Romans 1:18-32
Monday, 3 October 2022
“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” -Romans 1:18
God is all-powerful, whose presence is everywhere, and the One who knows it all. He created the Heavens, the Earth, the Stars, the Moon, us and everything around us and yet it is a pity when the creation itself forgets the Creator! When God made man in His image and put us on the earth to have fellowship with Him and rule the earth, in his sin, man walked away from God and His purpose.
Verse 20 of our reading says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Although the truth is made obvious to the world, they are either blinded by their corruption or they chose to ignore His existence to pursue what pleases them. The truth about God is suppressed by the world as this makes it easier to remain in their wicked ways.
The rejection and turning away from God is not without consequences. Vs.24 says God abandoned them to what wicked ways they please. In the absence of light comes darkness! A downward descend in one’s life happens when God is chosen to be forgotten:
Failure to recognize Him
“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks” (V.21). Although we are aware who God is, our wickedness takes us away from fulfilling our true purpose, which is to worship Him! The more we cling onto what the world can offer we eventually become ‘of the world’!
Foolish mind
Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. (V.22)
With access to all sorts of information we consider ourselves to be wise but the Bible says when you forget the Creator-the giver of true wisdom, you become utter fools! For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. (1 Corinthians 3:19)
Idol Worship
And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (v23) When we replace God with everything else in our lives that becomes idol worship; its not just bowing to a statue but whatever supersedes God in our lives, become idols. When we turn away from God, we always turn to something. You either worship God or replace Him with a god of your own making!
All this has brought God’s wrath on sinful man. How do we receive deliverance from God’s wrath?
Sin and corruption in one form or other has crept into lives. The only way to be delivered from the wrath of God is our redemption through Christ Jesus. 1 John 2:2 says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” When on the Cross Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30) in Greek ‘tetelestai’, a term that means ‘Paid in full’—the debt of mankind - the debt of sin was paid in full by His death. Jesus has wiped away the sin of mankind completely and forever (Colossians 1:22)- for those who trust Him. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21NLT). He has reconciled sinful men to a holy God! (Rom.3:23-25).
Because Christ bore the full weight of God’s wrath, we now enjoy the full blessing of God’s mercy. God’s wrath has now been turned away as the price for sin has been paid. God’s mercy is now freely available to anyone who will receive it! Would you?
Prayer: LORD Jesus come into my life, cleanse me from all my iniquities, create in me a pure heart and strengthen me to do your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus name Amen.
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