September 1, 2026 • 25 mins
Romans doesn’t start by telling us we’re basically fine and just need a boost. It starts by telling the truth. As we continue From Guilty to Glory, Dr. Timothy Mann slows down over Romans 1:18-19 and tackles a doctrine many people avoid: the wrath of God. Not as a shock tactic, and not as human rage projected onto God, but as the Bible’s description of God’s settled, holy opposition to sin and to the suppression of truth.
We walk through why Paul leads with judgment before he offers the way of escape. If we only talk about the benefits of salvation, we shrink the gospel into sentiment and we blur the moral seriousness of sin. You’ll hear a clear definition of biblical wrath, why God’s holiness cannot tolerate evil, and why “preaching the whole counsel of God” means we do not take a cafeteria approach to Scripture.
We also connect the theme across the Bible, showing that God’s wrath is revealed in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and that it is continually being revealed and will be revealed fully. Then we land where the message inevitably points: the cross of Jesus Christ, the greatest display of God’s justice against sin and God’s mercy toward sinners.
If you want a deeper understanding of Romans, the gospel, and what makes grace truly amazing, listen through and share it with a friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what questions this passage raises for you.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the
(00:02):
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
Our mission is to help you buildyour life on the unshakable
foundation of God's Word.
Rooted in Scripture, anchored inthe grace of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Each week, Dr.
Mann opens the Bible to bringclarity, conviction, and
encouragement for everyday life.
Today on Foundations of Truth,we continue our series From
(00:25):
Guilty to Glory, a journeythrough the book of Romans.
Today's message is part one ofthe Wrath of God.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_01 (00:35):
Romans chapter one, an expositional study of this
great New Testament book, theBook of Romans.
We began in chapter one, and welooked at the first 17 verses in
chapter one.
As Paul introduced himself tothe church at Rome, to his
readers, he presented, ofcourse, who he was, his
credentials, he talked about hisconcern for them, and he talked
(00:58):
about his confidence.
And we found that in verses 16and 17, really the foundation of
the book, the key verses in thisgreat book of the Bible, where
Paul said in verse 16, For I'mnot ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, introduces, he begins tounfold the details of the gospel
of Christ.
He says, I'm not ashamed of thegospel of Christ, for it is the
(01:20):
power of God to salvation foreveryone who believes, for the
Jew first, and also for theGreek.
For in it, in it, that's thegospel of Christ.
The righteousness of God isrevealed from faith to faith, as
it is written, the just shalllive by faith.
And now today, this morning, wecome to the next two verses in
(01:42):
this chapter.
We're going to specifically beexamining verse 18.
Verse 18.
And verse 18 this morning speaksabout the wrath of God.
As Paul begins in this veryfirst chapter of Romans to
unfold the details of the gospelof Christ in which God's
righteousness is revealed, hestarts with an unequivocal
(02:06):
affirmation of God's righteouswrath.
Now I believe you would agreewith me, probably have to say
amen to this.
The idea of a wrathful God goesagainst the wishful thinking of
fallen human nature.
It just does.
And as a matter of fact, in mymany years now of pastoring,
I've come to see that it is evena stumbling block to many
(02:29):
Christians.
Sad to say.
But it's true.
Much contemporary evangelismtalks only about abundant life
in Christ, the joy and theblessings of salvation and the
peace with God that faith inChrist brings.
That's mostly what muchcontemporary evangelism talks
(02:51):
about.
Now, all those benefits do comefrom true faith, but they're not
the whole picture of God's planof salvation.
The truth of God's judgmentagainst sin and those who
participate in it must also beheard.
I wish I didn't have to preachon verse 18.
That's not my favorite subject.
I take no pleasure or no delightin preaching this message today,
(03:14):
other than the fact that I amexpounding the attributes of our
great God.
I have no interest in talkingabout anger in and of itself or
wrath in and of itself, but Ican't cherry-pick the verses
that we see in God's Word.
We at Providence Church, wecan't take a cafeteria approach
and say, oh, I like that one,I'll skip this one, or I'll take
(03:37):
this one.
We can't do that.
Our teachers and our otherpastors, we can't do that.
We have a divine mandate uponus.
We have an incumbentresponsibility to preach the
whole counsel of the Word ofGod.
And that's what we come to inverse 18.
For the Apostle Paul, as he wasmoved by the Holy Spirit to
write this great letter, for theApostle Paul, fear of eternal
(04:01):
condemnation was the firstmotivation that he offered for
coming to Christ.
It's the very first pressure orthe very first persuasion, if
you will, that he applied toevil men.
He was determined, as moved bythe Holy Spirit, he was
determined that they understandthe reality of being under God's
wrath before he offered them theway of escape from it.
(04:25):
I don't know about you, but Ithink that that approach makes
both logical and theologicalsense.
You cannot appreciate the wonderof God's grace until you know
about the perfect demands ofGod's law.
