Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 4 Study # 2
July 13, 2004
Lincolnton, N.C.
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<063> Thesis:   God's imposition of wrath is the consequence of man's determined distortion of the Truth. Introduction:   Last week we noted that the text of Romans 1:18-32 is a detailed presentation of the need man has for salvation. It consists in the fact that, without salvation, man is subject to the on-going imposition of the Justice of God, which is called His "wrath". The reason for considering it "wrath" rather than "justice" is that the connotation of wrath is suggestive of disaster, whereas the connotation of justice is not necessarily so. God's reaction to man in his lost condition as a "child of wrath" and a "son of disobedience" is an implacable commitment to retribution. Man's only hope is for "salvation". Without that, his life in this world and the next is one of the active opposition of God in kind. Wrath is retributive...it is "pay-back". It is giving in return what has been earned by active behavior. This evening we are going to pick up on the reason for God's retribution upon man as it is outlined in Paul's statement of Romans 1:18.