Is God

1) Who wrote this epistle, to whom and why?
It is universally accepted that the Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the Romans on his third missionary journey as described in Acts 20:2-3. It was likely written somewhere between 53 to 58 A.D. This was during the reign of the infamous Nero who ruthlessly persecuted Christians and eventually had Paul put to death.  Paul was journeying to Jerusalem, but the Holy Spirit warned him of the awaiting peril on his life in Jerusalem. Possibly, he wondered if he would ever get to Rome and thought it necessary to write this letter. Different from other letters to the churches, which focused on church problems, this epistle seems to focus more on the attributes of God and His plan of redemption. Perhaps, in his realization that he may not ever be with them, Paul desired to write them about their need for salvation and that God had provided a Savior. It was a treasured letter and probably distributed to many of the early churches. [Guzik, Enduring Word]

2) What is the difference between God’s wrath and man’s anger?
Man’s wrath most often comes from being wronged or misunderstood. It is usually motivated by selfishness and focuses on punishing, hurting, or destroying people while perpetuating, or justifying, their own sin and selfishness. God’s Word says, “…the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God”. (James 1:19-20) Notice the connection between understanding and anger found in Proverbs 17:27, “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” The wrath of God is a righteous anger. It is “revealed from heaven” (verse 18). God is holy, righteous, and He cannot be in the presence of sin and evil. He is angered at the evil ways man has chosen to follow while He upholds all that is right and just. He is angered because He loves His people deeply, but sin has separated Him from mankind. (Isaiah 59:2) Under the law of the Old Testament, man could not live a righteous life because they would always fail to perfectly keep the whole law. The law reminded them daily of their sin. They felt the guilt and the wrath of God every time they broke the law. Every year they would return to the temple with sacrifices to atone for their sin as they asked God to forgive them. But it didn’t stick because the blood of animals can never atone for sin completely, only a perfect sacrifice could do that. (Hebrews 10:4) Sin and its guilt always returned. (Hebrews 10:2-4) But under grace in the New Testament, there is forgiveness once and for all because Christ, as the perfect sacrifice, gave Himself for us. (Hebrews 9:26) There is no condemnation for our sins when we are in Christ! (Romans 8:1-4) Christ, the High Priest, has opened the way for us to be completely forgiven, once and for all. (Hebrews 10:10-14) Because of this covenant of Grace, God’s love seems more prominent than His Righteous anger.

3) How can “invisible attributes be seen”? How does this make all of us “without excuse”? (verse 20)
Mankind would suppress all truth about God and ignore the consequences of sin because our very nature is a slave to sin. Rather than focus on all His wonderful attributes, man wants to focus on God’s wrath and point to a terrible God. The God of the Bible, however, is not some angry character sitting on a mountain waiting to throw darts at sinners. God’s creation displays His attributes. (Psalm 8) While they were given instructions on how to live, no one had to tell Adam and Eve they were guilty. God asked them, “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:11) When they came into the presence of the Most Holy God, they were keenly aware of their sin and its immediate affect to separate them in relationship to Him. What, then was God’s response? He lovingly made clothing for them and removed them from the Garden of Eden so they would not have to live in their sin forever. (Genesis 3:20-24) The psalmist, David, often used the attributes of God as a means of praise to Him (Psalm 103, Psalm 136) and as he repented from sin. (Psalm 51) God displays many of His attributes in His work of creation. As we observe His character by looking at creation we stand in awe of His glory and holiness while gaining an acute awareness of our own fallen sinfulness.