Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey, podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.

To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day. This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

Think about this. If the unbeliever who has never received the Bible, never heard about Jesus Christ, stands guilty and deserving of the wrath of God, how much more do you and I, who have received the full revelation of God in this book?

How much more do you and I deserve the wrath, the anger of God?

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress.

Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But while God graciously offers his free gift of salvation to everyone, those who reject it will still have to pay a price.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains why everyone needs God's saving grace.

Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Speaker 2

Dr. Jeffress, you're exactly right, David. Our assignment at Pathway to Victory is to present the whole counsel of God, not just the parts we like or the ones that make us feel good. And in our current study of Paul's Letter to the Romans, we've come to a couple of verses that, well, in today's world are considered politically incorrect. You see, we can't fully grasp the beauty of the Gospel until we understand the darkness of our own spiritual condition. Most people like hearing about the love of God, but they wince when we talk about the wrath of God.

In that spirit, I'd like to thank those of you who support Pathway to Victory. Your faithful investment in Pathway to Victory demonstrates that you value our bold approach to teaching the truth without apology. By linking arms with us, you're saying that you agree with our mission to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word.

And right now, we're calling on every listener to join us in this worthy cause to say thanks for your generous gift to Pathway to Victory. I'm going to send you a resource that dovetails naturally with our study in Romans. It's an illustrated guide to the Apostle Paul with pictures, illustrations, and diagrams. This book will open your eyes to the world in which Paul traveled to share the good news of Christ. Plus, as a bonus, I'll include the journeys of Paul map and brochure as well.

We'll highlight these two resources again in the close of today's program. But right now, let's pick up the message I began last time where in Romans chapter one, I titled today's message "No Excuse."

Speaker 3

You see, before you understand the good news of how God offers to put you in a right standing with himself, you have to understand first of all that you're in a wrong standing with him, and so am I. And that's where Paul starts the presentation of the Gospel. He doesn't begin with man's need. He begins with God's view of man. And he starts with talking about a politically incorrect subject in today's world. He starts with not the love of God. He starts with the wrath of God.

Notice how he does that. Beginning in chapter one, verse 18, first of all, he talks about the reality of God's wrath. Look at verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Because that which is known about God is evident within them. For God made it evident to them. You know what people's greatest need is? It is not something to fill up their life. A person's greatest need is for a right relationship with God. The problem is not that we need God, but that God is angry with us. And that's where Paul starts his gospel presentation, talking about the wrath, the anger of God.

How do we see the expressions of God's wrath right now? Let me suggest two ways. First of all, we see God's wrath expressed through God's natural order. That is, God has put certain rules and laws into effect that if we violate those rules, we're going to suffer the consequences. I mean, there is a law of gravity that says if you jump off the roof of this worship center, you're going to fall and go splat. And in the same way, God has set certain rules into effect that if you violate his principles, you're going to suffer right now; you don't have to wait until eternity to suffer.

Now, one example we're going to look at in depth in a few weeks is found in Romans 1:26, 27, where Paul is going to argue that homosexual behavior is the result of rejecting the knowledge of God. Turn to look down at verses 26 and 27. Paul says, for this reason. For what reason? Well, he's talked about how the ungodly have rejected the knowledge of God. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchanged the natural function for that which is what? Unnatural. And in the same way also the men abandoned their natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another. Men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And notice in verse 26 what God says about homosexual behavior. It is not a legitimate sexual expression. He says it is unnatural. And he says as a result of this, they have received, verse 27, in their own persons, the penalty of their error. By the way, that principle applies not only to homosexuals but to heterosexuals as well. Do you know the way that is 100% guaranteed not to contract an STD, a sexually transmitted disease? There is a 100% foolproof way to make sure you don't contract an STD. Don't have sex before you get married. And don't marry somebody who has had sex before they got married. And keep your marriage vows. If you do that, you will be 100% free of STDs. That's the way God designed things.

Heterosexuals who engage in adultery are just as disobedient as homosexuals who engage in immorality. There are consequences for heterosexuals who violate the one man with one woman for life principle. They may suffer physical consequences. There are emotional consequences of an affair and divorce. There are effects on your children. There are financial costs. What I'm saying to you is God has set certain laws in this universe into effect that when you violate those laws, you immediately experience his wrath or his anger.

But there's a second way God's wrath is demonstrated right now, and that is through his direct intervention. Yes, there is a future time coming when God pours out his wrath. But sometimes God directly intervenes in this world and in people's lives today. Think about in the Old Testament, the destruction of the world with a flood in Noah's time, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the destruction of Babylon in the times of Daniel. The Bible says sometimes God intervenes and he pours out his wrath on individuals or nations.

By the way, don't make the mistake of thinking just because God's wrath hasn't come yet in your life that somehow he's overlooking your sin. Just because something isn't imminent doesn't mean it's not inevitable. God will judge. He'll do so in his way and in his time. Donald Barnhouse tells a great story about an atheist farmer who had a farm right next to the little community church. One Sunday morning in October, he decided he would irritate the churchgoers. So he got on his tractor and he started plowing his field right next to the church, hoping the noise would interrupt the service.

