Greetings.
As we continue our study of Romans, we will examine verses 18-20, today:
18 For the wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven upon all of the ungodliness and injustice of those who by injustice suppress the truth. It is known that God has been revealed to them, 19 because what can be known about God is evident to them, because God Himself has revealed it. 20 For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, both His eternal power and divine nature, can be clearly seen by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Paul's letter to the Romans seems to take a very dark turn at verse 18. Paul has been talking about the saving power of God and how the righteous live by faith, and then suddenly, in verse 18, he is talking about the wrath of God that is pouring out on ungodliness and injustice, and the sinfulness of mankind.
Thomas Schreiner points out that this is a necessary transition. He says, “One can grasp the greatness of God’s salvation, however, only when one understands the devastation introduced into the world by human beings.”
Likewise Gordon Ferguson says, “Grace cannot be grace until sin is adequately understood.” (Ferguson, 21.) This is true. To truly understand the greatness of God's grace in our lives, not to mention, the rest of Romans, it will help us a great deal to understand the mess in our lives that is crreated by our sin.
Anyway, in verse 18, Paul transition from talk of the righteous living by faith. He uses the Greek word γὰρ (gar) in this transition. This connects verses 16-17 to verse 18 and what follows. In verse 16-17 we see that the gospel reveals God’s righteousness. Verse 18 and the following indicate humanity’s unrighteousness as revealed by our own lives.
We have two revelations mentioned in a very short time. The revealing of God’s righteousness, coming from the gospel (verse 17), and the revealing of God’s wrath against ungodliness and injustice. (verse 18).
God’s wrath is going to be poured out against ungodliness and injustice. The word we translate as wrath is Ὀργὴ (orgē) means 'strong indignation directed at wrongdoing with focus on retribution.' John Harvey says that ὀργὴ appears 11 times in Romans, all denoting divine indignation directed at injustice cruelty and corruption. (Harvey, 35.)
If we pay attention to the world around us, we see that those who are unjust will attempt to suppress the truth to further their own injustices. This continued injustice will bring strong indignation from God. God will, at some point, deal with injustice. (It may come within the timeframe we desire, but it will come.)
In verse 19, we see that there are things that can be known about God and we also see that He has revealed those things. By implication here, there are also things that cannot be known about God. Ronald Rolheiser says, “Our minds and imaginations cannot stretch far enough. We cannot picture it. But that is precisely the point: the divine reality cannot be grasped through a finite imagination.” (Rolheiser, 105.) It’s true, we cannot grasp the fullness of God. We just are not capable of it.
But even though there are things that we cannot know God, we can know that there is a God. Verse 20 tells us that God’s creation leaves us without excuse, and since His existance is made obvious by creation, we must worship Him.
God has invisible qualities that are revelaed in the creation of the world. Paul declares to us that the creation shows us, first of all, God’s eternal power, but also it revelas His divine nature. Therefore, we are left to stand in awe and wonder, as we look at His creation, because His power and His nature are being revealed to us. We are without excuse.
Douglas Moo explains this very well, "Every person is "without excuse" because every person — whether a first-century pagan or a twentieth-century materialist — has been given a knowledge of God and has spurned that knowledge in favor of idolatry, in all its varied manifestations. All therefore stand under the awful reality of the wrath of God, and all are in desperate need of the justifying power of the gospel of Christ." (Moo, 98.)
So, what does all this mean? Well, God reveals His righteousness, but He also reveals His wrath. We like one of those of those a lot more than the other. Many people, even many who ackowlwdge His existance, choose to live as though God does not. But we are all without excuse, His creation has made his existance clear, and so we should worship Him.
