Righteousness and Wrath Revealed

Q: What does the Bible say about righteousness?

The Bible teaches that righteousness is revealed through the gospel of Christ, who fulfills the law for all who believe. In Romans 1, Paul declares that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel and is vital for salvation. This righteousness is not something we can achieve through our own works or adherence to the law; rather, it is a person—Jesus Christ—who embodies this righteousness perfectly. As fallen human beings, we have lost the righteousness that was given to Adam, but through faith in Christ, we receive the very righteousness of God. Christ, as the end of the law, provides a righteousness that is apart from our ability to keep the law. This is the only way we can stand before God, as we have nothing to offer but our sin.

Q: How do we know the gospel is the power of God for salvation?

The gospel is the power of God for salvation because it reveals both His righteousness and the means by which He saves sinners through faith in Christ. Paul states in Romans 1:16 that he is unashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. This power lies in its ability to reveal God's righteousness and the truth that salvation comes not through our works, but through faith in Jesus Christ. The gospel proclaims that Christ bore the wrath of God for the sins of His people, demonstrating God's justice and mercy simultaneously. By preaching the gospel, God unleashes His creative power to bring dead sinners to life. This is evident in how genuine faith emerges when the gospel is preached, as it brings spiritual awakening and transformation in those whom God has chosen.

Q: Why is understanding God's wrath important for Christians?

Understanding God's wrath is crucial for Christians as it highlights the seriousness of sin and the necessity of Christ's sacrifice for salvation. In Romans 1:18, Paul reveals that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This understanding is essential because it underscores the reality of God's holiness and justice, which cannot overlook sin. Without recognizing the weight of God's wrath, believers cannot fully appreciate the grace and mercy bestowed upon them in Christ. Christ bore the fullness of God's wrath, taking the punishment we deserved in order to reconcile us to God. This motivates Christians to live righteously, as we understand the grave consequences of sin and the depth of Christ’s sacrifice. Therefore, acknowledging God's wrath serves to deepen our gratitude and establish a more profound reverence for God's grace.

Q: What is the relationship between faith and salvation in the gospel?

Faith is the means by which we receive salvation through the gospel, as it connects us to the righteousness of God revealed in Christ. The relationship between faith and salvation is central to the message of the gospel. Romans 1:17 states that 'the just shall live by faith,' indicating that salvation is not earned through works, but received through believing in the gospel of Christ. Faith is not a mere intellectual assent; it is a trust in the person and work of Jesus, who has accomplished all that is necessary for our redemption. This gift of faith is given by God and comes through the hearing of the gospel (Romans 10:17). Therefore, when we hear the truth of Christ's righteousness and our need for Him, it ignites a spiritual transformation in our hearts, leading us to repent and believe, thus securing our salvation.