And he had a particular reason for doing it on that particular day. The next day he wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. And he said, yesterday I disrupted the service of the local church because I have no respect for God. I have no respect for God's people and I have no respect for the church. And God didn't do a thing about it. And not only that, my farm is the highest producing farm in the entire county. I'd like some Christian to explain that to me. The next day the editor published the atheist's letter. And at the bottom, the editor wrote this note: God does not settle all of his accounts in the month of October.

Listen, just because God's judgment is not always swift, it is always certain. The Bible says the wrath of God is being expressed right now. Well, who are the recipients who are deserving of God's wrath? Notice what he says in chapter 1, verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The Bible says everyone deserves God's wrath, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone stands guilty before God.

And these first two and a half chapters of Romans are like a courtroom in which Paul is the prosecuting attorney and you and I are the jury. And Paul is making his case that all mankind is guilty before God and deserving of his wrath. But Paul begins with a group of people that we normally would think would be exempted from God's punishment and his wrath. Who are those people? Paul starts with people who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. He starts with them, showing that even though they have no Bible and have heard of no Christ, they are guilty and deserving of God's wrath.

Haven't you heard people say to you before? Well, now, what about the heathen in Africa who have never heard the gospel? Surely God's not going to dispatch them to an eternity of hell. Well, that would be terribly unfair. Haven't you heard that question before? And yet Paul says no, they too are guilty of the wrath of God. Why is that? Look at verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

You see, the problem with these people who have never heard the gospel is not that they have not received knowledge of God. They have received the knowledge of God. They have rejected that knowledge of God. Again, the problem with the unbeliever is not that he lacks evidence to know of God's existence. He lacks the desire to know of God's existence. And in the weeks ahead, we'll see how Paul makes that argument. But I want to give you just a preview of coming attractions here by showing you exactly the three reasons that those who have never heard the gospel are still deserving of God's wrath, His anger.

First of all, will you notice? Paul says that the unrighteous who have never heard the gospel have still received the knowledge of God. They have received the knowledge of God. Look at verse 20 of chapter one. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen being understood through that which was made so that they are without excuse. You don't ever have to have a Bible. You don't ever have to hear the gospel. You don't ever have to be visited by a missionary. You don't ever have to tune in to Pathway to Victory to know that God exists. Every person knows that. How do they know it? They just have to look around them at creation. God has given every person a knowledge of himself.

You're going to hear me quote this over and over again over the next few weeks from Dr. Ryrie. Dr. Ryrie says that knowledge of God from creation is not sufficient to save a person, but it is sufficient, if rejected, to condemn a person. And that's what Paul is saying here. Every unbeliever has received the knowledge of God. Writer Henry Van Loon says, I went to visit the Grand Canyon as an atheist. I returned as a believer. Creation is shouting the fact that there is a Creator. But what has the unrighteous person done with that knowledge of God that he has been given?

Secondly, Paul says the unrighteous have rejected the knowledge of God. Look at verse 21. For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks because they became futile in their speculations. And because of that, their foolish heart was darkened. What did they do with that knowledge of God? Verse 18 says they suppressed it; they stifled it. They rejected the knowledge that they had. And instead, verse 23 says they replaced their knowledge of God. That's the third reason they are deserving of God's judgment: they received the knowledge of the true God, they rejected that knowledge, and thirdly, they replaced their knowledge of God.

Look at verse 23. And they have exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed animals and of crawling creatures. Now we go back to verse 18 for a moment. While the immediate focus of this passage about the wrath of God is unbelievers who have never heard about God, the truth applies to you and to me as well. Paul said, for the wrath, the anger, the settled opposition of God against all unrighteousness and all ungodliness is being revealed.

Hear me this morning. God is no respecter of persons. God is not only angry with the sins of those who have no revelation from him from the Bible, he's also angry with you and with me when we are opposed to his holiness. Think about this. If the unbeliever who has never received the Bible, never heard about Jesus Christ, stands guilty and deserving of the wrath of God, how much more do you and I, who have received the full revelation of God in this book, how much more do you and I deserve the wrath, the anger of God? That's a dilemma that we all face. As the psalmist said, who can stand in the day of God's wrath?

That leads us to the final point, the remedy for God's wrath. What is the remedy for God's wrath? How can I exempt myself from experiencing the wrath of God that I deserve? When we get to chapter three, verse 21, Paul is going to answer that question when he talks about the provision for God's righteousness. But let me give you a preview of what it's going to be. Did you know that even the Old Testament saints had a vague understanding of what that remedy was that would deflect the wrath of God? Certainly, Moses understood it.

Turn over to Exodus chapter 32 for just a moment. Exodus 32. This is just great. You remember the story of Exodus 32? Moses had gone up on Mount Sinai to receive the law of God. And while he was up there visiting with God, the people were down below engaging in idolatry and immorality. Look at Exodus 32, 9, 10. And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now let me alone that my anger may burn against them, that I might destroy them, and I will make you a great nation. God said to Moses, up there on the mountain, look at what the people are doing? Why don't you let me, Moses, just destroy them, and I'll start over with a new people and make a new nation, and you can be the leader of that nation.

