Open your Bibles this morning
to Romans chapter 1. Our study this morning will be
on the 18th verse of this chapter. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. We'll not go any further than
that text this morning. Actually, beginning with the
19th verse, through the 20th verse of the
3rd chapter, that great section of scripture is only an expansion
of two words that are used in the 18th verse. Those words are
ungodliness and unrighteousness. We are beginning a series of
messages that are most difficult to bring. from many points of
view. However, every man of God is
obligated to declare the whole counsel of God. I especially
like an illustration that Dr. Barnhouse gave on the 18th verse. In commenting on the wrath of
God, he said, suppose a young man were to apply for a job at
Western Union. In other words, his responsibility
would be to deliver messages. When the young man applied at
the office, he told the person who was in
charge of the hiring that it would be impossible for him to
deliver messages that would bring sorrow. messages that would cause
people to be disturbed. He said, suppose that the young
man were to say, I can only deliver messages that cheer people up,
messages that make people happy. Then the question was, would
he be hired? Absolutely not. God has never
called a man to preach the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ without
conveying to that individual his responsibility to declare
the whole counsel of God. He is not only to speak on such
subjects as grace, mercy, and love, but he is also obligated
to speak on such subjects as judgment and wrath. After having studied the four
words and coming to the 17th verse, for therein, that is in
the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith as it is written that just shall live by faith. Paul then
begins the discussion of the subject of man's depraved condition,
showing that every person outside of Jesus Christ is unrighteous,
and being unrighteous he cannot stand in the presence of the
righteous and holy God. Thus, it becomes necessary for
a righteousness to be provided. that righteousness has been provided
in the death of Jesus Christ. That righteousness which has
been accomplished in the death of Christ has been revealed to
you and me in the gospel. Just as the gospel is the revelation
of God's righteousness, notice now the tense, so the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Don't look at the subject of
God's wrath as something future. It is also something present. It is true there is to be a manifestation
of God's wrath the like of which the world has never seen during
the tribulation period. that is described beginning with
the 6th chapter of Revelation and takes us through the 19th
chapter. There is also to be the wrath
of God that is to be poured out upon individuals who shall be
cast into the lake of fire. There they will spend eternity
separated from God. The wrath about which Paul is
speaking here in Romans 1 18 is not that future manifestation,
that extraordinary manifestation of God's wrath either during
the tribulation or in the place prepared for the devil and his
angel. He speaks of this in the present
tense, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. John Murray,
who teaches at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, has given a
very good comment on this 18th verse, and I quote, The wrath
of God stands in obvious antithesis to the righteousness of God.
This fact proves that the righteousness of God is not the attribute of
justice, but the righteousness provided in the gospel to meet
the need to which the wrath of God is the manifestation. The
justice of God being retributed in reference to sin would not
be the provision for escape from wrath." The need of righteousness is
proved by the 18th verse. And this is what we are beginning
to show in our study. verses 18 of chapter 1 through
verse 20 of chapter 3, man's need of righteousness. In the
third chapter we're told there is none righteous, no not one. And since there is none righteous,
then a righteousness must be provided by the Lord in order
that a person might be clothed in that righteousness, thus standing
before the righteous and holy God. The gospel has a divine origin
because there is a human need. After we have completed our study
of this section of scripture, we will then be in a position
to have a greater appreciation for the righteousness of God
that is revealed in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. And that subject will begin with
the 21st verse of Romans chapter 3. The introduction to Romans
is now over. The announcement of the gospel
has been made. Now begins the argument, as someone
has called it, about the case that God has against
man. Before there can be a remedy,
as we expressed last Sunday evening, there must be a diagnosis. And before the diagnosis, there
must be a case history. We're looking now at the case
history against man, beginning with the 18th verse of Romans
1, and it does not stop until we look at the 20th verse, all
men stand guilty before God. They stand guilty before God
because there is none righteous, no, not one. This morning I'm
going to divide this text of scripture into three parts. I
will give to you the outline, but after I've given to you the
outline, I'm not going to spend so much time in developing the
outline as I will in expounding the subjects that are contained
in this text. For your benefit, those of you who take notes,
I've divided this text of scripture into the following major points. First of all, the wrath of God
is a principle, not a passion. The wrath that is spoken of in
this text is not a passion, it is a principle. If you don't
remember anything else that I shall say this morning, please do not
forget that statement. Second, the wrath of God is revealed,
is revealed. Please note the present tense. And finally, the wrath of God
is revealed against, and two things are mentioned, ungodliness
and unrighteousness. Then he goes on to say, men who
hold are suppressed the truth in on righteousness. The question
may have already come to your mind, what does the word truth speak
of in this text? To what does the word truth refer? There are differences of opinion
as to what the word truth really refers to in this particular
text. Primarily, let me say, It refers to the objective revelation
of God in creation. The context will bear this out.
