Why we need the gospel (Romans 1:16-25)

Where: College Baptist Church

When: January 20, 2002

Why: To show that we need the gospel because we need God's righteousness since as unrighteous people we are the object of God's wrath; to show that the truth suppressed is the truth that God is omnipotent and eternal, worthy of glory and thanksgiving to God by man.

Text: Romans 1:16-25

Text

Romans 1:16-25.¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen.

Introduction

The gospel is God's good news for us. Paul was set apart by God to proclaim the good news to all people- Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and barbarians, cultured and non-cultured. The good news was promised by the Holy Spirit through the prophets of old. It has to do with Jesus and who He is- the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, the holy One, the all-powerful One, the conqueror of death, our Lord.

The good news is God's power to save everyone who believes. Rightly placed faith is at the heart of the gospel. And that rightly placed faith- not just in the existence of God, but in His provision of righteousness received through faith- gives life. It is a life that is demonstrated by an "obedience of faith"- faith that is authenticated in a life of growing submission to and obedience to the Lordship of Christ.

With this central theme in mind- And the one who is just on the principle of faith shall live, as Wuest says in his Word Studies From the Greek New Testament- Paul begins to unfold the great truths of the gospel. For the next two chapters (1:18-3:19), he shows us the sin and guilt of all people, both the Jew and the Gentile. In 3:10, he declares, There is no one righteous, not even one. . . In 1:18-32, he unveils the condition of the Gentile world. In 2:1-3:8, he tells us, generally speaking, of the condition of the Jewish world. In 3:21, 22, he brings us back to central truth of 1:16, 17- But now a righteousness from God . . . has been made known . . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. . .

Sin for the next three chapters? Bummer! You mean that for the next how many weeks we'll "sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more." What a downer!

Not necessarily. In fact, I think just the opposite will impact us. I think that the study of the condition of mankind- our unrighteousness and our need for His righteousness- will encourage us. We'll be all the more amazed at God's glorious goodness and grace. We'll be deeply affected with the knowledge of the profound depth yet simplicity of the good news. And that is what makes it such very good news. We are unrighteous. God is absolutely holy and righteous. There is no way that we can earn or deserve His righteousness. Yet it is ours- and life is ours- through rightly placed, rightly lived faith. Astounding! Wonderful! God-glorifying and exalting! Good stuff!

Transition

Mankind has a desperate need for the good news. We need God's righteousness since as unrighteous people we are the object of God's wrath. We have suppressed the truth that God is omnipotent and eternal, worthy of glory and thanksgiving.

This morning as we look at 1:18-25, Paul does a very un-modern thing. He forges into this explanation of our need for the gospel by bluntly unveiling our unrighteousness. He is not politically correct. He is not tolerant and touchy-feely. He doesn't hedge. He isn't dainty about sensitivities.

There is so much to say, so many directions that could be taken as we consider this text. But I think we can get to the heart of passage by reflecting on three realities that Paul presents: (1) the wrath of God is being revealed, (2) the truth of God is being suppressed, and (3) the glory of God is being ignored.

The wrath of God is being revealed

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men. . .

God's wrath is not something we talk about a lot today. When we talk about salvation and the gospel we often talk about peace and love and happiness and fulfillment. All those things come to us when we are given God's righteousness through faith and live. But that is not the motivation to which Paul turns. He turns to God's anger. Understanding God's anger brings us greater appreciation and reverence for the forgiveness and the righteousness God gives us.

It is important to note that Paul is drawing a stark contrast here- a real contrast, not just poetic imagery- a contrast that helps us see how precious this good news really is.

He emphasizes our need by using parallel phrases to describe two realities. In 1:17, he says, For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed . . . Literally, it is a righteousness from God is being revealed. Hey, this is a current event- present tense. In 1:18, Paul uses the same word and tense to say, The wrath of God is being revealed.

There's got to be a reason for this. Why is God angry?

Let's first realize that to say that God's wrath is being revealed is different than saying He blew His stack. He hasn't burst a gasket. He hasn't popped a cork. His wrath is different than our explosive, uncontrolled anger. It is a the "settled, determined response of a righteous God against sin" (MacArthur Study Bible). It is God's settled anger, a determination to judge sin- a determination which flows out of His righteous holy character.

You see, it's not that God isn't loving. He is love. And He is holy. And holiness and sin are incompatible. His wrath against sin and His judgement of sin are fundamental to the message of the gospel.

