When God Gives Us Our Own Way
—Romans 1:18-28
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…. Therefore God gave them over…to impurity…to degrading passions…to a depraved mind.”
—Romans 1:18-28
As one who delights in the love of God, I may surprise you by quoting verses about God’s wrath. However, in order to understand fully and appreciate God’s love, we must be aware that it is not one-sided. Because God is love, His wrath is also necessary.
Sin is deadly in both its essence and scope. God will not stand by in indifference.
In his commentary on Romans, John Stott says, “When we hear of God’s wrath, we usually think of ‘thunderbolts from heaven, and earthly cataclysms and flaming majesty,’ instead of which His anger goes ‘quietly and invisibly’ to work in handing sinners over to themselves….God abandons stubborn sinners to their willful self-centeredness, and the resulting process of moral and spiritual degeneration is to be understood as a judicial act of God.
Romans clearly shows God giving the rebellious over to their desires. Stubbornly choosing our own way ensures that He will allow us to follow that path…to our own destruction. Yes, He will continue to call, but He will also let us walk away.
Do you want to avoid God’s wrath? Simply walk in the truth you know, respond to His overtures of grace, and you need never know the terror of your own way.
Sonja Vernon, RN, BSN is the Vice President for Student Affairs at GBSC. She has been part of Student Affairs since 2000 and is passionate about working with college students.
She also speaks at women’s ministries and youth events.