For instance, beginning with the 19th verse, because that
which may be known of God is manifest in them, And the preposition
in is not a good translation, it should be to them. Proof of
that is the very next phrase, for God hath showed it unto them. You see, the revelation of God
in nature must be distinguished from the revelation of God in
Christ or the revelation of God in Holy Scripture. Paul is talking
about the revelation of God in nature. Now, this revelation
is subjective as well as objective, but I'm not dealing with that
particular point this morning except to say, when Paul made
the statement, because that which may be known of God is manifest
to them, or that's the way it should read, to them, because
God hath showed it unto them, he goes on to prove that point
And you remember how the Apostle Paul often expresses himself
for, notice the very first word of the 20th verse. For the invisible
things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. He's talking
about primarily the revelation of God in creation. Now, the
people about whom Paul is speaking in Romans 1, 18-32 are persons
who have been made inexcusable before God as the result of the
objective revelation of God in nature. And such revelation is
sufficient to render every man under the canopy of heaven inexcusable
before God. Now, I must pause to make a statement.
I'm hoping that you parents who have unsaved children, loved
ones, will make every effort to get them here for the next
several weeks because of the nature of the
subjects that we will be discussing. You might think that today God's
wrath is not being manifested as it has in times past. For
instance, The world is not being destroyed by water as in the
days of Noah. The Red Sea is not being opened
up and destroying people in the same sense that the Egyptians
were destroyed. Cities are not being destroyed
in the same way that Solomon Gomorrah were destroyed. The
earth is not opening up in the same sense to destroy great multitudes
of people like Korah and his devotees were destroyed. God
is not miraculously destroying 185,000 persons as he did Sennacherib
and his army. But beloved, this does not mean
that God's wrath is not being made manifest today. That would
have shocked you and it'll probably shock you. How do you think God's
wrath is being manifested today? Paul says it is being revealed
even now. For the wrath of God is revealed
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth and
unrighteousness or suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Do
you know how that God is doing it today? Verses 24, 26, and 28 will prove to you how that God's
wrath is now being revealed. Listen, if you will, please,
to the 24th verse. We need to look at a couple of
verses that precede that text. When they knew God, they glorified
him not as God, neither were thankful. but became vain in
their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of
the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Now
can you take the next text? Wherefore God also gave them
up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts. to
dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Today the wrath of God is being
revealed, how? Even in the realm of religion. Does that shock you? And beloved, I'll prove my point
before we will have finished our discussion of these verses. seeking to show you what all
is involved in this portion of Scripture. I've been working
for about five weeks in preparation of a series of messages on this
passage, verses 18 through 32. I said the wrath of God is even
now being revealed, even in the area of human religion. These persons are not conscious
of it. It grieves my own heart when I hear people who are not
as well informed as they should be in the Holy Scriptures, hear
an individual make a good statement or two and then they say, well,
that's great, they believe. Believe what? Beloved, you cannot
take just a statement or two by any individual at face value. You must keep questioning the
individual to see what that person really believes concerning the
basic and fundamental principles of God's word. When you look at the 26th verse,
for this cause God gave them up on the vow of passion. I'm showing you that the wrath
of God is being revealed right now in giving people up to uncleanness. This is a manifestation of wrath.
When you see young people and older people as well, in fact
the time has come you can't even turn on your television without
seeing something suggestive or hearing God's name in vain. The
other night my wife and I got home after the service, we turned
on to get the news just about 15 minutes before 10 o'clock,
and a person blankety blank blank, I said, am I hearing correctly?
