1. Paul discusses how people suppress the truth about God that is revealed through nature, instead worshipping idols and partaking in unrighteousness. 2. God expresses his wrath by allowing people to partake in their sinful desires as punishment, such as sexual immorality and same-sex relations. 3. The document discusses differing views on whether unreached heathens are lost, but concludes that all people need the gospel message to be saved.

1. JUSTIFICATION [1]:
WAY OF THE GENTILES
ROMANS
Chapter 1: 18-32
[16.01.10]

2. 1. FLASHBACK: CH.1:1-17:
Paul’s Gospel of Salvation:
1. The source of the gospel is God [1]
2. Promised in the OT scriptures [2]
3. Good news about God’s Son, Jesus [3]
4. It is God’s power for salvation [16]
5. It is for all men, Jews or Gentiles [16]
6. Salvation is by faith alone [17].
God continues to save the faithful.

3. 2.WAY OF THE GENTILES: CH1:18-32
Paul turns to the universal need for the
gospel. Why do men need the gospel?
-Lost without godliness and righteousness.
Way of the Gentiles was unrighteous lives.
[18] They face the wrath of God because of
their wickedness in suppressing the truth
and living unrighteous lives

4. “Wrath” is a rather unpopular topic, Man
wants to think God possesses only love.
Yes, God is love [Jn14:6], loves the sinner.
But He hates sin and focuses His wrath
upon the sin, not the sinner.
Many are bothered by a God who reacts in
wrath and judgment.
I would be by One who does not. Why?
His Scriptures tell of the day of His coming
judgment on the ungodly [2Pe3:7]

5. God had occasionally broken through human
history to show His extreme displeasure:
The flood [Gen7], Sodom and Gomorrah[Gen19]
Why does God want to manifest this “foretaste”
of His wrath before the real day of judgment?
1. BECAUSE MAN SUPPRESSED GOD’S
REVEALED TRUTH BY HIS WICKEDNESS [18]
• [19,20] Man rejected what is true; justifying
what is ungodly and unrighteous [making
idols]; spurning the gospel God has revealed

6. • But that’s for those who heard the
gospel, what about the heathens who have
never heard the gospel, are they lost? 2
viewpoints
i. No, because they do not have that knowledge
about the gospel of salvation.
ii. Yes, they are lost, they are without excuse
[20] God has revealed Himself through His
creation [His divinity, eternal
power, design, order in the universe [Ps19:1,2]
but they have not responded to this
revelation.

7. They are not condemned for rejecting a Saviour
they have never heard of BUT for being
unfaithful to what they could know about God
When man fails to listen to the beauty of the
universe that declares “God exists”, God is
angry. IS GOD NOW HERE or NOWHERE?
2. BECAUSE MAN IS UNGRATEFUL & FOOLISH
[21a]He is not thankful & does not know God.
Even when they know God, they fail to glorify
Him; become vain in their thoughts and
foolish in their hearts [21b-23]. They become
idolatrous [worship of objects, images]

8. Modern man has his own idols: worship of self;
speculative philosophies; other gods.
When man ceases to be thankful and esteems
created things over Him, God is angry.
[24]As a result, 3 times God gave men up
Firstly to uncleanness and dishonour to their
bodies [fornication, adultery, prostitution]
[25]God abandoned them because they have
abandoned the truth about Him for the lie of
idolatry, insulting and dishonouring God.

9. [26] For this same reason, God gave men up to
erotic activity with members of the same sex.
Women became lesbians, practising unnatural
sex and vile passions, knowing no shame.
Men became sodomites, burning with lust for
other men resulting in disease, personality
deformities, guilt [27].
-Some in the world take it as legitimate lifestyle.
-But Bible says: punishable by death [Le20:13]
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this.

10. It is true some people have a natural
tendency towards homosexuality.
The sin is not in having an inclination
toward it, but in yielding and practising it.
The Holy Spirit gives power to overcome
this and have lasting victory [1Co10:13]
The gospel offers forgiveness to them as it
does to all sinners who repent and believe
in Christ, confessing and forsaking the sin.

11. [28-31] Because of men’s refusal to retain
God in their knowledge as Creator,
Sustainer, Deliverer, God gave them over
to a debased mind to commit a catalog of
other forms of wickedness [29-31].
[32] Those who practise such sins have an
innate knowledge not only of their
wrongs but that they themselves are
deserving of death.

12. They know death is God’s verdict, however
much they rationalize these sins away.
But it is sad this does not stop them from
indulging in these forms of ungodliness.
Worse, they unite with others to promote
them and feel a sense of camaraderie
with their partners-in-sin.

13. 3. ARE UNREACHED HEATHENS LOST?
Many people do not live matching the light
God gave them in creation [19-20]. They
become idolaters, leading lives of vileness
as heathens not acknowledging God.
But supposing a heathen does live up to
the light God gave him, burns his idols
and seeks the true God, what then?
Two schools of thought:

14. • Some believe that if a pagan lives up to
the light of God in creation, God will send
him the gospel light. Example: Cornelius.
[Ac10]Cornelius, a Roman, sought God who
sent a vision to both Peter and Cornelius
who sent men to find Peter, who also
obeyed his vision which he interpreted to
mean to include Gentiles into Christianity.
They met and…..
Cornelius: the first Gentile to be saved

15. • Others believe: If a man trusts the one
true and living God as He is revealed in
creation, but dies before he hears the
gospel, God will save him on the basis
of the work of Christ although he
knows nothing about this work.
• God reckons the value of that work to
his account when he trusts God on the
basis of the light he has received.

16. Those who hold this view say that this is
how God saved people before Calvary
and how He still saves morons, imbeciles
and also children who die before they
reach the age of accountability.
But this view lacks scriptural support
The pagans are lost, they need the gospel.

17. 4. SUMMARY:[1:18-32]
1. People know Nature reveals God as
awesome Creator of our universe and
deserves our worship but man choose to
suppress the truth about His eternal
power , divine nature…[19,20]
2. They refuse to recognize their Creator,
worship Him or glorify Him as God [21].
Instead they resorted to worship
manmade objects [idolatry] which
angers God

18. 3. While He is a God of love, in His wrath,
He gave them over [24,26,28] to their
sins many of which are listed in [29-31].
4. While society tends to rationalize certain
sins [esp.sexual perversions], remember
GOD JUDGES ALL