Romans 1.18-32 – Steps to Depravity
Intro: We left
off in our study last time w/ Paul declaring his confidence in the gospel
!
A) Supreme / Power of God ! /
Sufficient - for salvation / simple - for everyone who believes
B) Then he declared in v. 17 For in
it - the gospel- the Righteousness of
God is revealed from faith to Faith / Just shall live by faith !
C) Thus we see that through
exercising faith in the gospel a person can be made righteous ! Awesome !
1) In Ch. 3 he puts it this way
that the righteousness of God apart form the law is revealed - through faith in
the finished work of Jesus Christ
D) So there we see God’s heart
& desire that man would come to righteousness through faith in Jesus
Now as we come
to v. 18 Paul presents a sort of contrast to what he says in v 17
A) In v. 17 he says the
righteousness of God is revealed to all who choose to live by faith in Jesus !
In the truth of the Gospel / Know truth
…set free …..free indeed
B) But in v. 18 Paul says that
the wrath of God is being revealed against thus who suppress the truth
B) That word suppress is an
interesting word it refers to a helmsman stirring a boat against the current !
1) The current wants to take
the boat in a particular direction but the helmsman is determined to go the
opposite way
C) So he holds the rudder in
such a way that he might go his own way
instead of the way of the current
1) So the person who is
suppressing the truth of the gospel is one who is resisting what God says /
& is choosing to go own way / do own thing
D) So beginning
here in v. 18 Paul begins to outline how man deserves to experience the wrath
of God being poured out on him
E) Because in his rejection of
the truth he has become ungodly / and his ungodliness leads to unrighteousness
/ focus of this section Read 18-32
Now in reading
this section of scripture in fact ch. 1-3 of the book of Romans you begin to
realize that Paul wasn’t an advocate of Norman Vincent Peal's philosophy
A) I’m ok your ok / In fact
after studying the 1st 3 chapters of Romans one of Peale's followers
/ commented that Peale was appealing / Paul - appalling
B) Here in this section Paul
describes for us the lifestyle of the Hedonist / the person who flat out
rejects God to do his own thing !
1) In his book In the grip of
grace author Max Lucado describes the Hedonist in this way
C) Strategy of Life - indulge myself / Goal - satisfy my
passions / Bumper sticker -life is
short play hard / complaint - I can’t
play enough /
1) Boundaries - feels good..do it / View of sin - no
one is guilty
D) Paul says the exact opposite
/ Paul says you are w/ out excuse & the wrath of God is being poured out
upon the ungodliness & unrighteousness of men
Now what does
that mean the wrath of God is being revealed ?
A) Understand there are primarily
2 Greek words used in the Bible in ref. To the wrath of God
B) The first word - thermos, a word which suggests heat, and
from which we get our English words
thermal, thermometer, and thermonuclear.
1) The Greek word thermos
implies a hot, vindictive blast of violent anger.
C) But Inspired by the Holy
Spirit, Paul chose instead to use the word Orge a word that suggests Gods
attitude toward sin & not his punishment
1) Because He is a holy and
righteous God / hates sin
D) One commentator / described
this word / orge as a kind of Holy aversion
In fact In
many ways, "the wrath of God" as it is expressed in Romans may be
viewed as the moral equivalent if the law of gravity
A) If we, in our God-given free ill, attempt to defy the law of gravity by
throwing ourselves off a tall building,
B) we can hardly blame God and ask as we descend, "God, why are you dragging me down to the
pavement? Why are you putting me through the terrible experience of this
fall?"
C) The operation of the law of
gravity is simply part of the natural, impersonal order of the universe.
1) You can ignore gravity,
disagree with gravity, even rebel against gravity—but if you do so, you
will have to pay a price.
D) The same is true of God's moral laws./ Cause & affect / reap what sow E) The cause-and-effect
Consequences of sin are not a matter of God deliberately trying to punish us.
1) In fact All the punishment
for our sin has been endured for us by Jesus on the cross,
F) But the person who rejects
the truth / rejects what Jesus did for him on the cross will experience the
wrath of God on his life
1) It is the consequence of the
Choice !
Many don't
understand God's anger because they confuse the wrath of God with the wrath of
man. The two have little in common.
A) Human anger is typically
self-driven and prone to explosions of temper and violent deeds.
B) We get ticked off because
we've been overlooked, neglected, or cheated. This is the anger of man It is
not, however, the anger of God.
C) God is a God of Love / but
it is a Holy Love / God doesn't get angry because he doesn't get his way.
1) He gets angry because
our disobedience always results in
self-destruction.
