A Confessional Baptist

Consider the Seriousness of The Matter

God is angry with sinners. His wrath abides on the unsaved. If these statements do not move you, perhaps you have not considered the seriousness of the matter:

"Romans 1:18 says, 'The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.' God's anger at our ungodliness is our main problem in life. If God is resolved to pour out his wrath on us we are in a terrifying position.

Imagine the power of God behind his wrath! When you look up into the sky on a clear night you can see what is called the Milky Way, the name of our galaxy. It has about 200 billion stars in it, they say. You can see maybe a 40-millionth of them on a good night. The disk of the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across (about six hundred thousand trillion miles) and 2,000 light years thick. Our sun will take about 200,000 years to make a circuit. And besides our galaxy there are, some estimate, 50 million other galaxies.

Now, the God we are talking about here in Romans made this universe with a mere command. He simply spoke and all the galaxies came into being. And he holds them in being by the word of his power. This God is so great that any attempt to portray his greatness falls infinitely far short. But what we can see and feel is this: that if such a great God is angry at us, and has such indescribable power to back up his anger, then we are in the worst of all possible conditions. Nothing could be worse than to be opposed by the wrath of infinite power.

And that is our situation. God is revealing his wrath against our ungodliness now and will bring it to a climax in the last day of judgment (Romans 2:4). Our only hope is if God may provide a way of reconciliation." ^[1]

There is no doubt that this is not just a serious problem for sinners, but it is the most serious problem concievable! To be under the wrath of a God with unlimited power makes all of mankind's collective problems pale into insignificance.

So, are you a sinner? What brought about this situation? Is there a way of reconciliation? Keep reading, and weigh these solemn matters. Don't get this one wrong - the consequences are eternal.

The origin of sin and The Fall of Man

1. Man was originally formed in the image of God. His understanding was adorned with a true and saving knowledge of his Creator, and of spiritual things; his heart and will were upright, all his affections pure, and the whole man was holy.

   Genesis 1:26-27; Ecclesiastes 7:29

2. But as man revolted from God by the instigation of the devil and by his own free will, he forfeited these excellent gifts; and an in the place thereof became involved in blindness of mind, horrible darkness, vanity, and perverseness of judgment; became wicked, rebellious, and obstinate in heart and will, and impure in his affections.

   Genesis 3:17-19; Genesis 6:5-6

The universality of sin is the result of The Fall

1. Man after the fall begat children in his own likeness. A corrupt stock produced a corrupt offspring. Hence all the posterity (descendants) of Adam, Christ only excepted, have derived corruption from their original parent, by the propagation of a vicious sinfull nature, in consequence of the just judgment of God.

   Genesis 5:3; Job 15:14; Psalm 51:5; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 48:8; Romans 3:9-18; Galatians 3:22

The just punishment for sin is God's righteous wrath

1. As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse of death, and are deserving of eternal death in hell,

   Matthew 25:41; Matthew 25:46; Romans 5:12; Romans 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 14:10-11;

2. God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin, according to the words of the apostle:

   Romans 3:19; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23;

3. God is not only supremely merciful, but also supremely just. And His justice requires (as He has revealed Himself in His Word) that our sins committed against His infinite majesty should be punished, not only with temporal punishments in this world, but with eternal punishments in hell, both in body and soul; which we cannot escape, unless satisfaction be made to the justice of God.

   Proverbs 11:21; Zephaniah 1:14-15; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 13:40-42; Romans 2:3-8

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Footnotes

1. Excerpt from a sermon by John Piper, Let Us Exult In the Hope of the Glory of God! (Rom. 5:1-2) (emphasis added)