The Wrath of God

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness...” Romans 1:18

We come to the starting point of evangelism. Last week, we saw the theme of the Book of Romans as “The Gospel.” But where does the gospel begin? (Verse 18) The gospel begins with God’s wrath.

Now that is not how most evangelists start their presentation. As a matter of fact, we usually start with love. Did you know that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for you life?
We like to talk about -
▸ God’s love
▸ God’s grace
▸ God’s mercy
▸ God’s forgiveness
▸ God’s abundant life

How many times have you started witnessing by saying - “Do you know that God’s wrath is being poured out because of you ungodliness?” That’s not how most of us do it, but that’s where Paul starts. Not with the “good news,” but with the bad news. As a matter of fact, we don’t even see the word “love” until chapter 5.

Now to talk about the wrath of God is not necessarily an easy subject. I never met anyone who was overjoyed to talk about God’s wrath. But to really appreciate how good the good news really is, we must understand how bad the bad news really was.

Think about it...
How can folks really understand God’s love, if they don’t understand His holiness, righteousness, and hatred of sin? How can folks really understand God’s grace, if they don’t know His law? How can folks really understand God’s forgiveness, if they don’t understand His penalty for sin?