Answer
People have difficulty reconciling God’s goodness, mercy, and love with His wrath. They ask, “How can a loving God justify sending innocent or ignorant people, or anyone for that matter, to suffer in hell for all eternity?” In Romans 1:18–32, the apostle Paul builds a case to prove that God’s anger toward sin and “all sinful, wicked people” is justified because they have knowingly suppressed the truth of His existence (verse 18, NLT). No one can claim innocence or ignorance for failing to honor and worship God: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (verse 20).
Paul asserts that all people have the opportunity to “know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them” (Romans 1:19, NLT). God has revealed Himself with such breathtaking clarity through the visible world He created that people have no excuse for not knowing Him or believing in Him. They only have themselves to blame for rejecting the God of creation.
In Romans 1:21–25, Paul describes how some people get a glimpse of the truth but then do not allow it to work in their lives. They suppress it in order to live by their own “truth,” following their own human ideas, which seem better and less convicting. As a result, they descend into darkness, confusion, and rebellion against God.
The psalmist affirms that these people are without excuse:
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun” (Psalm 19:1–4, NLT).
One commentary underlines the idea that people suppress the truth or “hold the truth imprisoned” by their own unrighteousness (Barrett, C. K., The Epistle to the Romans, rev. ed., Black’s New Testament Commentary, Continuum, 1991, p. 32). People can’t see what is as plain as day, and, therefore, Paul stresses his burning urgency to preach the gospel (Romans 1:1–9, 16–17).
While godless people think they can keep the truth at bay, God has chosen what seems foolish to the world—the foolish preaching of the message of the cross—to become God’s power and wisdom to spread the truth and save those who believe in Him (1 Corinthians 1:18–31).
You and I are created in God’s image to be like Him (Genesis 1:26–27; 5:1–3; 9:6; James 3:9) because in God’s heart is a desire to be in fellowship with us (see Genesis 5:24, NLT; see also; John 15:14–s15; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Colossians 1:21–22; 1 John 1:3; 5:20). What could be more loving, good, and merciful than to create us ideally suited for a relationship with Himself? God wants us to know Him. He has set eternity in the human heart. He has given us a sense of longing or knowing that there is more to this life so that people are without excuse for not knowing Him (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16), His constant attitude toward us is one of love. Even His wrath against sin is an expression of His love. It’s important to understand that human wrath and God’s wrath are not the same. The human concept of wrath is contaminated or skewed by sin. God’s anger is not like ours. His wrath flows from a perfectly sinless, holy, righteous nature. God wants us to be saved and delivered from the wrath of sin. All who recognize Jesus Christ’s sacrifice—that He suffered God’s wrath on the cross in our place—will never experience the final outpouring of His wrath (see 1 Thessalonians 5:9).
Since people are without excuse, God cannot be considered unjust. An analogy would be the example of a parent who unfairly punishes his child for not doing something even though he never told his son to do it. But what if the child was given bold instructions written on the family chalkboard, text messages throughout the day, and even reminders from Alexa to “take out the garbage.” This son has no excuse. In the same way, people are without excuse when they suppress God’s revelation of Himself.
