In this sermon on the wrath of God, Scott Brown emphasizes that the wrath of God is currently being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. He highlights the importance of understanding the fallenness of mankind and the need for redemption through Jesus Christ. Brown emphasizes that the wrath of God is a present reality for unbelievers, but believers stand in grace. He warns against turning away from God and highlights the consequences of ungodliness, unrighteousness, and the suppression of truth. The sermon emphasizes the need for repentance and the power of the gospel.

Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter one, find verse 18, Romans 1 18. This is the inerrant, all sufficient, sweeter than honey, word of God. This is the inerrant, all-sufficient, sweeter-than-honey Word of God. Verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.

Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death. Not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. Would you pray with me?

Father, here you have disclosed to us the true nature of the world. Pray that you would mature us, grow us up in the truth, that you would help us to see ourselves and the world around us the way that you do. Oh Lord, we pray that you would pour your spirit out upon this land and preserve it by the gospel, amen. Please be seated. Our focus this morning is really just on one verse, verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Yet in this whole section that we find ourselves in that I just read, we really find a disclosure of the world the way that it really is. The power of the fall, the fatality of rebellion in the world is all spoken of here. You know, the Bible tells us how to understand the world. God created the world, that's creation, and then was the fall where sin entered into the world. Then there was redemption and there is consummation.

We are in the midst of a period of history where the fall is in operation, but so is redemption in the world. And that's why the Apostle Paul later on in Romans, in Romans chapter eight verse 20, he'll say that the whole creation groans because it was subjected to futility. That's the world that we live in. It's very important that we're mature in our understanding of the world. This is the world that we live in today.

And to know what's going on in your part of the world. I was reading this last week and a story someone was telling about understanding what's going on upstream so that you understand what the root causes of things. You need to understand what's going on in your part of the river. And this author told a story of two brothers who were standing beside a river and they heard screams and they looked out in the river and children were floating down the river to go over the falls. So these brothers jumped in the river and started pulling children out of the river.

And then one of the brothers turned around and started getting out of the river and his brother said, where are you going? And his brother said, I'm going to go and take care of the guy who's throwing the children into the river. And that's often what we have to understand in the world we live in, what has caused this world that we live in, what has caused the troubles, what has caused the conflicts in our lives, and what the Bible does is it takes us upstream to show us the root causes of what is going on. And what we find here is that among millions of people in the world, God has withdrawn His grace and He's let them go. They've gotten untethered.

God allowed them to be untethered from him and it's such a tragic, tragic picture and what we find here is what the wrath of God looks like in the world. And for The unbeliever, the wrath of God is a present reality. You know, if you haven't turned to Jesus Christ, whether you're young or old, the Bible says that the wrath of God rests upon you today. It's not something only future, but the wrath of God rests upon those who do not love Him and follow Him. And that's why the Apostle Paul told the Ephesian church in Ephesians 5, he said that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Therefore, do not be partakers with them. In John 3, 36, the Lord Jesus tells his disciples that the unbeliever carries a load, it's a heavy load of wrath, the wrath of God abides in him. Who is that? He who does not believe in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Of God abides on him.

That's the tragic reality. That's why God has called us to open our mouths to share the Gospel because the wrath of God is heavy upon so many of the people that are in the world. I'm so thankful to be in a little family here in this church where so, so many of you do not have the wrath of God resting upon you, but you have the grace of God. And he's pouring out his grace upon you, not his wrath. That's such a blessing.

But these words here before us are focused highly on this matter of the wrath of God. And now what's happening here in this context, when we finally get to verse 18, the Apostle Paul has just said in the previous verses, "'For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. And the apostle is also saying in those verses, just before verse 18, that he's eager to preach the gospel in Rome. He can't wait to get there. He has these things of the gospel to share with them.

And so in verse 18 and following, in all the verses that I just read, all the way to chapter three, verse 20, the Apostle Paul is telling the Romans why he is so eager, why he's not ashamed of the gospel, and he's going to list reason after reason after reason in these three chapters of why he's not ashamed and why he's just so, wants to get there and preach the gospel. It's because of the power of the gospel. And so, as we move into verse 18, we actually move into a new section in this first part of the book of Romans. We've just encountered in the first 16, 17 verses, many declarations of the power of the gospel. Now we turn to the universality of the fallenness of mankind and the hopelessness that there is without Jesus Christ.

