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Romans 1:18-32 What Is God Angry About?
Romans chapter 1 be reading for verses 18 to 32. Hear the word of the Lord. 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 reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lust 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 decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word.
Was God angry? We think.
Of course not.
That's not angry.
No, we get angry.
When we get irritated or something doesn't go our way we're treated disrespectfully maybe insulted someone cuts us off in traffic or Says horrible things to us. So we get mad. Maybe we shout back. How dare they treat us like that?
Maybe we get angry at inanimate things. When they don't work right at the printer. I have a problem getting angry at printers now. It's ridiculous. Shouting at it makes no difference. And of course, you don't hurt his feelings.
That's the bandage but but still it does nothing.
It's just foolish.
But we feel that this this thing is not doing what I wanted to do. Doesn't it know who I am? Well, what makes you angry? Selfish drivers in front of you going too slow when you're in a hurry.
Insults.
Printers that don't work. Those of you. But children. Do you get angry at your kids?
Should you?
What if they don't listen?
Now if it's all about our ego, can we feel disregarded then is it just is it selfish to get angry at them? It's just pride. Or there's a disobedient child deserves some anger. Maybe you have to raise your voice sometimes to get through to him or maybe they need to learn that some things deserve Anger, of course, that's the issue, isn't it?
Does anything deserve? Anger. Well, it's getting more complicated now, isn't it? Now? We usually think of anger is a a petty selfish passing thing a fit that overcomes us and Outbursts that we know we should suppress now when people say I said some words in anger.
We know that they said the wrong thing. Anger is always something we think we kind of assume. That we should reject. It's something unworthy of us and so if you're really spiritual you won't get angry.
I Remember in high school a youth group leader saying confidently to us God does not get angry. Now I've read the Bible by then and I knew that wasn't true. But it's still a popular idea about God that he never gets angry.
That's that's unworthy of God. And so people today look back on Jonathan Edwards famous sermon sinners in the hands of an angry God and they look back on it. Is this is bizarre kind of even perverse? Expression of a of a twisted fault Theology and they congratulate themselves on how now how they know God's so much better than this primitive Barbarian Jonathan Edwards did he's actually the most sophisticated philosopher in American history.
I never mind that I Remember hearing his story about how it I believe it was Princeton University. They graduate students to get together and someone's going to read Jonathan Edwards sermon centers of the hands of an angry God and at first when they started Reading it the people kind of laughing and this is so ridiculous that people would believe this and preach this on their day.
But then by the time it was over it got a get heavier and heavier and they were just crushing. And they left kind of dazed. Indeed a man who is supposed to be a pastor somewhat prominent Brian Zahn. I believe he's in st Louis I wrote a book entitled sinners in the hands of a loving God.
Decrying the idea of God being angry of being wrathful. He's a false teacher. Not Edwards Zahn. He's presenting a false God and a false gospel. Edwards was right. The reality is that over and over again the gospel begins by declaring That God is indeed angry and Now he's going to reveal and he's going to impose that anger effect.
The New Testament begins with John the Baptist declaring the axe is laid to the root of the trees. In other words judgment is now beginning. The anger is about to be expressed from God. Jesus himself then comes along and begins with repent.
Turn from your sins for the kingdom of God is at hand turn for your sins because now God's rule is coming in which Sins are going to be angrily punished. To the philosophers in Athens in Acts chapter 17 the Apostle Paul declares, you know he talks about all their idols and at first it sounds like he's kind of Open and affirming and a tolerant kind of guy then he says, you know, that was the times of ignorance.
When people worship idols all that stuff God overlooked that in the past. But he says now You philosophers in the gospel. Now he commands all men everywhere to repent to repent because he says Judgment is coming and God has appointed Jesus to be the judge and now that's being revealed.
And now here in Romans chapter 1 Paul begins his argument in earnest. That's what's happening verse 18. I understand the first 15 verses were sort of introduction to Romans those two verses last week where the thesis statement and now he's beginning His argument in Romans in earnest and he begins it by declaring that the wrath of God which God's anger.
That is his settled opposition to whatever insults his glory that is being revealed the gospel begins by making known that God is angry. Now what's got angry about? And we're told right here in two major parts first and verses 18 to 23 the horrible exchange and Then second in verses 24 to 32 the terrifying surrender the first God is angry at our horrible exchange.
Paul begins by explaining that he is not ashamed of the good news. Remember that's from last week. That the that good news that a right relationship with God is revealed for those who believe. Because here now in verse 18 because of the bad news.
