the vindicatory wrath of God. And in Romans 18, we have our
beginning text, Paul writing, getting ready to reveal the gospel,
says this, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in
unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is
manifested in them, for God hath revealed it unto them. Now, this
is a sermon that I preached in 05 in a Bible conference in Caldwell,
Kansas, and I'd like to share it with you this evening, the
question of the vindicatory wrath of God. Of course, it is a great
question. It is a great contention today,
whether or not These things that come upon people and upon places
are expressions of God's wrath in the world. Whether what we
call the calamities or the accident or acts of nature, whatever they
might be, whether they could be the vindicatory wrath of God. It's an interesting question
to consider whether God exercises his wrath in these days and in
these years of time or whether his wrath is simply stored up
and held for eternity and coming time. Is his wrath in any way
or in any degree visited upon the sin of individual or of nation
or of churchhood or is it loose not until they fall into his
hands The hands of the living God now it is true We read of
the wrath to come first Thessalonians 1 and verse 10 from which the
children of God are delivered by the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ literally there I think it is the wrath coming and Jesus
is the one delivering from the wrath that is coming. We read
again in Romans 2 verses 5 and verse 6. Some treasure up wrath,
that is, they pile it up, as it were, they accumulate it,
they store up wrath, if we may say it that way, adding one sin
unto another. This they do, says Paul, Romans
2, verse 5, against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God. And Paul spoke in Romans 2, 16,
in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. In Acts 17, Verse 31 again, he
has accounted or has appointed a day in which he shall judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom hath appointed,
seeing he hath risen him from the dead. But our current subject
is to the question whether God visits his wrath and his judgment
upon the children of men while they live in this present world. Our first primary text is that
one in Romans 1 and verse 18. God is revealed. Paul had spoken
of the revelation of righteousness in the gospel and I think this
is the same word. The wrath of God is revealed. Now the first thing for us to
do of course is to look at the words in the context in which
they appear in the scripture and that is where we discover
that that Paul is speaking of two revelations that God has
made. One, verse 16 and 17, the revelation
in the gospel, a saving revelation of righteousness. This is why
the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, because therein
is revealed the righteousness of God. Secondly, however, he
speaks in verse 18 of the revelation of God's wrath. The wrath of
God is revealed. And as I said, it is the same
word as in verse 17, it is revealed. And the way or the tense here,
as I understand it, is that it is revealed so that it is manifested,
so that it is experienced in both of the cases. Now, were
it not for the fact that all are under sin and God displays
His wrath against sin, there, of course, would be no need of
the righteousness provided through the death of Christ and revealed
in the gospel. Or as Robert Haldane wrote in
his commentary, quote, the declaration of the wrath of God is a fit
preparation for the announcement of grace, unquote. Or Paul establishes
the fact that there is the wrath of God that is revealed and stored
up against human ungodliness and unrighteousness. and that
the wrath of God is operative, just like the revelation of it
in the gospel is operative under the saving of sinners. There
is a positive, one someone said, a positive outgoing of the divine
displeasure so as to be manifested, perceived, and known. And Paul
uses two expressions here to sum up the conduct of sinners. Number one, ungodliness. This carries the idea of impiety,
Or as we like to say, irreligious. These people are irreligious. They're not religious in a good
sense at all. A perversity that is of a religious
character. Lack of reference toward God,
for they do not have it. The word is the exact opposite
of to revere or adore or worship or be devout or devoted. The wrath of God is revealed
against impiety. And then secondly, we have the
word unrighteous. Not only the ungodliness, but
now the unrighteousness, and that refers to moral wrong, to
what a person does that is perverse or is of an immoral sort. A lack of right conduct going
out of the way, being impious therefore, then they concoct
idols. Being unrighteous, they live
immoral lives. And the wrath of God revealed
from heaven as he said against all such conduct and attitude
and against all such people whether they be Jew or whether they be
Gentile. So let us not fail here to carefully
notice that Paul said that this wrath of God is revealed and
against ungodliness and unrighteousness. Number one, God's wrath. It is the wrath of God. What a word in our tongue. And
then A, It is from heaven. It might seem in the sight of
all, but not likely, simply states that the visitated wrath of God
is directed from God, not from second causes or second instrument,
directly from God. It is God's wrath. and it is
from heaven. And such visitations are not
the wrath of Mother Nature or the emanation of the planet being
overpopulated. Paul refers to a revelation of
wrath from God as a witness of man's sin and unrighteousness. Now, he gives a very strong example,
the revealing of the wrath of God from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, in the case of men, notice, who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Now, to get quick at it, that
simply means they suppress it, they hinder it, as it were, restraining,
holding it back, holding it under. What does Paul mean for his readers
here to understand? Is it gospel truth that they're
holding in unrighteousness? Do they hold that? Is it Christian
truth? Is it Bible truth and things
that are written up in the scripture? Well, it is clear from the context
here in Romans chapter 1 that neither of these is the principal
scope of the apostles' word, that the truth which they hold
under in unrighteousness is explained in verse 19 and following of
this chapter. The truth of the revelation of
God's power and divinity in the creation of all things which
they have perverted and have corrupted." So let's trace out
their ungodliness and their unrighteousness here so that they, look at verse
21, they became vain in their imagination. Look at verse 22,
professing themselves to be wise They became fools. Look at verse
23 particularly. They changed, or really they
exchanged the glory of God into the images of corrupt men and
creatures. Then look again at verse 25,
who changed the truth of God into a lie, and they followed
that by worshiping and serving that which is created instead
of him who did the creating. who is blessed under the ages,
as Paul said. So let us note how carefully
Paul catalogs the way that God's wrath is revealed against them. It is for their hindering, holding
under, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Verse 23 and 24, verse 25, they
changed and so forth, and we read that. Now three things here
that we read. An expression of God's wrath
from heaven. Verse 24, God gave them up to
uncleanness. Verse 26, God gave them over
to vile affection. He gave them over to passion
of dishonor and to perverted desire, made them slaves under
their lust and gave them up. Then in verse 28, and let's look
at that. 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. So that God's
wrath was revealed from heaven against such, let us notice two
statements from what Paul says here on the particular matter.
