The Need for Grace

About this sermon

Introduction: Paul has announced his eagerness and confidence regarding the gospel (1:1-15). He’s given us the theme of the letter — a brief explanation of what the gospel is, and what it reveals, and where it is anchored (1:16-17). And now the apostle launches into making his case. He will explain the gospel and its implications throughout the letter. What we have in the next section, beginning in the 18th verse, and continuing into the 3rd chapter (3:20), is the theological and logical necessity for the gospel of grace. The word gospel means “good news.” But there is no need for the good news, there is no real desire for the good news, unless we believe God about the bad news. It’s the bad news that Paul starts with as he launches into the explanation of his theme. And if you summarize the bad news in one word, you find that word in verse 18. IT’S THE WORD WRATH. Why do we need salvation? Why do we need the grace of God? Why do we need the revelation of how to stand before God in righteousness? Why do we need the good news that salvation is the work of God and that we receive it by faith ALONE? IT IS BECAUSE OF THE WRATH OF GOD. We need the grace of God because we are guilty of what God is angry with. We will consider what Paul says about the wrath of God under the following headings. The Reality of the Wrath of God (2) The Revelation of the Wrath of God (3) The Reason for the Wrath of God THE REALITY OF THE WRATH OF GOD Now, before we consider the reality of God’s wrath, let’s just take into our hearts and minds the fact that Paul begins there. I mentioned this earlier, but I want to underscore it. Paul did not see himself as a PR man for God. It wasn’t his job to figure out what he thought would protect God’s reputation, what would make God most desirable to Paul’s world. He wasn’t trying to craft a message that accentuated the aspects of God’s character that would make God least offensive. PAUL’S JOB WAS TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD BY WHAT GOD REVEALED ABOUT HIMSELF. Note this. False teachers are not just known by what they say. Unfaithful shepherds, false shepherds, are known by what they REFUSE to say. Or, they refuse to say it in a way that really registers. We live in a day when men talk about God’s love, God’s compassion, God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s kindness, God’s patience, God’s generosity, and all those things are true of God. God magnifies those things about Himself. But in the case of our day, men are not often painting portraits of God when it comes to those attributes. They are presenting CHARICATURES of God. They have emphasized these attributes while ignoring others. PAUL DOES NOT IGNORE THE WRATH OF GOD. Paul is going to talk about God’s grace and mercy and kindness, and all the rest, but he knows that none of those things negate the fact that there is an anger in God. GOD’S ANGER IS REAL How should we define the wrath of God here? It is the word ὀργή, and the lexicon defines it as anger, strong displeasure, strong indignation, directed at wrong doing with a focus on retribution. Tom Schreiner referred to it as the judging righteousness of God. This is not something that God hides about Himself. This is a major theme found throughout Scripture. The true God, the God of the Bible, is an angry God. He is a God who hates all that is in opposition to Him, all that is in opposition to righteousness, and who punishes the wrong.

Topics

• Grace