Sharper Iron — The Righteousness of God for You: God’s Righteous Wrath against Man’s Unrighteousness

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Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Romans 1:18-32.

Having proclaimed that the Gospel is God’s power to save, St. Paul begins to lay out why humanity needs salvation at all. God’s righteousness to save sinners goes hand-in-hand with His wrath against man’s unrighteousness. The unrighteousness of man expresses itself in the suppression of the true knowledge of God. Creation is witness to all people of the eternal power and divine nature of the Creator. Knowing this, however, men have denied it. In an attempt to be wise on their own, they have become foolish by replacing God with idols. Such idolatry is seen in the corruption of soul, mind, and body. God gives sinners over to their evil desires, letting them see firsthand what the devastating consequences of that idolatry truly are. Homosexuality and sins against God’s gift of marriage stand as Exhibit A of this truth, but St. Paul will not let anyone off the hook. In a tragic list of evil, all men are indicted of their sin, as St. Paul turns the corner from the “they” of chapter 1 to the “you” of chapter 2. It is good and right for us to experience the terror of this text in order that we would know the sweetness of God’s free salvation in Christ Jesus.

“The Righteousness of God for You” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Human righteousness cannot save, because all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Only the righteousness of God can bring life and forgiveness to sinners. This is the righteousness that He has fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the righteousness that is revealed in the Gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is the righteousness that is not earned, but is freely given by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Romans 1:18-32

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[a] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Footnotes:

Romans 1:20 Or clearly perceived from the creation of the world