Romans 1:18 – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Welcome back to our study of Romans. In our last post we noted that God is perfectly holy, perfectly righteous and perfectly just; sin cannot exist in his presence. Mankind is guilty of breaking the laws of God. As a result of our sin, we are cut off from God; we are under a sentence of spiritual death (Romans 6:23). 
The only way to escape spiritual death is to be justified in God’s sight.
As we discovered last week, mankind has two choices in regards to justification.
The first choice includes any/all plans of justification conceived by mankind. These plans have different variations, but they all have one common denominator – man relying on himself to provide justification for sin.
The Jews of Paul’s day tried to find that justification by conformity to the external rites of the Law. This included things like the temple sacrifices, ceremonial washings, dietary restrictions, observing the feasts and doing good works.
The Gentiles/Greeks of Paul’s day tried to find that justification by following their consciences (the law written on their hearts) and/or doing what they felt was right by their own standards. Needless to say, their standards were not the same as God’s!
The second choice is the plan of justification conceived by God and outlined in the gospel – justification through faith in Jesus Christ.
In the book of Romans, Paul sets out to logically and systematically prove that God’s plan of justification is the only plan that works. In other words, no one (Jew or Gentile) could ever be justified in God’s sight through their own works.
This brings us to today’s lesson, which begins in verse 18, but I want to pause for just a moment.
Many people do not study or even read the book of Romans because they consider it to be too ‘academic’ and difficult to understand. First of all, if this is you, you are in very good company! People who have studied the scriptures for years and years still have questions about the book of Romans.
Nevertheless, I am convinced there is an enormous amount of wisdom and blessing that God wants to give us through this book. Any effort we put forth to study it will enhance our understanding. Even a basic examination of the truths presented here will create a foundation of knowledge that we can use now and build on in the future.
So, in order to help us get the most out of our study, we are going to change our methods just a bit. Going forward, for each verse or each new concept, I plan to present a ‘GENERAL SUMMARY’. This will be a simple, short, overall summary of what Paul is trying to tell us.
Once we have that in mind, we will look at a ‘DIGGING DEEPER’ section, where we can follow some of the deeper reasonings of Paul as he expounds on the divine doctrines he wants to impart to us. So, without further ado, let’s give it a try…
GENERAL SUMMARY:
In verse 18 Paul tells us that God, who is perfectly holy, responds to sin with righteous vengeance. His wrath is hanging over all of mankind (both Jew and Gentile), because all people are unrighteous and sinful. God has reached out to mankind, but as a whole, man rejects divine truth.
DIGGING DEEPER:
For – This word connects Paul’s current line of reasoning with verse 16, where he says he is not ashamed of the gospel. He is getting ready to prove or show the absolute necessity of the gospel because of the universal corruption of mankind, which was so great it incensed the justice of God and required punishment of the world.
Wrath of God – The term ‘wrath’ denotes an enraged response to the action of another. It is a form of retaliation which springs from an injury, hurt or violation that someone inflicts upon you. For example, if someone walked up to you and punched you in the face for no reason, you might become enraged at their actions and immediately seek vengeance by punching them back and adding a kick for good measure. Your reaction reflects wrath. 
‘Wrath’ is often used interchangeably with the words resentment, anger, rage or vengeance. There is nothing wrong with using the term this way, as long as we are referring to people.
We must be very careful when using the phrase ‘wrath of God’. Here is why: God is perfectly holy and just. He does not act out in fits of passion the way sinful humans do. God has no motivation for vengeance, because there is nothing we can do to injure, harm or violate him:
Job 35:6-8 – If you [Job or any man] have sinned, what do you accomplish against him [God]? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man.
When interpreting scripture, we cannot assign our passions and feelings to God, particularly when these feelings originate in evil (like wrath or anger).
So, how are we to understand the wrath of God?
We can best define the wrath of God as divine displeasure or indignation against sin. It does not originate in an evil emotion such as anger or hate. Rather, springs from God’s perfect holiness and righteousness - God hates sin. His displeasure manifests or is expressed by punishment on the ungodly and the unrighteous. Since all people are sinners, it logically follows that all of us are corrupt and deserving of punishment.
