Themes from Romans - Without Excuse

[George]

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the
truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God
has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his
eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever
since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So
they are without excuse." --Romans 1:18-20 ESV

Many worldly people have a problem with God's wrath. They think of God
as some sort of a Santa Claus, or some grand fatherly figure. They
think God is amused by the naughtly behavior of people and simply
exclaims "kids will be kids." They argue that God would never judge
people. Or this will claim that only the God of the old testiment is
angry, but the God of the new testiment is loving and kind.

Jesus stated in Matthew's gospel "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your
name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare
to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of
lawlessness.'" -Matthew 7:21-23 ESV Here we see Jesus rejecting people
that must have known Him as Lord, yet He rejects them because of their
lawlessness. Jesus in this passage also states that one that do the
will of His Father will enter the kingdom of heaven. There are many
more examples where Jesus speaks of judgement and the wrath to come
for those who are ungodly. Jesus requires obedience and righteousness.

In the Romans passage we see the wrath of God is revealed against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness. This implies that those who are
righteous will not experience the wrath of God. Another thought is
"For what is Known about God is plain to them" (verse 19), and "For
his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived" (verse 20). Indeed God has made known His
righteousness, along with other divine attributes. The prroblem stems
from the original sin of Adam, where the very sovereighty of God was
challenged, and the self pride in wanting to become like god compelled
Adam and Eve to disobey God's command.

Just as Adam and Eve knew not to disobey God, so does every human
being. They knew of His divine nature, as does every human being. That
knowledge removes any excuses. No one will ever be able to say to the
Lord "I did not know."