The Wrath of God
A Sermon on Romans 1:18
Originally preached April 27, 1956
Scripture
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Sermon Description
The bold boast of every Christian is Jesus Christ. There is a terrible need for the gospel today and there is nothing but the good news of Jesus Christ that adequately meets the need. This is the reason that Paul worked day and night in all circumstances to boldly preach the gospel. In the sermon “The Wrath of God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Paul’s preaching was never human-centered but was only God-centered. Romans 1:18 points out that one of the main reasons Paul preached with urgency is because the wrath of God has been revealed. The wrath and judgement of God is not something that everyone talks about in their daily lives and Dr. Lloyd-Jones outlines three attitudes about the wrath of God. One of those attitudes comes from evangelicals who do not accept the teaching of God’s judgment and only choose to focus on the love and mercy of the Father. This is the mark of cults which highlight one doctrine and exclude others. Dr. Lloyd-Jones echoes the apostle Paul’s warning against those who hold to this teaching by reminding that the wrath of God is approaching. The Christian should never make light of the judgment of the Lord or avoid talking about it when evangelizing. The gates of heaven will be shut on some people and Paul urges all to repent.
Sermon Breakdown
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The apostle Paul begins by stating that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This is the motive for evangelism and the reason Paul preaches the gospel.
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There are three main attitudes towards the wrath of God: unbelievers who reject it, liberals who reject it, and evangelicals who accept it in theory but deny it in practice. We must accept it in both theory and practice.
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The wrath of God is mentioned 10 times in Romans. It is a controlling concept for Paul.
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The wrath of God is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Hebrews. It is a consistent theme throughout the New Testament.
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The wrath of God is not just emphasized by Paul but is also found in Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation. It is a consistent biblical theme.
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The wrath of God was also preached by Peter, Stephen, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself. It has been preached by great evangelists like Luther, Calvin, Whitfield, Wesley, and Edwards.
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We must start with the wrath of God as Paul did if our evangelism is to be biblical. A jocular evangelist cannot properly understand this doctrine.
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The great evangelists of the past were serious men who feared God and preached His wrath. We should follow their example.
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The purpose of the gospel is to reconcile men to God, not just fill churches or produce good statistics. We must preach the wrath of God.
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May God give us a realization of this awesome truth so we can minister for His glory.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.