Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
This last year some people were able to keep afloat by accepting loans that would later be forgiven if the conditions were met. This enabled businesses to stay afloat, even with all the shutdowns. But that was only helpful for those who qualified and who applied for the relief. And some didn’t apply even though they were qualified.
We often think about the Gospel as being about the Good News that God loves us so much that He came to demonstrate that love through His life, death and resurrection. And this is true. The Gospel is about God’s love. But that is not the whole story.
The Gospel is God’s love to those who accept the message and act on it. But what about those who don’t accept it? What does the Gospel do for them? How does the Gospel impact their lives and eternity?
We often neglect to think about the downside of the Gospel. Jesus had to take upon Himself the sins of the whole world, past, present and future. All the worst crimes in human history were placed on Him. The punishment that was rightly do these horrid wretches of humanity was placed on Him. God’s wrath fully poured out.
We see a glimpse of God’s wrath at points in the Old Testament, when certain people or groups of people stepped over the line. Their sins were too egregious to allow to continue. God had to allow His wrath to pour out to save humanity from the full impact of that sin.
The Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Nadab and Abihu, These were moments when the whole history of humanity stood in the balance, and if the LORD had not bought judgment, all of humanity would have crashed and burned. So how did Jesus’ life, death and resurrection fit into this?
Our text says that at the time of Paul’s writing, God’s wrath “is being revealed” against humanity’s sin. Something about the Gospel made God’s wrath more evident. In the Gospel, the curtain that hid God’s wrath was pulled back for all to see, and this included those who didn’t yet believe.
The horror of an innocent man being crucified is too much to bear. The death penalty is for the guilty, not the innocent. So why would Jesus volunteer to be the sin-bearer? Why would God allow such a thing? This isn’t justice! This is the opposite of justice!
And yet in the Gospel, what we try to suppress, that is, the fact that sin exists, not only in others but in ourselves, we try to keep this behind the curtain. But in the Gospel the curtain is pulled back. All could see Jesus’ death. All have to come to grips that He died for them.
So the ugly side of sin is on full display. Sin is not some hobby we pick up for our weekends away, but it is central to our being. It has infected us, and without the Gospel’s solution, we end up on our won cross. We must pay our own penalty. God’s wrath will be displayed in our lives.
But we don’t often think about God’s wrath, but God’s wrath is central to the Gospel message. It was God’s wrath, His justice carried out, that powers the Gospel. His love overcame His wrath. In Jesus His wrath was satisfied so that His love could be fully experienced.
Sin has a cost. Jesus paid that cost. God’s wrath is fully satisfied for those who will accept it. Someone will pay.
The Arnold Journey 