Have you ever stumbled upon a gadget or tool that is gains more and more value the longer you use it? It’s like discovering a buried treasure! Or “winning the jackpot”! I’ve heard people describe their spouses in this way, you can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voice that quivers just enough to let you know they are speaking about someone that has rocked their world. This is not love at first glance, this is living year after year until you realize you are one.

This might seem a little heavy, but this chapter hits me in the same way. I’ve read it many times before. It was that chapter that talks about people having no excuse to not know who God is and sets the tone for the book of Romans which has always been a little scary to me. (True confessions.) But the more I read and meditated on this chapter this week, the more I felt the depth of emotion, the urgency, and the powerful message it contains.

For me this chapter fell into 3 broad sections: The greeting, the gospel, and the wrath.

The Greeting.

Paul is writing to the Believers in Rome and he begins with “grace and peace” to you…

Paul’s greeting is so joyful. He loves these people! He wishes them the very best. He is thankful for them. He looks forward to seeing them as soon as he can. Notably, this is the way Paul will begin all of his letters as we work through the bulk of the new testament for the rest of 2021.

It leads me to question, “how you feel about your church?” Do you long to reunite with them and encourage them with the Word of God and let them do the same for you? If it was not essential for the church to know this and live this, it wouldn’t have been written. (Romans 1:1-15)

The Gospel.

Paul says, I am not ashamed of it. He says it is the power of God for salvation. For whom? He says for “everyone” who believes (Jews and non-Jews). He says it reveals God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness is received by faith. Why by faith? Let’s think about that. Salvation is not a pill or a piece of fruit you eat. It’s not even water that you dip into. It’s not physical, it’s spiritual. So spiritual things, in the time of Jesus, in the time of Paul, and in our time today have to be accepted by faith. We can’t see or touch God in a physical way, but in our mind (thoughts, feelings, and choices) we trust that all He has said is true and that by faith we accept that powerful message of the gospel. We accept this by faith now with the confidence that one day we will be united with God face to face. (Romans 1:16-17)

Our response: Are we ashamed of our relationship with God? Are we hiding the truth of how we came into that relationship? Here is the gospel. I am a sinner. (Romans 3:9-12, 23) I was reminded of that every time I was punished for doing something wrong as a child. You too? Sin separates me from God. (Romans 6:23) But Christ died to pay for my sin. This is why the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are essential. (Romans 5:8) I can receive salvation by repenting and believing in Him. (Romans 10:9-10, 13). As a child of God I now choose Christ as my Lord and with that comes eternal life. (Romans 5:1; 8:1)

Why do we need salvation?

The Wrath.

Why do we need salvation? That is a great question. If the world we experience says, “you do you and I’ll do me” then what’s the big deal about religion? The answer to that question is powerfully stated in the remainder of the chapter.

God’s wrath simply means that God is angry. That is the bottom line. He is angry about sin. He is angry that sin is keeping people from Him and His truth. For example, when we focus our attention on the trees: Saving the trees, hugging the trees, protecting the trees, decorating the trees, planting more trees, and mourning the loss of each tree we are not even thinking about the One who made the trees. I could say that there is nothing wrong with the trees, and there isn’t, God made a wide variety of wonderful trees, and He made them with a purpose in mind. But can I say that there isn’t anything wrong with my obsession with the trees (relax, it’s just an example folks!) Actually, there is something wrong. The more I promote the trees, and give my resources for the trees, and shine my light on the trees, isn’t the Truth being suppressed? Isn’t the #1 job of the trees to direct our attention to their Creator? And aren’t I suppressing the truth if my focus is on the trees and not the One who made them? Now substitute anything or anyone for trees.

Verse 20 “For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” All things were created to point to the creator, including mankind. But instead of honoring God, since the time of creation, we have continually denied God, ignored God, and rejected God. He’s angry and this is what He decided to do about it. He gave them (the people continually worshiping everything BUT God) up to their own selfish desires. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped the creation rather than the creator.

It gets so much worse. God says, you want it your way, you can have it all. All of the unnatural desires you can dream up. Go ahead. In essence God is saying, be your own gods and see where that takes you. Paul records some of the possibilities that go from bad to worse. Unrighteousness to malice. Gossip, deceit, pride, heartless, ruthless… the list is long. The list all leads to death. Verse 32, “Though they know God’s righteous decree….that they deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

It takes my breath away. God is angry. He’s created man in His own image. He’s walked alongside man. He has surrounded everyone with the evidence that leads to a supernatural creator. And yet they brag about their sin and mock their creator.

This puts me in mind of back when our boys were little. Oh, maybe they had a new toy that was more fragile than they were wanting to treat it. Fussy mom would warn them, “be gentle”, “be careful,” and so on. Eventually, I gave them over to their desires. Well of course the toy would break, the child would cry, and mom would scoop them up and dry their tears and teach the truth about consequences for actions.

God as a loving Father is doing the same. He has given humanity over, to discover that their unnatural relations are going to lead to broken relationships and pursuits that leave them empty. Their greed and pride will lead in the same way having to pay for the wake of destruction that their actions created. As believers in partnership with God, we hope and pray, that when they come to the end of themselves, they will reach for God. The God who loved so deeply that He gave them the Gospel. And they will seek godly people who can walk with them and care for them and encourage them, as Paul longed to be with the Roman church.

This is why I love Jesus. We are so utterly doomed in and of ourselves, but God enters in. He scoops us up and dries our tears, and teaches us the truth so we can be set free and live in blessed eternity with Him. Not only that, He gives us a powerful message to share with anyone who is ready to hear.