It's also revealed. The good news of verse 17 is that is that we can be right with God. The bad news starting in verse 18 is that that we are in desperate need To be right with him. Because he is angry.
Now the word wrath is I hear the wrath of God's being revealed that kind of. Obscures it in my opinion because we don't usually use the word wrath. We don't you know, we don't usually say well, yeah, I got caught up in drag when I lost I lost my wrath.
We don't we don't talk like that, right? But it is usually only used for God and so it's kind of this abstract word. We don't think what it means, but in reality the word in Greek just means anger. It's just a typical word for anger.
Now. It's not an outburst of sort of out-of-control passion. For God, it's a fixed fury and ongoing opposition to sin. Now that is another idea that people today are often ashamed of that. We are sinners in the hands of an angry God now someone who insists again again that God is not angry.
The simplistic idea taught by men like that man I just mentioned Zahn is that the Old Testament pictures and Old Testament is an angry God. He's judging and punishing but in the New Testament In Jesus God is now loving and accepting.
I wonder if such people have ever really read Jesus. I don't understand where they get that. It's just so but never but it's not the point that's the simplistic idea that many people have actually they take a few verses from Jesus out of context and that's what they think but the dispensationalists say that the Old Testament is about wall and Then the New Testament or at least most of it and they can never really decide where the dispensation ends or begins.
But the New Testament mostly and partly is about grace, but Paul shows ironically here. This is what he's saying here is ironic compared to what most people do they think he's saying. You know, the opposite is the case.
It's not that God was Angry in the Old Testament and now he's just kind of mellowed out. No, actually before God was patient and now He is revealing his anger now not at all suggesting that God's changed but now he's revealing something new he's revealing his anger.
Almost all the revelation is a few hints in the Old Testament about hell. But almost all the revelation about hell is in the New Testament. He's revealed that. In verse 18, the reason why the good news of a right relationship with God through faith is so good Is because God's is angry with people Who are without faith.
The anger is he says of God. He's just God's anger. It belongs to him and it's from heaven. It's being revealed from Where from his realm and it's against he says two things notice the verse 18. It's against ungodliness and.
Unrighteousness.
This signals that where he is heading in the rest of this passage. In fact my opinion, this is sort of his outline for the rest of this passage on godliness. He deals with first and unrighteousness for verses 18 to 23.
He talks about ungodliness or the word could be translated impiety. That's the root spiritual problem. It's wrong.
Worship.
What we are here calling the horrible exchange now then from verses 24 to 32. He is talking about unrighteousness that's the bad fruit that comes out of that horrible exchange that comes out of that ungodliness and.
That's immorality, right? You understand you have a bad worship. You have a heart that doesn't love God and then that expresses itself through any moral life. What is he angry at? Of course ungodliness.
That's our distorted worship. That is we do not give God the kind of worship that he deserves. Now at the heart of this ungodliness is a horrible exchange. First they had the truth. That is people talking human beings we our race.
There we had truth from God. We knew God. And there are truths about God that are he says that are manifest. That is they are made known to people. To manifest is to expose to bring out in the open so that anyone can see it.
It's not hidden anymore. To manifest is to take something that people before couldn't see or there's a mystery and to make it plain here. There are some basic truths about God. He says our manifest in Nature in verse 20 Paul says that there are there to invisible qualities about God that have been since creation.
They've been made plain manifest two things that any honest person just looking around at this universe can clearly perceive His eternal power. He's powerful enough to create all this and it's eternal that lasts forever because it goes back to before the universe began and his Divine nature that is that he is God and we're not.
Now to many that may sound incredible. Because he says he's clear. He's it can be this can be clearly perceived. He's saying that is obvious. If you just open your eyes, they'll say what are you talking about?
A lot of people deny that well that basic knowledge of God is obvious. It's plainly out there for anyone to see so much so that if anyone refuses to acknowledge God it is because they are choosing to suppress.
What is manifest.
What's this obvious?
It's just a plain fact, but they refuse to accept it now. Today, you know atheist stream, you know, show us the proof. Give us proof and we'll believe. But you know who's first. Philosophically. Who first.
With philosophy. Logically argued and they concluded that there must be a God. Who did that first you think? Looked at creation and concluded. But it's just impossible. For there not to be an eternal creator.
You think that was some? Christian theologian. Or the monk at a monastery. Who looked at creation and said that yeah. Look at the evidence. Everything that moves is moved by something else and so if you follow the chain of events back far enough you there has to be a Prime mover who started it all.