The wrath of God is mentioned many times in Romans, 10 times the apostle is gonna bring up the wrath of God, 10 times in 16 chapters. He will tell us about the doctrine of the wrath of God because of the total depravity of man. And this is the universal common denominator among the people of the world. They are under the wrath of God until they turn to Jesus Christ. It is fallenness that unites the human race.

And this is the central problem. One author titled this section, Condemnation. I think that's a right, right title because it actually brings an indictment against the whole human race. So it's a very sobering passage of scripture because everyone, everyone needs the gospel and in just be really clear about what the apostle is actually saying here it's very important because Paul is not saying you need you need the gospel to get your act together you need the gospel to be a better father he's not saying you need the gospel to find yourself He's not saying you need the gospel to get your act together. You need the gospel to be a better father.

He's not saying you need the gospel to find yourself. He's not saying you need the gospel to heal your damaged emotions. He's saying You need the gospel because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. We just have to be very clear about what the apostle is saying here. You know, Many years ago there was a bumper sticker when I was growing up in my teens, in the 1960s and 70s in Southern California, smile, God loves you, he has a wonderful plan for your life.

That is not what the Apostle Paul is saying here in this verse. He's saying that the wrath of God rests upon the ungodly. Now, this whole section rolls out in a very logical fashion. And here in 18 through 32, he's really talking to people who say, I didn't know. They stand before God and they say, I didn't know.

And the apostle is saying, no, you did know. In chapter two, verse one through three, eight, he's speaking to religious people. And the religious people are saying we were good enough, and he's saying no, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And then in chapter three, verse nine through 20, he speaks of the universal consequences of sin. So, but so far, up to the verse that we are encountering this morning, The apostle has been just declaring the light and the beauty of the gospel, and he's been giving really a personal testimony.

He's been talking about what happened to him, what happened to him personally, and in verses one through seven, he says, I've become a servant of Jesus Christ. He says, I've been put into service. My whole life is separated to the gospel. He says, and this is all about the Old Testament as well. He says that the gospel is the power of God by the resurrection from the dead.

He's saying that he's received grace and apostleship. He's saying that he's been called, and then he ends it and he says, grace to you and peace. In other words, Paul is saying, look at what the gospel has done for me. God has made me his servant, and He's the best king to serve. Those are the first seven verses.

And then he turns around in verses eight through 15. I know this is review for those of you who've been here, but it's been a couple of weeks since we've been in Rome as I wanna just remind us where we've been before we get to verse 18. Then the apostle, he starts talking about the impact of the gospel in his relationships with the church. It's transformed his life and now he loves the church. And he says the gospel has laid obligations on him.

He has obligations that he wants to fulfill. He wants to get to Rome, he has obligations, and he wants to go for it in the church. And what does he want to go for? Well, he says he's thankful for his brethren. He says he's prayerfully scheming for his brethren.

He wants to come to impart and receive spiritual blessing. He wants to receive from them, to learn from them, he's determined to obtain fruit, he's large-hearted toward them all, and he's determined to preach the gospel because he's not ashamed of the gospel. So his whole behavior in that local church has been altered by the gospel. He was persecuting the church. Now all he wants to do is to be with his family and he wants to be with his family in Rome.

So that's what Christianity is all about. It's about a transformed life and the entry into the body of Christ. It's very interesting in verses eight through 16, the Apostle Paul uses I or I am 15 times. He's giving his personal testimony. He says, look what God has done with me.

And then he says, and for I am not ashamed of the gospel. And what he's gonna say from now to chapter three, verse 20, he's going to describe how harmful it is not to embrace the gospel. To turn from God is always to turn toward harm. That is so important to understand. Why would anyone want to turn toward harm?

But that's what people in the world do. And it's such a tragic thing. To turn toward God is to have your life so altered. And so our focus this morning is on this one verse. The wrath of God is revealed.

