Why we need the gospel, Part 2 (Romans 1:24-32)

Where: College Baptist Church

When: January 27, 2002

Why: To show that we need the gospel because we need God's righteousness since as unrighteous people we are the object of God's wrath; to show that the truth suppressed is the truth that God is omnipotent and eternal, worthy of glory and thanksgiving to God by man.

Text: Romans 1:24-32

Text

Romans 1:24-32. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Introduction

I was blessed to be close to my grandfather, especially during the final few years of his journey here on earth. My grandfather was a special man, with a sensitive heart to the Lord, and a love for God's creation. That love came out clearly in his favorite pastime- gemology. He was a rock hound. He loved nothing more that to slice through the secrets hidden in stone and find an intricately designed rainbow proclaiming the glory of God. Nearly every time we took out his treasures and reveled in their beauty, my Granddaddy Read would tear up and say, "I can't help but look at these and think about what the Bible says: 'The fool has said in his heart there is no God'" (Psalm 53:1 NASB).

Romans 1:20 asserts that the divine nature and omnipotence of God is clearly seen in creation. But rather than seeing it, we- mankind- have suppressed the truth about God's divine nature and power by our wickedness, our unrighteousness. Rather acknowledge the truth that God has placed in hearts, mankind became foolish, exchanging the image of immortal God for His created things. In so doing, we suppressed the truth about God and the glory of God. ²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened (1:21).

Indeed, "the fool has said in his heart there is no God."

Consequently, we learn that the wrath of God is being revealed against our unrighteousness. God gives us His righteousness as we place our faith in Him and He gives us life.

We may ask, how is the wrath of God being revealed? John Piper (August 30, 1998) insightfully gives three ways the wrath of God is being revealed, present tense.

Universal human death is revealing the wrath of God.

Romans 5:15-18. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

We see from verse 15 that death came through the sin of man, Adam. Verse 16 tells us that God's response to sin judgement and condemnation. In verse 17, it is established that death reigned through that one man. This truth also rings out clear in 6:23- ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Universal futility and misery are evidence of God's wrath.

Romans 8:18-21. ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

The sufferings of the present time can't be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Creation is subjected to frustration and misery by the will of the one who subjected it. Whose will was that? It is God's because it goes on to say in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Only God can do that.

The sinking degradation of human behavior reveals the wrath of God.

Paul says that God's wrath is being revealed through the universal death sentence under which all mankind suffers. We all die. The second thing that is being revealed by God's wrath is the universal-ness of futility. Suffering abounds. Even creation is subject to bondage. You can't plan on the future. You're preparing for retirement, but who knows when cancer will strike, or a heart attack, or a stroke? Who knows when an ice storm will send you skidding off the road, or a wind sheer will crush you from the sky? General suffering in creation reveals God's wrath against the sin of a fallen humanity.

The third way God's wrath is being revealed- the sinking degradation of human behavior- is what is on Paul's mind in chapter 1. We read in 1:24, 25, ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen.

Transition

In the following verses, we continue to see how God's wrath is being revealed against sin: (1) God gave them over to unnatural, shameful lusts and (2) God gave them over to a depraved mind. First, Paul mentions the depth of degradation to which mankind has fallen, then the extent to which we have fallen.

God gave them over shameful, unnatural lusts

1:26, 27. ²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

God gave them over.

Mankind had suppressed the truth by their wickedness, even going so far as to exchange their worship of the immortal God for images of His creation- even birds, and animals, and crawly things.

God gave them over "means that He permitted them to go on in their sins and reap the sad consequences" (Wiersbee). On a small, personal scale, we could think of the difficult choice of a parent to let his or her child reap the consequences of a poor or wrong choice in order that the child would learn from his mistake, repent, grow, and become a person of characters.

God "could do nothing but give men into the control of the sinful things they preferred to God. In other words, God would not violate man's will and force him to do something he did not want to do. When men persisted in following their totally depraved natures, God allowed them free rein. The natural result was immorality of the vilest kind" (Wuest).

To shameful, unnatural lusts.

The result of God of withdrawing restraint and letting mankind go was a downward plunge into shameful lusts, or degrading passion.

Mankind turned to perversion and inversion. MacArthur clarifies, "Perversion is the illicit and twisted expression of that which is God-given and natural. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is inversion, the expression of that which is neither God-given nor natural."

Paul makes a point to establish that what is happening is unnatural- it is yet another step against natural creation. God created all things, and His creation reflects His wisdom and glory. In His creation we see His divinity and power. "In the beginning" He created all things- including people, in His own image. Genesis 1:27 says, male and female he created them. Paul reinforces this natural created order by using the word for male and female in these verses. He could have used a different word for man/woman and husband/wife. But he made a point to distinguish the unnaturalness of the relationship by using the word for male and female. In verse 26, it should read, Even their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

Wuest graphically translates these verses, Because of which God gave them over to dishonorable passions, for even their females exchanged their natural use for that which is against nature . And likewise also the males, having put aside the natural use of the females, burned themselves out in their lustful appetite toward one another, males with males carrying to its ultimate conclusion that which is shameful . . .

Receiving the due penalty for their perversion.

In our NIV Bibles, the end of 1:27 reads, . . . and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. What is the due penalty for their perversion?

