Everyone Needs the Gospel | Romans 1:16-32
We cannot appreciate the significance of the gospel until we come to grips with the charges that were brought against us. Let me illustrate it this way:
Imagine with me that the Verde Valley courthouse called me up and told me to come down to the court at noon. It was an urgent matter. So I dropped what I was doing and I headed into the courthouse. The judge brought me into the courtroom and announced to me, “Mr. Stafford, you are not guilty.”
I look at him and say, “Your honor, I didn’t know that I was charged with a crime.” The judge says, “You were but, you’re not guilty.” Would I really feel a sense of relief? Not really… I never knew I was charged with a crime. In order for me to really feel the relief of being declared “not guilty” I need to understand the charges that were leveled against me.
I was guilty of breaking the law a few weeks ago. I was running late to church, dressed in my Sunday clothes and pulling the church trailer down Mingus. The speed limit is 25… I think I was doing almost 40… when I spotted the police officer…. And I realized that I was not confident of what the speed limit was on that road.
Busted. I was busted. I was totally guilty of speeding. I knew it. The officer had every right to give me a ticket. The lights went on, she pulled me over and asked me if I knew what the speed limit was. I told her that I thought it was 35, but I must have been wrong…. Because you just pulled me over… She told me, it is 25 and immediately I said, I’m guilty. I was speeding.
As she was running my license and insurance, sure enough, one of you stopped by the police car and shouted out to the officer, “Hey Officer, You just pulled over my pastor!” I don’t know what exactly went on in the officer’s mind at that moment, but she came back to my truck, told me to slow down and let me go. It was grace. I was guilty, but the officer let me off the hook. Knowing that I was let off for the speeding ticket – even though I deserved it – created a great deal of appreciation in my heart for the kindness of the police officer.
- I knew the charge that was leveled against me.
- I was guilty.
- She forgave it.
The theme in this section of scripture is the righteousness of God, but in order to understand the significance of righteousness of God we need to understand the how unrighteous we are apart from Christ. To really grasp the charges that Jesus paid for us, we need to more fully comprehend what we were guilty of doing. Until a person knows they are a sinner, they can’t appreciate (or be thankful for) the grace-saturated offer of salvation God offers us through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Let’s back up a few verses and look at where we left off last week. In verse 16, Paul declares that he is “not ashamed of the gospel.” Why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? Verse 16 explains that the gospel is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” How does that work? Verse 17 says that “it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.” What Paul means is that the gospel is God’s way of pardoning the guilt of sinful people through faith in Jesus.
Why is that necessary? What am I guilty of? What are the charges that were brought against me? We cannot appreciate (or ever be thankful for) the significance of the gospel until we come to grips with the charges that were brought against us. In this next section of scripture we are going to look at how, apart from Christ, we stand guilty before a perfectly righteous God. (But there is hope at the end, so hang on)
God responds to wickedness and rebellion with righteous wrath – V.18
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
The wrath of God is not like human anger. When people get angry, there is usually a sinful component to their anger. Whereas there is such a thing as righteous indignation, most of our exchanges when we are angry are steeped in some level of unrighteousness. Most of the time, our anger is laden with uncontrolled emotions or a raging desire for revenge. Often our anger is rooted in pride and vanity. It is difficult for us to be angry and not to fall into sin.
God’s wrath is not filled with the same poisonous ingredients as our anger. God never flies off the handle or loses His temper or acts in a spiteful, malicious or vindictive way. God is perfectly holy and He is thrilled by things that are pure and beautiful. By the nature of who God is, he can’t be thrilled by purity and also be thrilled with impurity. God loves purity, but he detests impurity. He loves righteousness but He hates unrighteousness.
God is the sum of all things that are excellent in the universe. He wouldn’t be that way if he was indifferent towards sin. In fact, there is a holy hostility for evil in the heart of God.
- He refuses to condone it.
- He rejects negotiations with it.
- He insists on judging it.
Therefore, wrath can be the only response God can make toward men who display ANY unrighteousness.
Righteous wrath is every bit as much a part of God’s holy nature and His divine perfection as is love and mercy and kindness. Before we can fully understand the grace of God, we must recognize the wrath of God. It was the wrath of God that made Christ’s death for sin necessary. Christ didn’t come to save us from our sin… He came to save us from God’s wrath as it is poured out against our sin.
God in His holiness is obligated to pour out his wrath on sin. If God did not punish sin, He would no longer be holy. A Holy God could not let a guilty man go without judgment. Not judging a guilty man is unjust, and that would be against God’s character. That does not create a problem for God, but it creates a problem for us.
We are in a dangerous position and we need to be saved. Specifically, we need to be saved from God’s wrath and from God’s judgment. God’s wrath burns against unrighteousness and if we have every done ANYTHING unrighteous, it burns against us. We need a shield against God’s wrath.
