Romans 1. God’s Wrath of Abandonment. 

1. How does Paul describe himself in this introduction? Verse 1. 

   1. A servant, meaning someone totally at the disposal of their master, of Christ. 

   2. An apostle, a man who held the office of apostle was an eyewitness of the resurrection (Acts 1:22, 1 Corinthians 15:18) who had been personally appointed by Christ (Matthew 10:1-7, Acts 1:22-24, Galatians 1:1), and to teach or write with authority (1 Corinthians 14:37, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 4:15, 2 Peter 3:15-16) as one who had received special revelation from God (Ephesians 2:20, 3:5). 

      1. This term is used as a title of the twelve disciples and Paul in a distinctive sense, but is also used in a broader sense (Romans 16:7), in general it refers to a “messenger” or “representative” of the Lord (Philippians 2:25). 

   3. Set apart for the gospel of God, the triune God of the Bible. We know our purpose is to serve God and glorify Him in all that we do (1 Corinthians 10:31), including our main mission of making disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). 

2. Why is the Old Testament, or the First Testament, so important? Verse 2. 

   1. The gospel of Christ crucified was not a new gospel, it is what the entirety of the Old Testament is pointing towards. The whole Bible is about Christ (Luke 24). 

3. Why must Christ come in the form of a man and from a virgin birth? Verse 3-4. 

   1. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), so someone had to die for the sins of man. If we bear our own sins then we remain under the wrath of God, however we know that Christ bore the sins of His people so they do not have to. He had to take on the form of a man because God cannot die, but humans can. 

      1. The Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union is what delves deeply into this. 

   2. Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) so that He was born holy. 

4. Why is Paul eager to preach the gospel to the Christians in Rome? Verses 8-15. 

   1. The gospel isn’t just for unbelievers, it’s for believers too. It is not just a call to initial saving faith but a call to continue walking in faith daily.  

   2. “We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.”

• Martin Luther. 

5. Why does Paul say he is not ashamed of the gospel? Verse 16. 

   1. Some may feel ashamed of their faith in Christ or of the gospel message, but Paul affirms it is the power of God that brings people to salvation. 

6. What does it mean that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith and that the righteous shall live by faith? Verse 17. 

   1. The righteousness of justification is received by faith alone, not our works. 

   2. Living by faith refers to the entirety of the Christian life being lived in trust and dependence on the God who graciously justifies the sinner. 

7. How do Romans 1:18-32 and Ephesians 4:17-24 compare? Verses 18-32. 

   1. Romans 1:18-32 shows us the progression where God “gave them up” to the things of this world. Ephesians 4:17-24 shows us the same progression of those who have turned aside and “given themselves up” to the things of this world. 

   2. Isn’t it a wonderful mystery how God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility work together in one way or another? Research “compatibilism” for more information.

8. Where else do we see this principle of compatibilism in Scripture? 

   1. This echoes how it describes the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus. In Exodus 8:15, 32, and 9:34 it says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. However, in Exodus 4:21 and 7:3 it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. 

   2. Another example of this is how Joseph ended up in Egypt. Joseph’s brothers hated him because their father, Jacob, loved Joseph more than his other sons and because of Joseph's dreams and their interpretations in Genesis 37:3-11. In 18-33 it is written that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. Again, in 45:4-5 Joseph says that his brothers sold him into Egypt. However, in 5-8 we read that it was not Joseph’s brothers there, it was God. This is another beautiful showing of the Lord’s provision over all things and an example of what 50:20 and Romans 8:28 tell us about God’s goodness and sovereignty. 

   3. The commission of Assyria, as seen in Isaiah 10. As divinely promised in Deuteronomy 28-29, God is sending a nation to punish His people for their sins. In Isaiah 10:5-6 Assyria is described as the rod of God’s anger who He is sending against a godless nation. However, in the next verse, 7, we see Assyria’s intent is to “destroy and cut off many nations.” These are two different purposes from two different entities acting to bring about this result in a single action. Reading further, in 23 we see that the Lord has decreed the destruction. However, we know He will punish the Assyrians because of the “arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness” as seen in 12-15. Even though God decreed the judgment of a disobedient people, He still holds those who brought the judgment accountable for their own actions. 

   4. The final example of compatibilism we’ll go over is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As revealed in Acts 2:23-25 and 4:23-28, Christ was put to death by wicked men, but at the same time His death on the cross was predestined to happen by God, for it was the Lord’s will to crush Christ and cause Him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10). Once again, when the question of who killed Jesus is proposed, the answer is both God and the wicked people. Once again we see that there were two purposes carried out by two entities within a single action. 

   5. Ultimately, we will not be able to fully understand how this works. We know that… 

      1. God is sovereign over all things (Psalm 115:3, Proverbs 21:1, Daniel 4:35, and Matthew 10:29-30), He knows all things (Job 37:16, Psalm 147:5, and 1 John 3:19-20), and man is held accountable for his actions (Genesis 18:25, Acts 17:31, and Jude 15). His ways are infinitely above our own (Isaiah 55:8-9 and Romans 11:33), therefore we must trust in the Lord and not ourselves (Proverbs 3:5-7).

9. What are the different aspects of God’s wrath?

   1. Eternal Wrath - The wrath of God against unrepentant sinners forever in hell. 

   2. Eschatological Wrath - The wrath of God that is released at the end of the world. 

   3. Cataclysmic Wrath - Such as a tsunami, volcano, hurricane, earthquake, a plane flying into the twin towers killing thousands, etc. 

   4. Consequential Wrath - The sowing and reaping wrath. If you live a certain kind of life and set in motion certain forces that will produce judgment. 