Who did that.
It wasn't a Christian or a Jew. It was Aristotle the Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 BC. He merely looked at the universe and he reasoned With what he could see with what was manifest That there is one eternal creator the necessary being.
And if Aristotle could do that So could anyone else anywhere in the world. And that's what Paul is saying here. That God has left enough evidence of himself in creation that with even even without the Bible or without preachers people have sufficient proof to come to the conclusion that there must be one eternal God.
And So once they conclude that They can begin to search for this God just to find out who he is. To desperately make it then their their life's purpose to find and know this God. So at the end of verse 20, they are without excuse.
Now understand what I'm saying. I'm not saying there's enough evidence. You can't just know God intimately perfectly just from creation. I'm saying there's enough to know that there is a God and once you find that out you should go searching for him.
And if you do he'll reveal himself to you. But what is God angry at it? He's angry that there's plenty of proof that he is there. But still people refuse to worship him some some worship instead.
Idols and.
Some close their eyes and just refuse to admit that God exists at all. They cry out for proof but suppress The truth. That is there the proof that is already present in Britain. A prominent atheist and Anthony flew.
What attended. Went to Cambridge University attended the Socratic Club with CS Lewis back in the 50s and 60s, I guess he heard CS right from CS Lewis himself. He heard the arguments for the existence of God that kind of CS Lewis is famous for made it so popular.
But he heard him right from him. And he rejected him didn't convince him. But he finally became convinced as an old man just about 15 years ago.
Looking at.
Creation.
He became convinced of an eternal power not because of the glory of God, you know revealed in space you look at the immensity of the universe and this could not come about by chance. How. How incredibly elaborate it is?
He became not convinced not because of the telescope but because of the microscope. Because of DNA now for a long time people had assumed that single cells Were very simple just blobs of living tissue that if only it's only when you collected a Lot of different kinds of cells together in a large animal like a lion or a person.
That living things then became complicated, but the more they studied cells and then they found DNA the more they realized that even a single cell is incredibly complicated. That the DNA. What scientists called, you know, basic building blocks of life.
It makes it sound like it's basic building blocks makes it sound like it's a something as simple as like one of these cinder blocks In the wall simple thing and then you gather them together and it makes something complex.
No the DNA itself. It's not really basic DNA is very intricate. Flu realized that DNA is too complex to come about by just by chance. You know, you throw a bunch of chemicals together and some lightning and storms.
You're not gonna get DNA come out of that No matter how long you try and so we concluded that there must be a God and when he announced that He was attacked by atheists for you for giving in to which he responded by calling them secular bigots suppressing the truth.
The result is of the manifestation of God you're in the stars or in ourselves is. Not the result is not. That many people turn to God a few do a few bid most don't and yet all then are without excuse.
At the end of verse 20 they have enough evidence. But they still don't search for God. So they are without Excuse and this is the answer to that common question. You sometimes hear you know, what about the native?
You know you say that Jesus is the only way to God and if you don't believe in him. You're going to going to hell and suppose what about the native and some remote tribe? That's never heard about Jesus because he's saying he's got to be condemned to hell because because he never heard.
He's never had a chance To turn to God and so so then he must be innocent, but that's not true. He's had enough evidence in the stars at night and the design of nature. Did you ever notice that everything in nature turns out?
Beautiful.
There's trees there's mountains there's lakes there's oceans. Just the way a stream flows. It's always beautiful. Never seen an ugly stream. I mean unless we pollute it we do something to it. All of nature shows beauty.
Well, we human beings we have to work very hard to make something. Come close to being beautiful. We have enough evidence in nature To tell us that there is a designer there's an artist who is making all this beautiful and glorious and intricate.
You know Aristotle had enough evidence. So if they don't turn to God, they don't then seek him. I Don't ask for a revelation from him. Then it's their fault. They are like here without excuse. So they are not innocent in verse 21 they they knew God now not intimately not personally.
But they had enough evidence that they they could have sought him. Instead they refused to honor him as God. They they refused to give thanks to him. They had enough truth about God, but then they made the horrible exchange.
They exchanged this precious truth they had. By having gold bullion. Bricks of gold bullion they exchanged that.
For lies.
Exchanging it for gravel. I'm worthless. Even if they have enough integrity to it to admit as few do that. There must be a God still that doesn't then move them to bow in worship. But it says that the second half of verse 21 there they're thinking.
Their philosophy there what they think are so sophisticated, but they're so proud of. Having a mind they say is free of religious dogma. They're a free thinker. They call themselves that thinking became futile.
