God the Just: Romans 1:18-20

by David Block

Often times when Christians and unbelievers dialog on religious matters the exchange can get quite heated. One specific area of contention is God's justice related to the person that never hears the gospel of Jesus Christ. Usually the unbeliever, sensing that his attempts to argue against Scripture are futile, cries out, “Unfair!” Unbelievers judge that it is unfair for God to condemn people that have never heard about Jesus. They complain about the small tribe in Africa that had gone unnoticed for the last two thousand years, never receiving the gospel. How can God condemn them? It's not their fault for not hearing. They also wail over the Native Americans that lived and died for centuries without ever hearing of Christ. It's not fair. Granted, there are many logical flaws in this argument; yet, there is a substantial amount of Scriptural and logical defenses against these fallacious claims. In fact, the Apostle Paul took on many of the accusations of unbelievers in his various writings. One such argument, the centerpiece of this paper, is Romans 1:18-20. In this short passage (two sentences in English) Paul explains and destroys the claim that God is unfair to send people to hell that have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Paul explains God's wrath, whom it's directed toward, and how it has been revealed. He also explains that God has presented himself, how long he has done this and what exactly the evidence of God is. Finally, Paul offers his conclusion or condemnation to all those that claim that God is unfair.

“For the wrath of God,” (Romans 1:18a). Paul begins his argument with a confirmation of the wrath of God. Today, this phrase and its corresponding theology is in disuse. It is labeled as archaic or a preaching of fire and brimstone. We are told that no one wants to hear about God's wrath because it turns seekers away from the church. Therefore, all mention of God's wrath, even the hint that he might be displeased, has been swept under the rug of evangelicalism. Yet, Paul is unashamed to proclaim that God is not a mushy, sentimental love-god but instead a God of love and also of wrath. The word Paul chooses to use in connection with God is orge. Originally the word was used for any strong desire or passion, hence in English it has become linked with the sexual. However, in the Greek it was more commonly associated with anger which was believed to be the strongest of all passions. Paul uses orge instead of another word for anger, thumos. Thumos represents the emotional side which is why it is often used in reference to human anger, because of its volatile nature. In Revelation, orge and thumos are both used of God when his wrath goes out full force against the nations, but here Paul is speaking of God's natural anger. God's wrath is as much an attribute of the divine as that of love or grace. John Stott points out that the opposite of God's wrath is not love but neutrality, to not act against that which is evil (Stott 72). He says of God's wrath that, “it does not mean that God loses his temper, flies into a rage, or is ever malicious, spiteful or vindictive...On the contrary, his wrath is his holy hostility to evil, his refusal to condone it or come to terms with it, his just judgment upon it,” (Stott 72).

Many in the church growth movement would like to lessen the significance of the wrath of God, instead of acknowledging that it is mentioned quite often throughout the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 7:11, 12, God's wrath contends with the wicked every day. He is pictured as a warrior ready to strike with his sword and bow. In the book of Judges there are multiple references to God burning hot with anger against the nation of Israel because of their disobedience (Judges 2:14, 20; 3:8; 10:7). The wrath of God is said to be aroused or kindled on many different occasions (i.e. 2 Samuel 6:7; 2 Kings 13:3; Psalm 106:40). The New Testament is not silent on God's wrath. Several times in the book of Romans other than the passage under consideration, Paul mentions the wrath of God (Romans 2:5; 3:5; 9:22). There are references found in many other books including Ephesians (5:6) and Colossians (3:6). Perhaps the greatest treatise on the wrath of God is the book of Revelation where John describes in rather graphic detail the day of wrath that will come upon all unbelievers. Looking at all the references to the wrath of God one can only conclude that it is real and it is important to acknowledge and understand.

Following Romans 1:18 we find that this wrath of God is, “revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” (Romans 1:18b). The first thing to recognize is that God's wrath has been revealed. Though many modern day preachers would like us to believe that God's wrath is a secret that should be kept under lock and key, on the contrary, God has revealed it from heaven. God has on numerous occasions displayed his divine wrath for the world to see. Beginning in the Garden of Eden, God displayed his wrath by casting the ones created in his own image out, barring their access to the Tree of Life and condemning not only them and their race but frustrated the entire creation. God revealed his wrath in the days of Noah, against Sodom and Gomorrah, against the mighty nation of Egypt, in the letter of the law given to Moses, and it is displayed numerous times in the many sufferings of the nation of Israel. God's greatest display of wrath was against his very own Son on the cross as the full cup of God's wrath was poured out on him instead of on his children. God has also promised a future display of his wrath as described in Revelation as the same wrath that was poured out on the Son will be poured out on the unbelievers. Throughout world history God has displayed his wrath to every nation and people. There is no one that has not seen it for the effects of it are all around us.