My wife said, you are hearing correctly. I'm getting kind of
hard of hearing, and I guess it would be a blessing if I completely
lose it. Then you know a lot of things you won't hear. But all of the promiscuity that
we see today, this is not a thing in the world but the manifestation
of God's wrath right now. I want you to keep this in mind
because we'll continue to build on this thought. Now notice what
he says. For this cause God gave them
up on the vile affection. Now this doesn't need in the
exposition, you know what this means, for even their women did
change the natural use into that which is against nature. And even the man also, leaving
the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one to another,
men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in
themselves that recompense of error which was neat." Now listen
as we close. Three times God gave them up. And the same Greek word is used
in all three passages, God gave them up. Now the 28th verse,
and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which
are not convenient. Beloved, what I am saying in
simple language is that today we're witnessing a great manifestation
of God's wrath in that he is giving up many people even here
in America to uncleanness. This is it. And so what you read
beginning with the 19th verse through the 32nd verse of this
first chapter, is only an expansion, an interpretation, of the present
revelation of God's wrath. Now let's look at the text. First
of all, the wrath of God is a principle, not a passion. Not a passion. There are two words in the Greek
language translated wrath. One word is thumos. It means
a panning rage, a vehement surge of anger. This word indicates
a more agitated condition of the feelings, an outburst of
wrath from inward indignation. That is not the word that is
used here in Romans 1 18. The second Greek word translated
wrath is argeis. Argeis signifies an indignation
that has risen slowly and becomes more subtle. I like what Shedd
in his systematic theology has said about the word argeis. He
said, and I quote, "'Arge' is not a rage, but the wrath of reason and law.'"
End of quote. It's not a rage, but it is the
wrath of reason and law. So the word arge is the word
that Paul chose. to describe the revelation of
God's wrath during this present dispensation. The word speaks
of active emotion. Active emotion. This word is
used in the sense of a flower bud that swells, cracks slowly,
and then bursts into bloom. It is described as the wrath of God, of course,
that is not only bursting forth now, but will ultimately burst
forth in the final manifestation of his wrath in the distant future. When we look at the word wrath
in the 18th verse, wrath and love are complementary attributes. Please observe what I've said.
You cannot believe in the love of God if you do not believe
in the wrath of God. Don't tell me. Any more than
you can believe in a heaven unless you believe in a hell. To believe
in one necessitates belief in the other. And I'm going to prove
my point before I will have finished. the discussion of the statement
that I've made, wrath and love are complementary attributes. You can ask the average church
member today, what is God's chief attribute? And the answer that
you will get 99 times out of 100, if not 999 times out of
1000, is love. But beloved, that just is not so. Holiness is God's chief attribute,
and it is the holiness of God that gives beauty to all of its
attributes. It is holiness that gives beauty
to power. It is holiness that gives beauty
to mercy. It is holiness that gives beauty
to love. It is holiness that gives beauty even to judgment
or wrath. God is just as perfect in wrath
as he is in love. He is just as perfect in judgment
as he is in mercy. There is no imperfection with
God. Imperfection resides in the mind
of depraved man. Don't tell me that you can really
embrace a God that loves righteousness without at the
same time hating unrighteousness. Now let's make a personal application
of that. God is so holy, he is so righteous,
he cannot approve of that which is unholy or unrighteous. That's
the kind of God you and I as Christians love and adore. He's absolutely holy. I said
absolutely. What about the Christian? The
person who has been reconciled by the grace of God to this holy
God, loves righteousness, but at the same time he hates unrighteousness. And if there is not a hatred
for ungodliness, for sin, then that person has never passed
from death into life. Let me now quote the text that
I've already prepared an outline for tomorrow evening. In the face of all of the apostasy
that Timothy was subjected to, that was taking place even in
the time of the Apostle Paul, that apostasy which existed then
has accelerated, it has intensified, and it's even more apparent today
than even in Paul's day. But in the face of this apostasy,
Paul said, nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. What is the meaning of the word
foundation? What do you think it means? Some say the word foundation
refers to the church. I don't believe that. Some good
commentators say it, but I don't believe it. Just because they
say it doesn't make it so. Any more than if I say something,
if it isn't based on biblical truth, it just isn't so. The foundation of God refers
to nothing other than the eternal purpose of God. It doesn't make
any difference what men do. It doesn't make any difference
how many persons are apostatized. The foundation, the purpose of
God remains steadfast. It literally means remain steady. This should give great comfort
to you and me in these apostate days when we're seeing many persons
who make right professions of faith and they go along for a
while, but yet when the whole counsel of God is expounded sooner
or later, we know that they can't take the whole counsel of God.
