Key Words in Light of God’s Coming Wrath

By P. Douglas Small
President, PRAYER AT THE HEART

Sorting through the Relevant Key Words of Romans in Light of God’s Coming Wrath

The dominant word in Romans apart from incidental articles is “God,” appearing 153 times. Whatever you have been told about the content and character of Romans, lay it aside, and reconsider. In this book, God is introducing Himself, and what that means to humanity.

“God,” that term, appears in the NKJV of the Bible 4208 times, 1240 in the New Testament. So what is the Bible about? God! But, get this. Of those occurrences of the word, “God,” in the New Testament, more than ten percent, 142 occurrences are in the book of Romans. That’s telling!

“God” dominates the book of Romans. Despite all a radical, godless culture can do, be it communistic or socialistic, academic and secular, God will not go away. The term “Lord” occurs 39 times in Romans, 653 times in the New Testament, and 6764 in the entire Bible. Paul mentions “Jesus” 38 times, and he uses the term “Christ” 65-69 times (depending on the translation). Depending on the translation and interpretations, the “Spirit” is referenced twenty times, some argue as many as thirty times, and some twenty of these references are in Romans 8. God, Jesus Christ, the Spirit – no other characters or concepts come close to dominating the book.

Paul seems to be saying, “Let me again introduce God, His Son, Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.” Given the emphasis on “justification by faith” by the Protestant Reformation, one would think that term would be found in preponderance. But the precise term, found only four times in the entire New Testament, is found three times in Romans. However, “Justified,” in variant forms, is found 15 times in Romans out of 29 times in the New Testament, and 35 times in the Bible.

Let’s look at additional terms in Romans in light of the concepts of the gospel and the wrath of God.

1. The Cross. The term cross is not found in Romans at all. Does that surprise you?

And “crucified” is only mentioned once. “Blood” only occurs three times – again, a significant note, since the book itself is a kind of commentary, from a New Testament perspective, on the sacrifices of Leviticus 2-5. “Death” is mentioned 28 times. Sin (48 times) and evil (15 times) – they are humanity’s problem. And because of sin, the result is impending judgment (12 times), on both Jew (14 times) and Gentile (24 times). Death (28 times; died and die, 20 times) is the fruit of sin. It is unavoidable. This is the demand of the law (72 times) and of a holy (10 times) God. Commandment is seen 10 times.

Consequently, we now face the wrath of God (10 times).

2. Repent. Surprisingly, the term “repent” occurs only once.

Save, saved, and salvation appear 14 times. Neither man’s action, noble action, a Biblically commanded action, “repentance,” or the experience of salvation are the focus. Instead, the emphasis is upon God – and “faith” (40 times), by grace (21 times), through the agency of the gospel, the good news (15 times). Paul uses the analogy of adoption (3 times). We were created, endowed with His image, His sons and daughters, but we became slaves to sin, resulting in bondage. So now, God has acted to reclaim us, by an act of legal adoption. What is your answer to His offer of adoption? This puts the emphasis on God’s initiative, out of mercy (9 times), giving us hope (18 times) and peace (11 times), all for God’s glory (77 times).

3. The Big Ideas. Notice again the dominant terms: God, the law, sin, death, faith, and glory!

The story of God in the message in Romans. God (153), in behalf of His own glory (77), and consistent with His character as revealed in the law (72), has sent Christ, the anointed one (71), to put away human sin (48), by our exercise of faith (40), by grace (21), in Jesus (38), no mere mortal, but Lord (39), God incarnate.

He came to die, in order to put away death (28/20) by sin, for all mankind, the nations (24), and the Jews (14), through the message of the gospel (15), wherein we find hope (18).

Evil (15) has come to dominate humanity, a poison for which we have no cure. Thus, through his death, his vicarious sacrifice, we are justified (15), saved (14), and released from judgment (12). A holy (10) God has given immutable commandments (10). They are not arbitrary. They are themselves an expression of His nature, demanding wrath (10).

Still, because of God’s taking wrath upon Himself, in Christ, on the cross, we are granted mercy (10). We now have peace with God, and we may know the peace of God (11), adopted as a child of God (3), possible by His blood (3).

