The Wrath of God
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. – Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is not the subject of many sermons these days. And yet the wrath of God is the very thing we need salvation from. Sin and death which came into the world when Adam sinned leads to humanity facing the wrath of an almighty, holy and just God who can not look upon sin and no sin can be in His presence. Paul speaks a lot about sin in the letter to the Romans. The word appears 37 times in this letter. The word wrath appears 10 times, and the next few chapters deal explicitly about the fallen state of man, the consequences and the peril of the wrath of God. When Moses interceded for the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai when the worshiped the golden calf he said:
11 But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. – Exodus 32:11-12
Moses stood in the gap for the people of God and even when God offered to make him a great nation (Exodus 32:10) Moses turned that down to interceded for His people. As the author of Hebrews put it:
choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. – Hebrews 11:25
Moses knew the heart of God and lays down his life and future prosperity to be an instrument to save his people. This foreshadowed what Jesus was to do for us. In chapter 5 Paul gives us the most amazing hope. Jesus has interceded for us and:
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. – Romans 5:9
The shed blood of Jesus has protected and saved those who believe in Him from the wrath of God.
For those who chose to reject the provision God had made for us:
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” – Revelation 6:15-17
No one can stand before the wrath of God only His Son Jesus Christ and those who are hid in Him
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. – 1 John 2:28