They can't take the revelation of themselves. They do not want
to see themselves as they really are. They've been deceived and
they want to continue to be deceived. And the devil is the great deceiver. But beloved, you and I, as Christians, we not only love righteousness,
but we hate unrighteousness. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God's stand is sure, are steady, having the seal. And that seal
has two sides to it. One is the Lord knoweth them
that are his. I believe in eternal election.
I believe in predestination. But beloved, I've seen a lot
of folk who believe in those great truths, who believe in
them in the same sense that the Jews, the unsaved Jews, believed
in national election during the time of our Lord. If you and I really believe in
those truths, those truths make a profound difference in our
beliefs and actions. And actions are always the result
of our beliefs. If we do not think correctly,
we do not act correctly. If we think correctly, then we
act correctly. This is biblical. This cannot
be refuted. Let's see the other side. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. That's on one side. You know what the other side
of that seal is? Let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. You and I cannot love God without
hating the things that God hates. And there is no such thing as
perfect hatred. You notice the expression I use?
That's a biblical expression. That's found in the 139th division
of the psalm. And there can never be perfect
hatred outside of Jesus Christ. I'm saying that love and wrath
are complementary attributes. I forgot to start the watch this
morning, so I don't have a button in my mouth, so I don't know
when to stop. So I'll stop when I think I ought
to. I'll watch my other watch. perfect hatred is a principle
and not an emotion. Now, there is a difference between
the wrath of God and wrath that exists in man. Listen to this. In man, wrath is an exciting
passion. It shakes him to the very center
of his being. In God, wrath is a principle. It makes no ripple on the infinite
rivers of his holy being. Will you think about that? That is an exciting passion in
man. But with God, it's a holy principle. Where we are shaken, God is not
shaken. He isn't disturbed. In man, wrath is a malignant
passion. It burns with a desire to make
its object miserable. In other words, if you and I
are not careful, I'm not talking about perfect hatred now in Jesus
Christ. If we become angry with someone,
what do we want to do? We want to do that person harm. In God, Wrath is the natural
reaction of divine justice. There is no evil disposition in God. Number three, in man,
wrath is a painful passion. The man who treasures anger inflicts
even greater punishment upon himself. Did you know that's
true? I might become angry with you, and if I become so angry
with you that it upsets me, I am actually doing more harm to myself
than I am to the person about whom and for whom my anger is
intended. You know this to be true. Many times when a parent disciplines
the child, the parent becomes angry. I know I've been along
this line. Sometimes the parent doesn't discipline the child
maybe until the parent becomes angry. But then if that be true, I say,
then actually the parent does more harm to himself than he
does to the child. In man, wrath is a painful passion. That isn't true in God. In God,
it is a necessary principle. Nothing disturbs the peace of
the great and holy God whom we serve. Number four, in man, wrath is
a selfish passion. Man's wrath is excited because
something has occurred which has affected him personally. We've all experienced this. There
isn't a one of us, there is not a person in this auditorium who
has not had this experience in his life. In God, wrath is an unselfish
principle. No creature can injure God. Now there's something we can
learn from this. That is, wrath being a divine principle in God,
not a passion. You and I could neither esteem
nor love God if we supposed that he viewed equally truth and lies. If he viewed equally honesty
and dishonesty. If he viewed equally cruelty
and benevolence. What I'm showing is that wrath
is as much a part of the character of God as love. You don't very often hear messages
on this portion of scripture. Three things that I'd like to
leave with you before we go from this point to the second point
in the discussion of the 18th verse. This truth, first of all,
corrects a theological error. The error is that Christ's death
was an appeasement of divine vengeance. Do you believe that?
