Week #1: The Gospel Reveals That All People Are Under God’s Wrath

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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. 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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 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, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 

The gospel is “good news”. But in order to understand how good the good news is, we must hear some bad news first. The bad news is all mankind is under God’s wrath. Wrath is a word with which many people might be unfamiliar. Merriam-Webster defines wrath as: retributory punishment for an offense or a crime. What is our crime? That though we are graciously given life and all things by God, we don’t honor Him or live lives of gratitude, but instead spend our lives seeking our fulfillment, security, and happiness in other things. This rebellious self-serving nature of ours results in our committal of of kinds of wickedness. God does not force obedience; three times in these verses it says that God “gave them up” to do all that our wicked hearts could conceive. In committing treason against God, we have cut ourselves off from the source of life and light. Ultimately, if we remain under God’s wrath, we will die forever separated from Him, at which time we will receive the full punishment for our rebellion. Remember Jesus’ words: that He did not come into the world to condemn the world, for the world was already condemned.

It is important to notice that it is not only the wicked who are called out as being under God’s wrath. It is easy to read this passage and see only the sins of others. However, in the final paragraph Paul points directly at those who, in their pride and with a hard heart toward God, judge and accuse others. In the verses to come it becomes clear that Paul is calling out religious people who had the Scriptures but still did not obey them.

It has been noted that there are two majors ways in which all mankind turns away from God. Some of us turn away from God in immorality and irreligion. Others of us turn away from God in morality and religion. Yet all are the same, for we all turn away, and we all remain under God’s wrath.

• Have you ever looked at world events and wondered why their is so much evil in the world? What does the Bible say is the reason behind all the evil in the world? Would you agree with this assessment?
• When someone commits an offense against us, we often become bitter and want immediate justice. Why do you think that God instead gives us over to follow our desires? What does this say about God’s character?
• Consider your own life. Would you say that it has been your tendency to follow your own desires toward irreligion or toward religion? Can you see how both paths are a turning away from God?