by Philip P Eapen on July 16, 2023 at the Community of Grace, Thevara.
Greetings to you in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. I am grateful to God for the privilege to minister God’s Word to you this morning. I am also grateful to the elders of this church for giving me this opportunity. It is my prayer that God will speak to us through His Word and His Spirit.
Three weeks ago, we embarked on a study of Paul’s Epistle to the Roman Church. Today’s will be the third sermon in this series. For the sake of those who missed the first two session, I shall do a quick recap.
On the first Sunday we studied the short introductory section to Romans - the first seven verses of chapter one.
We saw how Paul introduced himself to his audience and greeted them. He claimed he was an apostle. An apostle is nothing but a “special messenger” who carries a message from one person to another.
Paul was entrusted with the Good News of Jesus, the Messiah. But the Jewish Messiah was now enthroned in heaven at the right hand of God. Jesus, the Messiah, became King of kings and Lord of lords. Paul believed that God had called him and appointed him to proclaim (or herald) this good news all over the world.
Paul was set apart as a special messenger to take this Good News to people outside the Jewish fold. The Jews despised people outside their fold. Even today, the “outsiders” or Gentiles are called “Goyim”—just as many Indians refer to Europeans as “firangis” or “mletchas.”
Last Sunday, Tushaar took us through 1:8-17.
We saw how Paul was literally inviting himself to Rome. He had good reasons for that.
He wanted to “impart” certain spiritual gifts to the Roman Christians and in turn be blessed by their ministry towards him. Please note: Paul wasn’t saying, I will come and minister to you using my spiritual gift. Instead, he said he hoped to impart spiritual gifts to them—as by laying on of his hands.
But more importantly, Paul wanted to preach the gospel among Romans and gain a few souls for Christ.
In the process of justifying his desire to go to Rome, Paul said that he was a debtor to all people - the educated and the uneducated.
He said he was not ashamed of the Gospel because the Good News was not just about empty words. The preaching of the Gospel was accompanied by God’s work. God was at work, with all His power, to save all who believed in Jesus Christ.
Today, naturally, I have to focus on the next section in this epistle. It starts from the 18th verse of chapter one and goes all the way to the 20th verse of chapter three. That’s a large section that talks about humanity’s sin and how God responded to it.
While talking about man’s sin, Paul says that all Gentiles are sinners. We read that in the passage starting from verse 18 of chapter 1 all the way to the end of the chapter.
After that, he argues that Jews too are sinners. He takes the whole of chapter two for that. His argument spills over into chapter three as well.
[A note of about chapter divisions: Paul did not divide this letter into chapters or verses. Someone else did it—without applying his mind to the text. As a result, chapter divisions in the Bible actually work against the best interests of the Bible. These divisions do not tell us where one thought-section starts or where one ends. A good student of the Bible will always ignore chapter and verse divisions. What matters is the flow of thought and the structure of a book. We can understand the structure of a book by reading the whole book in one go. I had also shared with this church a link to my video tutorial on Sentence Diagramming, which helps us to understand the structure of a book or a passage.]
It is not possible for us, today, to go into all these three sections. But it is always good to know the general outline of a book BEFORE we delve into smaller sections.
We shall study the first of these three sections. That is, Romans 1:18-32. But please bear in mind that these sections are not water-tight compartments.
Each passage has to be understood in its literary context. That is, in order to understand this passage, I will have to take you to the passage before it and to the passage that follows it. At times, I will have to take you to other parts of this epistle or of the Bible.
Let us now pay attention to a reading of this passage. Romans 1:18-32.
[Play AUDIO; Advance Prezi]
This passage tells us about certain REVELATIONS.
But why is God angry?
Because God had revealed Himself to Humanity through the things He had created.
And yet, Mankind ignored that revelation. In fact, we went ahead and suppressed or concealed that revelation from God. That is why God’s anger now burns against humanity.
In that broad context of God’s burning wrath, Paul talks about the REVELATION of the RIGHTEOUSNESS of GOD - that is, the Good News of Jesus Christ which rescues people from God’s wrath and transfers them to the Kingdom of God.
What you now see on the screen is a summary of my whole sermon for today.
First of all, let us examine Paul’s claim that God revealed Himself to man.
In verse 19 of this chapter, Paul says that “that which is known about God IS EVIDENT WITHIN THEM because “GOD MADE IT EVIDENT to them.”