Do you believe that the death of Jesus Christ was simply an
appeasement of divine vengeance? Let's go a little further. Let's
see the other side. Let's see just what all is involved
in this subject. Christ's death, beloved, according
to the word of God, was the effect, not the cause, of God's love. The death of Jesus Christ was
what? The effect of God's love, not
the cause of his love. He loved you and me before the
foundation of the world. He loved us in Christ. And the
effect of that love was the sending of his Son who
died for you and for me and for all whom the Father gave to him
in the covenant of redemption. This truth, number two, supplies
a terrible warning to sinners. Be sure your sins will find you
out. In most cases, sins are found
out in this life, but if not, they'll be found out in the life
to come. So every person can rest assured
of this fact, his sins will ultimately find him out. And three, this truth urges the
necessity of regeneration. The only way to avoid the wrath
of God is to avoid sin, and the only way to avoid sin is through
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ being applied by the sovereign
Spirit of God in regeneration. Man does not live up to his own
principles. Even unsaved people have some
principles, but they don't even live up to their own But God
is his own principle. God is his own law. And that's why arbitrariness
can never be attributed to God as it is attributed to man. Did
you notice what I said? Arbitrariness can never be attributed
to God as it is to you and me. Can we illustrate that? If I
were to speak to you this morning, and make a statement in direct
contradiction to this book which I hold in my hand, that means
what? That I am rejecting, I am refusing
to believe the one and only standard by which my statements are to
be guided. Therefore, I would be speaking arbitrarily. But
since God is his own law, you cannot attribute arbitrariness
to God. Whenever he speaks, he's his own law. So when someone
says to you, if I believe in the great truths that you claim
to believe, then I would have to believe in the arbitrariness
of God. They don't even understand the meaning of the word arbitrary,
as it is related to God. Now the second point. The wrath
of God is revealed. Is revealed. emphasizing the
two words, is revealed. As the righteousness of God is
revealed in action and operation, so the righteousness of God is
effectively operative in the world of mankind. The wrath of
God cannot be restricted, as I've already stated, to the extraordinary
precursory of wrath. For instance, during the tribulation
period or the final outpouring of his wrath upon all who shall
be cast into the bottomless pit. There have been manifestations
of wrath such as the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction
of Babylon, but as I've already stated to you this morning, in
the light of the context, the wrath of God is now being revealed
in God giving men up to uncleanness. And he gives them up to uncleanness
when they apostatize from objective revelation. I want to show you
that persons today have a greater responsibility than individuals
who have only been exposed to the revelation of God in nature.
Let me illustrate it. Here is a person in the darkest
jungles of Africa or some other country. He has never been exposed
to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only revelation of God that
he has ever had is the revelation of God in nature. We'll get into
a study of this in a subsequent message. not only in connection
with this passage in Romans 1, but also in that great psalm,
Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory
of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. I want you to know that that
revelation never ceases. But the person who is exposed
to the natural revelation of God in nature, is inexcusable
before God. But what about persons in America
today? It is true that many have never
heard the true gospel, but they at least have heard and they
embrace some biblical expressions. And by the very fact that they
do believe and embrace some biblical expressions, that makes them
even more responsible. And so their apostasy, now here's
a warning for every unsaved person in this auditorium this morning.
I must say it because it is the truth of God's word and you must
be brought face to face with it. Just as I was brought face
to face with it many years ago. You are a responsible individual. Now, if you have been exposed
as a result of a teaching from your father and mother, or from
a pastor to which you have been exposed. You know certain biblical
expressions. Therefore, your moral standard
as the result of what you have heard concerning the Decalogue
would have to be higher. You know that the Bible says,
thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not cut.