That's twice in a row I've remembered
to turn that on. You have no idea how remarkable
that is. That's a good start. Romans chapter one this evening,
let me express again my gratefulness to the Lord and to all of you.
It's been such a pleasure to be with you. And it usually takes
me about this long to start to feel like one of you. And this
has been no exception. Of course, I've known the coffees
for some time and love them and appreciate their hospitality
and just have treated us like royalty and spoiled us. And I'm going to expect Vicki
to fix me steak and have pretty much every night now from here
on out. And so I've just it's just been
wonderful. But I do feel like I know I know
you and you know that bond that we have in Christ. You meet people
that you've never met, and in just a matter of minutes, hours,
you feel like you're family. And the truth is, you were family
before you ever met, because our bond is him. In Romans chapter
1, we'll read from the beginning of the chapter, and I'll try
to get to a particular verse or two. I have to remember to request that
we don't sing it as well with my soul before I have to sing
and preach because I lose my voice. I love congregational
singing because I can sing out like I know how to sing and nobody
can hear me. And that what a wonderful, wonderful
song. My sin. Oh, the bliss of this
glorious thought. Not in part, but the whole. It's
nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more. And if it's nailed
to His cross, we bear it no more. He won't bear it, and we bear
it too. We know that, don't we? It is well with my soul. I sing
that just as loud as I can sing it, because it is well. Because
of His precious blood, it's well. In Romans chapter 1, let's look
at it together. And Paul, a servant of Jesus
Christ, that's our greatest aspiration. Our greatest ambition is to be
his bondslave. There's no higher calling. There's
no more enjoyable or wonderful office on this earth than to
be a slave of the King. And that's what Paul aspired
to, a servant of Jesus Christ. Called to be an apostle, a wonderful
calling, no question. Preeminent to that, I'm his slave,
I'm his servant. And then he called me to be his
apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. Paul was separated unto
the gospel, committed, sold out to it. He said what we just sang. He said, I count my life dear
unto myself that I might preach the gospel. And that's something
that God did in Paul. which he had promised to for
by his prophets. The gospel of God is not a new
gospel. It wasn't new when Paul preached
it. It's the same message that God has been declaring through
his prophets. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. He's always spoken unto us of
his Son. Always. The prophets in type
and in picture In all the diverse manners that he spake, it was
always of his son. It was always this gospel. Always. Promised it afore by his prophets
in the holy scriptures concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord. In all the diverse manners and
voices with which God has spoken to his people, it's always concerned
the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of
sinners, which was made of the seed of David, according to the
flesh." Notice, made of the seed of David, according to the flesh. As far as the flesh is concerned,
he was a child, like any other child, made of the seed of David. We can read his genealogy in
the Scriptures, and David was in it. The seed of David. But
notice he wasn't made to be the Son of God. He's just declared
to be. You see the difference? He's always been the Son of God
from the beginning. From eternity to eternity, he's
God's Son. He was never made to be the Son
of God. He is. He said before Abraham was, I
am. I am. That's who we're talking about
tonight. But he was declared. To be the son of God, John said,
that's what God called me to do. I'm just a voice crying in
the world. What are you crying, John? Behold.
The Lamb of God declared to be that very one by John and by
all those who God called to preach, declared to be the son of God
with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship
by Christ. Everything we have from God is
by, because of, through, in, and to the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Called to be an apostle, given
grace to know him at all, and also apostleship to make him
known by Christ. For obedience to the faith among
all nations for his name. Why did God make Paul an apostle?
Why did God give Paul grace and make him an apostle to preach
the Lord Jesus Christ? Because he has a people whom
he would bring to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you see
what he said there? For the obedience for obedience
to the faith. That's why God's gospel is preached,
because God has a people that he will bring to faith in his
Son, and that's how he'll do it, by the preaching of this
gospel. Obedience to the faith among
all nations. Not the obedience of the faith
of all nations, but among them. He calls his people out of every
kindred, tribe, nation, and tongue under heaven. They're not all
his people, but they're from out of all those. Among all nations
for his name. You see that? There are sub-purposes. There are secondary purposes.
The salvation of his elect. And God made Paul an apostle
to preach the gospel so that his elect would come to faith
in his son. But here's the ultimate purpose of all purposes. For