The Concept of Wrath in Romans

We live in a culture that no longer tolerates truth. The media suppresses the Christian narrative. Hollywood skews it, distorts it, and denigrates it. Educational institutions treat Christian beliefs, Biblical truth, as nonsense – as foolish. Business abandons its principles. Science attempts to disprove it. The mainstream culture has now moved on to alternative value systems. Great efforts have been and being made to separate Christianity and culture. In Romans 1, the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,” against the suppression of “the truth.”

Why? Because biblical truth is inconvenient. It is disruptive to the new cultural norm. God’s wrath is a settled matter. He is angry about and against sin. His wrath will not go away. It cannot be dismissed. It doesn’t matter if we hide our eyes and attempt to ignore it. Behaviors formerly forbidden are now normalized. The new morality, which is not amoral, feeds on sin. It is entertained by sin. Publicly, it may disapprove, but privately, it indulges. God’s restraining grace is increasingly resisted. Truth is crushed. Truth speakers are silenced. All the while, sin escalates. The culture no longer tolerates criticism of its new morality.

There will come a time when God’s wrath will be released, once and for all, to put away sin and Satan. Sadly, humans will perish at this moment, but only because they choose to cling to their sin. There is more. In the coming eschatological moment, there will be an end to history as we know it. Prior to this time of final reckoning, there are moments when God has acted to momentarily halt sin. These are episodes of God’s wrath, restrained, a sign of grace, laced with an appeal to return to Him.

In the course of daily life, that of families and nations, there are the consequences of sin resulting in judgment. The eternal disposition of God, of anger against sin, is relentless. The parent who acts in a violent manner because a cobra has crawled into the crib of an infant and is tantalizing the toddler is understandably animated on behalf of the child. He acts in a decisive way to destroy the serpent and protect the child. This is wrath in action – it is noble, driven by love and holiness.

Isaiah declared, “You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ‘No one sees me’” (47:10; NASB). They were secure, unrattled, and yet settled, happily wicked. How could they live with themselves? They had perverted wisdom, becoming fools, erroneously, and subverted knowledge, turning it on its head. They were, Isaiah charged, “deluded.” The Christian Standard Bible declares, “Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray.” They had proudly said to themselves, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” The Good News Translation says it more directly, “I am God – there is no one else like me.” What arrogance!

Having displaced God, they were now the center of all things, and incomparable. Certain that shameful activity and attitudes were concealed, “No one sees,” and emboldened by nothing bigger than themselves to whom they were accountable, they jumped into sin and rebellion at the deep end of the pool. The Contemporary English Version reads, “You hid behind evil like a shield and said, ‘No one can see me!’ You were fooled by your wisdom and your knowledge; you felt sure that you alone were in full control.”

Such people hate the light. They hate the truth. They run to the darkness – it is now their home, their comfort zone. Those “who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness” will experience God’s “indignation and wrath” (Romans 2:8). In Romans 3:5, Paul argues that God is just in inflicting wrath on the unrighteous. The wrath of God is out of the law, according to the law – “…the law,” Paul argues, “brings about wrath” or judgment. Wrath is the due, just consequence, legally, for lawbreakers. It is not arbitrary (Romans 4:15). The heavenly court offers salvation, amnesty, to anyone and everyone, who appears in the court, and agrees to the terms of peace. We are “justified by His blood,” and therefore, “saved from wrath” through Christ (Romans 5:9).

In a few verses, Paul profiles our age.