That means it's empty. It's just a waste of time.
They may spend their life.
Philosophizing writing books and the result is futile. It ends up There's nothing. Because they wouldn't accept evidence and they wouldn't turn their hearts to seek God and so they went from bad to worse.
Their hearts now without the fear of God Are foolish. I don't have even the beginning of wisdom. So they're in the dark. In the dark they make the horrible exchange that is they had some knowledge of God.
But instead of keeping that knowledge and letting it lead them to truly seek to know this God They exchange it. They exchange it for for worthless things bowing for images. They had made. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah chapter 44 that a man same same man will take a piece of wood use part of it to make something like a table or chair and Then another part of it.
He'll burn for heat and then another part of that same Hunk of wood he makes into an image. And he sets an altar before it and bows in worship. So that thing he just made. They think they're so smart.
But they give themselves to things that are so.
Ridiculous.
Now we think we're wiser today because we have technology for modern. Modern people don't don't do things like that. We think here at least in America. But it has nothing to do with being modern. Singapore is one of the most modern countries on earth and I've seen people there use computers all day long.
Educated people will bow down before an altar with an idol on it.
Burn their incense.
Maybe to an ancestor or the kitchen. God the wealth God. How do you say sigh sin. And America? We think that we're above all that. We're smarter people because we don't bow and burn incense before material things that we've made.
But America's just serve their gods in different ways and it's just as futile. This is empty as foolish. We sacrifice our families to make more money. Or maybe we sacrifice the church the body of Christ so that we can serve our families.
We sacrifice pleasure to pursue the Almighty dollar. Or maybe we sacrifice dollars so we can pursue pleasure. We make a major holiday out of Valentine's Day make matchmaking websites Wealthy we read romance novels and we believe with all our heart that love conquers all even vampires.
Because they because we believe we believe this culture believes that the key to happiness. The answer to our problem what we need the most. Is that one true love? That's the problem. They say what's the problem they ask not God's anger.
But having no lover. Being alone on Valentine's Day. Oh Yes, we certainly have our idols. We serve in our feudal our vein our empty minds our darkened hearts. We've had the knowledge of God has been clearly revealed in nature but we made the horrible exchange.
What's he angry at? He's angry that on Valentine's Day people care more about being without a Valentine. And being without him. He's angry that we had some knowledge about God. But we exchanged it. We had that knowledge.
We gave it up. It's like having pure gold. It'd be foolish enough to exchange it for for a handful of gravel. That's the horrible exchange so for verse 24 beginning with therefore. Therefore because of all that because of the horrible exchange because of the intentional suppression of the truth about God.
Because he's so angry that we made that exchange. He imposes on us the terrible Surrender he surrenders us to something terrible. We've been given over we've been surrendered to ourselves. The worst thing that God can do to you now this side of the final judgment before that final judgment the worst thing that he can do to you is.
Leave you alone. To let you go your own way. Let you have what you want.
You want to be rich?
He'll let you make money.
You want nice things?
He lets you go shopping. You want everything that your tastebuds crave? He says Bon Appetit. You want that fantasy lover? He'll let you hook up. God in his anger Gives us over To what we want. Three times in this passage the refrain God gave them up.
It's like the chiming of a bell before a funeral. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee three times Paul says that he is. God has given us Some people some societies. He's given us over To what we want.
In verses 24 26 and 28, we are given up to our our futile Empty minds our darkened hearts. What began is a suppression of the truth about God leads to a Surrender to whatever impurity whatever perversions whatever debased ideas that we might think are fun.
First of verses 24 and 25 God gave us up to whatever whatever we lusted after no matter how impure no matter how degrading. Verse 24 suggested our bodies God's creation. They're made good by God. They were made to be honored but now human beings are so overcome by whatever pleasures that they can't resist whether for food or for sex or for drugs that God just lets us dishonor those bodies and eventually Destroy them and verse 25 makes clear that the surrender of ourselves to our own immorality.
It is the direct result of Our suppression of the truth about God there in verse 25 we made the horrible exchange and So we suffer the terrible surrender. In verse 26 the bell tolls again. God gave them up this time to dishonorable passions.
Now some passions are honorable passions for love and for justice for God and his glory. This passage begins in verse 18 speaking of one of God's Honorable passions, you know his fiery commitment to his own holiness.
But here.
Having been surrendered to our own desires. We are given over them to dishonorable passions and. The prime example of dishonorable passions arising out of out of futile minds from darkened hearts. Unreasonable and foolish is the perversion of homosexuality.
