As our discussion last Sunday had some questions regarding how and where the wrath of God is shown I thought the following was appropriate to post. See you Sunday!
1. (18a) The greatest peril facing the human race: the wrath of God.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
a. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven: The idea is simple but sobering - God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against the human race, and the human race deserves the wrath of God.
b. We sometimes object to the idea of the wrath of God because we equate it with human anger, which is motivated by selfish personal reasons or by a desire for revenge. We must not forget that the wrath of God is completely righteous in character.
“It is unnecessary, and it weakens the biblical concept of the wrath of God, to deprive it of its emotional and affective character . . . to construe God’s wrath as simply in his purpose to punish sin or to secure the connection between sin and misery is to equate wrath with its effects and virtually eliminate wrath as a movement within the mind of God. Wrath is the holy revulsion of God’s being against that which is the contradiction of his holiness.” (Murrary)
c. In Romans 1:16, Paul spoke of salvation - but what are we saved from? First and foremost, we are saved from the wrath of God that we righteously deserve.
“Unless there is something to be saved from, there is no point in talking about salvation.” (Morris)
d. In this portion of the letter (Romans 1:18-3:20), Paul’s goal is not to proclaim the good news, but to demonstrate the absolute necessity of the good news of salvation from God’s righteous wrath.
The wrath of God is not revealed in the gospel, but in the facts of human experience.
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