Verse 27, the last part, and receiving in themselves that
recompense of their error that was me, or that was Jud, receiving
it in themselves, so that actually they experienced it and it was
manifested. Verse 28, to do those things
which are not convenient, that is, they are not proper, they're
not becoming, and the original word convenient refers to what
is suitable or what is fitting. So they were doing that which
was not convenient. We remember how in Daniel chapter
5 it was that God punished the haughtiness and the pride of
Belshazzar by giving him temporarily the heart and the desire and
the action of a beast. causing that man to dwell out
in the fields among the wild donkeys and to graze like an
animal on the grass like an ox of the pasture till he acknowledged
the sovereign dominion of God. Now let's broaden our focus tonight
to show how the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. What are some other ways
beside in Romans chapter 1 that such is done and is testified
to and left as a memorial of God's wrath against sin? Paul
says here, against all. What Owens called this punitory
justice unquote, that God's anger, his hatred of sin, his wrath
against sin appears in the scripture in innumerable examples, the
visiting of the wrath of God upon the sin of men and upon
the earth. And God inflicting his anger
and his wrath upon both the sins of individual, upon a few, upon
a people, and upon a whole nation, even a whole generation, or a
city. And as a Puritan author did say,
such judgments are clearly set forth in the scripture, quote,
that there shall be no room left for conjecture on the matter,
unquote. This is not to say that every
sin of mankind or of a person is revisited with judgment and
with wrath and not immediately. It is just to say that scripture
teaches us that God does judge and pour out his wrath on the
sins of men while they are alive and while they live in this world,
with some of those judgments resulting in great destruction
and sin and death and such like. So, with that behind us, let's
consider some of the terms that are used in describing God's
wrath poured out, such as numbers 25 and 4. The fierce anger of
the Lord. Deuteronomy 13, 17. The fierceness
of His anger. Ezra 10, 14. The fierce wrath
of our God. Exodus 4, 14. The anger of the
Lord was kindled against Moses. Others are numbers 11 and 1,
11 and 10, and 12 and verse 9. Then in what ways, then, does
God visit his wrath upon the children of men? The first example
concerns the parents of the race, Adam and Eve, who upon sinning
were driven from the garden And the earth was cursed because
of them, Genesis 3, 17 through 19. God would, in no wise, allow
these sinful fallen creatures to live up on a paradise or in
a paradise world. Not provided them a perfect earth
anymore on account of their sin. but one which would visit them
and testify that they were sinners. Noted, cursed is the ground for
thy sake. By the way, consider what Paul
writes about the earth in Romans chapter 8 and verse 20 through
verse 22. We won't turn there. But he says
that it has been made a partaker of man's bondage until he be
delivered. And here we might make the point
that the most unusual way that God reveals his wrath against
mankind has some connection unto the earth. Things like floods. and earthquakes, and famines,
and drought, and pestilence, and other things that we might
have time to mention. Now, the next thing that we mention
as an evidence of God's wrath poured out against the sin of
mankind would be the flood in the days of Noah. In 2 Peter
2 and 5, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly. while Noah found grace and he
saved the household of Noah. And the description from Genesis
6, verses 5 through 7 of the wickedness of mankind, and especially
verse 7, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face
of the earth. Genesis 6, 11, I, even I, do
bring a flood of waters upon the earth, and ought to destroy
all flesh, and everything in the earth shall die." Genesis
7 and verse 4. Conclusion, the flood was sent
by God as an expression of His wrath and anger against the sin
of mankind. God did destroy all of those
with the exception of those that were in the ark. Now we need
to understand that the flood was not caused by global warming
or greenhouse gases or the overpopulation of the earth or the burning of
fossil fuels as we are hearing today. It ever stands as an example
of the wrath of God against human sin. And perhaps the greatest
in history until this present time is that flood in the days
of Noah. Now the next example that we
might mention quickly is that of Sodom and Gomorrah. When God
rained fire and brimstone down upon them, recorded in Genesis
chapter 19, Because, Genesis 13, 13, the men of Sodom were
sinners exceedingly before the Lord. And so as we know, God
rained upon them the brimstone out of heaven. Again, God's wrath
is revealed In Numbers chapter 16, when Korah led a rebellion
against Moses, and in verse 31 through 33, we read, the ground
clave asunder. The ground opened up her mouth
and swallowed them. And they went down alive into
the pit and the earth closed upon them. and they perished
from among the congregation. Not only so, but there in verse