And you cannot appreciate thefullness of God's love for you
until you know something aboutthe fierceness of God's anger
(04:47):
against your sinful failure toperfectly obey that law.
You cannot appreciate God'sforgiveness until you know about
the eternal consequences of sinthat require a penalty and need
forgiving.
Now, this word wrath that we'regoing to read in just a moment,
in verse 18, this word wrath, Iwant to define it for you.
(05:08):
I need you to understand what itrefers to and what it does not
refer to.
Wrath refers to a settled anddetermined indignation.
A settled and determinedindignation, not to the
momentary, emotional, and oftenuncontrolled anger to which we
human beings are prone.
(05:29):
That's not what wrath is talkingabout here.
We cannot forget, and we mustremember this, God's attributes
are perfectly balanced in divineperfection.
If he had no righteous anger andwrath, he would not be God.
For just as surely as he wouldnot be God without his gracious
love.
(05:49):
He perfectly hates just as heperfectly loves.
He perfectly loves righteousnessand perfectly hates evil.
One of the greatest tragedies,I'm convinced of this this
morning, and I say this withoutfear or without apology, one of
the greatest tragedies of modernChristianity, including, dare I
(06:10):
say, most, of evangelicalism, isthe failure to preach and teach
the wrath of God and thecondemnation it brings upon all
with unforgiven sin.
The truncated, sentimental,man-centered gospel that is
frequently presented today fallsfar short.
(06:31):
It falls far short of the gospelthat Jesus and the apostle Paul
presented.
Scripture, New Testament as wellas old, consistently emphasizes
God's wrath.
Consistently.
In Psalm 2, against those whoscoff at him, God, quoting Psalm
(06:52):
2, will speak to them in hisanger and terrify them in his
fury.
The psalmist goes on toadmonish, in verse 12, do homage
to the sun, or worship the sun,or kiss the sun, capital S, lest
he become angry and you perishin the way, for his wrath may
soon be kindled.
(07:13):
Asaph wrote in Psalm 76, At thyrebuke, O God of Jacob, both
rider and horse were cast into adead sleep.
Thou, even thou art to befeared, and who may stand in thy
presence when once thou artangry?
That's the old King James, bythe way, if you didn't recognize
it.
(07:34):
Another psalmist, Psalm 78,referred to unfaithful Israel,
of what God had done to thedefiant Egyptians who refused to
let his people go.
Quote, He sent upon them hisburning anger, fury, and
indignation and trouble, a bandof destroying angels.
He leveled a path for his anger.
He did not spare their soul fromdeath, but gave their life over
(07:56):
to the plague and smote all thefirstborn of Egypt.
Speaking in behalf of Israel,Moses lamented, he mourned, he
cried out in Psalm 90 and says,For we have been consumed by thy
anger, and by thy wrath we havebeen dismayed.
Thou hast placed our iniquitiesbefore thee, our secret sins in
(08:16):
the light of thy presence, forall our days have declined in
thy fury.
The prophets spoke much of God'swrath.
Isaiah declared in Isaiahchapter 9, verse 19, By the fury
of the Lord of hosts, the landis burned up, and the people are
like fuel for the fire.
Jeremiah proclaimed in Jeremiah7, verse 20, Thus says the Lord
(08:41):
God, Behold, my anger and mywrath will be poured out on this
place, on man and on beast, andon the trees of the field, and
on the fruit of the ground, andit will burn and not be
quenched.
Through Ezekiel, God warned hispeople that, and I quote Ezekiel
7, verse 9, God warned hispeople that their silver and
(09:01):
their gold would not be able todeliver them in the day of the
wrath of the Lord.
They cannot satisfy theirappetite, nor can they fill
their stomachs, for theiriniquity has become an occasion
of stumbling.
God's word consistently refersto his wrath.
In many well-known ways, Godexpressed his wrath against
(09:24):
sinful mankind in past ages.
In the days of Noah, hedestroyed all mankind in the
flood except for eight people.
Several generations after Noah,he confounded men's language and
scattered them abroad the earthfor trying to build an
idolatrous tower to heaven.
In the days of Abraham, hedestroyed the cities of Sodom
(09:48):
and Gomorrah, with only Lot andhis family escaping.
He destroyed Pharaoh and hisarmy in the sea as they vainly
pursued the Israelites to bringthem back to Egypt.
He poured out his wrath againstsuch pagan kings as Sinacherub
and Nebuchadnezzar and BeltShazar.
He even poured out his wrathagainst some of his own kings,
(10:08):
against King Nadab for doing,and I quote 1 Kings 15, for
doing evil in the sight of theLord and walking in the way of
his father and in his sin whichhe made Israel sin.
He poured out his wrath againstAaron and Miriam, Moses' brother
and sister, for questioningMoses' revelations from him.
SPEAKER_00 (10:29):
You're listening to Foundations of Truth.
At the heart of Romans standsthe gospel.
The good news that God savessinners through Jesus Christ.
That same gospel remains theheartbeat of Foundations of
Truth.