his name. God will make a name for Himself. And if He does that by saving
you, so be it. If He does that by damning you
and putting you where you belong, then so be it. But it will be
for His name either way, will it not? And I don't say so be
it because I'm indifferent about it. I want to see you like Paul,
and I couldn't pretend to say what Paul said. that I could
wish myself a curse from Christ, from my kindred, my kinsman,
according to the flesh. I don't even know what that is. But I do say what I say with
this desire, that for God to save you would be to the praise
of the glory of his grace. I desire that for every one of
us, by God's grace, for his name Among whom are ye also the call
of Jesus Christ?" Paul compares your calling to his calling as
an apostle. He called me to be an apostle.
How did he call his apostles? He walked up to them when they
had no idea he was coming and said, follow me. Is that what
he did for you? Then you also are among those
who are the call of Jesus Christ. It's the same calling, my friends.
He didn't choose the apostles and they don't get it. They don't.
They don't get a pass, you know, from their from their sins and
get a pass into glory to be with him because he chose them as
the twelve apostles. No, he calls everybody the same
way. Whatever he calls you to as a
service to him, it's the same calling in it. He's called all
of us to be his witnesses. Is that not right? You shall
be witnesses of me. And we shall. But he compares
this calling to when the Lord met Matthew at the receipt of
custom, sitting there collecting taxes and said two words. Follow
me. Is that what he did for you?
He came where you were and commanded. God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in this black, evil, wicked
heart." Just like when he spoke and said, let there be light,
and there was light. He came where I was and spoke
into the darkness of my heart and said, let there be light,
and there was light. That's my calling. Grace. Grace. You're the called also
of Jesus Christ. He said to all that be in Rome,
specifically he writing to those in Rome here, the loving of God. Oh, there's a good. That's what
we started with this morning. Trace all of all of our blessings
in Christ back to that truth. Why? Why? Why? Why? You'll end
up there. God love me. God love me and
gave himself for me. The beloved of God called to
be Saint. It's called to be holy. Saints sanctified. Sanctification
is not as complicated as we try to make it, is it? None of the
truth of God is complicated. You know what makes the truth
complicated? Election. Do you teach your young
children the truth of God's electing grace? They can understand it.
There's nothing complicated about it. We don't make it complicated
until we become adults. And then we start trying to reconcile
the truth of God with our foolish, what we call wisdom. And that
gets real complicated there, doesn't it? When you try to make
it fit, you know, try to make the truth of God fit with your
preconceived Sinful, wretched notions of God. That gets real
complicated. In fact, it can't be done. It
can't be done. But the truth is simple, clear. Sanctification is God saying
that one's mine and setting it apart. It or him or her apart
for his purpose and use and saying that one's holy. That one's mine.
You don't use it for common purposes. It's not just one of the group.
That's mine. That's sanctification. And that's
what he did for us. We're called to be saints. Grace
to you, he says. And peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through
Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout
the whole world. They didn't go around talking
about their faith. But other people noticed it and talked
about it. That's how that works. When God
does a work for somebody, it's evident to others, isn't it?
It's evident. I've seen it in you. I've seen,
I see it in God's people. And it was spoken of. And Paul
thanked God for that. Because faith comes from God.
It's that simple. For God is my witness, whom I
serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing
I make mention of you always in my prayers, making a request,
if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey
by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that
I may impart unto you some spiritual gift. To the end you may be established."
Paul wrote in another place, it is a good thing. Let the heart
be established with grace. God gave some apostles, prophets,
teachers, why? For the perfecting of the saints,
for the maturing of the saints, that we might be established
in the faith, that we might grow up in Christ Jesus and in the
grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus. And that's what Paul said. When I come, I pray he'll use
me for that. I pray he will. That would be
a prosperous journey if God's people are established in the
gospel of Christ. That's what he said. That is, that I may be comforted
together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. He wasn't some aloof and conceited. I'm going to come and bestow
a blessing on you. He expected to get one too. I'm
going to be comforted with you. I'm coming not just for you,
but for me, too, that we might be comforted together in the
gospel of Christ. Now, I would not have you ignorant,
brethren, that oftentimes our purpose to come unto you, but
was let hitherto. That's what happened when we
purpose to do something. And it doesn't work out that