The second thing that the last half of Romans 1:18 tell us is that the wrath of God has been revealed against “all”. This universal statement dashes the hopes of anyone that might try to bypass the wrath of God by a technicality. The determined anger of God goes out against all those who deserve it. There is no distinction that has been made. Many think that if they try really hard to be good, if they don't commit some horrendous crime, and if people generally like them, then they have an escape from the coming wrath. Yet, the wrath is against all. Some people think that they have bypassed the wrath of God because of their race (Jews) or by their affiliation with a religious group (quite often Roman Catholics), but these distinctions are not taken into consideration by God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23). His wrath will not be side stepped but will come against all those who are deserving.

The question then must be asked: Who deserves the wrath of God? Paul explains that men that are ungodly and unrighteous deserve the wrath of God. All those that fall into this category are then those that will receive wrath. Unlike human anger that is often directed at anyone and anything and brought about at a mere whim, God's wrath is focused upon one thing: sin. The words ungodliness and unrighteousness both describe the sinful condition of mankind.

Ungodliness is a reference to the relationship between the Divine and man. Ungodly acts display the separation that exists between man and God. They are deeds done that are affront to the nature of God and his intended relationship with humans. Jude in his epistle had much to say about the ungodly. He said that the ungodly are those that pervert the grace of God and turn it into sensuality, they deny Christ (Jude 4), they blaspheme everything they don't understand, they are like unreasoning animals (Jude 10), they grumble, are malcontent, follow their own desires, boast about their own deeds and use favoritism to their own gain (Jude 16). It is truly sad that most of the tells of an ungodly person is what is paraded across our culture as the American way. What America has is ungodliness in in the clothing of “individuality”.

Unrighteousness is evil that effects other people. Of course, any sin is an offense against God, so one could say that an ungodly person's actions are unrighteous. The Bible tells us that the ungodly are filled with unrighteousness (Romans 1:29) and they choose not to obey the truth but to obey their own unrighteousness (Romans 2:8). They not only receive the wages of unrighteousness (2 Peter 2:13), but they love the wages that unrighteousness brings (2 Peter 2:15) and find there is pleasure in it (2 Thessalonians 2:12). The list of unrighteous acts is lengthy and can be found throughout the Bible but they all stem from a wrong relationship with God. God is the source of all righteousness and anyone that is separated from the source will be cut off from that righteousness.

Not only are men ungodly and unrighteous, but through their unrighteousness actually suppress or hold back the truth. This statement is a searing indictment against the nature of man. Man in his unregenerate, depraved state is not only not seeking for God (Romans 3:11) but has taken what truth that he does know about God and has actively tried to subvert it by his own evil. The truth is there, staring in the sinners face, but the sinner just pushes it down and runs away. The Scriptures put it this way: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed,” (John 3:19-20). The atheist and agnostic are the prime example of truth held back. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said:

There must be something very wrong with you when you would rather that there were no God. "Well," says one, "I do not care much whether there is a God or not; I am an agnostic. "Oh!" I said, "that is a Greek word, is it not? And the equivalent Latin word is 'Ignoramus'." Somehow, he did not like the Latin nearly as much as the Greek. Oh, dear friends, I could not bear to be an "ignoramus" or an "agnostic" about God! I must have a God; I cannot do without him. He is to me as necessary as food to my body, and air to my lungs. The sad thing is, that many, who believe that there is a God, yet glorify him not as God, for they do not even give him a thought. I appeal to some here, whether that is not true. You go from the beginning of the week to the end of it without reflecting upon God at all. You could do as well without God as with him. Is not that the case? And must there not be something very terrible in the condition of your heart when, as a creature, you can do without a thought of your Creator, when he that has nourished you, and brought you up, is nothing to you, one of whom you never think? (Spurgeon)

As Spurgeon points out, there is something truly wrong with agnostics, they are ungodly and suppress the truth with their unrighteousness.

Next, Paul makes the point that the knowledge of God is universal. “Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them,” ( Romans 1:19). This statement is not talking about special revelation, the Bible, but natural revelation. This evidence of God is said to be within men and therefore, all men have received evidence that God does exist. God has set eternity into their hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). “The Scriptures … both assume and declare that the knowledge that God is, is universal (Rom. 1:19–21, 28, 32; 2:15). God has inlaid the evidence of [that] fundamental truth in the very nature of man, so that nowhere is He without a witness,” (Strong 68). You would be hard pressed to find a culture in history that did not believe in the divine. Throughout history every culture began with a belief that there was something that transcended the physical realm. Over time, some have shunned this belief, but it was there nonetheless. This universal recognition of the divine is exactly what this passage is talking about: All have received the evidence, and all have corrupted it.