How did Moses respond to that? He said, God, don't do that. Don't destroy this people. You have made an unconditional covenant with them. And if you break your promise to these people, you will be blasphemed among the heathen as a God who cannot fulfill his purpose. And yet the people deserved a judgment from God. So what did Moses do? He went down from the mountain. The Bible says that he rounded up all the leaders of the rebellion against God and he executed them. But Moses realized it wasn't just the leaders who were guilty. The people were guilty, too. They deserved to experience the wrath, the anger of God.

So what was the solution to that dilemma? What would deflect God's anger from the people, as Pastor James Boice imagines? It was then that Moses remembered. He remembered that night not so long ago in Egypt when God had said, I'm going to kill the firstborn of every household. But if you want to be spared that judgment, take the blood of an innocent lamb, place it on the doorpost of the home, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you in judgment. And Moses and the Israelites would never forget that night when the death angel swept through Egypt and passed over those who had the blood of the lamb, the innocent lamb, on their doorpost.

And so Moses had an idea. Moses knew what was needed to satisfy the wrath of God. It was an atonement, a covering, somebody to experience that wrath so that the people could be free. So notice the suggestion that Moses made in verse 30. He goes back up to the mountain to talk to God. It came about, verse 30, on the next day, that Moses said to the people, you yourselves have committed a great sin. And now I'm going to go up to the Lord, and perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. Moses said, I will be the sin substitute for you. Just as that lamb was the atonement for the sins of people, and God passed over them in judgment, I will make an atonement for your sins.

Look at verse 31. So Moses returned to the Lord, and he said, alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a God of gold for themselves. But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, please blot me out from thy book which thou hast written. Do you hear what Moses is saying? God, I'll be the atonement; I'll be the sacrificial lamb for the people. Kill me. Blot out my name out of the Book of Life if you want. Now, that Book of Life, by the way, is not the same Book of Life in Revelation 13:8, the book of all the saved. In the Old Testament, the Book of the Living is what it is; it was simply a census of all those who were alive. What Moses was saying is, God, instead of killing the Israelites, you kill me instead. I will be the sin substitute for them.

That was a very generous offer by Moses, but it was also a very misguided one. For you see, Moses was not qualified to make an atonement for the sins of the people. Moses had to die for his sins. He too was guilty before God. He had to die. But the fact is, one day there would come a perfect lamb, a lamb without blemish. The lamb of God himself, Jesus Christ, who would come and he would hang on a cross. He would spill out his blood in order to satisfy the wrath of God so that we might not experience the second death, eternal death, eternal damnation, and separation from God.

That's why the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 9:14, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit, offered himself without blemish to God? How much more will his blood cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Listen to me. The only remedy for the wrath of God is the blood of Jesus Christ. Only the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover our sins, to make an atonement, a covering for our sins. The only remedy for the wrath of God is the blood of Christ. Remember what God said through Isaiah the prophet. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord of hosts. Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, I will make them like wool. The remedy for the wrath of God is the blood of Christ.

Speaker 2

That's the promise of the Gospel. Even though we are lost in sin, God's wrath is satisfied through the blood of Jesus Christ. Isn't that great news?

And now it's time for you to take your next steps. Whether you've been a Christian for many years or you're trusting in Him for the first time, let me invite you to begin that wonderful journey of walking with Christ. It all begins with reading your Bible and asking God to help guide your steps with Him.

As a means for helping you grow deeper in your understanding of the Bible, I'm prepared to send you an outstanding resource. It's *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*. This fully illustrated book explores the social, cultural, political, and religious background of the first-century Roman world. It's not much different than the one we live in today. It'll open your eyes to the pressures that fell upon Paul and his courage to resist them.

Ask for *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*. I'll be sure to send it to your home right away with my thanks. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, it'll come with a multifolded *Journeys of Paul* map and brochure so that you can easily trace the footsteps of this spiritual giant.

Please take advantage of these resources today while there's still time. David will repeat this information in a moment and give our contact information as well.

Remember, you can watch Pathway to Victory on television on Saturdays. You can catch us at noon Eastern on TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and on Sundays we're on hundreds of stations, including TBN at 10:00 AM Eastern.

David, thanks Dr. Jeffress.

Speaker 1

Today, when you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, you're invited to request the book *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*. Plus, you'll also receive the *Journeys of Paul Map*. That's an exclusive full-color reference tool that conveniently tucks into the back of your Bible. To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or give online at ptv.org. When your gift is $75 or more, we'll also send you the *Grace Powered Living* audio and video discs containing messages from Romans chapters one through eight. To request the teacher, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. One more time, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins, wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again next week when the series *Grace Powered Living* continues. That's right here on Pathway to Victory. *Pathway to Victory* with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.

Embark on the spiritual journey of a lifetime on the Pathway to Victory *Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise* from May 5-16, 2025. Enjoy 11 days of fellowship, relaxation, and spiritual refreshment while sailing aboard a luxury cruise ship. You'll visit sought-after island destinations like Santorini, Mykonos, and Crete. Amidst all the natural beauty, you'll seek the one who created it. To book your spot on the 2025 *Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise*, go to ptv.org.

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