way. You know what happened? We were hindered by somebody.
It wasn't just people. So I just wasn't in the cards.
No. Paul said, I was stopped. I was held up in my purpose by
the God who rules all things. I would have come unto you that
I might have some fruit among you, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor, both to the Greeks
and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So
as much as in me is, I am ready. As much as in me We know what
he meant by that because this is the same Paul that said, I
am what I am by the grace of God. Whatever God has put in
me, whatever God has done for me, however he will gift me,
however he will use me, as much as God will bless it, as much
as God will cause it, as much as God will enable me, I'm ready
to preach. And all of his preachers are.
They all are. I'm ready to preach the gospel
to you that are at Rome also. for I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ." That's where we've been going right there. I'm not
ashamed. This voluntary and rather emphatic
testimony, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It clearly implies
that there is a tendency of the flesh to this very thing, to
being ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And it was perhaps here
a fear of Paul's for those to whom he wrote, being in Rome,
the called the very seat of Satan, an evil place, a place where
the opposition against the gospel was, I suppose, the greatest.
And he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And he says it
to them, perhaps fearing that there were some among them who
were. Unless Christ has utterly ravished
the heart of a man, which he does when he saves us, that man
will fail and will compromise in the heat of the world's contempt
for and opposition to the grace of Christ, the gospel of Christ. It will happen. It takes nothing
less than the almighty grace of God in Christ for a man to
be able to say with the apostle, I'm ready not to be bound only,
but also to die at Jerusalem. for the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's commitment, and that's grace. That's grace. Great power is needed to change
a God-hating child of wrath into a loving, faithful child of God. Religion would reduce the matter
to a whim of man, a decision, a desire to go to heaven, something
that the mere repetition of a prayer somebody else wrote can affect.
Surely Paul spoke of those when he said they have a form of godliness.
They speak of God, and they speak of things contained in the Scriptures,
and they talk about loving Him and serving Him, but they deny
the power thereof. They say that to know God is
just to decide. To love God is to just wake up
one day and say, God, I've been spitting that and shaking my
fist in His face all my life. I believe I love Him now. I'll
just sing it. Oh, how I loved you. No, they deny the power
of God in saving a sinner. It takes creative power. If any
man be in Christ Jesus, He is a new creation. God who commanded
that light to shine out of darkness. That's the voice of creative
power. Let there be light. And that's how He shined in this
heart. He said, let there be light, and there was light because
he is God. And that's what Paul is talking
about. Denying the power. Christ said to Nicodemus, you
must be born from above. That's the original language
there. You must be born from above with
the same power with which God created this universe. And it's
by means of the preaching of the gospel of Christ that this
almighty supernatural miracle of God. And this power is displayed. And the same power by which Christ
was raised from the dead. Romans 8.11, but if the spirit
of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his spirit. That's salvation. It's not just
me deciding something or walking down an aisle and repeating some
rote thing that somebody came up with. It's the power of God. That spirit that raised up Christ
from the dead will quicken you. And it's going to take that to
quicken you. It's going to take the one who's able to give life
to dead sinners, because that's what we are, dead sinners. He'll
quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit. that dwelleth in
you. And this is man's great need.
We don't need to turn over a new leaf or get a little religion
or get a little help from the man upstairs. We need to be saved. We need to be... Paul said, my
harsh desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might
be saved. Not that they might come to my
way of thinking. If God ever saves them, they'll
know the truth and believe it, won't they? But that's not our
desire, just to get people to agree with us. It's that God
might save them. So-called preachers are standing
up and begging sinners to do something for God and what needs
to happen and why I stand here. I pray that God would do something
for you. That's what needs to happen.
God's got to do something for us. Our brother prayed in the
men's meeting while ago and it touched my heart because it's
the simple truth of the matter. He said, I thank you, Lord, for
speaking to us this morning, but we need you again. And we
do. If He doesn't meet with us tonight,
we will have met in vain. May God empower. Paul said, I came not to you
with words of man's wisdom, enticing words, but empower. And I wouldn't come any other
way. If there's no power of God in it, then what's the use of
it? What's the use of it? He said,
