Rom. 1:18-20 -- God's Revelation
Rom. 1:18 -- Paul has just said that salvation is available to both Jew and Gentile, but he must first establish that both Jew and Gentile are condemned and in need of salvation. Beginning with this verse and continuing through Rom. 3:20, Paul endeavors to show that very thing. The remainder of Rom. 1 is devoted to demonstrating that the sins of the Gentiles render them lost before a Holy God. In Rom. 1:2 Paul will turn his attention to demonstrating the same thing concerning the Jews.
Proper emphasis should be given to the first word of Rom. 1:18. The word translated "for" is significant in that it links together the thought of Rom. 1:17 and Rom. 1:18. A revelation of God is mentioned in Rom. 1:17 and also in Rom. 1:18. According to Rom. 1:17, the righteousness of God (God's plan for making men righteous) is found in the written revelation of the gospel. In Rom. 1:18 we read of the revelation of God's attitude toward sin. God's wrath is said to be revealed from Heaven against sin and ungodliness, which wrath is aimed specifically at unrighteous men "who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Hence, the love of God in planning to save men by the gospel was preceded by His hatred of sin. Time after time the Book of Romans demonstrates that God is a God of goodness and severity (Rom. 11:22). Modern man loves to hear about the love of God, but has no use for any sermons on His wrath. Yet, "however distasteful such language may be to some ears, it is amongst the household words of the New Testament as well as of the Old (Matt. 3:7; John 3:36; Rom. 2:5-8; Eph. 2:3; 5:6; Col. 3:6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:16; Heb. 3:11; 4:3; Rev. 6:16; 14:10; 19:10)."<27>
We should remember to distinguish between the wrath of God and the wrath of man. God's wrath is not to be construed as an angry rage. R. L. Whiteside describes it as "legal wrath rather than emotional."<28> It is the expression of His holy hatred of sin. Because He is holy and just, God must judge and punish sin. This wrath is directed from Heaven toward the ungodly and the unrighteous.<29> These are men who "hold the truth in unrighteousness" (KJV). The ASV provides us with the better rendering: "who hinder the truth in unrighteousness." The idea is that the ungodly and unrighteous lives of the Gentiles, lived before the world, hindered the light of God's truth from being welcomed into the hearts of men. In short, their wicked example kept the truth from having its intended effect upon the lives of others.
Rom. 1:19 -- A reading of Rom. 1:19-20 reveals that the Gentiles could not plead ignorance of God's existence nor of their responsibility to Him on the basis of a lack of evidence. God had sufficiently manifested Himself unto the Gentiles. The things which could be known of God had been made known to them. But how did God make Himself and His will known to the Gentiles? He did so in two ways: creation and revelation. Paul argues that the invisible things of God can be "clearly seen" by examining the things that are made, so much so that the man who rejects the existence of God is without excuse. Hence, careful examination of God's creation gives us sufficient evidence of the existence of a Supreme Power in the universe. Truly, the heavens do declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1-3).
However, it is extremely crucial to note that natural revelation is inadequate to reveal all that we need to know about God. The beauty of a tree and its foliage might convince me of the existence of a Supreme Architect, but I could not watch a leaf falling to the ground and thereby conclude that such an Architect loved me enough to send His Son to die for me and rescue me from sin. Without actual communication from God, man would not even know that he is a sinner. Nature alone does not reveal all that God is, nor was it ever intended to. It has been well said, "Nature declares God is, and the Bible declares Who He is."<30>
In fact, the Gentiles had more than just a natural revelation of God's existence and power available to them. Let us not forget that God had communicated His will to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all possessed a knowledge of the one true God and passed it down to their descendants. Far too many entertain the mistaken notion that when God established His covenant with the Jews, He completely forsook all other nations. Nothing could be further from the truth! Deaver expresses so well why the Gentiles were without excuse:
"They had and they knew (or could have and could have known) what he wanted them to have and know. God was manifested (His hatred of sin, His power, His justice) even to the Gentiles through Noah. The descendants of Noah who turned to idolatry first had to disregard or reject their knowledge of God. God was manifested through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. By the Exodus, God was manifested to the Egyptians as well as the Israelites. The stories of God's dealing with Israel were known far and wide (cf. Josh. 2:10-14). The Assyrians were reminded of God through Jonah. The Israelites at one time were scattered throughout the kingdom of Assyria. This would spread knowledge of Jehovah. The Babylonian Captivity resulted in spreading and emphasizing knowledge of the one true God. Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus all made decrees and proclamations regarding Jehovah. Jewish synagogues, in which were emphasized the knowledge of the one true God, were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Melchizedek, Jethro, Job, Balaam, and others, taught the one true God among the Gentiles."<31>
Of course, the point of all this is that, since the knowledge of God was available, the reprobate condition of the Gentiles was inexcusable. Similarly, man who rejects God today is without excuse (Acts 17:30). Even ignorance will not be a justifiable excuse when Jesus returns. If indeed sinful men and women, ignorant of the gospel, will be saved in their ignorance (as many allege), we perform a most unnecessary and unloving task if we educate these ignorant folk into accountability! Man is not lost because he has not heard the gospel. He is lost because he is a sinner, and the gospel is the only antidote.
