Objective 1
- At the end of this topic, you will be able to describe the nature of God's wrath and the way in which it is expressed.
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Lesson 2: Man's Need of Salvation (Rom 1:18-3:20)
Topic 1: Wrath of God Revealed (Continued)
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Romans 1:18 introduces the theme of this whole lesson: the need to be saved from the wrath of God and the power of sin.
Let us look now at two aspects or descriptions of God's wrath. The first describes its basic nature. The second tells us how it is expressed.
First, let's look at the wrath of God as the response of His holiness to wickedness and rebellion. Some people find it hard to believe that God can be wrathful or angry. They think that anger does not agree with the character of God. This is because they think of wrath in terms of human anger, which so often includes sinful passion. God's anger is not unreasonable or unjust.
Since God is holy, He is against all kinds of sin. He is good, so He opposes evil. Suppose a dog attacked your child. What emotion would you feel toward the dog? Would you stand there with a smile and watch the dog kill the child that you loved? Would it be right or wrong of you to become angry with the dog and fight against it to rescue your child? Sin destroys the sinner. God, who loves us all, does not want sin to destroy us. His very goodness makes Him react against those things that destroy His children.
You can see, then, that God's wrath is His personal response toward sin. God is holy and it is in accord with His nature to respond to sin and wickedness by manifesting His wrath. This response does not come from sinful passion, but rather from the very character of God, from His holiness.
The more we think of God's wrath as the natural reaction of His holiness toward sin, the better we can understand why no sinners will be allowed to enter His eternal home. What kind of heaven would it be if we entered there with our sins and became the constant objects of God's wrath?
A good and just God gives people the reward they deserve for what they do. This is the principle of retribution that must operate in a moral universe. Good deeds are rewarded. Evil deeds are punished. Did you notice this principle in Galatians (Gal 6:8)? In Romans, we see God's wrath manifested as the just payment that sinners deserve for their wickedness and rebellion. Death is the just payment for sin. Those who reject God, the source of life, face death. This is the just reward and natural consequence of rejecting life. The punishment fits the offense. Men reap what they sow. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23).
The wrath of God is the response of His holiness to sin, but we see it manifested in the principle of retribution, His just punishment of sinners. Watch for this principle in the rest of this chapter. Three times you will find it expressed in the words God gave them up.