And since you've heard these things and you know that they
are truth, there's even an inner witness as to the reality and
the factuality of these things. Now if you turn from those things,
here it is, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools
and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man. Do you know what it literally
means when it says that God gave them over to a reprobate mind? Nus ad hocimos. Did you know
when you go back, the word adhocimos, for reprobate, is also used in
that same text. And so, since they do not like
to retain the knowledge of God in their thinking, in their reasoning,
God gives them over to nous adhocimos, to a reprobate mind. That means
a mind that is void of right thinking, correct reasoning. When you talk to many people
today, when you see and hear things even on television, you
know, beloved, that many of them have been given over to a reprobate
mind because their thinking is not even rational. It's irrational. That's an awful thought, isn't
it? But, beloved, this is the teaching
of Holy Scripture, and you and I see it. We know it. We know
it. The wrath of God is perpetually
revealed. It is not something that is revealed
and then not revealed. It is perpetually revealed. It
is revealed. This is the reason that our first
parents fled from the presence of the Lord in Genesis 3. As
soon as they sinned and they knew that they were naked, they
fled to hide themselves from the presence of God. Genesis
3, verse 8. This is the reason that Judas Iscariot hastened
to hang himself. Yes, conscience has compelled
many men to reveal their secret sins. No torture could extort
such confessions. God's wrath is perpetually revealed
in the general moral sentiment of mankind. Society, for instance, has combined
for the purpose of maintaining private rights by public powers. And this is what Paul teaches
in Romans 13, the power to be ordained of God. The penal laws of punishment
are mediums through which the wrath of God is revealed. These things are ordained of
God. The perpetual revelation of God's
wrath is both preparatory and predictive. Is revealed, look at the statement,
means to uncover. It means to bring to light, hence
to make known. A thing is said to be revealed
when it becomes known by its effects. It is thus that the thought of
the heart is revealed when there is an
expression from man because that which comes out really reveals
the character of man. Out of the heart proceed all
kinds of evils. Men know the righteous judgment
of God. They know that persons who practice
sin are worthy of death. When you think about that statement
for a moment and then look at the 32nd verse. Who knowing the
judgment of God that they which commit or practice such things
are worthy of death not only do the same but have pleasure
in them that do them. So man knows, he knows that there
is a righteous wrath against sin. The human race has always had
and indwelling sense of God's justice. Let me prove that to
you by one biblical example. The repentant thief, the malefactor
who was suspended on the cross. What did he say? I'm talking
about the one who repented. Here's what he said in Luke 23,
verses 39 through 41. And we indeed justly for we receive the due reward
of our deeds." Here the repentant thief knew
that he was receiving the due reward of his deeds. I'll bring this message to a
close and we'll get into the last part of the text tonight
in the discussion of sin, the doctrine of sin. We've seen first of all that
God's wrath is a principle, not a passion. Secondly, we have
seen that God's wrath is revealed. There have been many manifestations
of it. There are manifestations of it
today. But where would one go to view the greatest manifestation
not only of God's love but also of his wrath? it would be to
Calvary, and get a view of Calvary. There the Lord Jesus Christ,
the eternal Son of the eternal Father, experienced a period
when the Father turned his back upon him, and during that three-hour
period he suffered for you and for me. He tasted death. Not only did his body taste death,
but we find in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah's prophecy, and this
is a text, the 10th verse, which is overlooked by many persons,
even his soul was made an offering for sin. The Lord Jesus endured the awful
wrath of the Holy God. for you and me, as he suffered, the just one
suffering for unjust ones like you and me. There we see the greatest manifestation
not only of God's love, for God so loved us that he gave his
son, but there the son bore in his body on that cruel tree. Now begins the argument, as someone
has called it, about the case that God has against
man. Love, for God so loved us that
he gave his Son, but there the Son bore in his body on that
cruel tree the awful wrath of the Holy God. I'll say this in closing. As
you look at the last part, and we will elaborate on this tonight,
God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. The word ungodliness refers to
that which is religious in character, and the word unrighteousness
denotes that which is immoral in character. And I close with this thought. Ungodliness denies God's character. Unrighteousness destroys man's
character. Ungodliness attacks the Godhead,
the deity. Unrighteousness attacks God's
government. And finally, ungodliness condemns
God. Unrighteousness seeks to justify
man. We'll elaborate on that more
this evening. for the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold or suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The heathen
about whom Paul spoke were suppressing the revelation of God in creation,
general revelation. today even religious persons,
persons who do not possess the grace of God, even though they
embrace a lot of Scripture, are holding, are suppressing this
word in unrighteousness. Do you think about that? That's
why, beloved, that you as a child of God, a born-again person,
can have no sympathy for the heritage. You can hope, by the
grace of God, that something will take place in his life,
but you cannot condone his evil. That's why that the Apostle John
made the statement that if any person comes and brings not this
doctrine, you're not to receive him into your house, neither
bid him God's speed, for if you do, you become a partaker of
his evil deeds. Second John, verses 9 through
11. Now, beloved, that is the testimony
of holy wrath. So even religious persons, even though they embrace the
law of Scripture, if they do not have the grace of God, they
are actually holding, suppressing even the Scripture in unrighteousness. That makes us think, doesn't
it? Beloved, if you will stay with me for the next three months.
And I'll go so far as to say this, you can't. And I say this
humbly. You can't if you really listen.
You can't unless you have the grace of God. For this portion
of Scripture really reveals to us just how great we are in the
sight of the holy and righteous God.