There is something about the shameful lust of homosexuality that is so controlling that those who are captured by it tend to loose control and end up paying the price for the depth of their sin.

Do you remember what happened when God's two angels visited Lot. The men of Sodom came to Lot's house demanding that they be allowed to have sex with Lot's visitors. Lot was outside trying to dissuade them. When the Sodomites- and this where we get the word sodomy- began to try to break the door down, the angels reached out, yanked Lot inside, and struck the intruders with blindness. Genesis 19:11 (NASB) indicates they still persisted in trying to find satisfaction for their degraded passion: they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway .

In our modern society, it is not uncommon for a homosexual or lesbian to have 300 partners a year. Sadomasochism and mutilation are common. Sexually transmitted diseases run rampant. Doctors specialize in treating diseases and physical disorders that result from perversion and homosexuality.

Yet, in spite of the clear declaration that homosexuality demonstrates the downward spiral of the degrading effects of sin as a result of God letting us go, there are even churches and denominations today that insist that homosexuality is normal, a matter of preference and orientation, and choice. They go so far as to ordain people to ministry who have embraced a lifestyle which God's Word describes as a degrading use of the human body, shameful, and unnatural. It is a deeply disturbing reflection of the reality that the truth of God, the righteousness of God, the glory of God, is being shamefully suppressed.

Let me make something perfectly clear: God hates the sin but He loves the sinner. At CBC, we reject sin, and embrace the sinner. As in all types of sin, the sin does not lie in the fallen desires of the human nature, but in the act of sin. Many people have felt the urge of or leaning toward homosexuality (which is a part of our fallen sinful nature)- but have not sinned. Sin is the act of disobedience against the righteous standards of a holy God. When an individual has a problem, for example, with a violent temper and outbursts of anger, he has not sinned when he or she feel the urge to lash out. He or she sins when they explode, destructively hurtling emotional shrapnel everywhere. And, for example, when a person is tempted to share tidbits of information that show they are "in the know," when they inappropriately desire to share matters that are meant to stay personal and private, they are tempted to gossip. Is the temptation to gossip- which comes out of our fallen nature, expressing the longing to feel important and show that we are somehow special because we have information on someone that others do not have- is that temptation sin or is the actual gossiping sin? When a man or a woman has inappropriate desire for the opposite sex, is that desire sin, that desire which needs to be surrendered to God for transformation (Romans 12:1, 2)? Or is the sin in entertaining the inappropriate desire, thinking about it, fantasizing on it, and carrying it through?

Let's remember that Jesus endured temptation as well, yet did not sin. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

God gave them over to a depraved mind

The preceding verses said that people knew God- the evidence of His divinity and His power is everywhere- they didn't glorify Him as God or thank Him (1:20, 21). Paul shows us depth of shameful behavior that has led mankind in an ever downward spiral (1:24-27). In 1:28-32, we are shown the extent of shameful, God-rejecting behavior.

1:28. ²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

God gave them over to a depraved mind.

What is a depraved mind? Depraved is not standing the test and being rejected. Some of our Bibles say they had reprobate minds- unworthy, unacceptable, evil minds.

MacArthur says that this word "was commonly used of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities. The impure metals were discarded, and adokimos therefore came to include the ideas of worthlessness and uselessness. In relation to God, the rejecting mind becomes a rejected mind and thereby becomes spiritually depraved , worthless and useless."

Isn't it amazing how this verse so clearly describes the attitudes of much of society today? They did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God. . . Mankind has rejected God. God has given mankind over to a rejected mind. Like impure metals that the refiner finds worthless, God has let us go to do what ought not to be done.

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness.

The following verses go on to describe some of those things that ought not to be done. Paul gives us a representative list of the extent of humanity shameful behavior, the extent sin permeates our lives. Paul didn't intend to make an exhaustive list but we sure get a sense of how pervasive sin is in human nature.

1:29-31. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

They approve of those who practice them.

1:32. ³² Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. In even the best of societies, there have been those who do evil. The extent of the depravity of society is the measure of approval that is given toward those who do evil.

Conclusion

This is a bleak picture. But let's remember what this chapter is all about. It is about God's good news. The gospel. It is about One called Jesus who is at the heart of the good news- the Anointed One, the Messiah, the eternal One, the Son of God. It is about hopelessness turning to hope. It is about a righteousness given freely when faith is placed in the One who is at the heart of the gospel. It is about death and life. It is about death giving way to life in a world where everything else is perceived as life giving way to death.

Though the picture looks bleak, this passage is about grace freely given. That grace is heralded through the glorious pivotal truth- The righteous by faith shall live. Listen to these wonderful verses from 3:22-24. ²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior through faith then you have been given a new righteousness. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (1 Corinthian 5:17). Oh, it is true that that old unrighteousness is something we struggle with. But in Christ, we have everything we need- all the power, all the authority, all the grace- to live the righteous life through faith.

College Baptist Church, we have good news to share. It leaps from our lives through love, kindness, and good deeds in Christ's name. It flows from our lips through burdened prayer for our hurting neighbors, friends, and family. It passes from our hearts through clear explanation how of God's good news can be received. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (1:16).

Resources