Romans 1:18-23
What Do You Do With Truth?

Introduction
1. In the Gospel verses 16, 17 the righteousness of God is revealed, but so is the wrath of God is revealed (1:18-23)
2. In John 18 Pilate said, “What is truth?” “Everyone that is of the truth hears My voice.”
3. The same question is being asked today. 2/3 of those in evangelical churches do not believe in absolute truth.
4. In our educational institutions we are taught there are no absolutes. Right, wrong…good or bad…there is no sin. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.
5. Truth is always presented as ‘relative’. Truth is how we perceive it. Most are basing their whole lives, marriage, worth and value on what they ‘feel’ to be true.
6. Truth…absolute truth is the only sure foundation. God can be the only source of Absolute Truth, because God is truth!
7. In Romans 1, 2 Truth is essential (18, 25; 2:2, 8, 20). God has spoken…What have you done with what God has said?
8. Romans 1:18-23 “For” Paul begins to relate one who has never discovered this great God or life that is found in Jesus Christ.

God has spoken. What have you done with what God has said?
I. TRUTH REVILED 1:18
A. Action from God 18a
The wrath of God is revealed.
1.The coin has two sides. The righteousness is revealed v. 17
2.Notice this is not primarily future judgment, although to those who reject God’s truth judgment is coming.
3.Wrath is ever present. It’s inescapable, because God’s Truth is not being heeded. Truth is the invisible resistance of God to the evil of men. We must all live with tragedy and darkness…rape, murder, incest, child abuse, drunkenness, drugs, heartache, heartbreak, misery God is against sin! There is a price to pay when Truth is rejected!
B. Attitude toward God 18b
Why God’s wrath? God’s resistance is seen in light and relation to what man does with
Truth: God’s Truth has not been heeded.
1.Ungodly This is not atheism. It is acting as though God does not exist. It is
disregarding God, never taking Him into account, not expecting Him to be active. These live for themselves.
2.Unrighteous This is moral conduct that flows from living with no thought of God.
Why do we hurt each other? We disregard God.
3.Unbelief Hold the truth (suppress) the truth in unrighteousness. The Truth of God
is breaking all around…men suppress it! They don’t let it become prominent in their thinking. Why take God out of history books? Why take Christmas carols out of public school? Look at America: Truth is being suppressed! Life becomes tragic when the world is deprived of Truth. Truth is necessary for life, freedom and godliness.

God has spoken. What have you done with what God has said?
II. TRUTH REVEALED 1:19-20
These verses tell the Truth (one form) that is suppressed. Men labor to suppress the
greatness of God, that He is eternal, Creator, powerful, majestic, how great God
really is!
Yet, man is ashamed to mention Him in public or act as though He has anything to do with
their lives. How has God made Truth about Himself available? God has revealed it! The
voice of God is not silenced even though no Bible may be present!
A. The Voice of God Within 19
Conscience (2:15) That which may be known of God is manifest in them.
1.There seems to be a worldwide God consciousness… ‘that’s not right’… ‘that’s wrong’
2.Several years ago, after a study of scores of tribes the anthropologist wrote: “They know there is a God. There is no atheist among heathen tribes. There has never been discovered upon earth a tribe of people…however small or depraved which has not believed in some kind of God or had some system or worship. The so-called primitive tribes know they have sinned. The heathen seems to know they must be punished.
3.Atheism is taught. People get so smart they don’t need God.
4. There is a God-shaped emptiness in the heart of every person, and that person will fill that vacuum with something. Only Jesus Christ can fill that emptiness!!
B. The Voice of God Without 20
Creation
1.God’s Truth isn’t vague or difficult to comprehend…It’s clearly seen. How? Being understood by things that are made…from the creation of the world.
2.Look around…Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.
*Stars… It Just Happened!
*Evolution…Leave God out…Suppress the Truth!
*Explain: 100s of billions of galaxies…light traveling at 186,282 miles per second our nearest star is 4.5 light years away. Our Milky Way galaxy is 103,000 light years across.
*Design: our earth has a 23 ½ tilt. If not water vapor from our oceans would go to the North and South poles…condense and pile into a mountain of ice.
If the moon were 50,000 miles away tides would sweep over our highest mountain.
If the oceans were a few feet deeper all carbon-dioxide would be absorbed and vegetable life would cease to exist.
*We must believe there is a God. Either all of this came from an Intelligent Designer or all came from nothing. Everything shouts ‘There is a God.’ You must work hard to convince yourself that He is not there. It seems only the highly educated are able to do that!
3. Creation reveal two things about God:
*His eternal power…Eternal is not a long time it is the absence of time. It would take Something
eternal to begin time, space and matter. Something cannot come from nothing! God has
always existed.
*Godhead…Divine Nature There is a power greater and wiser than man. Man needs more and if
man hungers and thirsts after God…God will give him more. Without the Son no man can see the
Father…There is no other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved.
Jesus is the only way!

God has spoken. What have you done with what God has said?
III. TRUTH REJECTED 1:21-23
How do we suppress the truth about God? 3 steps are traced and all have a distinct
effect:
A. They Would Not Yield to What They Knew 21
When they knew God…
1.They glorified Him not as God. They wouldn’t give Him His due or place. They
were the center of their world!
2.Neither were thankful. “It’s Mine!” “Look what I did!” These would not recognize God.
3.Effect: vain in their imagination…their foolish hearts were darkened. Vain is empty, futile…all their clever plans, procedures, programs fall apart!
*Foolish hearts…Men claim to be wise. They imitate God. They read intellectual magazines…men are so wise…so clever…every problem they solve causes a greater one. Man doesn’t live in a spiritual vacuum. If I reject the true, I will receive the false! To reject God’s way is to receive my way!
B. They Were So SELF-CENTERED...caught up in their accomplishments. 22
1. Wise…was used of Greeks to describe a cultured learned man…skilled in letters and
books of science, philosophy, theology so smart they do not need God! They
claim to know everything and can handle anything.
2.Effect: Fools Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Fools from
which we get our word, moron. There is no God. Man is the highest form of animal. You save the whales, seals and yet kill babies. You can take 65 million babies out of a society by abortion and not hurt society. Moral values and purity are merely Victorian, puritanical hang ups from former generations. LGBTQ+ is just an alternative life style. Gender identification is normal and should be encouraged. Professing themselves to be cultured, learned, intelligent…they became fools (morons).
C. They Made gods Of Their Own Design 23
1. They changed the Truth…the glory of an incorruptible God
2. Effect: When I reject the true and living God I must bow to my own concept of
God. Note the exchange from an incorruptible God…we bow before creatures of
our own design.
3.Result: The wrath of God is revealed…All depression, despair, darkness, pain, misery, heartache, loneliness…No Purpose…all come from God’s wrath. All is a product of ignoring God, trying to replace God, forfeiting God in our lives.
It would seem like everyone would flock to God’s good news! Yet, we cling to our hurts and refuse the healing found in Jesus Christ!

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes;
to the Jews first, and also to the Greek.