In a world overflowing withcompeting voices, shifting
values, and spiritual confusion,this ministry exists for one
purpose (10:49):
to faithfully open the scriptures and proclaim the
truth of God's word withoutcompromise.
If God is using the teaching ofDr.
Timothy Mann to strengthen yourfaith and deepen your
understanding of the Bible,would you prayerfully consider
supporting Foundations of Truthfinancially?
Your gifts help us continuetaking sound biblical teaching
to people who need to hear thelife-changing truth of the
(11:12):
gospel.
Thank you for praying, forgiving, for listening, and
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If you'd like to give a gift,you can go online to
foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_01 (11:26):
God's wrath.
Understand?
God's wrath is just as clearlyexhibited in the New Testament,
not just the Old.
People say, oh, that's the OldTestament.
No, it's in the New Testament,too.
Both in reference to what he hasalready done and what he is yet
to do at the end of the age.
The Gospel of John, which speaksso eloquently of God's love and
(11:49):
God's graciousness, also speakspowerfully of his anger and his
wrath.
The comforting words, for God soloved the world that he gave his
only begotten son, that whoeverbelieves in him would not
perish, but have everlastinglife, are also followed by the
close warning He who does notobey the Son shall not see life,
(12:10):
but the wrath of God abides onhim.
In Romans 9, Paul focuses againon God's wrath, declaring, God,
although willing to demonstratehis wrath and to make his power
known, endured with muchpatience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction.
Chapter 9, verse 22.
(12:32):
The Apostle Paul warned theCorinthians that anyone who did
not love the Lord Jesus was tobe eternally cursed.
First Corinthians 16, verse 22.
He said to the Ephesians, Let noone deceive you with empty
words, for because of thesethings the wrath of God comes
upon the sons of disobedience.
(12:53):
He warned the Colossians thatbecause of immorality, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and greed,which amounts to idolatry, the
wrath of God will come.
He assured the persecutedThessalonian believers that God
would one day give them relief.
And that, quoting 2Thessalonians 1, 7 through 8,
(13:15):
when the Lord Jesus shall berevealed from heaven and with
his mighty angels in flamingfire, he will deal out
retribution to those who do notknow God and to those who do not
obey the gospel of our LordJesus.
A disease has to be recognizedand identified before seeking a
cure means anything.
(13:37):
It must.
And in the same way and for thesame reason, Scripture reveals
the bad news before it revealsthe good news.
It does that.
God's righteous judgment againstsin is proclaimed before his
gracious offer of forgiveness ispresented.
(14:00):
A person has no reason to seeksalvation from sin if he or she
does not know that he or she iscondemned by it.
He has no reason to wantspiritual life until he realizes
that he is spiritually dead.
With the one exception of JesusChrist, every human being since
the fall has been borncondemned.
(14:21):
Because when Adam and Eve fell,the divine sentence upon all
sinners was passed.
At that point.
Paul therefore declared to theRomans in Romans 3, verse 23,
that all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.
He reminded the Ephesians, youwere dead in your trespasses and
(14:43):
sins, in which you formerlywalked according to the course
of this world, according to theprince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is nowworking in the sons of
disobedience.
Among them too, we too allformerly lived in the lusts of
the flesh, indulging the desiresof the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children ofwrath, even as the rest.
(15:08):
And then now, in one briefverse, we're going to read verse
19 because it's the wholesentence, it's the whole unit of
thought.
I'm very much against notcompleting the statement.
We have to read both sentences.
But we're going to focus onverse 18.
In one brief verse, in verse 18,the apostle Paul, inspired by
(15:30):
the Holy Spirit, presentsfeatures that characterize God's
wrath.
Its quality, its time, itssource, its extent and its
nature, and its cause.
Let's read God's word, Romans 1,verse 18 and 19.
(15:55):
For the wrath of God is revealedfrom heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousnessof men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness.
Because what may be known of Godis manifest in them, for God has
(16:15):
shown it to them.
This is the word of God.
God's wrath.
Paul, the Holy Spirit, gives usthe features that characterize
God's wrath.
First of all, the quality.
Verse 18, it says, For the wrathof God, of God.
(16:37):
The quality of this wrath isseen in the fact that it is
divine.
It is of God.
And because it is of God, it istherefore unlike anything we
know of in the present world.
Understand that God's wrath isnot like human anger, which is
(16:57):
always tainted by sin.
Always.
God's wrath is always andcompletely righteous.
He never loses his temper.
The Puritan writer Thomas Watsonsaid, Is God so infinitely holy?
Then see how unlike to God sinis.
(17:19):
No wonder then, therefore, thatGod hates sin, being so unlike
to him, nay, so contrary to him,it strikes at his holiness.
It is foolish, not to mentionunbiblical, to somehow measure
God by human standards and todiscount the idea of his wrath
(17:44):
simply because human anger isalways flawed by sin.
God's anger is not capricious.
God's anger is not irrationalrage.
But understand God's anger isthe only response that a holy
God could have toward evil.
