Romans | Week 2 | Daniel Goulding | Echoes Church

The big idea

Once you understand what Jesus actually did for you on the cross, you can no longer live in excuses — only in progress.

There is a life beyond your wildest dreams available through Jesus, but you'll only step into it when you stop making excuses and start making effort. God's wrath against sin is real and serious, but the sacrifice of Jesus is fully sufficient to free anyone who trusts Him, no matter what weight they're carrying.

Point 1 of 3

Pastor Daniel walks through Romans 1:18 and explains that God's anger against sin is real, but it isn't the irrational, cruel human anger we picture — it's a righteous, calculated opposition to evil, like a doctor hating a disease or a loving parent violently redirecting a child running into traffic. He shows from Romans 1:21-32 that God's wrath is displayed practically when He 'abandons' people to their own desires, tracing a four-step progression: a deceived heart, a depraved mind, unnatural desires, and finally the approval of sin.

Point 2 of 3

Using Romans 1:19-20, Pastor Daniel argues that creation itself removes every excuse for not knowing God, even for those who've never heard the gospel preached. He uses the James Webb telescope's first image, the scale of the Milky Way's 200 billion stars, and the speeds at which the earth and solar system move to show the universe's staggering design, then quotes Psalm 19 that the heavens declare God's glory without a word.

Point 3 of 3

From Romans 2:1-6 and Romans 3:23, Pastor Daniel shows that everyone stands condemned together, so no one can point fingers, and that God will judge according to what people actually did. Using a visual illustration of a volunteer loaded down with kettlebells and a weighted vest, he pictures sin as an accumulating weight that only grows heavier the longer it's carried, then explains that Jesus took on that full weight and the wrath of God on the cross so people could walk out free.

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel's charge is to stop circling the drain in excuses and instead take God's wrath, His creation, and His sacrifice seriously.