35, fire came out from the Lord and consumed 200 men. And it
was for the rebellion of Korah. Now, let's fast forward to our
day and hear in the light of Romans 1 and verse 18 and consider
the question of such things today as we experience hurricanes,
tsunamis, drought, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, name it, comes
upon us regularly. And whether these things are
to be viewed as an expression of the wrath of God, or whether
they're simply the changing of the weather. Are they judgments
from God, or are they the acts of Mother Nature, or the acts
of Father God, especially upon so-called Christian America? I heard a preacher when these
things were occurring some years back, I heard a preacher, a big
TV preacher saying that a devil had sent that great hurricane
that came and threatened us with much damage. Now, a century of
preaching on exclusively the love of God without expressing
and without putting emphasis upon the other attributes of
our God has got the people thinking that there's no wrathful God,
that there's no wrath in God, that he's simply a loving and
a sentimental God who would not hurt a flea, much less lift his
hand in wrath or pour out his judgment. And there are two views
of God that a lot of people have, and they try to get around this
by dividing the God of the Old Testament and the God of the
New. That the God of the Old Testament
was a wrathful God, whereby the God of the New Testament is only
a loving God. And then I think, again, there's
another thought why people do not have a proper idea of the
wrath and the anger of the holiness of God. That is a conceit and
a self-righteousness. They are viewing themselves as
good, our nation as good and as Christian and undeserving
of the wrath of God and judgment of these catastrophic proportions
that are visited. Oh, how So many love to say today,
they despise if you suggest that any of these things might be
a judgment of God. It is not God's wrath, they say,
it is the devil. It is not God's wrath, it is
simply mother nature. It is not God's wrath, it is
global warning and the destruction of the environment. In Amos 3
and verse 6, shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not
done it? Now let's remember that. The
prophet asked them to consider, shall there be evil? Shall evil
come upon a city and it not be the will and the handiwork of
God? Listen to Isaiah in chapter 29
and verse 6. Thou shalt be visited of the
Lord of hosts with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise,
with storm and tempest, and with a flame of devouring fire. said the prophet Nahum chapter
1 verse 2 and 4, as in the third verse, the Lord has his way in
the whirlwind, in the storm and the clouds, or the dust of his
feet. The psalmist prayed Psalm 83,
15, Make them afraid with a storm, O Lord." He was speaking, of
course, of the wicked. Still America and most countries
would protest. What have we done? Where in have
we sinned? How is it that we're justified
in receiving it? How is it that we're worthy of
an expression of the wrath of God? What kind of a God would
allow such things to be visited upon a nation? Well, let me answer
that. In our case, America has legalized
abortion. They passed laws protecting homosexuality. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled
that sex acts in clubs are protected by the Constitution. Pornography
has been ruled. as protected free speech. The
nation is home to millions of degenerate perverts who prey
upon little children, and serial rapists and murderers are abundant. Hollywood peddles its trash,
and the youth make millionaires out of the dopeheads who peddle
their rock and roll. Adultery is common, and half
the marriages end in divorce. And in some ethnic groups today,
right now, the illegitimate birth rate is almost 70%. And with
few exceptions, government is corrupt, top down to bottom. The Roman church, as we've learned
in the last few years, has harbored a bunch of homosexual priests. And this is just for starters,
and to mention a few things. How can a holy God not reveal
his wrath? How can a holy God sit idly by
and not express his wrath? Abraham asked, Will you destroy
the righteous with the wicked? In Genesis 18, 25. Yet at times
the righteous died along with the wicked, even in all times
down through history. The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven. How? described in Romans 1. It is revealed in his law, Romans
4 and verse 15. It is revealed in the consciences
of those who are sinners in the sight of God, and it is revealed
in in active instances of judgment. So the wrath of God is revealed. And that word, I understand it
means it is revealed, manifested. Manifested so as to be seen and
as to be beheld. Manifested in a way, effectively
manifested just like the revelation of faith and righteousness. So
we have a God who is holy, righteous, who hateth iniquity, whose eyes
are too pure to look upon evil, and will send out his judgment
at his will. We see less of that in the New
Testament, of course, because of the change of the Lord coming
and making known unto us salvation. But our God is one and the same. He's the same God that he's always
been and always will be. And his wrath is revealed from
heaven.