• Romans 2:5. Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed.
• Romans 2:8. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
• Ephesians 2:1-3. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

But listen to this! Here's the good news: ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! (Romans 5:8, 9)

Why is God's wrath being revealed? It is being revealed because of our unrighteousness. He is holy and cannot tolerate our sin. He is loving and gives us His righteousness.

So one reality that Paul unfolds for us is that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men. . ./P>

The truth of God is being suppressed

Another reality Paul unfolds is that the truth of God is being suppressed. ¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Current events, part 2. If every there were a time in history that truth was being suppressed, is not now? Our culture doesn't believe in absolute truth. Relevancy is the standard of our time. If it is true for you, then it is true. Truth can be different for different people. But by God's measurements, this just isn't true. It is a suppression of truth. It is a suppression of truth that comes from humanity's downward spiral of deception and depravity, our sinful state of rebellion and resistance against God.

The short of it is, our unrighteousness is the reason for God's wrath. Our unrighteousness suppresses the truth. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness . . . Truth is suppressed by wickedness, by unrighteousness. It is in the fiber of our being as unrighteous people to suppress the truth about God. This is the state of those who do not yet live by faith, receiving God's righteousness as their own.

The reality regarding our need for the gospel continues to unfold as Paul reveals to us two truths which have been suppressed: an objective truth and a subjective truth.

Let's note the objective truth. . . .¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Humanity is without excuse. The truth is that there is evidence that demands a verdict. Paul says it is plain and God has made it plain. He has put His fingerprints on everything. Anyone seeking the truth rather suppressing it can see it. Since the creation of the world God's eternal power and divinity have been clearly evident.

This leads to the subjective truth, that is, the responses that we should have to the objective truth. 1:21 reveals this truth. ²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

What is the truth? The truth is that we should give glory and thanks to God. Yet, although we have known God- the evidence is there of His eternal power and divine nature. Yet we have neither glorified Him nor given thanks to Him.

The glory of God is being ignored

The third reality is that the glory of God is being ignored. ²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. ²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen.

The truth- a truth that is revealed to us by His grace revealing it to us- is that we should glorify God and give thanks to Him. He is the Creator. The God. Not a god. Eternal. All powerful. Above and outside of all things. Still intimately involved in and revealed through His creation.

But what has mankind done with this glorious truth? We have suppressed it. Though we knew God, we haven't glorified Him as God. We haven't been thankful for His grace poured out on us revealed through creation. Instead, we became foolish. We exchanged God's glory for man-made images- first like mortal man, then birds, then animals, then reptiles. How low can you go? Digressing, digressing.

God let us go even lower. And He is letting us go even lower. His glory continues to be ignored. God let us go. Our unrighteousness runs amuck. Our sinful desires control us. We have a propensity for sexual impurity. We degrade ourselves. We exchange the truth of God for a lie. We worship and serve the created thing rather than the Creator.

Conclusion

Yes. Bummer. What a downer. This doesn't glow with the warm optimism of humanistic philosophy. This doesn't elevate humanity to being gods, worshipping the created rather than the Creator. It doesn't exalt our goodness. Thinking like that- thinking that takes the glory from God and puts it on man--is a part of the lie, the truth suppressed. It's what God is so angry about.

The last phrase of our text redirects our attention to the glory of the truth that God is revealing to us: . . . the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen. He is the Creator. He is worthy of praise and glory and thanksgiving. And the truth that the righteousness of God is being revealed and is our through faith exalts His glory all the more.

My friend, God's Word tells us, There is no one righteous, not even one (3:10). That includes all of us. We are utterly without hope without God's provision of righteousness. This is the glorious truth being revealed to us and we must not suppress. God has provided righteousness through Jesus Christ.

We need the gospel. And God has provided for that need. Even though in His justice He established that the wages of sin is death, He also establishes the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (6:23).

Yes, God's wrath is revealed against our unrighteousness. But the fact that He has provided His righteousness for us shows us His immeasurable love for us. Let's hear 5:8, 9 again. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! We are saved from God's wrath through Christ's death for us! This indeed is reason to give glory to God! This is cause for great thanksgiving and praise to Him! We agree with Paul: the Creator is forever to be praised. Amen. College Baptist Church, we have good news to share with the world!

Is it possible that you are here this morning never having rightly placed your faith in God and His provision of righteousness through Jesus Christ. Here is the good news! His righteousness can be yours this morning. 1:17 tells us that in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: the just shall live by faith. 1:16 tells us that the gospel- God's good news- is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Ephesians 2:8, 9 affirms, ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. Our works of righteousness won't save us- they just add up to unrighteousness. But we are given a gift from God that we receive through faith. Won't you place your faith in God today and receive His gift of salvation?

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