It's the only response.
God could not be holy and not beangry at evil.
(18:09):
Holiness cannot tolerateunholiness.
Habakkuk 1 13 says, Thine eyesare too pure to approve evil,
and thou canst not look onwickedness with favor.
That's pretty clear, isn't it?
And as Paul declares, over inthat great chapter on love, 1
(18:30):
Corinthians chapter 13, thatwonderful chapter on love that's
often so read at weddings and somany other things, as Paul
declares, neither can lovetolerate unholiness.
He says, Love does not rejoicein iniquity.
(18:52):
It does not rejoice inunrighteousness, but rejoices in
the truth.
Angry at the money changers andthe sacrifice sellers who made
his father's house a house ofmerchandise and a robber's den,
(19:13):
he said, he was furious that hisfather's house was flagrantly
dishonored.
Speaking in place of the sinfulinhabitants of Jerusalem,
Jeremiah acknowledged therighteousness of God's
punishment of them, saying, InLamentations 1.18, the Lord is
righteous, for I have rebelledagainst his command.
(19:34):
Hear now, all peoples, andbehold my pain, my virgins and
my young men have gone intocaptivity.
Even a thief, in confessingbefore Joshua that he had kept
for himself some of the lootfrom Jericho that was to be
reserved for the house of theLord, Achan, a thief, actually
(19:54):
acknowledged that the punishmentthat he was about to receive was
just and righteous.
I mean, even in the warped andperverted societies of this
world in which we live,indignation against injustice
and crime and cruelty and viceis actually recognized as an
essential element of humangoodness.
(20:17):
I mean, don't we actually expectpeople to be outraged by gross
injustice and cruelty?
Don't we expect that?
Of course we do.
The noted Greek scholar RichardTrench said there can be no
surer and sadder token of anutterly prostrate moral
condition than not being able tobe angry with sin and sinners.
(20:42):
But God is perfectly so all thetime with holy fury.
That's the quality of this wraththat's being discussed here.
What about the timing of it?
It says, For the wrath of God isrevealed.
Is revealed.
In the original language, itreally has a tense of is
(21:05):
revealed, is being revealed, andwill be revealed.
It's a constant reality, is theway the tense of the original
language renders it.
So it could be said, God's wrathis constantly revealed.
God's wrath is continually beingrevealed, perpetually being
manifested.
(21:25):
That word revealed has the basicmeaning of uncovering or
bringing to light or makingknown.
God's wrath has always beenrevealed to fallen mankind and
is repeatedly illustratedthroughout scripture.
Listen, all you have to do isread the Bible to see it.
It's clear, it's obvious.
(21:46):
Just read the book.
As already mentioned, as I'vealready stated, God's wrath was
revealed in the flood when Goddrowned the whole human race,
except for eight souls.
In the destruction of Sodom andGomorrah.
In the drowning of Pharaoh'sarmy.
It was even revealed in thecurse of the law upon every
(22:08):
transgression.
It was revealed in theinstitution of the sacrificial
system of the Mosaic covenant.
The sacrifice of animals.
Even, my goodness, even theimperfect laws that Congress
passes, even the imperfect lawsthat men make to deter and
punish wrongdoers, those lawsactually reflect and thereby
(22:31):
help to reveal the perfect andrighteous wrath of God.
But by far, the surpassingrevelation of God's wrath was
that placed upon his own son onthe cross.
When Jesus took to himself thesin of the world and bore the
full force of God's fury as itspenalty.
(22:51):
God hates sin so deeply, and herequires its penalty so that he
allowed his perfect beloved sonto be put to death as the only
means by which fallen mankindmight be redeemed from sin's
curse.
That's the wrath of God.
SPEAKER_00 (23:08):
Thank you for joining us today for Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thismessage again or get more
biblical resources or give afinancial gift, you can do so
online, foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
If you've been encouraged by theteaching of Dr.
Timothy Mann on Foundations ofTruth, here's an opportunity to
(23:31):
meet him in person.
Join Dr.
Mann Saturday, September 19th,10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at From My Library to YoursChristian Bookstore in Port
Orange for a special authorevent featuring his book, Saved,
Understanding God's Work in Us.
There'll be book signing,conversation, and brief talks
with a QA at 1015 a.m.
(23:51):
and 1.15 p.m.
That's Saturday, September 19th,at the pavilion next to Massage
Envy in Port Orange, Florida.
SPEAKER_01 (23:59):
Before we close today, I want to tell you about
a resource that I believe willbe a genuine help to you.
I've recently published my firstbook, Saved, Understanding God's
Work in Us.
In over 30 years of pastoralministry, one of the questions
I've encountered more thanalmost any other is this.
How can I know that I am trulysaved?
It is a question that deserves acareful, biblical answer.
(24:20):
And that is exactly what thisbook is designed to give.
Saved, understanding God's workin us, walks through what the
scripture teaches aboutsalvation, what God has done for
us, what he is doing in us, andthe assurance that every
believer can have because of hiswork.