   5. The Wrath of Abandonment - When God turns His back on a society. 

      1. Judges 16:18-21, Judges 10:13-14, Proverbs 1:24-31, Hosea 4:17, Matthew 15:14. Typically relating to a group or nation, this is the type of wrath that Paul harps on in verses 18 to 32. 

10. Has God abandoned America? 

    1. Yes. America has followed the pattern of having the truth, rejecting the truth, and being abandoned by God. “The lost enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded and are therefore self-enslaved.” - C.S. Lewis. 

    2. “God will abandon sinners to their own choices and the consequences of those choices. And just what is this abandoning act on God’s part? It is the removal of restraining grace. It is when God lets go and turns a society over to its own sinful freedoms and the consequences of those freedoms.” - John MacArthur. 

11. What happens to a nation that God gives over to its own sin? Verses 24-28. 

    1. Sexual immorality thrives, you have a pornographic culture (Romans 1:24-25). 

    2. Degrading passions run rampant, such as homosexuality (26-27). 

       1. Paul speaks of women here because they are commonly the last to be affected by the decay of morals, but under the wrath of abandonment even the women are affected. 

    3. Consequential wrath is thrown in, here we see it come out as diseases that come about due to the sin being committed (HIV, AIDS, etc.). 

    4. God gives them up to a depraved mind (28), meaning one that is useless, its reasoning is so corrupt that it can no longer function. See Romans 8 for more. 

       1. See how Bill Clinton’s ratings went up after he was caught in sexual immorality. People enjoyed having a leader that was like them. 

       2. Our society won’t tolerate anger against sin. 

    5. We see this pattern: the heart is rotten, the body follows, and then the mind goes. 

12. What is the original cause of God’s wrath of abandonment? Verses 18-32. 

    1. The suppression of the truth (18). Any society constantly suppressing the truth with their own ungodliness, condemning the light and running to the darkness. 

    2. This means we must all know the truth, that God is real, and reject that truth because of our debased minds, numbed to God and all things good. 

       1. Truly think about it for a minute, simple reason tells us that since there is a created world (effect), there must be a Creator (cause). 

    3. The world has crushed the truth under its preference for sin. 

13. What is the sequence of reasons for God’s wrath?

    1. Revelation of the truth. It is so incredibly obvious that every creation has a Creator and every design has a Designer. Both from simple reason and the fact that we have a moral compass within us (18-20). We also have the Word of God. 

    2. Rejection of the truth. Man gives up God, gives up the truth, because man loves the darkness (John 3:19-21). This leaves man under God's divine judgment. It is not that man cannot find or recognize truth, it is that man is evil and loves the darkness more than the light and has no desire to honor God (Romans 1:21). 

       1. Five lies man likes to live by: 

          1. Life is random. 

          2. Truth is relative. 

          3. People are basically good. 

          4. You can do anything you want to do. 

          5. The goal of life is self-satisfaction. 

       2. The opposing truths:

          1. God is sovereign and nothing is random. 

          2. The Bible is absolute truth. 

          3. People are basically sinful. 

          4. Only Christ can change your life. 

          5. The goal of life is selfless submission to Christ. 

    3. Rationalization of the truth. God gave man up to his sin and man is now spiritually blind, he cannot access his own situation so he claims to be wise (22). This is no more absurd than giving yourself a PhD when you’re a fool. We have a society of proud morons flaunting themselves as if they’re significant and wise. 

    4. Religion. Men create their own gods to accommodate their own useless ideas. False, satanic religion is the worship of idols, anything other than the one true God. True religion, based on the relationship you have with God through Christ, goes directly against the counterfeit man-made religions of this world (23-28). The ultimate insanity is to deny God, create a false god, and worship it instead. 

14. Is there any hope for this country or any society in this condition? 

    1. This cycle has happened many times in history, look at Israel. 

    2. There is a word of hope in Psalm 81:11-16. If people would turn towards God then He would care for them as only God can. The only hope for any society is to hear the Word of the Lord and obey it.

15. What must we do? 

    1. Preach Christ crucified to all. We cannot have weak men preaching weak messages in weak churches, this is a time for bold and powerful, strong biblical ministry that calls people to hear the Word of the Lord and respond. 

    2. The fact that anyone would preach a Christless sermon is appalling. As Spurgeon put it, to preach without Christ is like when a traveler goes to a well and finds it empty, mocking the traveler. It’s like the daytime without the sun. 

    3. As we read back earlier, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. We must spread the gospel and make disciples, not simply converts. We must be fishers of men, not simply people with a priceless treasure who keep it to themselves. 

16. Resources: 

    1. ESV Reformation Study Bible (RSB). R.C. Sproul. 

    2. ESV Study Bible (ESB). Crossway. 

    3. Theological Primer: Hypostatic Union TGC. 

    4. What Is the Hypostatic Union? dG.  

    5. What is the hypostatic union? GQ. 

    6. Christ Conceived by the Holy Spirit dG. 

    7. What is compatibilism? GQ. 

    8. The Wrath of God TGC. 

    9. Five Truths About the Wrath of God dG. 

    10. What is the biblical understanding of the wrath of God? GQ. 

    11. Preach Christ or Go Home—Spurgeon on Christless Preaching TGC. 

17. Sermons: 

    1. Romans, Vol. 01 (1:1-22) GTY, John MacArthur. 

    2. Romans, Vol. 02 (1:23-2:29) GTY, John MacArthur.   

    3. When God Abandons a Nation GTY, John MacArthur.

    4. Six Truths About God's Wrath dG, John Piper.