Saved from the wrath of God

Read Romans 1.

"For the wrath of God is revealed..." (v.18)  There is no question that, according to the Scriptures, each human being is individually accountable to God for their life.  One day each person who has ever lived will stand before God and spend eternity in an awful place of torment or in a wonderful place with Jesus.

1. Who is subject to God's wrath?
The Apostle Paul labeled them as ungodly and unrighteous.  In other words, they have sinned against God and continue in disobedience Him without repentance.  It is crucial to understand that people are now condemned already.  "...whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (John 3:36b)  That is why the Bible uses the term "saved".  "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17)

2. What happened to cause some to refuse God's way to escape His wrath?
First, God has made and is making His truth to be known.  When confronted with the truth, the pride and hardness of the human heart causes the sinner to "suppress the truth" (v.18) that has been revealed to them.  They choose to hold on to their sinful behaviors, their rebellious thinking, and their alternative fantasies rather than deal with reality.

3. How has God revealed Himself so people may know Him?
The prime example here in Romans 1 is creation.  If a person considers "the things that have been made" (v.20) with an open mind and heart, they will understand the power of God and come to faith in Him.  The Apostle Paul wrote that the truth of this is "plain" (v.19), "God has shown it to them" (v.19), "have been clearly perceived" (v.20), "So they are without excuse." (v.20)   When a person sees the stars and studies the movements of planets and galaxies, they make a conscious decision.  Either they are awed by the majesty of God and worship Him, or they reject God and fantasize an alternative.  One with an open heart looks at creation and sees unfathomable designs of a loving Creator.  The rejector attempts to explain away God's message to them with accidental, made up theories.  They choose to worship the creation rather than the Creator to their own eternal peril.

4. What are examples of the thinking, speaking, and behaviors that warrant the eternal wrath of God?
In verses 24 through 31, no less than twenty-two identifiable sins are listed.  And, here is the point: everyone is guilty before God.

5. How can one escape the wrath of God and have eternal life?
Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that who whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)