The Wrath of God

Romans 1:18

In the last few verses, we have been looking at the importance of not being ashamed of the gospel. Today’s verse begins a different thought. This does not mean we should ignore the past verses, I think it is important to look at the entire chapter as a whole, but it is good to note that this verse begins a new thought.

Paul writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Paul went from discussing the mercy and grace of God to discussing the wrath of God. Let’s look at what this verse is saying.

The Bible clearly states that God has wrath. He is a loving and gracious and merciful God, but he is also a God of wrath. This verse tells us what it is that causes Him to have wrath. It is ungodliness and unrighteousness.

Who is an ungodly person? Let’s look at the Greek definition. The Greek word for ungodliness is ἀσέβεια (asebeia) which means irreverence and wickedness. We all know that the unbeliever is irreverent and wicked, but if we are honest with ourselves we will admit that we also often fall into the category of being irreverent and wicked.

Does this mean that God is angry with us? Psalm 7:11 tells us that God is angry with the wicked every day. We are wicked. Therefore, it would be logical to conclude that God is angry with us every day. However, the farther we read in this chapter the clearer it becomes that Paul is talking about the unbeliever. We will of course study these verses moving forward, but it is important to note now in order to better understand verse eighteen is speaking of unbelievers.

Why is God angry with the wicked? Why does he not just show them compassion and love instead of anger and wrath? Because God is holy. He cannot ignore the sins of man. If He chose to just show love and compassion instead of anger and wrath then He would not be a holy God. This would make Him a liar and a God not worth serving. A perfect holy God cannot overlook ungodliness or unrighteousness.

His wrath is revealed from heaven as well. It is my opinion that this shows us that this wrath is intentional. It comes straight from heaven. He watches and is aware of all the unrighteousness and ungodliness of men. He sees it and He acts. God does not just set a plan in motion and then sit back and watch His plan unwind, He takes nonstop action on the sinfulness of men.

The last part of this verse is also interesting. It says that the ungodly suppress the truth. What does this mean? It means that the sins of man distract us from seeing the glory of God. God is the truth. His glory and holiness are truth. The devil aims to distract us in any way he can from seeing and reveling in the glory of God. That is what our sins do. It distracts from the glory of God. It distracts others from seeing His glory. The unbeliever constantly aims to point away from God’s glory.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, this verse dives into a different topic then the topic we were previously focusing on. However, the Bible speaks about the wrath of God and therefore we will study what it says. We cannot only look at the verses that make us feel good, we must study the entire Bible. Remember, our ultimate purpose is to glorify God. Reading His Word as a whole is a must if we are to do that.

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