▪ Design – First, there is clearly a design that implies a designer. Creation begs for an explanation, a first cause – but that notion is now denied. It cannot even be discussed. The creature denies the existence of the Creator. Apparent order is dismissed, in favor of randomness. Even the law of the human heart is dismissed as neurosis, an over-active conscience. The inner moral-ethical alarm is turned off, treated as annoying. Freud’s superego, the voice from the attic, is silenced so that id, the character that lives in the basement, can run naked and free in the streets.
▪ Deadly Decision – Second, the culture turns a blind eye and deaf ear to the God who can be known, in both creation and history. He is life-giver and law-maker – but His gifts are rejected, left unopened, unwanted. Consequently, the culture is without excuse. Exalting human ideas and ideals, the heart’s light goes out. What they could know, they would not, chose not to know. And what they would not know, they could not know. Darkness descended on them and increasingly on the culture. Like cave-dwelling animals, they soon lose their capacity to see – even when the light penetrates the deep recesses of their cave. Spiritual confusion is the result, and it gives birth to moral degeneracy. That gives birth to intellectual incomprehension, a kind of culture-wide mental illness – exacerbated by self-delusion.
▪ Death of Reason. Third, rationalization sweeps away all ‘true truth,’ as Francis Schaeffer called it – at times, these irrational rationalizations are casts as ‘deep truth,’ with fancy words and psycho-social labels that only intellectuals are supposed to understand. It is doublespeak, the contradictory twisting of common language. Professing wisdom, idiocy is exalted. Sin is gloriously rationalized. Fools are now in charge of the culture, of education, of the media, of much of the government and its agencies, exercising increasing, imperial-like influence, imposing their often, insane solutions. They are not representatives of the people or their servants. They are demi-gods who know best.
▪ Descent into Idolatry. Fourth, since worship is instinctive, with the Biblical God eliminated, as a threat to sinful intentions, another god is sought. One that can be controlled, one that will justify carnal instincts. The animal kingdom presents perfect models. It has always done so, as demonstrated by paganism. And yet, it is still shocking when a civilized, educated culture inverts. They regress, going backward, descending into idolatry. They exchange the glory imparted in Creation, from the Creator, God’s image, for a position on the evolutionary ladder. Deeply religious, and increasingly so, living faith is now set aside.

Unharnessed passion degrades to vile, gross perversion. The heart is hardened, and the body is freed to express its basest instincts. The result is identity confusion. “Women,” Paul says, abandoned natural moral sensibilities. “Even their women” – the idea is culturally shocking! Men – yes, believable, but not women! The illustration is meant to demonstrate the radical nature of the moral descent of humanity. They “exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.” They were not content with their station. They switched roles – natural roles. Here is militant feminism. “In the same way, men… burned with lust for one another.” This the homosexual culture – and it is now normalized. “Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” The “due penalty” – the consequences of sin.

What follows is “a depraved mind.” The word, depraved, means to be tested and found useless. The mind no longer functions properly. The inner moral voice is silenced. What men ought to do, they resist. What they should not do, they do. Passion is misdirected. Thinking is clouded. Behavior is vile. A proliferation of evil follows – “every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity.” Mankind is now characterized by what should be the vilest exceptions, “…envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.” Everywhere there are “gossips” – as truth-tellers. “Slanderers” – in the place of integrity. “God-haters” – militant atheists. They are “insolent, arrogant, and boastful.” Evil intensifies, “They invent new forms of evil.”
Family solvency disappears, and disrespect for one’s parents is the norm. The wisdom of past generations is violently displaced. The result is “senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless” humans. This is now everyday life in America – but this is not normal.

Finally, with the disclosures of the Epstein files, there is a measure of shock in the American culture about the sickness of sin. In this case, by the rich and powerful whose duplicitous lives were exposed. And that, with very little remorse, and not Biblical repentance, at least publically. There is only the shame, the cultural embarrassment. And there is not yet, culture wide, a sense of desperation before God that we, as a people, have descended so deeply into sin. The matter is being treated as social stigma, as human trafficking – a crime, but not as sin! Not as sin that qualifies a culture for the discipline of God. The props of a Jeffrey Epstein life remain in place – pornography, the legalization of prostitution, the sexualization of the culture, even of young children, the absence of a sacred view of sex, the full-on embrace of soft pornography in advertising, and the shameful mainstreaming of it, in movies and on television.

We have not repented. We evidently have no intention of doing so. And we are backing into the consequences of meeting a holy God. A God with whom our forefathers made covenants about this land, one now stained with blood and broken promises, and soiled by sin.

And yet, there is good news. Shockingly, there is an offer of amnesty on the table. What will the nation do?