THE WRATH OF GOD REVEALED

ROMANS 1:18

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness

(Romans 1:18).

It is generally agreed that verse 17 gives us the theme of the entire book of Romans: “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ ”

So the grand theme of the Book of Romans is the gospel, specifically how the gospel answers man’s need to be made right before a just and holy God. In other words, the theme of the entire epistle is what we call the doctrine of justification by faith.

Why mankind needs the gospel

After stating this foundational truth Paul abruptly changes gears, shifting his focus in this chapter to the background that we must understand if we are going to understand why we need to be justified in the first place. Paul quickly moves from an announcement of the revelation of a new kind of righteousness that is available to us to speak immediately of the revelation of the wrath of God (v. 18). The remainder of the chapter is devoted to an explanation of why God is angry, why men need to be justified, and why we need to hear the gospel in the first place.

General revelation

The central content of this section is what theologians have labeled the concept of general revelation. By definition, general revelation refers to the self-disclosure that God makes of Himself generally. It is general for two reasons: First, it has a general audience—all men receive this revelation. Second, its content is general—it does not reveal all knowledge that comes to us through Scripture. General revelation does not disclose knowledge concerning matters such as the atoning death of Christ, the sacrificial system of ancient Israel, the final resurrection, and much more.

God plainly reveals Himself, but men stifle that truth. They exchange truth for a lie and move from a proper knowledge of God into idolatry. By doing so they put out the light of knowledge God has so freely revealed.

CORAM DEO

As you pray today, praise God for His goodness in delivering you from bondage to sin and death and for protecting you from His wrath. Ask Him to remind you of His wrath so that you might be more compassionate and diligent in personal evangelism.

thursday

february