If you want to understandsalvation more deeply, stand on
firmer ground in your faith, orbe better equipped to share the
(24:41):
gospel with someone you love,then this book was written for
you.
You can find it on Amazon,Barnes Noble, and Books a
Million, and pretty muchanywhere you buy books.
Just search Saved, UnderstandingGod's Work in Us by Dr.
Timothy Mann.
I pray it strengthens yourfaith.
Thanks for being with us today.
God bless you.
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Foundations of Truth with Dr.
Timothy Mann is supported inpart by Luther Rice College and
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We are grateful for theirpartnership in helping carry
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We're grateful for theirpartnership in helping carry
biblical truth farther.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the
(00:02):
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
Our mission is to help you buildyour life on the unshakable
foundation of God's Word.
Rooted in Scripture, anchored inthe grace of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Each week, Dr.
Mann opens the Bible to bringclarity, conviction, and
encouragement for everyday life.
Today on Foundations of Truth,we continue our series From
(00:25):
Guilty to Glory, a journeythrough the book of Romans.
Today's message is part one ofthe Wrath of God.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_01 (00:35):
Romans chapter one, an expositional study of this
great New Testament book, theBook of Romans.
We began in chapter one, and welooked at the first 17 verses in
chapter one.
As Paul introduced himself tothe church at Rome, to his
readers, he presented, ofcourse, who he was, his
credentials, he talked about hisconcern for them, and he talked
(00:58):
about his confidence.
And we found that in verses 16and 17, really the foundation of
the book, the key verses in thisgreat book of the Bible, where
Paul said in verse 16, For I'mnot ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, introduces, he begins tounfold the details of the gospel
of Christ.
He says, I'm not ashamed of thegospel of Christ, for it is the
(01:20):
power of God to salvation foreveryone who believes, for the
Jew first, and also for theGreek.
For in it, in it, that's thegospel of Christ.
The righteousness of God isrevealed from faith to faith, as
it is written, the just shalllive by faith.
And now today, this morning, wecome to the next two verses in
(01:42):
this chapter.
We're going to specifically beexamining verse 18.
Verse 18.
And verse 18 this morning speaksabout the wrath of God.
As Paul begins in this veryfirst chapter of Romans to
unfold the details of the gospelof Christ in which God's
righteousness is revealed, hestarts with an unequivocal
(02:06):
affirmation of God's righteouswrath.
Now I believe you would agreewith me, probably have to say
amen to this.
The idea of a wrathful God goesagainst the wishful thinking of
fallen human nature.
It just does.
And as a matter of fact, in mymany years now of pastoring,
I've come to see that it is evena stumbling block to many
(02:29):
Christians.
Sad to say.
But it's true.
Much contemporary evangelismtalks only about abundant life
in Christ, the joy and theblessings of salvation and the
peace with God that faith inChrist brings.
That's mostly what muchcontemporary evangelism talks
(02:51):
about.
Now, all those benefits do comefrom true faith, but they're not
the whole picture of God's planof salvation.
The truth of God's judgmentagainst sin and those who
participate in it must also beheard.
I wish I didn't have to preachon verse 18.
That's not my favorite subject.
I take no pleasure or no delightin preaching this message today,
(03:14):
other than the fact that I amexpounding the attributes of our
great God.
I have no interest in talkingabout anger in and of itself or
wrath in and of itself, but Ican't cherry-pick the verses
that we see in God's Word.
We at Providence Church, wecan't take a cafeteria approach
and say, oh, I like that one,I'll skip this one, or I'll take
(03:37):
this one.
We can't do that.
Our teachers and our otherpastors, we can't do that.
We have a divine mandate uponus.
We have an incumbentresponsibility to preach the
whole counsel of the Word ofGod.
And that's what we come to inverse 18.
For the Apostle Paul, as he wasmoved by the Holy Spirit to
write this great letter, for theApostle Paul, fear of eternal
(04:01):
condemnation was the firstmotivation that he offered for
coming to Christ.
It's the very first pressure orthe very first persuasion, if
you will, that he applied toevil men.
He was determined, as moved bythe Holy Spirit, he was
determined that they understandthe reality of being under God's
wrath before he offered them theway of escape from it.
(04:25):
I don't know about you, but Ithink that that approach makes
both logical and theologicalsense.
You cannot appreciate the wonderof God's grace until you know
about the perfect demands ofGod's law.
And you cannot appreciate thefullness of God's love for you
until you know something aboutthe fierceness of God's anger
(04:47):
against your sinful failure toperfectly obey that law.
You cannot appreciate God'sforgiveness until you know about
the eternal consequences of sinthat require a penalty and need
forgiving.
Now, this word wrath that we'regoing to read in just a moment,
in verse 18, this word wrath, Iwant to define it for you.
(05:08):
I need you to understand what itrefers to and what it does not
refer to.
Wrath refers to a settled anddetermined indignation.
