Romans 1: 18-23
verse 21: For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
This verse is so timeless. It describes Israel but it also describes the world, through the ages. We know God is here. He has shown us his power and his love, yet so many turn away from Him. At points in my life I turned away myself. I guess I thought I had more important things to do and think about. I knew God was there, but chose to put my energies into all kinds of other things. I am ashamed I let this happen. But God has forgiven me.
Holy Father, I am welcomed back by you each time I turn away, and you lead me back each time I am lost. That is love. Your forgiveness is love. Your grace is pure love. Thank you, Lord. Amen
Becky, transforming
Romans 1: 18-23
God’s wrath/against mankind– If sin didn’t make God angry, there would be no need for Jesus to die. If God is only love, then He could simply decide not to punish any sins. But this passage shows us that God has anger. This isn’t the kind of anger we might have if someone cheats us or lies to us, It is more like the moral anger we might feel if we heard about a person abusing children or cheating the elderly. Just as love was the motivation for the crucifixion, so wrath is the motivation for God’s judgment. Notice here the object of God’s wrath. It is the ungodliness and sinfulness of man. It is the s…
Romans 1: 18-23
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
I find that when I was first introduced to the Old Testament, I thought that God was so angry and extremely harsh in his treatment of the people at that time. I was looking at this through my human notions of someone with a bad temper that flies off the handle every time someone does something wrong. I now realize that this wrath is part of God’s holy nature. It is his opposition to all sin. I now know that his anger is a proper response to certain sins. He is a…
Romans 1:18-23
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people.
We often wonder how God can allow bad things to happen, especially to good people. But it’s not a stretch to think that God can get frustrated with the world in general and bring a pandemic down on us. Everywhere I look I can see deliberate acts of godlessness or stupid act of godlessness. I see leaders professing to be God fearing and yet ignoring everything that God teaches. I also see signs that many people are doing what Jesus taught, and that is to love our neighbor. We may need a 2x4 lesson now and then.
Dear Lord, give us…
Romans 1:22 - “Claiming to be wise, they became fools;”
This has been the story of humankind since the beginning. Like the child who insists on doing whatever without help from Mommy or Daddy and makes a huge mess of things, we believe we can do things without God. A fool does not appear foolish to themselves and if enough people think the fool is wise, they too become fools. This would be amusing if it did not have eternal consequences. I recently read a blog post by a pastor who received a huge response to a post of his that was picked up by a news service. Most of it was negative, especially from atheists who called him a…