amend.

I bring my soul to thee;
break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.

Unmask to me sin’s deformity,
that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.

My faculties have been a weapon of revolt
against thee;
as a rebel I have misused my strength,
and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom.

Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly,
Grant me to know that the way of transgressors
is hard,that evil paths are wretched paths,
that to depart from thee is to lose all good.

I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law,
the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns,
the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls,
yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.

Thy loving Spirit strives within me,
brings me Scripture warnings,
speaks in startling providences,
allures by secret whispers,
yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt,
impiously resent, grieve,
and provoke him to abandon me.

All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them
cry pardon.

Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief
that trembles and fears,
yet ever trusts and loves,
which is ever powerful, and ever confident;

Grant that through the tears of repentance
I may see more clearly the brightness
and glories of the saving cross.

-Valley of Vision

Baptism Service - Curtis McKnight

Yesterday, Saturday , was a very special day for my family. Curtis, my son-in-law made his public professon of faith and was baptized. Below is his testamony and the video of his baptism.

I considered myself a good person when I was growing up. I have never been to jail. I have never done illegal drugs. I made good grades in school, went to college, have a loving wife. By this worlds standards I am an upstanding citizen. About 3 years ago, my family and I started going to church, and I was invited to a bible study where my eyes were opened little by little to truth about how good I was. God’s word showed me that I am a sinner in a need of a Savior. I have stolen things, no matter how small it is I am still a thief in God’s eyes. I have looked upon another woman with lust and in God’s eyes that is committing adultery. I have lied and taken the Lords name vein. I was headed to one place and that was hell. God has worked on me in the past 3 years through His word and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by the Grace of God that I have been given faith and I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. His sacrifice was payment for my transgressions. He is sufficient for all things. Faith has produced repentance and obedience, and today I am filled with joy to profess publicly my faith in Jesus Christ.

SBC Church Sign - Midland, Texas

I saw the following sign on an SBC billboard here in Midland, Texas:

“Jesus died for myspace in heaven”

No!

He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

He was despised,

We did not esteem Him.

Our griefs He Himself bore,

Our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

Chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

By His scourging we are healed.
God has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief;

He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

He poured out Himself to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.

Isaiah53

Jesus died because His sacrifice was the only way that I/you might know forgiveness of our sin, it was the only way we could be justified before God. Friends there is no "MySpace" in heaven without repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

This is the sort of seeker friendly evangelism that will have many believing that they are saved when indeed they are not. They will wake up someday to their eternal shock.

The Need for Sound Discernment…on a Golf Course

From the Slice of Laodicea blog:

When it comes to the importance of warning believers of false teaching, I have often used the analogy of a toddler or preschooler finding a jug of anti-freeze. It looks pretty and blue, sort of like that shocking colored Gatorade or Kool-aid in the refrigerator. It’s the same consistency. It comes packaged in the same kind of plastic container. Why not drink it?

Continue reading here.

The longer you stay away from God... - CH Spurgeon

“The longer you stay away from God, the more deeply you will sin. If you keep on in the wrong path, not only will you have sinned the more, but that sin will have taken a more terrible hold upon you. Habits begin like cobwebs, but they end like chains of iron. A man might more readily have swept away the temptation when it was new to him than he will be able to do when, having yielded to it many a time, the devil has learned the way to master him. May God help you to flee from sin as soon as you perceive it, lest you be caught in its net of steel and be held in it to your
eternal destruction!”—

The disease of sin... - CH Spurgeon

“The disease of sin is everywhere in the realm of manhood and it is all the more certainly proved to be everywhere because so many people cannot see it! This is why you cannot see sin in yourselves—it has made all the various faculties of your soul to mortify so that you cannot feel the pains which this mortal disease would otherwise have caused you. Thus your heart has lost any tenderness that it may have had, naturally, and your conscience is seared as with a hot iron so that it cannot warn you of the mischief within, but prophesies smooth things, while all is in a state of ruin, destruction and dismay—and will be so forever unless God, by His Grace, shall work a miraculous change.”—