I pray they might be safe, for I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but it's not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness. That's what we're getting to
in our text. He said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
Why? Because the righteousness of
God is revealed there. Oh. They, being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. What do you mean the righteousness
of God, Paul? Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. When he speaks of the righteousness
of God, he's not talking about something cold calculation like
again our brother I keep coming back to that lesson this morning
what a wonderful truthful lesson it was this is not God just you
know putting the mark by our name he's talking about a person
the righteousness of God is a person and he's revealed in the gospel
They haven't submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,
for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes. They haven't submitted themselves
to Christ. We're lost, undone, without hope
in ourselves. We need somebody to do something
for us that we cannot do for ourselves. That's salvation. Christ made peace through the
blood of his cross for all of his people. Christ came where
we were and revealed himself to us and saved us. in every
sense that a man can be saved. What does Paul mean when he says
the gospel is the power of God unto salvation? Well, the answer
to a great extent is contained in the next phrase, to everyone
that believe it. That's what he's talking about,
the experience of salvation, the experience of it. It's by
means of gospel preaching that God gives faith to sinners. For
by grace are you saved through faith. That faith is not of yourselves. It comes by hearing, Romans 10.
It comes by hearing. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. The hearing of the gospel. As
God's preacher sets forth the person and work of Christ from
the scriptures, God in irresistible power calls those to himself
whom he has ordained to eternal life. And those that were ordained
to eternal life Of course they did. Because that's what he ordained
them to. The gospel is the power of God
unto that. Unto them experiencing the salvation
of God in Christ through the preaching of Christ. That's what
Paul is saying there. Faith comes. He comes at the
time of love. When Christ's love is preached
in his blood. is preached, his gospel is preached,
and says to sinners, live. He passed by us in our blood
and said unto us, live. And as God's messenger, here's
another beautiful picture in the scriptures of this, of God's
power unto salvation being the gospel preached. God's messenger
speaks to those dead bones that Ezekiel saw. God said, Behold,
I'll cause breath to enter into you and you'll live. And that's
what happens when the gospel is preached. All those whom he
has ordained to eternal life, all those whom he loved and predestinated,
he calls by the preaching of the gospel. He said, I'll cause
breath to enter into you. Spiritual language, spiritual
life, he'll cause it to enter into us and we'll live. And upon
that promise, Ezekiel said, so I prophesied as I was commanded.
I preached to those dead bones exceeding dry. And he said, as
I prophesied, there was a noise. There was a noise. And behold,
a shaking. And the bones came together,
bone to his bone. God said he would. He said, you
preach. If I be lifted up, I'll draw
men to myself. He promised that he'd breathe
life into dead sinners by the preaching of his gospel. And
this is exactly what Paul is saying. I'm not ashamed to preach
it. I don't care what men think about
it. It doesn't bother me that it's
opposed on every hand and that we're ridiculed and hated and
persecuted for preaching it because it's the power of God unto salvation. I'm commanded by God to preach
the gospel as Ezekiel prophesied to those dry, dead bones. And
just as God promised to Ezekiel, he's promised to me and to all
of his preachers that as we preach, he'll give life. He'll give life. Therefore, as commanded, like
Paul, without shame, without compromise, without apology,
we preach. We preach. And sometimes we hear
a noise. Sometimes we see evidence of the very power of God going
forth with the message. It always, I know this, it always
accomplishes the thing whereunto he sent it. Always. Always. We're talking about God
now. He said as the rain falls down
from heaven and causes the grass to grow, so shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth. It will accomplish the purpose
whereunto I send it. It'll do what I purpose to do
by it. And I'll tell you this, human
tongue was never employed with such a glorious task as the preaching
of the gospel of Christ. And I can say with Paul, by the
grace of God, I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed of it.
I don't cower at men's opinions of it. How shall we not preach
him? who is altogether lovely. How
shall we not proclaim Him? How shall we not be witnesses
of Him? How shall we not tell sinners
of Him whom to know is life eternal? Oh, dead, vile, hell-deserving
and hell-bound sinners. There's life. Christ is life. Woe is unto me if I preach not
this gospel. I'm glad, aren't you, that we
have a gospel that we don't have to be ashamed of. I would be ashamed to proclaim
to sinners the false Jesus of religion. Oh, that would be a
shameful thing. This cockamamie so-called plan
of salvation that they talk about. And the puny God that came up
