We can see the light shining more gloriously into the dark world as we consider the utter darkness it shines into. Not only did sin cause a brokenness in the relationship between mankind and his maker, not only did sin bring us under curse and bring us to death, but the scope of sin reached every person and it is the wrath of God that is revealed from heaven against mankind. And this is a white hot wrath.
All are included.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
This is the universal human condition. Our nature is described in
Rom 3:10-18 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; (11) no one understands; no one seeks for God. (12) All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (13) “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” (14) “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” (15) “Their feet are swift to shed blood; (16) in their paths are ruin and misery, (17) and the way of peace they have not known.” (18) “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Rom 1:28-32 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (29) They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, (30) slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, (31) foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (32) Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
God is not indifferent to the universal sinful condition of man. He is Holy and just and righteous. Justice calls for punishment. Mankind had denied God and attempted to claim authority over his own life. God has made himself evident but mankind wanted instead to worship himself and the things he can make. So God justly responds.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Man has sinned against and defied our eternally Holy maker. Our sin is eternal in scope. So the death that is its wage is also of eternal scope. God’s wrath is not satiated in bringing our 90 years or so to the dust. Justice requires more. It requires payment of eternal magnitude. This wrath is poured out forever in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, hell, where the fire is never quenched.
The depth of darkness is finally understood. Sin has broken our relationship with God, it has brought the whole world under the curse of death and decay, it has reached every single person and calls for eternal justice. What’s more, is that we have no way to remedy our plight. We are so lost, we are beyond hope of rescuing ourselves. We are in such darkness that if we had any light at all to recognize our condition we would despair without hope. But we don’t have even that light so we live in the darkness unaware of the danger we are in and disbelieving if someone were to tell us. Our condition is utterly lost. Utterly dark.
But Here is Hope!
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (17) 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. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (19) And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (20) For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (21) But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