A settled and determinedindignation, not to the
momentary, emotional, and oftenuncontrolled anger to which we
human beings are prone.
(05:29):
That's not what wrath is talkingabout here.
We cannot forget, and we mustremember this, God's attributes
are perfectly balanced in divineperfection.
If he had no righteous anger andwrath, he would not be God.
For just as surely as he wouldnot be God without his gracious
love.
(05:49):
He perfectly hates just as heperfectly loves.
He perfectly loves righteousnessand perfectly hates evil.
One of the greatest tragedies,I'm convinced of this this
morning, and I say this withoutfear or without apology, one of
the greatest tragedies of modernChristianity, including, dare I
(06:10):
say, most, of evangelicalism, isthe failure to preach and teach
the wrath of God and thecondemnation it brings upon all
with unforgiven sin.
The truncated, sentimental,man-centered gospel that is
frequently presented today fallsfar short.
(06:31):
It falls far short of the gospelthat Jesus and the apostle Paul
presented.
Scripture, New Testament as wellas old, consistently emphasizes
God's wrath.
Consistently.
In Psalm 2, against those whoscoff at him, God, quoting Psalm
(06:52):
2, will speak to them in hisanger and terrify them in his
fury.
The psalmist goes on toadmonish, in verse 12, do homage
to the sun, or worship the sun,or kiss the sun, capital S, lest
he become angry and you perishin the way, for his wrath may
soon be kindled.
(07:13):
Asaph wrote in Psalm 76, At thyrebuke, O God of Jacob, both
rider and horse were cast into adead sleep.
Thou, even thou art to befeared, and who may stand in thy
presence when once thou artangry?
That's the old King James, bythe way, if you didn't recognize
it.
(07:34):
Another psalmist, Psalm 78,referred to unfaithful Israel,
of what God had done to thedefiant Egyptians who refused to
let his people go.
Quote, He sent upon them hisburning anger, fury, and
indignation and trouble, a bandof destroying angels.
He leveled a path for his anger.
He did not spare their soul fromdeath, but gave their life over
(07:56):
to the plague and smote all thefirstborn of Egypt.
Speaking in behalf of Israel,Moses lamented, he mourned, he
cried out in Psalm 90 and says,For we have been consumed by thy
anger, and by thy wrath we havebeen dismayed.
Thou hast placed our iniquitiesbefore thee, our secret sins in
(08:16):
the light of thy presence, forall our days have declined in
thy fury.
The prophets spoke much of God'swrath.
Isaiah declared in Isaiahchapter 9, verse 19, By the fury
of the Lord of hosts, the landis burned up, and the people are
like fuel for the fire.
Jeremiah proclaimed in Jeremiah7, verse 20, Thus says the Lord
(08:41):
God, Behold, my anger and mywrath will be poured out on this
place, on man and on beast, andon the trees of the field, and
on the fruit of the ground, andit will burn and not be
quenched.
Through Ezekiel, God warned hispeople that, and I quote Ezekiel
7, verse 9, God warned hispeople that their silver and
(09:01):
their gold would not be able todeliver them in the day of the
wrath of the Lord.
They cannot satisfy theirappetite, nor can they fill
their stomachs, for theiriniquity has become an occasion
of stumbling.
God's word consistently refersto his wrath.
In many well-known ways, Godexpressed his wrath against
(09:24):
sinful mankind in past ages.
In the days of Noah, hedestroyed all mankind in the
flood except for eight people.
Several generations after Noah,he confounded men's language and
scattered them abroad the earthfor trying to build an
idolatrous tower to heaven.
In the days of Abraham, hedestroyed the cities of Sodom
(09:48):
and Gomorrah, with only Lot andhis family escaping.
He destroyed Pharaoh and hisarmy in the sea as they vainly
pursued the Israelites to bringthem back to Egypt.
He poured out his wrath againstsuch pagan kings as Sinacherub
and Nebuchadnezzar and BeltShazar.
He even poured out his wrathagainst some of his own kings,
(10:08):
against King Nadab for doing,and I quote 1 Kings 15, for
doing evil in the sight of theLord and walking in the way of
his father and in his sin whichhe made Israel sin.
He poured out his wrath againstAaron and Miriam, Moses' brother
and sister, for questioningMoses' revelations from him.
SPEAKER_00 (10:29):
You're listening to Foundations of Truth.
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The good news that God savessinners through Jesus Christ.
That same gospel remains theheartbeat of Foundations of
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In a world overflowing withcompeting voices, shifting
values, and spiritual confusion,this ministry exists for one
purpose (10:49):
to faithfully open the scriptures and proclaim the
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Your gifts help us continuetaking sound biblical teaching
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(11:12):
gospel.
Thank you for praying, forgiving, for listening, and
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Here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_01 (11:26):
God's wrath.
Understand?
God's wrath is just as clearlyexhibited in the New Testament,
not just the Old.
People say, oh, that's the OldTestament.
No, it's in the New Testament,too.