Now homosexuality is here as the example of unrighteousness for the same reason that idolatry was earlier the example of ungodliness. Now both are things that anyone just looking at reality and nature Should be able to see.
It's what Paul calls it here unnatural. It's contrary to God's design. Homosexuality that is just as unreasonable as idolatry. It's just as unreasonable as carving a piece of wood and thinking it's a god.
It's that.
Futile, it's that foolish the Bible here says that you don't need the Bible to know that homosexuality is wrong. That's his point here. People just should know that. But now people don't know that you don't know that it's wrong because they've suppressed the truth.
They've suppressed the truth. It should be so obvious now. We indeed are a culture. It's been given over to that's surrendered to what is dishonorable. What's unnatural? What's shameless now? Homosexuality is treated as a civil right and objections to it are commonly categorized as as if they were bigotry like racism.
You know hate speech and they never made an argument because I've seen this this debate for my most of my adult life now there was never really a Rational argument made about why homosexuality is just acceptable.
They didn't make that argument. They just bludgeoned anyone who dared say that was wrong with insults. You're a homophobe. That's as deep as their argument ever got and they were suppressing the truth.
Calling homosexual practice as a sin is treated as if it were just an it's an ignorant prejudice. You but if you believe that the homosexual is a sin you say it you're treated as if as if you're still a racist.
Today.
It's categorized like that by the world. That's totally bogus a prejudice pre Justice pre judging literally is judging someone pre before. So before judging it's based on something external on Who they are externally rather than on what they've done.
Based on on the color of their skin rather than the content of their character that kind of thing. The old racist prejudice was that just because someone is of another race that external attribute the color of their skin that then then they Therefore are they're different some ways.
They're different mentally or they're different morally and that they are the way. They are a certain way, but just because of the race. They're they're good at basketball because of the race or they're good at math.
All those people are good at math. You know, are they good at talking or they're good at music or they're bad at other things. Because of the race their looks their skin their their country. So you disapprove of them for that before you even known them?
That's that's prejudice. Prejudging people before they've done anything. Before they've shown the content of their character before they've acted. But that's not what we're doing when we object to homosexuality.
We're saying that if you do these acts you behave like this acts that are as said here. Dishonorable a natural shameless. Then you have sinned. It's not prejudging people. It's post judging.
Actions.
We're saying what Paul is Here that a society is. Open the door to something this plainly unnatural those few individuals homosexual individuals that are involved in it. But the whole society. That says no, whatever floats your boat.
Do your own thing? Come out of the closet fly the rainbow colored flag and celebrate diversity. Except of course for the diversity. To say that what is plainly unnatural is wrong. We don't want that kind of diversity.
We're saying that such a society has suffered the terrible Surrender. It's been given over to what it wants. It's been given over because God is Angry with them. Think about it right here in Conservative Danville, Virginia about a decade ago after an elder of this church kindly and gently I heard it myself.
Uncompromisingly sure, but also humbly. Shared the gospel with a homosexual young man at Averitt University. The Averitt student brought up homosexuality. He made it the issue. He initiated it and when we dared put homosexuality in the category of sin.
Like many other sins like losing your temper. The result was that this church was banned from the campus of Averitt. He said that time that's suppressing the truth a.
Feudal mind.
Or there's a mind they no longer could get at truth. It's empty of that. It's not a capacity anymore and a darkened heart the world does that and all these other 20 other sins. Listed from verse 28 on because they've made this horrible exchange.
They've given up the knowledge of God for whatever their lusts fancy and now they've suffered the terrible Surrender, what's he angry at? Now, it's not just homosexuality that's both here an angering sin that a provocation of anger and the punishment.
For sin for that horrible exchange. Understand homosexuality is here as evidence that God has surrendered people to their terrible Self-destructive. In verse 27 they receive in themselves The due penalty for their error.
Otherwise, they are getting their punishment by the sin. The sin is its own Punishment. That's why we what you should have meet a homosexual person just to be some compassion there their own the sin. They're caught in is its own punishment.
And when we turn away from the truth about God in nature. Nothing can stop us from being consumed by our lust and so now they seek to push down the knowledge of God these suppress his glory diminish. What people know about how glorious God is by refusing to worship him and so and by pursuing their own desires but as CS Lewis says a Man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship him than a lunatic can put out the Sun.
By scribbling the word darkness on the walls of his cell. What's he angry at? He's angry that even though God has clearly revealed himself. We've seen fit not to worship God the worship ourselves. So God gives people up starting verse 29.
