Romans 1:18 - The Revelation of God's Wrath

Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Message: Acknowledging the sin in my life, the ungodliness, the unrighteousness, and suppressing truth.

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying:

Verse 17 mentioned that in the gospel or the salvation of sinners, "righteousness is revealed," and now verse 18 shows the wrath of God also being revealed. Righteousness is by faith. Wrath is for those who suppress the truth. Righteousness by the law is ungodliness and unrighteousness. It is men who suppress the truth living in unrighteousness.

Thus far, the first 17 verses were all about the gospel and now in verse 18, we turn the corner and speak of the wrath of God. Everywhere today there is mention over and over of the love of God. It has taken on idol-like status today in the church and the world. In the church there is such an emphasis on grace in our messages, which in itself isn't bad, but grace is only of meaning and value in relation to sin. Why is the subject of sin not being address, it seems? Maybe it is and I'm off.

The word for wrath here is "orge." It pictures someone who is holding in his anger until the one day when it is unleashed. Sometimes the wrath of God is quick and sudden, but here the wrath of God is built up, perhaps slowly, and at some point, the dam will burst.

The 10 commandments can be broken down into 3 sin categories:

• sins against God (1st 4), 
• sins against mankind (5-9) 
• sins against self (10).

In some ways, in this verse I see the same distinctions.

• Wrath is revealed against all ungodliness. Ungodliness is the sin I commit in my relationship with God. My goal is to be trained in godliness (I Timothy 4:7-8). I want my life to be in praise to God, where He is the only God, I'm not trying to replace Him, I honor His Name and I respect his commands and rules. Those are the 1st 4 commandments. I am to take God and what He says seriously. 
• And then my life needs to be lived out toward others. The problem stated in verse 18 is unrighteousness. This is "the unrighteousness of men" or the unrighteousness toward my fellow men. It is not honoring my parents and then murder, adultery, stealing, and lying. 
• And finally it is "suppressing the truth in unrighteousness." It is me knowing the right way and instead going a different way. It is the sin of my mind. It is the thoughts of my mind that hurt others.  

To me, that last one is so key because the Bible tells us that God has given us a conscience. I know the difference between right and wrong. I believe we have been given a mind of Christ. I know inside there is something greater than me. The evidence for this is overwhelming, but I squash it down. I ignore what He has given me and instead think my way is the best way. It is here that the real culprit lies. I spend too much time suppressing the truth of God. There are people in my life who have as their sole ambition to deny what they know is true because the they have convinced themselves it is not rational. Mankind wants to believe so bad that they are okay before God.

Promise: Unless we know God's holiness, we will not know the gravity of our sin or the majesty of His character.