Both in reference to what he hasalready done and what he is yet
to do at the end of the age.
The Gospel of John, which speaksso eloquently of God's love and
(11:49):
God's graciousness, also speakspowerfully of his anger and his
wrath.
The comforting words, for God soloved the world that he gave his
only begotten son, that whoeverbelieves in him would not
perish, but have everlastinglife, are also followed by the
close warning He who does notobey the Son shall not see life,
(12:10):
but the wrath of God abides onhim.
In Romans 9, Paul focuses againon God's wrath, declaring, God,
although willing to demonstratehis wrath and to make his power
known, endured with muchpatience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction.
Chapter 9, verse 22.
(12:32):
The Apostle Paul warned theCorinthians that anyone who did
not love the Lord Jesus was tobe eternally cursed.
First Corinthians 16, verse 22.
He said to the Ephesians, Let noone deceive you with empty
words, for because of thesethings the wrath of God comes
upon the sons of disobedience.
(12:53):
He warned the Colossians thatbecause of immorality, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and greed,which amounts to idolatry, the
wrath of God will come.
He assured the persecutedThessalonian believers that God
would one day give them relief.
And that, quoting 2Thessalonians 1, 7 through 8,
(13:15):
when the Lord Jesus shall berevealed from heaven and with
his mighty angels in flamingfire, he will deal out
retribution to those who do notknow God and to those who do not
obey the gospel of our LordJesus.
A disease has to be recognizedand identified before seeking a
cure means anything.
(13:37):
It must.
And in the same way and for thesame reason, Scripture reveals
the bad news before it revealsthe good news.
It does that.
God's righteous judgment againstsin is proclaimed before his
gracious offer of forgiveness ispresented.
(14:00):
A person has no reason to seeksalvation from sin if he or she
does not know that he or she iscondemned by it.
He has no reason to wantspiritual life until he realizes
that he is spiritually dead.
With the one exception of JesusChrist, every human being since
the fall has been borncondemned.
(14:21):
Because when Adam and Eve fell,the divine sentence upon all
sinners was passed.
At that point.
Paul therefore declared to theRomans in Romans 3, verse 23,
that all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.
He reminded the Ephesians, youwere dead in your trespasses and
(14:43):
sins, in which you formerlywalked according to the course
of this world, according to theprince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is nowworking in the sons of
disobedience.
Among them too, we too allformerly lived in the lusts of
the flesh, indulging the desiresof the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children ofwrath, even as the rest.
(15:08):
And then now, in one briefverse, we're going to read verse
19 because it's the wholesentence, it's the whole unit of
thought.
I'm very much against notcompleting the statement.
We have to read both sentences.
But we're going to focus onverse 18.
In one brief verse, in verse 18,the apostle Paul, inspired by
(15:30):
the Holy Spirit, presentsfeatures that characterize God's
wrath.
Its quality, its time, itssource, its extent and its
nature, and its cause.
Let's read God's word, Romans 1,verse 18 and 19.
(15:55):
For the wrath of God is revealedfrom heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousnessof men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness.
Because what may be known of Godis manifest in them, for God has
(16:15):
shown it to them.
This is the word of God.
God's wrath.
Paul, the Holy Spirit, gives usthe features that characterize
God's wrath.
First of all, the quality.
Verse 18, it says, For the wrathof God, of God.
(16:37):
The quality of this wrath isseen in the fact that it is
divine.
It is of God.
And because it is of God, it istherefore unlike anything we
know of in the present world.
Understand that God's wrath isnot like human anger, which is
(16:57):
always tainted by sin.
Always.
God's wrath is always andcompletely righteous.
He never loses his temper.
The Puritan writer Thomas Watsonsaid, Is God so infinitely holy?
Then see how unlike to God sinis.
(17:19):
No wonder then, therefore, thatGod hates sin, being so unlike
to him, nay, so contrary to him,it strikes at his holiness.
It is foolish, not to mentionunbiblical, to somehow measure
God by human standards and todiscount the idea of his wrath
(17:44):
simply because human anger isalways flawed by sin.
God's anger is not capricious.
God's anger is not irrationalrage.
But understand God's anger isthe only response that a holy
God could have toward evil.
It's the only response.
God could not be holy and not beangry at evil.
(18:09):
Holiness cannot tolerateunholiness.
Habakkuk 1 13 says, Thine eyesare too pure to approve evil,
and thou canst not look onwickedness with favor.
That's pretty clear, isn't it?
And as Paul declares, over inthat great chapter on love, 1
(18:30):
Corinthians chapter 13, thatwonderful chapter on love that's
often so read at weddings and somany other things, as Paul
declares, neither can lovetolerate unholiness.
He says, Love does not rejoicein iniquity.
(18:52):
It does not rejoice inunrighteousness, but rejoices in
the truth.
Angry at the money changers andthe sacrifice sellers who made
his father's house a house ofmerchandise and a robber's den,
(19:13):
he said, he was furious that hisfather's house was flagrantly
dishonored.