Verse 18. Now the Apostle Paul, you've already noticed this, I'm sure as we've been going through this, the Apostle Paul uses logical arguments. He's moving through a chain of reasoning, and that chain of reasoning is marked by the word for. 10 times he, in this first chapter, he uses the word for, and he uses that word to take us from one principle to another. And now he is saying, for the wrath of God.

In the previous verse he said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel because of the power of the gospel. And now he is saying, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. So he's saying, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And I can't wait to get to Rome to preach the gospel to you, because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. So this is his logical chain that he's working through here.

And so he's telling us why he's not ashamed of the gospel. And of course for us, why would we want to be ashamed of the gospel? Paul is trying to convince us never to be ashamed of the gospel again. And he's not ashamed because of the futility of man apart from God, and what a blessing it is to walk with God. So to turn away from God is to turn toward harm.

So let's begin dealing with this. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven. Now, there are various categories in this section that will unfold in the coming weeks, but today we'll just focus on this. You will notice as we go through this that there are sets of threes. Three times they exchanged.

Three times God gave them over. These are really important matters that will unfold later on. But the apostle is helping us understand the condition of the world and the position the unbeliever is in and And explaining why he is he is so eager So and what he's saying is that the wrath of God is revealed against three things which we'll get to in a minute ungodliness unrighteousness and suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. You'll see those on your outline. That's kind of where we're headed here.

But notice its wrath. It is the wrath of God that is being revealed. This is not like man's wrath. This is like the wrath of God. Man flies off the handle, God never does.

God is not beset with the emotions of man. But the word here is the word orgei. It's the word that we get orgy from. It has to do with heated passion, heated indignation. The God who is morally pure is pouring out His wrath as a necessary result of His holiness.

And the wrath of God, it says here, is revealed. That means something very important. The wrath of God is not simply something that will be revealed in time to come, in the second coming. You can read all about that in Matthew 25, but that's not the kind of wrath he's talking about here. He's talking about the wrath of God that rests upon those who turn away from God.

And this is in the present tense. The words here are, the wrath of God is, in the present tense, revealed. It's an interesting word that he uses. We talked a lot about this word when we were in the book of Revelation. Revealed, it's the same word for revelation, apocalypsis.

It has to do with an unfolding the wrath of God is unfolded the wrath of God is is clearly seen You know revelation is a book of symbols To declare what the victory of Jesus Christ looks like here the Apostle Paul Uses the word to talk about how the wrath of God is revealed. It's it unfolds in human history Not to hide it the wrath of God is not hidden. You can open up your newspaper. You can see manifestations of the wrath of God. It's not hidden, it's revealed, it's everywhere you look in the world.

I was tempted to bring just the natural headlines on a couple of the news sites that I look at today. They're horrific. They're absolutely horrific because the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godliness and unrighteousness of men. All that Bad news that you read about in the newspaper is just an explanation of what we see here. And so what God is not saying, turn to God before it's too late.

He's saying it's too late now. The wrath of God is already being revealed. And yet at the same time, he holds out his hand and calls sinners to repent. So this is a present reality. And What's so astonishing about this wrath is that it's manifested in that God lets you do whatever you want to do.

We'll talk about that in detail further on. He lets you go. He lets you have what you want. And then it finally destroys you. And why is the wrath of God revealed from heaven?

And he lists all these things. The Bible makes it very clear that He is already judging the world. He's already judging the nations. In Psalm 110, we read that God exerts wrath on whole nations and heads of state. He shall judge among the nations.

He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries You know I had I had a little boy who was nine years old Come up to me this week with a piece of paper in his hand and verses that he had front and back pages of verses that he had read. One of them was Psalm 2, you shall break them with a rod of iron. He understood. In Ezekiel 5.15, Ezekiel says, when I send them terrible arrows of famine, which shall be for destruction, he says I will cut off your supply of bread he says I'll send you famine I'll send you wild beasts he says I'll bring a sword against you This is God's judgment on the nations.

Did you ever wonder why all the nation-states of the world were put in ruins from time immemorial? God always destroys wicked nations. Where are the great Greek city-states? Where are the great Roman edifices? They're in ruins.