with it. I'd be ashamed and they ought to be ashamed. But we preach
Christ. The power of God and the wisdom
of God. I don't have to stand up here
and tell you that God's given you one more shot to do the right
thing. That's my gospel. That God's
going to give you another chance, you know. I need better news
than that, my friends. My father Adam had a choice,
didn't he? That's why I'm dead by nature. That's why your children are
born dead. Because Adam had a choice. I
don't need a choice. I need a Savior. I need Christ. I don't need a plan, however
good. I need the God of all grace to
come as he has purpose to do and give life. give life. And
that's what I pray for as I preach. It's the power of God unto salvation
because God has ordained it so. God has purposed it so and he
uses it as such. Thank God for the gospel that
we can proclaim boldly and with confidence. For therein, he said
in verse 17, is the righteousness of God revealed From faith to
faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Therein
is the righteousness of God revealed. The issue between God and the
sinner is, and always has been, righteousness. God requires it,
and you can't produce it. You don't have it, and you can't
do anything about it. It's that simple. It's righteousness. In the garden,
our father Adam fell. and lost the status of righteousness
that man was originally created with. And with it, he lost the
fellowship with and the favor of God Almighty. And we must
have righteousness yet in order to enjoy this standing with God. At one tree in the Garden of
Eden, that righteousness was lost. But at another, the very
righteousness of God was fulfilled. in us, for us, to us. We must have righteousness, and
we do have righteousness in Christ alone. The righteousness of God
is revealed in the gospel. The righteousness that God requires
is revealed in the gospel. Only when the gospel is preached
do you understand what's necessary. for God to save a sinner. There
must be righteousness, and that's not giving it your best shot.
That's holiness. Who shall stand in that holy
hill? He that hath clean hands. Anybody here? Clean hands? Everything you've done was done
with the right motive and done the right way with the proper
amount of zeal and done with the whole heart and done for
the glory of God and done perfectly and holy? And he didn't stop
there. You've got to have a pure heart,
too. Not only everything you've done has got to be perfect, but
you've got to be perfect on the inside. Every thought, every
intent has to be God's glory and God's glory alone. That's
the righteousness the angels have. Never does a thought at no time
enter into their heads but the glory of God. The glory of God. But you know, we have a better
righteousness than Adam lost. Adam's righteousness was perfect,
but not permanent. Adam's righteousness was flawless,
but not infallible. It was fallible. The righteousness
that I have in Christ will not fail until God ceases to be God. It's the very righteousness of
God. That's what he said there where
we read a while ago. They haven't submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. That's the righteousness you
need. He described it another way in that same chapter, I believe.
Righteousness without the law is revealed in the gospel. You
know what that means? And that's what Paul is saying
here. There it is, the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel.
And it's described, as I said, Further on here in the book of
Romans is righteousness without the law. That doesn't mean that
it's righteousness that has no regard to the law. The very definition
of righteousness is conformance to, honoring of, glorifying of
God's law. Being perfectly in line with
it. The law of God. You can't define
righteousness without law. So he's not talking about that.
What does he mean then when he says, The righteousness of God
without the law is revealed. He's talking about righteousness
that doesn't require you to keep the law. Righteousness for you
without law from you. That's the righteousness I need,
because I can't keep God's law. The righteousness of God is revealed. Righteousness supplied for, imputed
to, given to, accomplished for the sinner by the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, the righteousness which is
by the faith of Christ. And where it says that, it's
not talking about faith in Christ. It says the faith of Christ.
That's the faithfulness of Christ. That is righteousness not based
upon what you've done, but based upon what He's done. That's my
righteousness before God. It's the only righteousness before
God. Everything else is a pretended righteousness. This righteousness is revealed
in the gospel, and then God's essential righteousness is revealed
in the gospel, is it not? Oh, God's strict and flexible
requirements of God's righteous justice. The infinite height
of his holy standard is seen in what it cost to redeem us
from the judgment of his law. Oh, where sin was found even
on his darling son. He spared him not. Do you have any idea of the magnitude
of that statement? He spared not his own son. But
delivered him up. And there's my favorite two words
again. For us. For us all. For all who are in
Christ. All whom he represented. As in
Adam, all die. So in Christ, all shall be made
alive. In what sense is that true? All
shall be made alive? Everybody go into heaven? No.