This brings up a very important question: How do we know we are sinners?
The answer is that God has revealed himself and his holiness to us.
Revealed from heaven - Prior to the incarnation of Christ (before the gospel was revealed), God gave the Jews a revelation of himself and his holiness by direct revelation (through the patriarchs and the prophets), through his dealings with them (like delivering them from Egypt), and via the law (as given on Mount Sinai). Despite these revelations from heaven, the Jews continued to sin.
God also gave the Gentiles a revelation of himself and his holiness prior to the gospel. He did this through their reason and conscience. But despite their ability to reason and the witness of their consciences (which was given to them from heaven), the Gentiles continued to sin.
Going back to our summary, we noted that the wrath of God hangs over all of mankind because all of us are sinful. As we dig deeper, we find that Paul uses two separate words to describe our sin: Ungodliness and unrighteousness. These two terms refer back to the ten commandments. The ten commandments are often divided up into what are called ‘the two tables’.
Ungodliness – The first four commandments (the first table) deals with sins that man commits against God. They include the following: You shall have no other gods before me, do not worship idols, do not take the name of the Lord in vain, remember to keep the Sabbath holy (see Exodus 20:1-11, Deuteronomy 5:1-15).
Overall, Paul uses the term ‘ungodliness’ to refer to the breaking of any of these four commands. Ungodliness also includes living without any conscious reference to God and/or living without righteous/proper feelings toward him.
Unrighteousness of men – The other six commandments (the second table) deal with sins that man commits against other people. They include the following: Honor your parents, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, do not covet (Exodus 20:12-17, Deuteronomy 5:16-21).
Overall, Paul uses the term ‘unrighteousness’ to refer to the breaking of any of the last six commandments, as well as all deviations from moral conduct in heart, speech and behavior.
Taken together, these two phrases (ungodliness and unrighteousness) encompass the violation of all the commands of God:
Matthew 22:37-40 – And he [Jesus] said to him, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Next, Paul expands on the fact that both Jews and Gentiles had at least some knowledge of the truth of God, but all of them refused to live by the truth that was revealed to them: 
Who hold the truth in unrighteousness – In this context, to hold means to keep back, to restrain, to suppress, to hinder. The implication is that the truth (God’s revelation of himself and a knowledge of sin) was held back or restrained by their wickedness.
In other words, both Jews and Gentiles had a degree of truth, but they did not embrace it/follow it/live their lives by it. Instead, they chose to sin. By choosing sin, they prevented the truth from taking root in their hearts and influencing/shaping their conduct. Thus, they lived contrary to what they knew to be right.
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘use it or lose it’? That concept applies here. If the people who lived prior to the gospel would have embraced the truth they had (no matter how small), they would have benefited from it – God would have blessed them and revealed more of himself to them. But because of their rejection of the truth, they lost even the little bit they had.
Matthew 25:29 – For unto everyone that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has.
Thus, Paul makes it very clear that all people (Jews and Gentiles) are in the same position – all of us have sinned and all of us require redemption.
Now Paul is going to change gears – he is going to talk specifically about the rejection (holding back) of the truth by the Gentiles. Later, in chapters 2-3 he will focus on the rejection of the truth by the Jews.
Romans 1:19 – For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
GENERAL SUMMARY: In the remainder of this chapter, Paul is speaking specifically about the Gentiles. He will systematically prove that God revealed himself to the Gentiles through nature. Specifically, by examining nature through their intelligence and powers of reason, the Gentiles could have known a lot about God (his existence, his wisdom, his love, etc). Furthermore, the righteous laws of God were confirmed by their own consciences.
But despite these revelations, the Gentiles did not obey his law. In Paul’s words, the Gentiles ‘held back’ the truth. Because they rejected the truth and hardened their hearts, eventually they could no longer hear the witness/conviction of their own consciences, so they spiraled deeper and deeper into the bondage of sin.
