ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
ance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlast~ ing destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Unregenerate man makes light of sin. but never does our holy God make sin to appear as a trivial thing. He makes clear that certain wrath will fall upon Jew and Gentile outside of Christ. The two words "ungodliness" and "unrighteousness" are characteristic of the world today. In the face of all the crime and lawlessness of our own generation, how solemn are these words of Paul. as the Holy Spirit prompted him to write! "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unright~ eousness" (Rom. l: 18). 2. THE LIGHT REJECTED. The Gentiles, as well as the Jews, had adequate opportunity to turn to God. But they held the truth in unrighteousness. They possessed the truth, but suppressed it. That is what the word "hold" means here-"to hold down." And this rejection of the light justifies the wrath of God. People wonder why the heathen are in their present state of hopelessness and despair. Paul tells us why. It is be~ cause they once knew God and held the truth, but they held it down by unrighteous living. Consequently. they went .into darkness. And every man will end in darkness who so chooses. It is a serious thing for God to reveal light to a per~ son. If you go on, after receiving light, my unsaved friend; if you go on living unrighteously, you are headed for darkness. ---=... In verses 19 and 20 the apostle tells of the opportunities the Gentile nations had of knowing God through nature and conscience. The flaming sun by day, the burning stars by night, and the whirling earth indicate one great Person, one Supreme Personality. Only the fool believes there is no God. (See Psalm 14: I.) God's character, "the invisible things" of His Being, "are clearly seen" in what He has done, just as human character is revealed in the acts of mijn. "His eternal power and Godhead" ar.e "understood by the things that are Page 26]
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online