Romans 1:18

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, etc..] The apostle having hinted at the doctrine of justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ; and which he designed more largely to insist upon in this epistle, and to prove that there can be no justification of a sinner in the sight of God by the deeds of the law, in order to set this matter in a clear light, from hence, to the end of the chapter, and in the following ones, represents the sad estate and condition of the Gentiles with the law of nature, and of the Jews with the law of Moses; by which it most clearly appears, that neither of them could be justified by their obedience to the respective laws under which they were, but…”

“WHY THIS DIVINELY PROVIDED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NEEDED BY ALL MEN. (Rom 1:18) For the wrath of God--His holy displeasure and righteous vengeance against sin. is revealed from heaven--in the consciences of men, and attested by innumerable outward evidences of a moral government. against all ungodliness--that is, their whole irreligiousness, or their living without any conscious reference to God, and proper feelings towards Him. and unrighteousness of men--that is, all their deviations from moral rectitude in heart, speech, and behavior. (So these terms must be distinguished when used together, though, when standing alone, either of them includes the other). THIS WRATH OF GOD, REVEALED AGAINST ALL…”

“For - This word denotes that the apostle is about to give a reason for what he had just said. This verse commences the argument of the Epistle. an argument designed to establish the proposition advanced in Romans 1:17. The proposition is, that God’s plan of justification is revealed in the gospel. To show this, it was necessary to show that all other plans had failed; and that there was need of some new plan or scheme to save people. To this he devotes this and the two following chapters. The design of this argument is, to show that people were sinners. And in order to make this out, it was necessary to show that they were under law. This was clear in regard to the Jews. They had the…”

“For - There is no other way of obtaining life and salvation. Having laid down his proposition, the apostle now enters upon the proof of it. His first argument is, The law condemns all men, as being under sin. None therefore is justified by the works of the law. This is treated of Rom 3:20. And hence he infers, Therefore justification is by faith. The wrath of God is revealed - Not only by frequent and signal interpositions of divine providence, but likewise in the sacred oracles, and by us, his messengers. From heaven - This speaks the majesty of Him whose wrath is revealed, his all - seeing eye, and the extent of his wrath: whatever is under heaven is under the effects of his wrath,…”

“1:18–3:20 Paul delays exploring the theme of righteousness through faith (see 3:21) until after he first teaches about universal sinfulness. Gentiles (1:18-32) and Jews (2:1–3:8) are equally under sin’s power and cannot find favor with God by any action of their own (3:9-20). 1:18 God’s anger is not a spontaneous emotional outburst, but the holy God’s necessary response to sin. The Old Testament often depicts God’s anger (Exod 32:10-12; Num 11:1; Jer 21:3-7) and predicts a decisive outpouring of God’s wrath on human sin at the end of history. While Paul usually depicts God’s anger as occurring in the end times (Rom 2:5, 8; 5:9; Col 3:6; 1 Thes 1:10), the present tense of shows refers to…”

“the wrath: Rom 4:15 ungodliness: Rom 5:6 unrighteousness: Rom 6:13 who hold: Rom 1:19, Rom 1:28, Rom 1:32, Rom 2:3, Rom 2:15-23; Luk 12:46, Luk 12:47; Joh 3:19-21; Act 24:24, Act 24:25; Th2 2:10; Ti1 4:1, Ti1 4:2 Romans 1:19”