The God of the Bible is a God who reveals Himself. If God doesn’t reveal Himself to us, we will be like blind men searching for a black cat in a dark room. We will be totally lost. It is beyond the capacity of man to search out the mysteries of his creator.
God, in His mercy and love, revealed himself.
First, He revealed Himself through His creation. We read about such a revelation in Psalm 19. The first half of that psalm talks about how the heavens declare the glory of God.
The way God revealed certain things about himself to ALL humanity is called General Revelation.
Apart from General Revelation, there is something called SPECIAL REVELATION. God revealed himself to Israel through His Word. God did not reveal himself in such a way to any other nation. That is why we do not accept any scripture other than the scriptures of the Jews - that is, the Hebrew Bible. To that Hebrew Bible, books of the New Testament were added following God’s ultimate revelation of Himself through the person of Jesus Christ.
When it comes to General Revelation, we need to ask ourselves: What can we know about God by observing His creation?
David looked at the night sky and sang, When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them …?
Anyone who looks at the oceans, the sky, or the mountains will naturally think about the Creator.
David thought about the greatness of this Creator. He was suddenly aware of how his own insignificance in the presence of that great Creator.
When people naturally think about God, they might ask themselves: - Who made all these things? - How great and almighty must God be to have created a universe without boundaries? - How loving and merciful is God who provides each creature with suitable food, and protection. - Whoever made the universe must be the greatest Master Designer and Artist. - He must be a great mathematian.
I could give you numerous examples illustrating God’s amazing designs in creation and how we humans have copied these designs to create new products and technologies.
The most important point to note here is that through these observations of great design and art, we unknowingly recognize God as a PERSON. God is not a FORCE. HE is not mere an supernatural energy. God is a Person.
Secondly, we tend to feel that this Almighty Person is NOT a part of this creation. Obviously, if God should have created everything, He cannot be a part of this universe.
This is what is meant by holiness. God is separated and exalted from us and the rest of the universe. He is “the Other.” God is holy.
God is ETERNAL If God created a universe that has virtually no boudaries, He himself must be boundless and eternal.
If we are His creatures, it is impossible for our finite minds to grasp everything about God.
Apostle Paul says that God’s invisible attributes, his eternal power, and divine nature are clearly visible in creation.
That is why he says ALL people KNOW GOD. (v21)
In verse 32, Paul says that every human knows that sin will lead to death. Everyone knows the divine law that says that anyone engaging in a sinful, ungodly, unrighteous life is “Worthy of Death.”
That’s an amazing claim. In chapter 2, verse 14-15, Paul says that God has put His LAW inside human hearts. Long before the laws were written on stone tablets, God had placed it inside the human heart.
And then, Paul says, “They are without excuse” (v20b) Why is this being mentioned here? No one can excuse himself by claiming, “I never knew anything about God”
This brings us to the second part. God revealed Himself. But man concealed that revelation.
Concealing or suppressing one’s deepest convictions about the Creator was not a mistake committed inadvertently. That’s why this is serious.
Human decision to suppress God’s Truth as revealed in creation follows a deliberate action.
First of all, man REFUSED to honor God or to give thanks to God (v 21)
If Man is intelligent enought to suspect there is an almighty Creator and Sustainer behind this universe, the least he could do was to say, “Thank you, Creator.” But mankind failed in that basic duty.
Mankind went a further step downhill. We rejected our gut feelings. We rejected the evidence in creation. Instead, we began to speculate about God (v21 NASB). That’s how religions came to be.
As if that exercise wasn’t bad enough, people began to imagine that God could be represented by images or idols in the form of humans, birds, animals, and crawling creatures. (v.23)
Look at the way Paul states it. The glory of the incorruptible God was exchanged for mere images!
If you confront people who worship images or idols, they might tell you: “We don’t worship idols. We worship the almighty God using a moorti. This is not an idol. This is a moorti - an object that helps us stay focussed on the invisible God.”
Whether we actually worship an idol OR we use an idol to worship God Almighty, God is offended. He considers this a grievous offense. God takes it personally. “How dare you think that anything in this universe can represent me, the Creator?”
When we consider various religious systems in the world today, not everyone worships idols. But all of them SUPPRESS the TRUTH of GOD in one way or the other.
There are Atheists who deny the existence of God. In fact, some of them actively oppose God (even though they say that there is no god)
Then, there are agnosicts who deny the sure revelation of God in creation. They say, “It’s not possible to know anything about God in a definitive way.”