As in Adam, all die. Everybody Adam represented. So
in Christ. Everyone he represents, all,
shall be made alive. When Adam died, did he make death
available to you? Did he make death possible for
you? No. When he died, we died. And in Christ, he doesn't make
salvation available, he doesn't make righteousness, he doesn't
make redemption available. Because he lives, we live. in
Christ, all made alive, all that he represented, all that he lived
for, do live and shall live, just as we were all dead in Adam.
But the righteousness, the essential righteousness of God, this righteousness,
inflexible, uncompromising, is revealed nowhere like at Calvary. at Calvary. We sung it this morning,
I believe. Ye who think of sin but lightly,
nor suppose the evil great here may view its nature rightly,
here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed.
You want to see something of God's holiness and something
of the depth of your depravity and sinfulness? Look at what
was necessary for God to redeem you. for God to save you. Mark
the sacrifice appointed. See who bears the awful load?
It is the Lord. It is Christ. It is Christ. The Lord's anointed Son of Man
and Son of God. And so God's essential righteousness
is revealed, is it not, in the Gospel? And then look at verse
18, and I'll be through. I have no idea what time it is.
Glare on that clock back there. That's trouble for y'all. I still
got plenty of water here. I can hold out for a long time.
Verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in
unrighteousness. Now. He talked about righteousness
reveal, there's also something else revealed in the gospel,
the wrath of God. There's righteousness and wrath.
In verse 18 here, the dark reality
of our great and desperate need for this righteousness is detailed. This righteousness and the gospel
in which it's revealed is sent to those who are described in
the next verses as unrighteous, ungodly, foolish, idolatrous,
inexcusable, unthankful, Vile God-haters. Read the rest of
the chapter. That's how we're described by
nature. He's not talking about the heathen
there in Romans chapter 1. Well, yes, he is. But we are
the heathen. I've got news for you. You've heard it before,
though, have you? Vile, ungodly, foolish, idolatrous. God has shown in his word, in
his gospel, to be long-suffering. and ready to pardon sinners. He delights to show mercy. All
of his promises of grace are yea and amen in Christ. And he
delights to show mercy in his son. God is also shown to be
inflexibly just. And the one who will by no means
clear the guilty, he will punish sin. He does punish sin. Your
sin, my sin, any sin, all sin, he must. And he does and he shall
punish sin. His revealed righteousness and
his revealed wrath go inseparably together. His righteousness is
such that if he will save you, it will be in such a way that
his justice is satisfied. His wrath will be poured out
where there's sin. And so in that sense, his wrath
is revealed in the gospel, isn't it? When you look at Calvary,
do you see wrath? When you see the precious blood
of the Son of God poured out, do you see wrath there? We think of wrath revealed and
we're going, oh no, you know, he's going to beat us down now.
No, that's a wonderful thing. God's wrath. God's wrath must
be poured out where there's sin. And it's a frightening, terrible
thing. The prospect of God's wrath poured out upon a sinner.
But in the gospel, wrath is revealed. When we look at Calvary, when
we look at the cross, where the Lord Jesus Christ, when his soul
was made an offering for sin, wrath is revealed there, isn't
it? The wrath that we deserved. My wrath from God. My punishment. The penalty for my sin. is revealed
as poured out upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, many teach, as you
know, this is not something you've never heard before, many teach
that God's wrath was poured out upon Christ for all sinners.
It's a diabolical lie from hell. We just call it what it is. The
politicians can't call a lie a lie, because that's not politically
correct, but I can. And God does. It's a lie. Universal
atonement, the most diabolical God dishonoring lie that hell
ever spawned. This hellish untruth pretends
to be the sinner's friend by giving all a chance to be saved.
But as we've already explored, I need better than a chance.
I need to be saved. I need to be saved. Adam had
a chance. He came into his own and they
received him not. No man has ever. He looked down
upon the children of men, didn't he? To see if there were any
that did seek after him. And you know what he saw? We're
all gone away. We're all gone astray. We're
all together. Turn back. There's not anybody
seeking God. There's not anybody that a chance
would do any good. If he gives us a chance, we'll
do what we've always done. We'll run from God. And declare
ourselves to be God. It is, on the contrary, a terrible
prospect to the sinner and a vile slander upon the justice of God
to think that God would pour out His wrath upon His darling
Son for all of mankind's sin and yet punish the sinner for
that sin. God's wrath will be visited upon
the sinner or upon the sinner's substitute. But never both. Never both. Either I will bear
his wrath, and this is revealed in the gospel, as Paul says,
revealed in the gospel. His wrath will be poured out
upon me forever. Or his wrath was poured out upon
his son for me. For me. But not both. That's clearly revealed in the