God puts all who rebel against him in ruins. It's astounding. And he will do that with every nation that raises up its hand against God at some point I Think it's important as we look at this matter of wrath the wrath of God upon mankind that we distinguish between the wrath of God against the unbeliever and the discipline of the Lord or the chastisement of the Lord for the believer. It's very different. The wrath of God is upon the unbeliever to destroy him.

The chastisement and the discipline of the Lord is upon the believer to heal him, to restore him, to grow him. And so we do face resistance, We do face all kinds of things like that. We face disappointments. It's not the same thing as the wrath of God for the believer. If you love Jesus Christ, it will not be the wrath of God resting upon you if you believe in him.

But he will bring correction. The author of Hebrews says that he corrects every son that he loves. So we should expect correction, we should expect resistance, we should expect disappointment, but that's not the same thing as the wrath of God. And I just want us to understand that because what is being said here about the wrath of God is so devastating and I really I don't want any of the true believers in here to suffer an undue load of guilt stemming from this matter of the wrath of God because God does God does love his children. And you stand in grace.

That's chapter 5 in Romans. You don't stand in wrath. You stand in like a shower of grace every day, not wrath. I just want you to understand that while we're talking about wrath. But it's so terrifying to see God taking us upstream here, to see the harm that turning from God is.

Let me just tell you some of the things that the wrath of God is poured out for in the Bible. The wrath of God is poured out on people who change worship. The wrath of God is poured out on those who harm the innocent. The wrath of God is poured out on those who harm the innocent. The wrath of God is poured out against those who break the Sabbath.

By the way, that was the reason for 70 years of captivity in Babylon. They broke the Sabbath for 490 years. Don't take the Sabbath lightly. The wrath of God is poured out on the idolatrous in Jeremiah 16, for bribery in Isaiah 123, for extortion in Ezekiel 22, 13, for oppression of the poor in Isaiah 10, two, for sexual sin, for adultery in Leviticus 18, 20, for child sacrifice and its modern manifestation of abortion in Leviticus 18, 21, The wrath of God is poured out upon nations for sodomy, Leviticus 18 22, for bestiality, Leviticus 18 23, for the shedding of innocent blood, Joel 3, 1-21. You know Herod was judged because he would not give glory to God.

And God hardens the heart of the impenitent like he did Pharaoh and many others. To turn away from God in a nation is to turn toward harm. That's what the apostle is trying to tell us. The wrath of God is destructive. And this is why every ungodly nation has been destroyed and will be destroyed.

And the wrath of God is on the world today. You can see it in the institutions. You can see it in families. You can see it in churches. I mean, just think about the last 20 years just in America alone, the last 20 years way after the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

From 2000 to 2020, drug overdoses increased by 400%. Suicide increased by 38%. Alcoholic deaths by 40%, alcoholic poisoning deaths by 400%, drug overdose 20 fold, not 20 times, 20 fold, That's far, far more. Psychotropics use, 60-fold. 50% of children born to millennials are born out of wedlock.

In 2018, 71% of children born to women under 24 were out of wedlock. One in five adults in the US are diagnosed with depression. This is a manifestation of the wrath of God on a nation. This is not because of the wrath of God. This is the wrath of God that is being poured out.

And so when you see in a nation in apostasy, the apostasy is the wrath. The LGBTQIA++ movement is the judgment of God upon this nation. This is a general principle. The Bible actually tells children, if their hearts are rebellious as to the Lord, then they will not obey their parents. And the apostle says, children, obey your parents in the Lord.

For this is right, honor your father and mother, for it's a first command with a promise that it might go well with you. In other words, it doesn't go well with you if you're rebellious as a child. This is just a natural manifestation of the realities that God has built into the world. You know, children, if you're disobedient to your parents, it just won't go well with you. You will beat your head against the wall for the rest of your life until you turn around and learn how to honor the ones that God gave you to lead you and to obey them God resists the proud and he gives grace to the humble So The the apostle is telling us reasons why the wrath of God is revealed.