There are atheistic religions that deny the existence of a personal God. They say that the universe itself is god. This view is called Pantheism. An example is philosophical Hinduism, which is also called advaita - which means, God and the universe are not two different entities; there are one. The other school is Dvaita - which believes god and cosmos are two different entities.
Like Buddhism and Jainism, Advaita is also an atheistic religion. If the universe itself is of divine essence, there is no external, personal God. That’s why we call these systems “atheistic religions.” They believe that the goal of every individual is to discover that they themselves are god. That moment of discovery is called “nirvana” or “enlightenment.” How do they think they can attain that knowledge that they themselves are god? Through yoga and meditation.
All these systems – atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, and folk religions – deny the clear revelation of God that is available in creation.
Apart from idolatry and the rejection of God, mankind committed all sorts of ungodly acts - as mentioned in verse 18 and in verses 29, 30 and 31.
“every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.”
It is in the light of this widespread rebellion against God that Paul says, “The wrath of God is now being revealed from heaven.”
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who SUPPRESS the truth in unrighteousness”
Usually, anger and wrath are described as sinful behavior. In Colossians 3:8, God commands us to get rid of anger, wrath, malice, etc.
What differentiates God’s wrath from human wrath?
The key to understanding the difference between divine and human wrath is to ask ourselves these questions:
What makes God angry? What makes us angry? WE get provoked when our selfish interests are affected. God, on the other hand, is angry at sin and those who persist in sin. Very often those things that provoke God do not provoke us.
Secondly, how quickly does God get angry? How quickly do we get angry? “The LORD is slow to anger but great in power.” - Nahum 1:3 We are quickly provoked but our power is not that great.
Finally, what does God do when He is angry? What do we do when we get angry?
God, on the other hand, does what is just and right when He is angry at rebellion or wickedness. We tend to lose control over ourselves when we are angry. This leads to foolish and dangerous actions. Such occasions of anger can give the devil a foothold in our life. That’s why it is written, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity.” James, in his epistle, reminds Christians, “Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.”
Propeht Nahum reminds us that the goal of God’s wrath is to punish the wicked.
Nahum 1:3 “The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished.”
Nahum 1:6 “No one can withstand his indignation! No one can resist his fierce anger! His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire, boulders are broken up as he approaches.”
But in the very next verse, the Prophet Nahum says, (Nahum 1:7) “The LORD is good - indeed, he is a fortress in time of distress, and he protects those who seek refuge in him.”
Who is God mad at?
“But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness.”
Why is God angry with the world? The reason for God’s wrath is mentioned clearly.
The world is guilty of ignoring and suppressing God’s Truth that was revealed to all humanity. (1:18)
We must understand that God’s wrath is currently being manifested in many forms. Now. In the present.
The wrath of God will also be manifested fully on the day of Judgment (as we read in 2:5, 16). On that day, God will render to each person according to his works (2:6).
How did God’s wrath express itself on mankind?
This is the first expression of God’s wrath: Paul says mankind “became futile in their speculations.” (v 21) When we reject God’s revelation, we are left with mere speculations. The word ‘speculations’ appear in the NASB New American Standard Bible.
Secondly, Paul says mankind “became fools even as they claimed to be wise” (v. 22). Just think of this. We humans gave names to all creatures. And, we called ourselves homo sapiens, meaning, “the wise ones.” We claimed to be wise. And yet, we turned out to be fools.
Our rejection of the living God and our idolatry are evidences of human folly (1:23). It is foolish and offensive to think that an earthly object or creature can represent the eternal, glorious God.
Third, God abandoned their men and women to their degarding passions and actions. God did not place a barrier in front of us to prevent this moral decadence. People went headlong into their pursuit of pleasure. Pleasure was their god. We humans will do anything to get hold of pleasure.
Here is an important thing to note:
Homosexuality is evidence of God’s wrath on a humanity that refused to recognize the “Divine Other” (the Holy God).
God is NOT a part of this universe. He is “the Other.” To make matters worse, we resorted to idolatry (1:24-25).
As a result, men and women became unable to recognize the “sexual other.” Men, instead of recognizing the women, went after other men. Women, instead of recognizing men, went after other women. God handed over rebellious humanity to their own passions.
Twice Paul mentions this cause and effect relationship in this passage. That was his way of emphasizing his point.
