Background of the Passage After stating the thesis of his epistle—a righteous God is able to make sinners righteous through faith (1:16–17), Paul expounds on the wretchedness of the human heart, and the divine wrath that this rebelliousness elicits. For Paul, fear of eternal condemnation was the first motivation he offered for coming to Christ, the first pressure he applied to evil men. He was determined that they understand the reality of being under God’s wrath before he offered them the way of