"This universe in which you and I live tells two things about God: His person and His power. This has been clearly seen from the time the world was created. How can invisible things be seen? Paul makes this a paradox purposely to impress upon his readers that the 'dim light of nature' is a man made falsehood. Creation is a clear light of revelation. It is the primary revelation." --J. Vernon McGee

Look at the juxtaposition in these verses by Paul: "For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.' For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:17-18). Righteousness and wrath are both attributes of the personality of God. He expects faith out of us, and He has gone to great measures to promote our faith which will lead to righteousness. In Matthew 5:6 we are told that "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness," that it is as a tangible element to be craved and sought after. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33). The Jews of Jesus' time tended to use Abraham as an example of justification by works, but Paul contradicted that Abraham was an example of righteousness by faith--read Romans 4 (The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 1986. 1710 notes). "Consider Abraham: He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Gal. 3:6). Abraham believed God, and so put himself far from the wrathful facet of God's personality, even though Abraham was not a perfect man.

The wrath of God is reserved for those who do not accept Him, even after all He has done to bring us to Himself. "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about God is plain to them. 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 men are without excuse" (Romans 1:18-20). God has revealed Himself to us in so many ways--He sent us His word by the prophets, by the Holy Spirit, personified in Jesus Christ, and in all of His creation in which we dwell. "The heavens are telling the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day by day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the earth" (Psalm 19:1-4). Notice the figurative language. All that God has created "speaks" truth to mankind, in every nation and every language, all the inhabitants of the planet are affected by a sunset, a full moon, a storm, a starry night. Man can not create that! "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim in the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth" (Psalm 8:3-9). Forget evolution! Forget the 'big bang'! It takes more faith to believe that all this randomly came to pass than it does to believe in God! Jesus Christ pointed to God's creation as He tried to teach us not to worry, but to have faith in God's power and provision: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important that clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Matt. 6:25-29).

As we acknowledge the works and wonders of our Heavenly Father, we receive by faith all that He is and all that He's done. Our faith, in turn, becomes the foundation for that righteousness in us that is pleasing to Him. "The righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17, Gal. 3:11). "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while 'He who is coming will come and will not delay. but my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved" (Hebrews 10:35-39).

Phil. 1:9-11: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." Amen