And there are three in this one verse. And There are three things against all ungodliness and Unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in Unrighteousness now notice these three things They are in your vertical relationship with God and in your horizontal relationship with others and your relationship with yourself Those three things Toward God that is ungodliness This is related to the first table of the law. The first four commandments have to do with your relationship with God. And then your relationship toward man, that's unrighteousness. Unrighteousness and righteousness has to do with the way that you relate with others whether you sin against one another.

That's the second table of the law. And then man within, man with himself, man who suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. So you see the apostle is unpacking a logical progression of rebellion against God, sin against one another, and then also an obsession with yourself, so much that you suppress the truth in unrighteousness. So let's take these one by one ungodliness. Again, this is your vertical relationship with God.

The Ten Commandments are broken up into two sections, the first table and the second table of the law. But ungodliness, to ungod God, to ignore God, to take God lightly, is to do this thing that he is talking about. To not care about God, To ungod God in your life Ungodliness is the root of all the other sins It's the beginning of them all it's it's it's the most pivotal. It's the watershed of all the other sins to fail to want to glorify God in everything is to commit this sin of ungodliness do you want to glorify God in every part of your life We saw what the gospel did to the Apostle Paul. It made him want to glorify God in every part of his life.

To fail to acknowledge God, to fail to worship God. You know, Deborah and I went to a funeral yesterday the funeral of a very dear friend I Think I'd known him for about 18 years He was he was one of the best man. I've ever known His name is David Fry Some of you might have known him. But David Fry, David Fry acknowledged God daily. And daily he engaged His children in the worship of God.

He had six sons and two daughters stood up and testified, and what did we hear? They quoted the scriptures that their father taught them. They read long sections of the Bible that their father had brought into their home every day. He was a man who many years ago was just struck, and his whole life changed. And he began to bring his family together in the worship of God.

He began to read the word of God in his family. And I've known him all these years and he just continued his children were strong his children loved the Word of God I was it was one of the most inspiring funerals. I've ever been to You know what? He He was the father that I've been preaching about for over 20 years, and the father that I always wanted to be. Only I was only half a man as him in that but he made tremendous sacrifices to read the Word of God to his family and to help them memorize it and there they were now in their teens and 20s Reciting sections of scripture because their father loved God He loved God.

That's why he did it. He wasn't performing a function. I Know he loved God. I was with him many times. He would call me many times over the years But he loved God And that's why he did what he did.

And now his children don't have him anymore, but they have God, They have all they need. It's the greatest investment you can make in your life is to love God. The first sin was not to love God in the garden. It's the most fundamental sin. It was what Eve, Eve wanted something more than God.

But God was enough. I remember A.W. Tozer used to say, the most important thing that will ever enter your mind is what comes to your mind when you? Think of God The first sign of wrath upon you is that you do not want to worship God Because your view of God determines everything. You know, there are many people who kind of, they want to get their life together, they want to have a happier marriage, you know, they just want to do better.

And so what they do is they adopt some kind of morality, but they adopt the morality before they get God. And they want a moral society. They want a moral society without God. They want to have a happy family without God. They want to have a church, but God is kind of not the center of it.

This is how you get the Boy Scouts and the YMCA. You get a bunch of morality, but you don't get God. But Jesus came to bring us to God. This is the whole matter of ungodliness, to live as if God wasn't there, to live by your own passions, to follow your own dreams, but not God, to be all you can be apart from God, to be your authentic self, you know, without God. This is what the whole world wants.

They want some kind of improvement, but they want it without God. They want to live their truth apart from God. And this is the whole problem with the world. The world wants you to find yourself and find your purpose, to go find what you enjoy. That's the fatality of rebellion.

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked Now Ungodliness not just some ungodliness but all ungodliness All ungodly the true Christian wants to eradicate all ungodliness Lord I want to seek you more You know, I got it it's Father's Day, right? I got a letter from one of My daughters and she said she was praying for me that I would love the Lord more and I thought I want that I want to love the Lord more Than I do today And then there's unrighteousness so ungodliness And then unrighteousness of men Unrighteousness is sinful living It's lawlessness It's lawlessness again. This is the second This is referring to the second table of the law of God. You've probably noticed this in verse 17. You have the righteousness of God.