Speaking in place of the sinfulinhabitants of Jerusalem,
Jeremiah acknowledged therighteousness of God's
punishment of them, saying, InLamentations 1.18, the Lord is
righteous, for I have rebelledagainst his command.
(19:34):
Hear now, all peoples, andbehold my pain, my virgins and
my young men have gone intocaptivity.
Even a thief, in confessingbefore Joshua that he had kept
for himself some of the lootfrom Jericho that was to be
reserved for the house of theLord, Achan, a thief, actually
(19:54):
acknowledged that the punishmentthat he was about to receive was
just and righteous.
I mean, even in the warped andperverted societies of this
world in which we live,indignation against injustice
and crime and cruelty and viceis actually recognized as an
essential element of humangoodness.
(20:17):
I mean, don't we actually expectpeople to be outraged by gross
injustice and cruelty?
Don't we expect that?
Of course we do.
The noted Greek scholar RichardTrench said there can be no
surer and sadder token of anutterly prostrate moral
condition than not being able tobe angry with sin and sinners.
(20:42):
But God is perfectly so all thetime with holy fury.
That's the quality of this wraththat's being discussed here.
What about the timing of it?
It says, For the wrath of God isrevealed.
Is revealed.
In the original language, itreally has a tense of is
(21:05):
revealed, is being revealed, andwill be revealed.
It's a constant reality, is theway the tense of the original
language renders it.
So it could be said, God's wrathis constantly revealed.
God's wrath is continually beingrevealed, perpetually being
manifested.
(21:25):
That word revealed has the basicmeaning of uncovering or
bringing to light or makingknown.
God's wrath has always beenrevealed to fallen mankind and
is repeatedly illustratedthroughout scripture.
Listen, all you have to do isread the Bible to see it.
It's clear, it's obvious.
(21:46):
Just read the book.
As already mentioned, as I'vealready stated, God's wrath was
revealed in the flood when Goddrowned the whole human race,
except for eight souls.
In the destruction of Sodom andGomorrah.
In the drowning of Pharaoh'sarmy.
It was even revealed in thecurse of the law upon every
(22:08):
transgression.
It was revealed in theinstitution of the sacrificial
system of the Mosaic covenant.
The sacrifice of animals.
Even, my goodness, even theimperfect laws that Congress
passes, even the imperfect lawsthat men make to deter and
punish wrongdoers, those lawsactually reflect and thereby
(22:31):
help to reveal the perfect andrighteous wrath of God.
But by far, the surpassingrevelation of God's wrath was
that placed upon his own son onthe cross.
When Jesus took to himself thesin of the world and bore the
full force of God's fury as itspenalty.
(22:51):
God hates sin so deeply, and herequires its penalty so that he
allowed his perfect beloved sonto be put to death as the only
means by which fallen mankindmight be redeemed from sin's
curse.
That's the wrath of God.
SPEAKER_00 (23:08):
Thank you for joining us today for Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thismessage again or get more
biblical resources or give afinancial gift, you can do so
online, foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
If you've been encouraged by theteaching of Dr.
Timothy Mann on Foundations ofTruth, here's an opportunity to
(23:31):
meet him in person.
Join Dr.
Mann Saturday, September 19th,10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at From My Library to YoursChristian Bookstore in Port
Orange for a special authorevent featuring his book, Saved,
Understanding God's Work in Us.
There'll be book signing,conversation, and brief talks
with a QA at 1015 a.m.
(23:51):
and 1.15 p.m.
That's Saturday, September 19th,at the pavilion next to Massage
Envy in Port Orange, Florida.
SPEAKER_01 (23:59):
Before we close today, I want to tell you about
a resource that I believe willbe a genuine help to you.
I've recently published my firstbook, Saved, Understanding God's
Work in Us.
In over 30 years of pastoralministry, one of the questions
I've encountered more thanalmost any other is this.
How can I know that I am trulysaved?
It is a question that deserves acareful, biblical answer.
(24:20):
And that is exactly what thisbook is designed to give.
Saved, understanding God's workin us, walks through what the
scripture teaches aboutsalvation, what God has done for
us, what he is doing in us, andthe assurance that every
believer can have because of hiswork.
If you want to understandsalvation more deeply, stand on
firmer ground in your faith, orbe better equipped to share the
(24:41):
gospel with someone you love,then this book was written for
you.
You can find it on Amazon,Barnes Noble, and Books a
Million, and pretty muchanywhere you buy books.
Just search Saved, UnderstandingGod's Work in Us by Dr.
Timothy Mann.
I pray it strengthens yourfaith.
Thanks for being with us today.
God bless you.
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Foundations of Truth with Dr.
Timothy Mann is supported inpart by Luther Rice College and
Seminary, equipping men andwomen for ministry through
biblically faithful theologicaleducation as a leader in online
learning.
We are grateful for theirpartnership in helping carry
biblical truth farther.
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(25:20):
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(25:41):
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