Theme: Returning to our first Love
Topic: The Consequences of Rejecting God’s Love
Main Texts: Romans 1:18-32; John 3:36
Key verse: Revelation 20:15 – ‘And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire,’ (NKJV).
Introduction:
God is love. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the “evil, sinful world of humanity which is in rebellion against Him so intensely that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. The corollary is that anyone who does not believe in Him will perish. John 3:36 underscores this by presenting the choice in stark terms: believe in the Son and receive eternal life, or reject Him and face the wrath of God. In Romans 1:16-17, Paul introduces the main theme of his epistle: the righteousness of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. From verse 18 on to Romans 3:20, Paul shows that the whole human race is guilty before God and deserving of His wrath whether they be pagans (Romans 1:18-32), religious and outwardly moral (Romans 2:1-3,8),, indeed or anybody else (Romans 3:9-20) God’s wrath is something that even believers feel uncomfortable contemplating, mistakenly thinking that it is at odds with His love. God is holy and just; His wrath is a righteous response to humanity’s willful rejection of His revealed truth through creation, and His love through Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, which was to pay the price of man’s sin. The Bible is emphatic: there is no excuse for rejecting the knowledge and love of God, and dire consequences follow from such rejection.
Q1.(1a) What is your understanding of the “wrath of God”? How is it different from the wrath or anger of man? (1b) Against what is God’s wrath revealed? (1c) In what ways are people suppressing the truth about God today? Why is there “no excuse”?
Paragraph 2:
General revelation is the revelation of God through the design, complexity, and order of creation, as well as through human conscience. It is accessible to everyone regardless of their background or beliefs. God has sovereignly planted evidence of His existence in the very nature of man, through reason and moral law (Romans 1:20-21, 28, 32, and Romans 2:15). God holds all people responsible for their refusal to acknowledge what He has revealed of Himself in His creation. God’s general revelation condemns those who reject it and will be strong enough testimony to render a guilty verdict on judgment day. God gives this knowledge to condemn those who reject, but also as a matter of love to encourage people to seek after God. We see examples from Acts 8:26-39, 10:1-48, and Acts 17:27, which show that if a person responds to the revelation he has, even if it is general revelation, God will provide a means for that person to hear the gospel. Ignoring God’s self-revelation in creation leads to the slippery path of spiritual, moral, and social decadence as outlined in Romans 1:21-32.
Q2.(2a) Read Romans 1:21-32. What is the slippery path of decadence set out in the text? How do we avoid going down that path? (2b) Read Psalms 14:1, 36:1-4, and Romans 1:20-22. How should believers approach atheists and agnostics in light of these passages of Scripture? (2c) What are today’s most prominent idols? How can we recognize and address idolatry in our lives and culture?
Paragraph 3:
Rejecting God’s love has devastating eternal consequences. God is ‘not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9). However, there is a point at which God will give someone up to what they insist that they want (Romans 1:24-32). It is the goodness of God that restrains sin and its consequences. Those who consistently choose to reject God reach a point where God’s wrath is expressed as abandonment –”God gave them up” (Romans 1:24,26,28). From that point, there is a downward spiral of degradation that ends in eternal separation from God in hell. Anyone who ends up in hell made that choice by themselves because God has revealed Himself clearly to man so that no one has any excuse not to know and accept Him as Lord and Savior.
Q3.(3a) Read Hebrews 1:1-4. Discuss the difference between this passage and “general revelation” in Romans 1:19-20. Also see John 1:1 (3b) Read John 3:36 and Revelation 20:15. How does understanding the consequences of rejecting God influence how you share the gospel? (3c) Knowing the love of God and the consequences of rejecting His love, what steps would you take this week to help someone you know who does not believe in God?
Prayer: Our dear heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unending love for us. As a church, we choose You above all else. We pray that we would have the courage to continually reach out to those who have rejected Your love for them, so that they may turn to You in repentance. Amen.