gospel, isn't it? Don't you rejoice in it? Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ. If Christ has been,
has borne my condemnation and my wrath, who's going to condemn
me? God laid it on his Son and he
dealt with it and said it's finished. If the Lord Jesus Christ bore
your sins in his own body on the tree, then you shall never
experience the wrath of God. That's revealed in the gospel,
isn't it? Also, with regard to this teaching of universal redemption,
think of the terrible prospect if God left you with nothing
but a decision to make, nothing but a way for you to save yourself. Hopelessness. Hopelessness. No,
I must have Christ to bear my sins, and if he does, I bear
them not. And I must have it so that God's
wrath is poured out upon my substitute and not upon myself. I need a
Savior who is able to bear the hideous load of all of my guilt
and shame and all of the consequence of it, is able to drink to the
last dreg that cup of God's vehement wrath against my sin. One who
would be willing to face the unthinkable prospect of the turning
away of his Father's face and the inconceivable horror of the
almighty vengeance of God being poured out upon him and yet set
his face like a flint to go and do that for me and to say for
the joy that's set before me, I go. Despising the shame. Do you know what that word despising
means? Counting it a small thing. He counted it, not that it was
a small thing for him to bear my sin, not that it was a small
thing for him to have the very wrath of God poured out upon
him in my stead, but he counted it such in the sense that it
didn't deter him for a moment. He set his face like a flint,
said, I must needs go, I must needs go. And all who own him as their
all-sufficient Redeemer, and bow to him as such, and cling
to him as such, and rest assured that he did just that. He went
there for you, and bore the wrath of God on your behalf. All who
reject the Son of God will perish forever. That's revealed in the
gospel, too. That's part of the gospel. The
bad news is included in the good news, isn't it? The wrath of
God. Unbeliever, God's wrath hangs
even now over your head. And it's revealed from heaven
that you richly deserve and will certainly receive the everlasting
damnation which is your portion if you die without the Savior.
That's revealed there, too. And with this thought of revealed
wrath, let me read you a passage from Acts 13. This is the way
The Apostle Paul preaches there in Acts 13, and he ends his message
this way, with a warning. And so I'll end this one the
same way. This wouldn't have gone over too good in the average
freewill church. He didn't beg anybody to do something
for Jesus. Here's what he said after preaching
to God. He said, Be it known unto you, therefore, men and
brethren, that through this man, through the God-man, Through
the man Christ Jesus, through God's Christ, through God's chosen,
the man that he raised up, the man that represents us, the God-man,
through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, all that believe
are justified from all things. from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Is that what we've been talking
about? The righteousness of God is revealed without the law.
That's the righteousness you need that doesn't require you
to keep the law. It can't happen by the law of
Moses. But this man and all that believe
in him are justified from all things. Justified. And you're thinking, well, how
are you? That's the gospel, isn't it? That's the oh, yeah, it is
absolutely the gospel. But look how you wound up this
message. Beware, therefore. Beware. Because. This gospel is set forth before
you today, beware. Therefore, lest that come upon
you. Which is spoken of in the prophets,
namely this. Behold you despisers, behold
you that hate the Christ that I just preached to you. Behold
and wonder and perish. He didn't say behold and wonder,
I fear that you might perish. No, if you despise Christ, you're
sure enough going to perish. That's what he said. Behold and
wonder and perish, for I work a work in your days. A work which
you shall in no wise believe, though a man stand up and preach
it to you, like I've done tonight, though one declare it unto you."
He said, Beware, lest when the prophet said that, lest when
the prophet said, somebody's going to preach the gospel to
you and you're not going to have any interest in it. You're going
to despise the one preached. He said, Beware, lest when the
prophet said that, he was talking about you. Oh, my friends, I'm not ashamed of this gospel
because both righteousness and wrath are revealed therein. And
it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. May
God give you grace to lay hold of His Son. Amen.

Righteousness and Wrath Revealed

What does the Bible say about righteousness?

How do we know the gospel is the power of God for salvation?

Why is understanding God's wrath important for Christians?

What is the relationship between faith and salvation in the gospel?

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Righteousness and Wrath Revealed

What does the Bible say about righteousness?

How do we know the gospel is the power of God for salvation?

Why is understanding God's wrath important for Christians?

What is the relationship between faith and salvation in the gospel?

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

Comments

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