Term 2 – Week 03
Big Idea – God is angry at all human sin, because he showed himself to us in creation but we reject Him
Romans 1:18-32
Outcomes
- To know that God is angry at all human sin and this is the necessary reaction of a holy God to sin
- To understand that sin is rejection of the truth about God as revealed in creation. It’s a heart problem. Humans have no excuse for not believing in God.
- To appreciate that God doesn’t force people to believe in him. If someone rejects Him, then he will let them go their own way.
Implications
- Belief (Head / Heart) – We all need to be encouraged to take our sin and God’s anger (wrath) at sin more seriously. Deep down, we all underestimate both.
- Behaviour (Hands) – Repentance and thankfulness are the right responses to today’s passage. Whether we are believers in Jesus or not, we all sin and deserve God’s wrath. We should say sorry to him. If we believe in Jesus then there is much to thank God for!
- What would thankfulness to God look like in our lives in the week ahead?
Introduction
To understand these verses, it’s helpful to visualise the grammatical flow of the passage:
- For (omitted in niv)the wrath of God is being revealed against human sin (v.18)
- because (niv, since) what can be known of God is plain
- so they are without excuse (vv.19-20)
- because (niv, for) although they knew God
- their thinking became futile (v.21)
- they ‘exchanged’ the glory of God for idols; God ‘gave them over’ to sexual impurity and the degrading of their bodies (vv.22-24)
- they ‘exchanged’ the truth of God for a lie; God ‘gave them over’ to shameful lusts and unnatural sexual relations (vv.25-27)
- they did not think it worthwhile to retain knowledge of God; God ‘gave them over’ to the general sins of inhumanity (vv.28-31)
- because (niv, since) what can be known of God is plain
- Summary of human’s right condemnation for sin (v.32)
What is this passage saying?
- God’s wrath against sin is being revealed in the present (i.e. today!) and not just being stored up in the future (v.18). God is angry at all human sin.
- The root cause of human wickedness and sin is that people suppress the truth by their wickedness (v.18b). They reject the truth about God.
- All people are without excuse because,
- God’s self-revelation in creation leaves people without excuse (v.20). To live in the world God has made and to believe in Him is truly ‘natural’ – to disbelieve God is actually ‘unnatural’. In fact, to disbelieve God comes only by suppressing what has been made very plain to see. Thus, God’s wrath is rightly deserved
- People actively choose not to respond to God’s self-revelation (v.21). Both heart and mind have shown themselves incapable of responding rightly to God’s self-revelation.
- Humanity’s rejection of the truth about God is a result of their rejection of God himself (exchanged). Humanity’s consequent descent into wickedness is a result of this rejection (exchange) but also a result of God’s wrath in handing them over to their wickedness (vv.22-31).
- There is knowledge of God given to all people, but all people suppress the truth and glory in their sin (v.32)
This is a hard hitting passage in the bible that we will aim to teach with love, care and compassion, in an age-appropriate way.
Memory Verse
Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’
Songs
This is the Gospel (Colin Buchanan) – YouTube
Leaders PDF
This has been put together using purchased external material and therefore this resource may only be used by Dundonald Church. For more information please contact kids@dundonald.org
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