I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God and a salvation. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. So the righteousness of God is revealed. In other words, the cleansing righteousness of God, where God makes you righteous, you have the righteousness of God and now you have the unrighteousness of man. What unrighteous man needs is God's righteousness.

That's why in chapter 6 verse 3 in Romans the Apostle will say Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness of God. For sin shall not have dominion over you so the wrath of God is poured out because of ungodliness the root sin of all sins and unrighteousness the sins that are committed because of ungodliness. So that's Paul's logic. And then The third reason the wrath of God is being poured out today in the world is the suppression of the truth in unrighteousness. So the truth is suppressed.

Why? For unrighteousness, sin. The truth is suppressed because we want sin. We would rather have sin than righteousness. The suppression takes place because we don't have an intellectual problem.

We have a moral problem You know people People reject God not because of intellectual arguments their moral arguments They want what they want when they want it. Don't be deceived about that. You can argue all you want about the age of the earth and rock layers and things like that. These people don't care about rock layers. They really care about morality.

If you don't get them there, they'll never really see the power of the gospel. To suppress. What is to suppress? Children. You know what to suppress means?

Suppress. You can write that word down. Suppress. It's a great word. You need to know what this word means.

Well, you can illustrate it like this. It's to hold something down. To hold something down. Like, have you ever been in a pool and you've had a beach ball and you've tried to put that push that ball If it's a big ball, you just can't keep it down. It's gonna keep popping up Pop up pop up pop up over and over again.

That's the attempt to suppress. You cannot suppress the truth, unfortunately, though. You can attempt, but it keeps coming up. It keeps coming to the surface because you're made in the image of God. The Greek word literally has to do with holding something back or putting something in chains to chain something, but you can't get away from it.

You try to incarcerate it and segregate it over there, but it doesn't stay there. It keeps coming back to you. And This matter of suppression is a lifelong problem with unbelievers. This is where mental illness and depression and psychosis and all kinds of things come from because people can't live with themselves that way. We're all really familiar with cancel culture, right?

This is the cancel culture of the heart. The heart wants to try to cancel the truth, but it doesn't work really very well. And what happens is the sinner acts like God is not angry with them, but they can't stay away from their antidepressants Because you can't get away from the knowledge of God. In the coming sections, we'll see that very, very clearly. God tells the world that He has already shown them all they need to know that there's a God.

So the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Praise the Lord that you, many of you, so many of you have the grace of God resting upon you. You stand in grace. And that's why we gather is because we stand in grace as a people. It's such a wonderful, wonderful thing Because the wrath of God has been satisfied.

Christ took the wrath that we deserved upon himself. And that's why Paul, he can't get over the joy of the gospel and he can't wait to get to Rome to preach it. He's not ashamed of it and there's this urgency to go tell about it. Isaiah 53 verse 5, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement for our peace was on him, and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Praise the Lord. So that we would not be under wrath, but under grace.

Paul told the Corinthian church that Jesus Christ knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The church and her people are the righteousness of God. When you relate with each other, You are relating to an element of the righteousness of God that comes by faith. What a joy it is to gather to have the freedom that Jesus Christ has given. In Romans chapter 3 verse 23, the language is explained in the word propitiation, that the wrath of God was satisfied, that the anger of God was propitiated, the anger of God was soothed by Jesus Christ, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So while the wrath of God rests, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, even still. And there is hope, even though wrath rests upon you today. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that he is raised from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness. And with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation you know considering bringing this verse to us today It was a heavy time in one way, but I couldn't get it out of my mind that God's ways are pleasant ways.

All His paths are peace. You know, I taught my kids that verse when they were little, And several of those kids that testified yesterday quoted that verse, you want your children when they leave your home to know how good God is, that all his ways are pleasant ways and all his paths are peace. And it all comes from one thing, the love of God. I think you can sum it up in our hymn of the month. He breaks the power of canceled sin.

He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the phallus clean. His blood availed for me. Would you pray with me? Lord, your word is so wonderful, it's so helpful to understand so that we know where we are in the world, so that we know where all the goodness is and so that we know why we should never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

Amen.