D) Do we think he giggles at adultery or snickers at
murder?
E) Do you think he looks the
other way when people indulge in
perverse pleasures? Does he shake his head and say, "Humans will be humans"!
1) No it breaks His heart /
& grieves His spirit !
F) God is rightfully angry. God
is angry at the evil that ruins peoples lives !
1) Think of it this way / God loves
you but He hates what you become when you turn from Him !
So the wrath
of God is being revealed - Present tense / constantly being revealed against
all ungodliness / unrighteousness of men
A) Ungodliness is sin against
God / unrighteousness is sin against man
B) Godlessness is acting like
God doesn’t exist / it is a disrespect of God which results in unrighteousness
/ the order is never reversed
C) It is the godless attitude
that produces the wicked actions that
result in injury & hurt toward others !
D) Godlessness makes men
unrighteous, wicked, selfish, and spiteful. Why do we hurt each other? Because
we disregard God.
1) This is Paul's analysis and
he says these hurtful and selfish acts suppress the truth.
Verses 19 and 20 tell the kind of truth that is
suppressed: 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has
shown it to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
A) They suppress the truth that
God exist / that He is the creator & that He is all powerful ! Talked about Sunday Creation = Creator /
design = designer
B) They suppress the truth of
His Power & Deity ! This is the sin of
ungodliness
V. 21-23 Paul details how men suppress the truth
about God !
21 because, although they knew God, they did
not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts,
and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became
fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made
like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
3 steps are
seen here
A) 1st they didn’t
glorify him as God / rightful place on the throne / nor were they thankful
B) Result : Their thinking
becomes futile / foolish hearts darkened
C) 2nd device men
use to suppress the truth is they claim to be wise
1) Result : Become fools
D) 3rd Device Change the glory of God into images like man birds and four-footed animals and creeping
things.
E) Notice the descending order man birds animals /creeping things
1) It is interesting to me that
we see this descending order in the car
world
F) First cars named after men / Ford , Dodge , Chrysler ,
Desoto, - then came bird names thunderbird , firebird, then animals .
1) Impala , cougar, Pinto ,
Mustang, Jaguar, Rabbit
G) Now we have the Cobra /
& the Viper ! Coincidence
H) So steps of godlessness / Suppress
truth - ignore reject / don’t glorify , not thankful / profess wise / Idolatry
The next thing
that Paul outlines is that When men lose sight of God / they lose themselves
godlessness turns to wickedness
A) Paul reveals how this
wickedness follows a 3 step process / the process is identified by a phrase
that is repeated 3 times / God gave them
over
B) Seen first in v. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among
themselves,
C) The first mark of wickedness
in a godless society is a widespread sexual immorality ! They Become Sexually Promiscuous !
The phrase God
gave them up really means that he gave them over to their own lust - he took
away the restraints
A) In other words God allows men & women to experience the full
affects of their attempts to satisfy their hunger cravings & desires apart
from Him
B) He allows them to indulge
themselves in their lust so that they realize they don’t have the answers
1) And he forces them to suffer
the full affects of what they do ! remember part of God’s wrath being revealed
is that people reap what sow!
C) Now as some people
experience the emptiness of this lifestyle they turn to the Lord / seen this in
the example of the free love moment of 60’s
1) Many turned to Christ ! -
when they realized this isn’t the answer
D) Should give us some hope
today as we witness our modern day youth culture reverting back in many ways to
the mindset of the 60’s
1) The stage is being set for
another great harvest !
So we see that
those who realize that they satisfaction they are looking for isn’t going to be
found in sex often turn to the Lord
A) But those who don’t turn to the Lord usually go deeper in their sin
B) That is what Paul outlines
here as well / the wickedness that begins w/ sexual impurity proceeds to sexual
perversion ! Sexually Perverted
1) Which brings us to the
second mark of godless & wicked society v 25-27
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie,
and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed
forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions .or shameful
Lust For
even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural
use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing
what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which
was due.
Sexual Perversion or Homosexuality is the 2nd sign of
a godless & wicked society
A) The reason why homosexuality
is considered shameful is it goes against the natural process God has designed
B.) Now homosexuals and lesbians
obviously don’t like to hear this but it is what God says!
1.) and this passage here in Romans
makes it clear as well that men and women are not born this way but choose this
lifestyle.
C.) Well, I had these tendencies and desires inside of me! - not going to deny it!
1.) understand - there are
tendencies and desires inside of all of us
D.) Some have a tendency to
steal! Others to murder. Others to lie. Reason = sin nature
1.) not about to legalize those
things / but this isn’t harmful! Really?
