The Wrath of God Is Revealed

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of 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 over to degrading passions; for 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 woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

On Monday, I found myself enjoying, once again, my iPod in my God provided vehicle as I went to the pet store to pick up some food for my snake, Mr. Anderson. All they had left were large rats. I was a little apprehensive about subjecting this large of a rodent to my beloved pet, but it was the smallest they had and Mr. Anderson had been becoming particularly cranky. And as, I'm sure you can guess, that's not a good thing when you have a killer as a pet. I was confident that my reptile would be able to extinguish the life out of the furry little beast, but I wasn't sure if he would be able to swallow it. So, I figured I would at least give it a try.

It was about 10:30pm. Kristen promised us a batch of her famous (at least in our house) enchiladas if I waited until she arrived to begin the feeding frenzy. So, I was more than happy to oblige. She arrived at the house, enchiladas in hand. It was time.

We all hurried up to the room to watch the death match: snake vs. rat. The rat was nothing like the mice that have gone before him. While the mice were skittish and afraid to venture anywhere too quickly, the rats know no fear. They, giving no thought to wandering aimlessly, walk right into their death. The death blow comes quickly. If you blink, you will miss the snake lunge forward, bite the rat and wrap twice around the rodent. Right then, you know it's over. The rat has no chance of escape. Minutes later, he is lying dead in the stomach of the snake. My wrath, if you will, had been pronounced on the rat. Was it as it lay dead in the stomach of Mr. Anderson? No. It was pronounced the moment, I gave it what it wanted: Freedom from the confines of its box.

What I have quoted at the beginning of this article is what is commonly referred to as Romans 1:18-32. I have taken the time to remove the troublesome verse markings (please refer to my previous post, Project Context). I was cut deep as I listened to Pastor Piper preach on this passage tonight as continue to plow through his 204 part series on the book of Romans.

Many believe that God's first and only real pronouncement of judgment on man for his sin is being cast into Hell for eternity. While this is most definitely a severe pronouncement of judgment, this is definitely not the first nor is it the only judgment due to the sin of man. Man’s being given over to an immoral, sinful or depraved life is the first act of judgment upon him. He is leading an immoral life because of his rejection of God. The fact that he is living a life of immorality or sin is a direct act of judgment on man because he has rejected to acknowledge Him as God. "and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man.... therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.... for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions... and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind..."

Brothers and sisters, we live in lives and patterns of sin because we have chosen (It is not a result of upbringing, family situations, surroundings or any other third party influence. It is our own choice.) to not acknowledge Him as God. How does this translate? We have hated the Lord our God! We have hated Him because we have rejected what He desires. So what is His first pronouncement of judgment? Giving us what we wanted. Just like the rat, our choice to sin (perceived freedom) leads to the final judgment: the final death. So we're trapped. Just like the rat, we have no way out. Our walls are 20 times higher than we can possibly muster up the ability to climb.

Is there hope? Glory be to God, there is! Justification (and sanctification) by faith alone! The only way to escape this downward slope of judgment is by faith. Yes, there is a responsibility to actively work towards breaking the cords of sin habit, but it is produced in faith. The freedom has already been purchased. The Lord is ready and more than willing to reach down and rescue us from the judgment we have walked right into. He requires only faith.

Now if it's just by faith, doesn't that mean we can sin? God forbid it! A result of a faith filled life is an obedient life. They go hand in hand. While sin will still continue in these fallen bodies, it will not define us. It will not be our modus operandi.

Flee being given over to sin. Pursue faith. Flee judgment. Pursue freedom.