Being Thankful Changes How You Think
Romans 1:18-24
Introduction
Prayer
The Revelation of God’s Wrath (vv. 18-20)
“For the wrath of God is (constantly) revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Wrath is the personal manifestation of God’s holy, moral character in judgment against sin. It is neither an impersonal process nor irrational and fitful like anger. It is in no way a vindictive or malicious. It is holy indignation – God’s anger directed against sin.[1]
All people stand condemned because of their sin. (Romans 3:10-11 “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.” Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” )
God reveals His wrath in two ways: 1) indirectly through the natural consequences of violating His universal moral law. 2) directly through His personal intervention[2]
God has been revealing His wrath for a long time. The first time was in response to Adam and Eve after they disobediently ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and caused themselves and mankind to fall under the curse of sin.
In the centuries that followed, humanity became so sinful that God released His wrath again through the Flood (Gen. 6:7). God also demonstrated His wrath in destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, sending plagues upon the Egyptians, and instituting the sacrificial system.
God hates sin and will not put with it forever. The suffering death of Jesus upon the cross was the ultimate demonstration of the God’s wrath. The Father’s hatred for sin is so intense that for the sake of sinners He poured out His righteous fury on His beloved, sinless Son, who took our place. So now mankind stands with a choice to either take the wrath of God upon himself or accept Jesus’ gift to take the wrath for us.
Some Old Testament words describe God’s holy response to human sin. Some of these meanings include (charah) “to become heated up, to burn with fury,” (charon) “burning, fierce wrath” (Za’am) “furious.”[3]
Why is God angry at sinful people? Because they have substituted the truth about him with a fantasy of their own imagination (1:25). They have stifled the truth God naturally reveals to all people in order to believe anything that supports their own self-centered life-styles.[4]
(v. 18) “Supress the truth” Although the evidence from conscience (1:19; 2:14), creation (1:20), and God’s Word is irrefutable, men choose to resist and oppose God’s truth by holding fast to their sin.[5]
Truth in the NT is not simply something to which one must give mental agreement (assent), it is something to be done. When people act sinfully, rebelling against God’s just rule, they fail to embrace the truth and so suppress it.[6]
When people suppress and distort the truth of God, they run the risk of a darkened heart. As part of the judgment of their sin, God confirms their rebellion by removing his light from their minds. Then their confused thinking becomes a permanent mind-set and they are unable to turn to God.[7] When people suppress God’s will they will believe any lie that comes along to support their personal beliefs.
What can we learn about God from this revelation from nature (v.20)? God is mighty and powerful, intelligence, intricate detail. He is a God of order and beauty.[8]
“without excuse”[9] If a person will respond to the revelation he has, even if it is solely natural revelation, God will provide some means for that person to hear the gospel (Acts 8:26-39; 10:1-48; 17:27).[10]
Rejection of the knowledge of God is repeated in every generation, by every individual. Every person is “without excuse” because every person has been given a knowledge of God and has favored idolatry over this knowledge.
All stand under the awful reality of the wrath of God, and all are in desperate need of the justifying power of the gospel of Christ.
Why then should we be involved in missions or even tell others about Christ?
- Although people know that God exists, they suppress that truth by their wickedness and thus deny him. We are to point out their error.
- Although people may believe there is a God, they refuse to commit themselves to him. We can help to persuade them.
- We can try to convince people who reject God of the dangerous consequences of their actions.
- Even if nature reveals there is a God, people need to be told how to have a relationship with Him.
- The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19,20).
Mankind has continually and consistently sought to escape accountability to God’s standard (Gen. 3:8). Men and women would prefer that the biblical God not exist, even though there is an essential knowledge of Him placed within each person.
The Rejection of God’s Ways (vv. 21-24)
“21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. . . ,”
“knew God” Man is conscience of God’s existence, power, and divine nature through general revelation (vv. 19,20). The refusal of people to acknowledge and worship God (v. 21) explains why the revelation of God in nature leads to their being “without excuse.”
(1) “they did not honor him as God” We glorify God through recognizing Him for who He is. And following Him in obedience. Given the opportunity to commune, and fellowship in the glory of God they reject him and turn to a god of their own making.
Adam and Eve when they were in the garden (Gen. 3:8) God would come in the cool of the day and spend time with them. But they rejected his ways and believed the lie of Satan and were cast out of the garden.
(2) “or give thanks to him” Giving thanks to God has always been central to worshipping Him. “This sounds as though God’s wrath comes in response to bad manners: forgetting to say, “than you.” But Paul is saying that we are plagiarists. We take what God has made, and pass it off as our own.”[11]
We celebrate Communion as a way of thanking Him for giving His body (bread) as a sacrifice and the shedding of his blood (wine). Tithing is also a way of thanking and recognizing God for what He has provided.
“they became futile in their thinking” Man’s search for meaning and purpose will produce only vain, meaningless conclusions apart from a biblical understanding of God.
“their foolish hearts were darkened” When man rejects the truth, the darkness of spiritual falsehood replaces it.
John 3:19-20 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”
When man rationalizes his sin, he proves his utter foolishness by devising and believing his own philosophies about God and himself (Ps. 14:1; 53:1).
“for images” How could intelligent people turn to idolatry? Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to him as the Creator and sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe.
They soon invent “gods” that are convenient projections of their own selfish plans. Idolaters worship the things God made rather than God himself. Greeks invented gods that had humans sinful flaws. They each had their own weaknesses (jealously, anger, adultery, lust, etc..)
(v. 24) “God gave them up” It has been described as the sinner being in a boat and God lets the boat go to float down stream. But not only does he just let it go, he gives it a good kick and sends it on its way.
Like a judge who hands over a prisoner to the punishment his crime earned, God hands over the sinner to the terrible cycle of ever-increasing sin. This is not because God stops loving man.
It is His desire that the sinner would become aware of his or her situation. His hope is that they will see the waterfall of destruction and cry out for help and forgiveness before they go over the edge.
These people chose to reject God, and God allowed them to do it. God does not usually stop us from making choices against his will. He lets us declare our independence from him, even though he knows in time we will become slaves to our rebellious choices – we will lose our freedom not to sin.
People who have refused to acknowledge God end up with minds that are “disqualified” from being able to understand and acknowledge the will of God.[12]
There is simply no human remedy for the problem of sin. So, man continues to fall deeper and deeper into son. There is a progression that is given here: It all begins with the suppression of the Truth – No glorification of God, No thanks to God – Thinking became futile, hearts darkened – idolatry – sexual impurity – depraved mind – continuation of sin (knowing its wrong) – approving of others who sin.
The only hope for man to avoid the wrath of God is a Savior.
Conclusion
Cletus and Bosco
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[1] Ronald Youngblood, General Editor, New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Tennessee; Nelson Publishing, 1995) 1322.
[2] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (La Habra, California; Word Publishing, 2006) 1660.
[3] John MacArthur, Nothing But the Truth (Wheaton, llinois; Crossway Books, 1999) 58.
[4] Romans. Life Application Bible Studies. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishing. P. 7.
[5] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible,1693.
[6] Douglas Moo, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle of Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996) 102.
[7] Romans. Life Application Bible Studies. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishing. P. 7.
[8] Romans. Life Application Bible Studies. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishing. P. 7.
[9] Ps. 19:1-8; 94:9; Acts 14:15-17; 17:23-28
[10] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, 1693.
[11]Timothy Keller, Romans 1-7 For You (The Good Book Company, 2018) 27.
[12] Douglas Moo. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle of Romans.
Michigan: Eedmans Publishing. P. 119.