God is fully aware of our problem and He’s not just wrathful, but He’s also gracious and abounding in steadfast love. Out of his love and compassion for us, he sent Jesus, His Son. God saw the problem His perfection created for us and solved that problem with the gospel. That is why Paul is so excited about writing verse 16, “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”
Before we can understand God’s mercy and grace, we must see first see mankind’s rebellion, sin and guilt. When Paul writes in verse 18 that “…the wrath of God is revealed…against all ungodliness … of men,” what he is getting at is that the essence of sin is godlessness (living a life without an acknowledgement of God). Sin is often born out of a rebellious attempt to replace or get rid of God. Since it is impossible for us to literally get rid of God, mankind does the next best thing, and they live as though God does not exist.
God is not going to excuse unrighteousness because people are living like He does not exist. He will not tolerate the statement, “I didn’t know you were real.” Paul undeniably proclaims that no person can claim ignorance of God.
No person can claim ignorance of God
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
There are 2 evidences of God’s existence in the very fabric and framework of every human being.
#1 – We know that we are not running the universe.
Something else is holding it all together. Mankind does not possess any kind of godlike power. Even if we were to take all of mankind, working in perfect cooperation together, we could not keep the universe from falling apart.
- We can’t place stars
- We can’t stop asteroids
- We can’t make life
- We can’t even keep our own lives together
BUT there is some kind of awesome power to keeping it all together. Something outside of ourselves has to be managing nature. What is it? Luck? Evolution? If it is, we are in real trouble. Luck and evolution are slow and unintelligent and even less powerful than we are. Is that what’s running the universe? I don’t think so. Every man who thinks critically about our surroundings knows that something big is out there, keeping the universe together.
#2 – Every person and every culture has an intrinsic desire to live morally.
No one lives as though there is no right and wrong. Even criminals have a code of ethics. Anthropologists have found a worldwide moral sense in every culture. Often the morality gets distorted in those cultures because of sin, but every culture has a sense of right and wrong. Every people group believes that right should be rewarded and wrong should be punished.
- No one lives as though there is no right and wrong
- Every people group cries out for justice when a crime has been committed
Where did that sense come from? Did chance or luck or evolution create morality? It seems to be more intentional than the result of pure chance and breeding. Morality is the product of design, not chance.
BUT what really screams out, “THERE IS A GOD!!!” is the creation itself. Look at verse 20:
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.
They observed how a tiny seed turned into a giant tree
Even in the most ancient of times the greatness of God was evident in both the enormity of heavens and the intricate detail of nature.
#3 – The greatness of God is evident in both the enormity of heavens and the intricate detail of nature
- Before there was the telescope, men were looking up into the heavens and watching the stars. The lights in the sky where perfectly orderly and following laws that govern the universe.
- They observed how a tiny seed turned into a giant tree. This seed that appeared dead would spring to life if you gave it some soil and water. It was mind-boggling
- There is the marvel of the birth of a new baby and the miracle of new life.
Modern science, research and technology gives us even less of an excuse to ignore God. Let’s consider these God-sized facts about our earth and sun:
- If the Suns’s radiated energy could be converted into horsepower, it would be the equivalent of 500 million, million, billion horsepower.
Every second, the Sun consumes 4 million tons of matter… The equivalent of 40 Aircraft Carriers
We can’t handle the Sun, much less the trillions of stars just like it. “Nature” and evolution can’t handle it either. Only a Being of limitless power could control these forces. Only God can control the Sun and the stars!
Robert Jastrow, an astrophysicist and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has said,
“Now we see how the astronomical evidence supports the biblical view of the origin of the universe… The essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same. Consider the enormousness of the problem: Science has proved that the universe {came} into being at a certain moment. It asks what cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter and energy into the universe? And science cannot answer these questions…
For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pull himself over the final rock; He is greeted by a group of theologians who have been there for centuries.”
What he’s saying is that all the scientific discoveries are increasingly pointing to exactly what the Bible says and to what theologians have been claiming to be true for thousands of years.
It is more reasonable to think that random watch parts could be dropped into a bag, shaken up and then emerge as a Rolex than the universe could have happened by chance.
Except to a mind that is willfully closed to the obvious, it is inconceivable that the power, the complexity and the harmony we observe everyday in our universe could have developed in any other way than by a Master Designer who rules and reign over it all. It is more reasonable to think that random watch parts could be dropped into a bag, shaken up and then emerge as a Rolex than the universe could have happened by chance.
With all the evidence that points to a creator, scientists still choose evolution and even mock those who dare to mention the theory of intelligent design in academic circles. One evolutionist said, “I refuse to believe in God, so what other alternative do I have but evolution?” At least he was honest, but he gave a clear testimony to the fact that it is not evidence for evolution that fuels our modern scientific theories, but rather it is a disbelief in and a rejection of God that leads them to their conclusions.