Paul lists 20 sins all manner of unrighteousness. And they're all as debased as homosexuality just just more acceptable to more people a covetousness. People hardly see is a sin right some capitalists like greed is good.
Craving for things always more money the nicer car the bigger house luxurious vacation. We understand that we can't live with murder because we're afraid that we might be the one murdered Next but we make peace with all the things that lead to murder Envy.
We want their things.
Strife.
Deceit. How would politics work without deceit. Be a lot different when it gossips and slanders that now that net fills social media. Haters of God. Well, that's their First Amendment, right? Hey God, isn't it being insolent?
That's a personality quirk. Come on, haughty and boastful. Well that cuts out a lot of basketball court trash-talking right there, doesn't it? And in case we don't we don't in case we don't have enough sins To go around.
We don't like any of the old sins. He says some are inventors of evil. They'll come up with new sins.
Always.
Innovators of new ways to sin on the cutting edge of Unrighteousness look at the end of verse 30. Disobedient to parents you kidding. We don't you take that seriously just part of growing up. You gotta push back it's good for them good for the kids.
Stretch our wings and oppose authority. It's called adolescence. Don't you know? Here it's called rebellion. Is foolishness then. Three lacks. What's God angry at. He's angry with what we what we lack what we are missing what we don't have.
He's angry at faithlessness. That is not trusting God. Theological liberalism like with that pastor. I told told you about at the start doubting God's Word. Or could be unfaithfulness or both. Unfaithfulness not keeping our commitments when our word is worthless.
What we say doesn't mean anything. We just say words to make people feel better and we don't keep our commitments. Heartlessness. There's no compassion don't care that people are suffering. We're heartless ruthlessness.
We lack any restraint on our anger, but it's a lot of road rage is ruthlessness. We know even if we try to normalize it that those who do such things. They're wrong that on some level we know that the wages of sin is death.
We know that God is just and yet we encourage others. To join us in our conspiracy against God. If we can just get enough other people to agree with us in these sins. We can all just say that all our each other sins are fine.
As if God's judgment will go away. Fake churches today will advertise themselves as gay affirming as in verse 32. They know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They know that but they've suppressed the truth, but still they give approval that is affirmation.
They fly the rainbow flag to those who practice them. We think if we entice others to join us in our sin. We can get rid of other get rid of the taboos. We can feel good about our personal sin. I approve of your sin.
You'll approve of my sin. We all just got to conspire to prove of each other's sins. We make it acceptable so we won't have to repent. We want God to leave us alone. To let us have our quiet prosperous comfortable middle-class lives with our medicines for our depressions our full stomachs our nice cars our relationships, especially on Valentine's Day and respectable religion.
Reminding us every Sunday About how there's never there's not really much wrong with us how we're sweet people in the hands of I'd never angry.
Therapeutic.
Indulgent God. You know and when the hard times come. Then he was carrying us. What's he angry at? False prophets today like false prophets in Israel who told the people that God wasn't angry at them.
That's what the false prophets did. No judgment would come. God said that there would be terror on every side and the false prophets came along and said no there won't. There's going to be plenty of wine and beer.
Don't worry about a thing. The Babylonians won't conquer us. They won't haul us off. God's our therapist. He's on our side. We have him with us false prophets today. Give us the same assurance. There's nothing to be worried about with God.
He's not angry at anyone. Especially not you as long as you give me money. He's not angry you now if he's a tad disappointed. You know, it's it's it's something we could fix with a little religion and a little morality and an offering of course to the false prophet.
But the truth that that is being revealed is that God is really angry at us. We made the horrible exchange. We preferred the terrible surrender. And that's an enormous problem. But the good news of The gospel is that God himself.
The one.
We made that horrible exchange to get away from that God has dealt With that problem. He solved the problem of his own anger. If you want a picture of the anger of God revealed look at the cross. Jesus was the one person in all of history who had never exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
It never embraced godlessness in piety never surrendered To unrighteousness. He never had spoken deceit. But look at the cross.
Jesus.
Hanging there.
Pierced for our transgressions God was angry at us. But instead of crushing us it was the will of the Lord To crush him. The father put him to grief Made him a sin offering Revealed his hot hot anger on him so that he would have nothing left for us.
In the gospel.
The anger of God is being revealed and in the gospel is. Being revealed that God solved the problem of his own anger on the cross in the gospel. Now it is revealed That he has no more anger for those who believe.
Has he revealed that?
To you.