First, he says this in verses 21-24.
And then again, in verses 25 to 27.
In a society where people followed an oral tradition, where people heard the scriptures more than they read it, such literary devices as repetition played a vital role in driving home a point.
One thing caused the other. Rejection of God - the Divine “Other” - resulted in a failure to recognize the human sexual “other.”
You may ask me, “Are you saying that all who practice homosexuality were idol worshippers? What about homosexuals who did not worship any idols?”
Let me answer that question. This passage is not about individuals. Paul is not saying so-and-so committed idolatry and therefore he or she is now a homosexual. This passage is about humanity as a whole. We as a human race are guilty of rejecting God’s self-revelation in creation. We rejected the holy God and went after our own speculations and idols. We pursued all kinds of sins and evil passions. Instead of forcing us to turn back, God just allowed us to go our way.
Every human being is capable of doing the most wicked things on earth. Every human being is capable of pursuing illicit sexual pleasure, even to the extent of practising homosexuality.
That does not mean that everyone will actually practise homosexuality. It just means that we are totally depraved. Given the right circumstances, any sinner or group of sinners might go to any extent to satisfy their sinful pleasures.
Some others might ask me, “But what is wrong if a man loves a man or a woman loves another woman?”
The problem is not with love. The problem is with sexual love. We are all commanded to love one another. But we are not permitted to have sexual love towards anyone other than our marriage partner of the opposite sex.
Let me also explain why it is morally wrong for a man to have intimate relationship with another man. The reason is simple. The Creator did not intend such a relationship. God created Adam and Eve. He did not create Adam and Steve. The first act of creation - the first family - reveals God’s intention and purpose. Anything that goes against God’s purpose for creation is “unnatural.” Paul says, “their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the women and burned in their desire toward one another”
Do you see the problem with the so-called “gays”? They not only reject their Maker, they also reject the Maker’s purpose for their body. Both the Manufacturer and His instruction manual are thrown out of the window.
Without the instruction manual, you don’t know which way the batteries must be inserted! Check the polarity of the batteries and the slots so that you don’t ruin your expensive devices.
Our bodies are even more precious than our gadgets. Pauls refers to the consequences of sexual promiscuity. Sexually transmitted diseases were common those days. He says, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
Human depravity does not stop with sexual immorality. As was mentioned earlier, we excel in all kinds of sins—right from being boastful to murdering our fellow humans.
Due to all these reasons, Paul says, “For all will be judged on the day when, according to my GOSPEL, God will judge the secrets of men (and women) through Christ Jesus.” (2:12-16)
Every human will one day stand before God’s judgement throne.
It is against this DARK background that Paul displays the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel too is a REVELATION.
We heard of
Let’s read verses 17 and 18.
Verse 17 talks about the revelation of God’s righteousness.
Verse 18 talks about the revelation of God’s wrath.
That’s why I said that the PROCLAMATION of the GOOD NEWS happens against the DARK Background of a BAD NEWS. Without the bad news, there is no relevance for the good news. WE understand this principle from the structure and content of the text.
I need to say something about the word RIGHTEOUSNESS. It is not a commonly used word. Most people don’t understand it.
A. The word “righteousness” ordinarily means, “what God expects”
In Micah 6:8, the prophet asked, He has told you, O man, what is good, and what Yahweh really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.
I want us to focus on the phrase “What Yahweh really wants from you” That phrase is the definition of righteousness. Righteousness is the high standard of moral behavior that God expects from man.
When we talk about God being righteous, we mean that God will always to what is just and right.
But how did the word “salvation” (in verse 16) and “righteousness” (in verse 17) come to mean the same thing? The two words are used in a parallel sense.
The Gospel is the power of God for salvation. In the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
People prayed for DELIVERANCE, for RESCUE. Often, they were victims of injustice.
So they prayed, LORD, because you are a righteous God, please rescue me.
And God often said, “I will reveal to you my justice.” I will intervene to deliver you.
That’s how, the RESCUE that came from God came to be known as God’s righteousness
God’s righteousness is NOT merely his attribute. His acts of rescue are also known as His righteousness.
So this verse 16 can be read a little differently to help us
understand things a little better.
Instead of saying, the Gospel is the power of God for salvation, read it as:
When I preach the Gospel, the righteous God is powerfully at work rescuing all who believe in Jesus.