Paul finishes his argument by explaining, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made,” (Romans 1:20). The universal evidence that God has given to all has been established since Creation. There has never been a time when God has not manifested himself to all of mankind. There was never a downtime or a season of silence when the evidence of God's existence has not been displayed.

The evidence that has been made known to all people forever has been God's invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature. This evidence was not concealed but clearly seen and it has been understood. Even before the Hubble telescope or the ES microscope people have marveled at the handiwork of God and this evidence is mentioned throughout the Bible multiple times. “And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven,” (Deuteronomy 4:19). “If I have looked at the sun when it shone or the moon going in splendor, and my heart became secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,” (Job 31:26, 27). Both of these mention the awe inspiring power of God displayed in creation and the tendency to worship the created thing because of its witness to the power of God. Perhaps the greatest statement of the evidence of God in nature can be found in Psalm 19. “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). This verse plainly explains that the natural revelation of God has gone to every person. Nature speaks the glory of God and all people, to the ends of the earth have heard their words. There is no one that has been left in the dark.

Finally, Paul finishes his argument with some frightening words, “they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20). This is really the summary of what Paul had just said in the previous two and a half verses and is our answer to the unbeliever's cry of “Unfair!” The word that Paul uses for without an excuse is anapologetos. This is obviously the negative form of the word that most Christians would recognize: apologetics. In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter calls all Christians to always be ready to give a defense (apologia) to anyone that asks. On the other hand, we find here that unbelievers don't have an answer. Their position is indefensible. It is as if the unregenerate man is standing in court trying to bargain for an acquittal. However, when the evidence is presented against him again he has no choice but to crumble and admit his guilt to the crime. This is the picture that the Bible paints for us. Jesus said that at the Judgment Seat many people will come to him and claim that they had done all these wonderful things in his name. They'll plead that they have a right to escape judgment, but from the words of Jesus, the judgment against them will stand (Matthew 7:23). There is no defense and therefore there is no acquittal.

It is important at this point to pull all of this information into a clear and concise answer to the accusation that God is not fair in condemning people who have never heard the gospel. First of all, God's judgment is not flippant or without due cause. God's wrath goes out against all evil. The true God of the Bible is a God of wrath as displayed in the many references found throughout Scripture. The wrath of God is not only shown in the Bible, but it is revealed to all of mankind through entropy and other various signs of evil. The wrath of God is shown against all people that are ungodly and unrighteous. Since, all people are ungodly and unrighteous from birth, all people deserve wrath. The ungodliness and unrighteousness of man is evident through the fact that they suppress the truth. This is especially true in our postmodern world where truth is a by-word for “do whatever you want.” The truth of God and his wrath are run from, sadly, even in the church. This argument alone is probably not enough, but the fact that God made himself evident in and around people brings more weight. God didn't leave people in their ignorance but made himself known. From the beginning of time, God has put his divine attributes and the Godhead on display for all people to see. There is no where a person can go that the evidence of God is not there. God is fair in condemning all people because all have been given a plethora of evidences of God and who he is and yet they have rejected that. In fact, not only did they reject it but they try to cover it up. Therefore, it is fair that the wrath of God befall them because they only have themselves to blame for not responding to the truth that they have been given.

To conclude, God is fair and man has only himself to blame. Some might say that some people might come to God in spite of the fact they rejected the natural revelation of God if only they received the gospel. This is the back door to their argument of fairness. But Jesus said in the story of Lazarus and the rich man that if a person won't accept the teachings of Moses (dare we say even natural revelation) then they won't believe even if a person were to rise from the dead. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe but they must believe (Romans 1:16). But man, in his natural state, has taken the great truths of God in nature and perverted them. The gospel, to mankind that has already suppressed the truth of God that they have received with their unrighteousness, is the stench of death (2 Corinthians 15-16). Therefore, Paul and all Christians can be rest assured that the wrath of God is just and his condemnation is true and is that which makes the grace and mercy of God that much more amazing and sweet.

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible. The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995.

Spurgeon, C.H. Inexcusable Irreverence And Ingratitude. Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, July 13th, 1890.

Stott, John. Romans: God's Good News for the World. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1994.

Strong, Augustus. Systematic Theology. Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson, 1979.