Romans 1:18-20;  18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 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, so that they are without excuse.

These passages continue to unveil God’s perspective of man’s fallen estate stripping away his defense and leaving him WITHOUT EXCUSE.

The sinner is . . .

A.  Without Excuse because of God’s Wrath vs.  18

The revelation of God’s wrath is here the reverse side of the manifestation of his righteousness; (see vs.  17), it is God’s divinity asserting itself where it is not recognized by human beings.

1.  God’s Wrath is Revealed from Heaven

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” Evil and its consequences are seen everywhere.  Note; God takes issue on two fronts:  They are morally corrupt, (ungodly), and they are judicially corrupt; ( unlawful). Consider the deranged mother who drowned her five children.  That’s the evidence of evil in the world. Our text speaks of God’s wrath from heaven visibly demonstrated.  God has indeed given many examples of His wrath against unrighteousness.  Korah and his household is one striking example. 

Numbers 16:30-33;  30 “But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.”  31 Then it came about as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah, with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 

2.  God’s Truth is Suppressed by Man

He not only is immoral and acts immoral; he literally “holds down” the truth and obscures it in unrighteousness.  Vs.  18b “ . . . who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”  (katecovntwn)  (kata, down, and echoµ (e[cw), to have or hold. 

B.  Without Excuse because of God’s Revelation vs.  19

Romans 1:19 “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”  Man was created in the image of God, Genesis 1:26, and so, even though corrupted and hopelessly marred by sin, he innately retains some distorted inner knowledge and an incomprehensible longing for his Maker.  John 5:39,40 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.”

C.  Without Excuse because of God’s Creation vs.  20

Romans 1:20 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, so that they are without excuse.  Nature teaches us that there is a God and that we can know Him sufficiently to be held accountable and Without Excuse.

1. We Can Know  His Immensity

He must be greater than what HE made.

Hubble estimated that the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy was 900,000 light-years, a figure later corrected to 2.2 million light-years when astronomers discovered that the Cepheids were more distant than was first thought. The Psalmist asked;  “Where can I flee from Thy presence?”  Psalm 139:7  You cannot; no one can.

2. We Can Know His Omnipotence

He must be more powerful than what HE made.

The United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb in a test on Enewetak Atoll in a remote region of the South Pacific on November 1, 1952. Its explosive force was about 500 times greater than the Hiroshima or Nagasaki bombs; (which each killed 100,000 people).  Colossians  1:17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

3. We can Know His Divinity

He must be more complex and infinitely wiser than what He made.

Isaiah 45:22 “Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.”  Acts 16:31