Even the word “RESCUE” by itself need not mean anything to us. To help us understand the meaning of this beautiful word, I need to bring in something else here.
Take a look
When you see the mortal danger that a person is in, our understanding of the word suddenly takes on a whole new meaning. When there is no danger, why would we even talk of RESCUE?
This is why it is important to portray God’s salvation as rescue.
“When I preach the Gospel, the righteous God is powerfully at work rescuing all who believe in Jesus.”
AND WHAT IS GOD RESCUING PEOPLE FROM?
FROM HIS OWN WRATH!!!
The Wrath of God is the dark canvas on which the Good News of God’s Rescue is depicted in Romans.
Paul uses a good part of chapter 1, 2 and 3 to explain to his readers the very real danger of God’s wrath on the whole world!
The sword of God’s judgment is hanging by a thin thread on every sinners head!
And this mention of the concept of judgement is not just in the first three chapter of Romans. We find it throughout the book.
I like to do this exercise to see the distribution of a concept through a book. I highlight the words. and choose a suitable magnification so that I can see the entire book on my computer screen.
This is the entire body of the epistle to Romans. You may be able to see the color red in many parts of the book. So, even as we say that the book of Romans is about the Gospel, we must not forget the dark background against which this good news is portrayed.
So, what if there is this bad news? What if God’s wrath is hanging over the heads of sinners?
First, Preachers must preach about sin and judgment. Warnings about divine judgement and calls to repentance are integral parts of the Gospel.
Second, Christians who claim to have experienced Christ’s forgiveness must stop living in sin.
After explaining God’s grace in chapters four and five, Paul begins chapter six with this question:
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!
If you call yourself a Christian, and if you are using God’s grace to excuse your sinful life, you do not know anything about the grace of God.
In Titus 2:13, Paul says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It trains us to REJECT godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age …”
The best use of the grace of God is in saying “No” to ungodliness.
On the other hand, if you have never repented of your sins till now, if you have never invited Jesus into your life, today is your day of salvation. If you will turn your back on your sinful ways to submit before Jesus the King of kings, God will remove His wrath from you. HE will forive you.
Paul says in Romans 8:1 that there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Finally, the most important message for this congregation the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart today.
Awareness of Divine Wrath must motivate us to REACH the Unreached at all cost. Awareness of Divine Wrath motivated Paul to REACH the Unreached at all cost.
Paul was a cross-cultural missionary. He was a Jew, born of Jews. He was a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. He was educated in Jerusalem. He belonged to the strict sect of Pharisees. And yet, when God revealed to him the mystery of the Gospel - that it was for ALL The world - he became an apostle to the wider world.
While he was about to complete his third missionary journey, he wrote this epistle. He was at Corinth. In chapter 15, Paul says, I have completed my missionary work in the Eastern regions of the Roman empire. “So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” In other words, there is no reason why I should be preaching to those who have already heard the gospel.
He goes on to make this even more clearer:
“And in this way I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person’s foundation, but as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’”
That is why Paul desired to go to Rome and from there to SPAIN! He was looking for a fresh field. He did not wish to work on someone else’s foundations!
And after gaining new Gentiles to the faith in Rome and in Spain, he wanted to offer them to God as an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
When Paul wrote this epistle to the Romans, he was probably at Corinth. From there, he was planning to go to Jerusalem.
From Jerusalem, Paul wanted to sail to Rome. Although he was an educated man, although he was a Roman citizen, Paul had never been to Rome. This anticipated journey to Rome is itself a big step, a big outreach. As if that was not enough, Paul wanted to go further WEST—to Spain.
Spain was way out in the West. Paul did not know Latin. Probably he wished to pick up some Latin from Rome. This gives us an idea of Paul’s zeal to reach the unreached.
This isn’t about evangelism.
This isn’t about “being faithful wherever God has kept you” Paul’s PASSION in ROMANS is about a missionary effort to reach the unreached at all cost
Writing about the Gospel, he wrote, in chapter 10, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?” “And how will they hear without a preacher? “How will they preach unless they are sent?” Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” - Romans 10:14-15
[STORY: “I am Varghese”]
Philip Eapen, an environmental scientist by training, devoted his life to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ ever since he realized that the world needs Jesus Christ more than anyone or anything else. Apart from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, Philip teaches Christians in order to equip them for service. He is supported by donations from readers. Philip is married to Dr. Jessimol and they are blessed with three sons and a daughter.
Date: July 16, 2023