DIGGING DEEPER: Some people might have argued that the Gentiles had an excuse for their sin, because they did not have the law and the prophets like the Jews did. But Paul maintains that they were not completely without a knowledge of God, and they chose to reject or obstruct (hold back) the revelation that was given to them.
What can be known of God – This phrase implies two things.
One, there are things about God which we cannot or do not know. Indeed, it is not possible for us to fully comprehend God’s greatness, wisdom, glory, perfection, etc. That is actually a reassuring thought, because if we could fully know and understand God, he would not be big enough for us to serve!
Two, there are things we can and do know about him. Although the Gentiles had no written or direct revelation of God (as the Jews did), God still made himself known to them.
In fact, God has imprinted a knowledge of himself upon the hearts of all men and women; instinctively we know he exists. 
Think of it this way – when we see a painting, we know there must be a painter. When we see a skyscraper, we know there must be an architect. Likewise, when we see creation, we know there must be a creator.
But God shows us much more than just his existence. His attributes – his infinite power, wisdom, dominion/sovereignty and goodness – are revealed in nature. Though these attributes are not visible to our physical eyes we can see evidence of them in the beauty, order, consistency, perfection and complexity of creation.
Psalms 97:6 – The heavens declare his righteousness, and the people see his glory.
Psalm 19:1-3: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Obviously, Paul was not saying that the Gentiles could know everything that pertains to God. Nor was he saying that their understanding of him was as clear as someone who had a direct revelation of him.
His point is that the Gentiles knew enough about God to understand their sin. Therefore, they had no covering or excuse for their moral failures, their idolatry or their outright wickedness. Thus, God would be just in punishing them for their deeds.
Is plain to them – In every generation, the Gentiles were plainly given a degree of understanding about God. If they had embraced this knowledge and allowed it to impact their lives, they would have passed that knowledge on to their children, who could have built upon it. This knowledge would have been passed from person to person and from nation to nation. In this way, the knowledge of God would have circulated among the Gentile populations.
But instead, the Gentiles chose sin over righteousness; they held back the truth from themselves. They cut themselves off from a knowledge of God because they preferred to embrace sin rather than truth.
Let me offer you some encouragement:
I want to take a moment and commend everyone who is reading this post. The book of Romans is a bit more difficult to understand than some of the other New Testament books, so we often skip over it (no doubt with a promise to study it at a later date).
We won’t understand everything in this book, but when we earnestly set ourselves to hear from God, Holy Spirit enlightens our minds and gives us greater understanding. I can guarantee you that if you approach this study that way, you WILL benefit from it. Plus, you are building a base of knowledge which you can add to later.
So, I encourage you to stay with it; I know you will find benefit from taking the time to focus on the great truths of the book of Romans!
Let me offer you some relief:
Let’s discuss sin for a minute. As human beings, we tend to break sins up into different imaginary categories. For instance, most people would consider murder to be one of the worst sins imaginable. On the other hand, we often tell ‘white lies’ without giving it a second thought, even though ‘thou shalt not lie’ is the ninth command.
The fact is, God views sin differently than we view it. Whether it’s a lie or a murder, it’s all sin. Furthermore, God considers it a sin to murder someone in your heart, even if you never touch them physically (Matthew 5:27-28)!
The good news is that there is no sin that he won’t forgive, if only you humble yourself and repent. Those around you may say there is no hope for you, but don’t you believe it – God is ready, willing and able to redeem anyone and everyone.
Let me offer you some strength:
There are many people who only want to focus on the love of God. While it is true that God is love, that is only half of the truth. God’s love is perfectly consistent with his wrath, or his judgment of sin.
When we fail to tell people that the God of love is also the God of justice, we do them a disservice. Essentially, we are holding back the truth.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we need to beat sinners over the head with tales of hell, fire and brimstone, but I am saying that at the right time and in the right way, we should be witnesses of the whole truth. This glorifies God more than giving sinners a lopsided view of who he is.