Despite overwhelming evidence, people still reject God.
Fallen man has been trying to avoid God and deny his power from the very beginning. Millions of people have lived in the midst of God’s brilliant creation and His mind-boggling universe while boldly and pridefully refusing to recognize Him and the maker of it all. Look at verse 21
21 For although they knew God,
A willful, foolish rejection of the clear facts of God’s control over Creation and His rightful place as Lord of Creation places a person under God righteous judgment. Let me illustrate it this way: Let’s says a person where to stand up before us this morning and make the argument that air does not exist. While he is talking, he is still breathing the air. Doesn’t his use of air invalidate his argument? He is using the very air he is denying to argue that air does not exist. It’s illogical.
If a person where to stand up in the midst of God’s perfectly managed and supplied and intricately created universe and argue that God does not exist, his argument is just as invalid. The very presence of a Creation proves that a Creator does exist.
When man willfully rejects God, he is rightly under God’s judgment because he refuses to honor God as God. This is the most basic sin of pride. God is supremely worthy of honor. It is especially fitting that the creatures that are the object of His greatest affection and attention recognize Him as being supremely worthy of honor and glory.
If I ran a race and came in tenth place, but they awarded me with the first place medal, the first place runner would object and be offended. AND for good reason. I was awarded a medal I didn’t deserve. That runner earned it, not me. I’m not worthy of the honor of a first place medal. In the same way, to refuse to give honor to God when He is worthy of it and to instead give it to a false god or keep it for ourselves, is the most offensive sin we can commit against God.
The existence of God is the greatest reality of the universe. God is the only source that provides meaning and purpose and wisdom and truth. If someone cannot properly observe the obvious reality of God’s existence; then they are headed for a futile quest for man-made wisdom and human speculation. Verse 22-23 says, : 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.” They have ahead of them a lifetime of idolatry and unbelief that leads to wickedness and godless reasoning.
Rejection of God leads to a bondage to perversity.
Spiritual darkness and moral perversity are inseparable. When a man forfeits a belief in God, he also gives up moral virtue. These next few verses are very dark as Paul explains what happens to a person when they become enslaved to sin. Let’s begin reading at verse 24
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 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.
When we choose to serve the lusts of our hearts, it does not free us, but it consumes us. It destroys us.. It dishonors us. But, God will let us pursue those things if we choose them over Him. (but it breaks His heart) Verse 26
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 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.
Homosexuality is a violation of the created nature that God gave us. Paul makes it clear from the context of this passage that it is not the result of how a person was born but it is the result of a heart that is in rebellion towards God. But it is not the only thing that results from a heart that is in rebellion towards God.
Before you and I get on our high horse and come down hard on people who struggle with homosexuality, look at the rest of the chapter. We’ll all find ourselves somewhere in this list.
28 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. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 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.
Paul lists seemingly “minor sins” like gossip and envy and disobedience to parent alongside what we would consider “major sins” like murder and inventing evil and hating God. Paul’s aim here was to show that the whole of mankind is morally bankrupt.
Well, maybe you are still standing on the sidelines thinking, “You tell them pastor. You tell them how bad they are.” Don’t be to quick to condemn the sins of others without looking carefully at yourself. Look at the first couple of verses of Chapter 2
2 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. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 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? 4 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?
Self- righteous people are not worthy of heaven. No man is worthy. No man meets God’s standards – no matter how righteous they think they are. But God is not just wrathful, He is also perfectly kind. God’s kindness in sending His son is meant to lead every man to see his sin and run to the Savior for forgiveness. Without Jesus, mankind is utterly unable to find a favorable verdict with God. We’re Judged. We’re busted. We are in desperate need of God’s mercy and His pardon. How do we get out of this dark place?
Application
The way out is to stop suppressing the truth. God is honorable. He is the right object and aim of our worship and our affections. We are made to worship God. Acknowledging God as Creator and King is the foundation of God Glorifying worship.
Life without God does not satisfy. Modern people are prone to replace the worship of God with the worship of:
- Science
- Reason
- Progress
- Pleasure
If we choose to worship any created thing over the creator, it does not ever satisfy us. BUT…When we choose to stop suppressing the truth about who God is and wholeheartedly give our lives over to his control, that’s when we find perfect satisfaction.
How do we find the motivation and power and freedom to follow God with a reckless abandon? The power comes from Christ. The power of God rests in the gospel. Verse 16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes
How is it powerful? Because in the gospel the “17 … righteousness of God is revealed.” The gospel shows us the godlessness and wickedness of mankind ESPECIALLY when we compare it to the righteousness of God. Then it shows how deeply loved we are by our creator. He made a way for us our sins to be forgiven so we could to draw near to Him and enjoy His riches and beauty and power for the rest of eternity!
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