Did you know
that the AIDS virus was originally called GRIDS for the 1st year.
A.) Gay Related Immune Deficiency
Syndrome
B.) Lorraine Day - S.F. General
Hospital Surgeon - exposed a cover up.
What government isn’t telling you”
1.) called GRIDS / but after
receiving pressure from homosexual lobbyists changed to AIDS
C.) Because they didn’t like the
fact that this virus was linked to them
D.) Now is AIDS God’s punishment upon the homosexual community? No
1.) But it is the result of
their sin! Which is what Paul means when he says they receive in themselves the
penalty of their error!
Consider the findings
of Dr. A.E. Wildersmith who is perhaps one of
the most brilliant thinkers in chemistry and physiology alive today.
A.) Wildersmith has pointed out
that AIDS is not the result of some weird virus which is going to infect
everyone
B.) But AIDS is the direct
result of the immune system short circuiting due to the passage of too many
foreign fluids coming into the body
C.) God has designed the immune
system in such a way that it can easily handle foreign fluids in a monogamous
relationship
1.) but when a person receives
foreign sperm into their body there is literally a breakdown in the antibodies
that strengthen a person against Aids virus
D) So the more promiscuous a
person is / the more sexual partners a person has the more of a breakdown they
experience in the built in system God designed
E) Plus we hear all this talk
about safe sex today & the importance of using condoms / here is something
they don’t tell you
1) The Latex that condoms are
made of have little tiny microscopic holes in the latex / but those holes are
not small enough ! Aids virus is smaller
F) This is something that was
documented in JAMA /Journal American Medical Association !
I think it is
also interesting to note that the historian Gibbons in his work The Rise and
Fall of the Roman Empire
A.) Gibbons notes that in the
years before Rome fell 14 of the last 15 emperors were homosexual
B.) And many of the generals and
commanders were as well
So the
Characteristics that Paul outlines of a
society that has rejected God & is falling into wickedness & unrighteousness
are : 1st Sexually Promiscuous
leads to 2ndly
become sexually Perverted/ Which
leads to
3rd
- They become mentally perverted! Paul describes in V.28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God
in their knowledge, God gave them over to
a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;29 being filled with all unrighteousness,
sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving,
unforgiving, unmerciful;32 who, knowing
the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are
deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice
them.
A.) Paul describe the
consequences of this mental perversion and does so by piling up one word after
another/ in an attempt to show that man’s wickedness knows no bounds when unrestrained.
1.) the sins described v.28-32
fall into several categories
B.) Wrong thinking results in debased
human character
1.) men become unrighteous,
wicked, covetous, malicious, envious and deceitful, backbiters God haters, despiteful, proud, &
unmerciful
C.) It results also in
Debased Human Conduct
1.) Men become guilty of
fornication and murder. They defy parental authority and treat contractual
obligations with contempt.
2.) wrong thinking results
D.) Debased Human Concepts.
1.) men become inventors of evil
things and God says that they are without understanding.
This is a
terrible list of sins, and they are marks of a civilization nearing collapse.
A) They reflect a arrogant disregard for others a
desire to exploit other people
B.) The term debased mind literally
means an unacceptable mind
1.) a mind that cannot be lived
with, a mind that refuses to fit into any kind of civilization or culture or
society
C) In 2 Timothy 2 Paul says
that people living like this will be a sign that we are living in the last days
!
But know this,
that in last days the perilous times
will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good,4
traitors, headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
D) That is exactly what Paul
has been outlining for us here in this section of Romans !
But there is
one more thing that we need to see that Paul says here ! Maybe you are sitting
here listening / making a mental check list
A) Nope / not that one / ok
there /
B) Notice the last thing that
Paul reveals here in v. 32 who, knowing the
righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of
death, not only do the same but also
approve of those who practice them.
C) Wait you say I don’t approve
of that kind of lifestyle ! Word
approve could literally be translated takes pleasure in !
D) Suggest to you that we are
approving of these things / taking pleasure in these things every time we watch
a movie or T.V. program where portrayed
1) Taking pleasure in watching
people get blown up / or in seeing different characters engaging in sexual
immorality / adultery !
We are taking
Pleasure in those things & approving of those things every time we watch
that stuff !
A) Result is it is going to
affect your life ! it is going to affect the way you think !
B) Remember the wrath of God
that is constantly being poured out means that we will reap what we sow / Flesh
reap destruction !
C) Spirit - everlasting life !
D) Destroy your intimacy w/ the Lord ! Affect your
marriage / influence your kids