If you’ve paid attention to the development of blockbuster movies over the last decade or so, you’ve probably noticed a consistent pattern. There is a plot that shows up regularly now: “origin story” - a movie that attempts to tell the story of how a popular character came to be. One that sticks out to me is the story of Maleficent. You might remember that evil witch from the story of Sleeping Beauty who cursed the young Aurora to be struck unconscious with the prick of a spinning wheel needle on her 16th birthday. In the original Disney cartoon, Maleficent is nothing but pure evil, even becoming a fire-breathing dragon by the end of the story. But, in 2014, Disney decided to tell the origin story of Maleficent. In this story, Maleficent was a pure hearted fairy of a magical forest who was betrayed by a prince. This betrayal turned her heart to stone and ultimately led her to curse the prince’s descendent, Arora. Yet, Maleficent comes to recognize that Arora holds the key to peace in the kingdom, and so, in this new re-imagined story, instead of fighting Prince Charming because of her hatred for true love, Maleficent fights to defend Arora against evil invaders.
Unfortunately, this trend of writing a new origin story isn’t just something for movie producers. We all like to imagine (and re-imagine) our own stories. No matter how guilty we may be in our own story, we always seem to imagine ourselves to be the heroes. Though we believe that everyone else around us is corrupt or dirty or a cheat, we excuse our own behaviors because we “have a good heart.” The Bible reveals a different origin story for every human heart. In Romans 1:18-23 we find that there are no heroes among the human race, only villains. Let’s read that text together. I want to consider this passage in three parts: The Rage against Humanity, the Responsibility of Humanity, and the Rejection by Humanity.
First, let’s consider the Rage against Humanity in verse 18. Remember that Paul has just given this wonderful summation of the theme of his letter, “The Gospel is the power of God… for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith.” Flowing directly from that, Paul launches into a condemnation against the unrighteousness of humanity. Understand, the Gospel can only be good news if there is bad news that precedes it. In our day, we are warned not to judge, not to condemn, not to talk about sin or judgment or hell, but without those things, there is no good news. If the Gospel is only about living a happy and fulfilled life, then it is no better than any self-help book on the shelf at your local gas station. But, if the Gospel reveals the way of escape from the judgment of God, then it is Good News indeed!
So, Paul introduces a real problem that is true of all of humanity: “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men.” Friend, understand, if you are outside of Christ, you have a real problem on your hands. Sure, you might not be able to pay your bills, but that will only anger the bank. Sure, you might not be able to keep your spouse happy, but that will only make for an angry home. Far worse than any of those is the fact that the God of the universe is wrathful towards your ungodliness and unrighteousness. When Paul says that the wrath of God is revealed, this is apocalyptic language. In fact, the Greek word for “revealed” is “apokalypto”, from which we get the word “apocalypse.” It means “to uncover”. So, God’s wrath is being uncovered or laid open against all of the unrighteousness of men. Understand, God does not take an “ah shucks” attitude towards sin. We may minimize our sins. We may attempt to excuse them away. We may try our best to shift the blame. But God does not look away or cover over it. He reveals it and he is passionately vengeful against the unrighteousness of the human heart.
In this same verse, Paul begins to explain why God is wrathful by saying that the mankind “suppresses the truth.” That brings me to my second point: The Responsibility of Humanity. In verses 19-20, Paul shows how inexcusable the sinfulness of man really is. Man is responsible for his sin because God has made himself plainly known to them through his creation. Theologians call this way of knowing God “Natural Revelation.” Paul says there are two things that can be known about God through natural revelation. First, we can know his eternal power. I went hunting one evening this past week, and I walked back to my truck in the moonlight. The sky was so clear and there was an absolutely breathtaking array of stars over me as I walked. All of those stars, the immensity of the universe, the power of the sun; it all testifies to the power of the God who created it. Psalm 19:1 says, “the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
Second, Paul says that we know his “divine nature” through natural revelation. This is to say, we can know the essential attributes of God (his love, justice, goodness, mercy) through what we see in creation. We can feel a taste of the love of the heavenly Father reflected in the love of our parents. We have a sense of his justice through our consciences. We get an idea of his goodness in the beauty of a mountainside or a sunset.
But, this natural revelation has one predictable result among sinful humanity. It only serves to condemn us. Many have made the mistake of reading this passage and saying, “Ah ha, there is hope for the noble savages in a distant land who have never heard the Gospel because they have the witness of creation.” Yes, it is true that unreached tribes have the witness of creation to show them the character of the true God, but Paul doesn’t say this saves them. In fact, he says that it is the very reason they are without excuse for their unrighteousness. Understand, friend, there will be no one who stands before the throne of God on the final judgment day who will say, “But God, I didn’t know!” Everyone has the witness of creation, and therefore no one has an excuse.
That brings me to my final point: The Rejection By Humanity. In verses 21 – 23, Paul shows us the ultimate outcome of the unrighteousness of men. These verses are like steps leading down into the depravity of man. That depravity starts with a failure to worship God for who he is. In verse 21, Paul says that while humanity knew God, they did not honor him. This is the idea of glorifying or praising God for who he is. Instead of worshiping, they became futile in their thinking and their hearts were darkened. The first consequence of turning from the worship of the one true God is to be dulled in our imaginations. Paul has in mind here the dark and sinister worship of the pagans, who would do horrible acts of worship like cutting themselves, drinking blood, and sacrificing their children.
This dulling of the mind would lead to another step down, which we find in verse 22: “claiming to be wise, they became fools.” In the stupidity of their false worship, humanity actually began to believe that they were the wise ones. They began to think that they actually had the world figured out, because if we just sacrifice to the right god, then our crops will grow or our business will be successful or we will have a lot of children. Instead of recognizing the source of wisdom in the God who made the universe, they claimed wisdom for themselves and became fools.
We find the final step down into the depravity of man in verse 23. In this verse we find what is called “The Great Exchange”. Humanity exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for images made after corruptible creation. Instead of worshiping the true creator of the world, they formed a rock into the shape of a calf and worshiped that. Even today, men and women exchange what they can see right in front of them for the glory of the eternal God who made them. They say, “I would rather have a moments pleasure with this woman than to honor God by respecting her and myself.” They say, “I would rather live in the fog of a drug than to give my life wholly for God’s glory.” They say, “I would rather have the power of success and fame than to make God’s name great in the way I live and use my money.” In all these ways and many more, we exchange the worship of the one true God for worship of other things, and this is the heart of unrighteousness.
Friend, there is no escape from the wrath of God. As Jesus says in Matt. 10:26, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed on the day of God’s judgment. God knows who you are, and he is passionately vengeful against your sin. But, there is good news! Jesus Christ has lived in perfect righteousness for you. Jesus always did the will of his Father. He honored God when we dishonored him. And, in his death on the cross, he paid the full penalty for our unrighteousness, so that all who believe in him will be saved from the wrath of God. Won’t you trust in Christ today.
Brothers and sisters, we must be careful that we do not minimize sin for the sake of worldly appeal. It is so tempting in our day to compromise the truth about sin and God’s wrath on it because the world frowns upon it as being too judgmental. God will not turn a blind eye to sin. He speaks plainly of it, and we should, too. But, that doesn’t just mean that we should hate the sins of the world. It also means that we should hate our own sins. We should not sugar coat or gloss over our sins because we are forgiven in Christ. Rather, we should pursue the righteousness of Christ because we know that we have been saved from the wrath of God.
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