Rom 1:18-1:32, God "gave us" what we wanted and it isn't very pretty

Rom 1:17-20 (NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."


18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 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.


• Do you notice the parallelism of these verses?
• A righteousness of God is revealed -- in the gospel
• The wrath of God is revealed -- by godlessness and wickedness of men
• Both the warning (wrath) and the solution (righteousness) are revealed
• How then does God view man's situation?
• Men are without excuse
• What may be known about God is plain to man
• God has made himself plain to man
• What is known?
• His invisible qualities, eternal power and divine nature, are clearly seen
• Invisible … seen -- God says that we should be able to see these qualities
• How are they seen?
• Understood from what has been made
• If one understands creation, they will see the hand of God
• This is a fascinating point.  Because science (which is how we understand), has reasoned from (nature), that we are a the product of random chaotic forces through a process called evolution
• Not all scientists agree
• Mathematically, the theory has some incredibly small probabilities
• Summary: Satan and our own evil desires have blinded our understanding of what should be obvious from creation.  But God will still hold men accountable on the day of judgment


Rom 1:21-25 (NIV) 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. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.


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.


• This is the first step in a downward spiral of sin.  How does is start?
• Men knew God.  Apparently, the knowledge of God was much more widespread in the days prior to Noah
• Men did not glorify him as God.  Interesting -- they know God but they don't glorify him -- why?
• Men did not give him thanks.  Again, why?  Are we so prideful as to not thank God
• These are the conditions, knowledge of God but failure to glorify or thank.  The result then follows
• Their thinking becomes futile
• Thinking is the use of our minds to reason and choose
• A definition for futile, is that it serves no purpose, and it is occupied with trifles
• Their foolish hearts become darkened
• Hearts represent our passions or emotions
• Darkened means to not see clearly
• Pride.  They claim to be wise
• The reality is they became foolish
• They exchanged God's glory for images
• They reduce God to something they can control
• They reduce God to something they create
• They reduce God to look like the rest of creation
• The consequence of their sins is one of the three "God gave them over"
• The first "God gave them over" to sexual impurity (which was the sinful desire of their heart)--this is what men wanted--God gave them what they wanted
• They now start to worship their lust
• They degrade their bodies with one another (perverting the goodness of sex which God had created for pleasure within set boundaries)
• The serve created things (material things consume their passion)


Rom 1:26-27 (NIV) 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.


• So because they worship their lust (sexual and material), God gives them over a second time
• Homosexuality or  unnatural relations
• Inflamed lust
• Indecent acts
• Bodies receive the due penalty for their perversion
• Perversion means to use something for a purpose it was not created
• Not sure what the due penalty would be.  It would seem that AIDS would be so today, but most likely there is some other spiritual effect from homosexuality that occurs to a person's spirit


Rom 1:28-32 (NIV) 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.


• Additionally to the perversion of sex, what else does mankind do?
• It does not value the knowledge of God
• It is not worthwhile
• It is a waste of a person's time
• It is one thing to replace God with images you can control, but now the knowledge of God, however poor, is disdained
• The result of their disdain of God's existence, is that God gives them over a third time.  What is the overall category here that God gives them over to?
• A depraved mind
• Definition: impairment of virtues and moral principles (thefreedictionary.com)
• Doing what ought not to be done
• The list is incredible and pretty much describes most societies today.  I want to focus on the last verse, vs. 32
• Men know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death
• Men know the result is death
• Men continue to sin
• Men approve of those who do the same things
• APPLICATION: Deep down, we all know that we sin.  We all recognize that 'certain sins' leads to death.  But where we fool ourselves is thinking that our sin does not deserve death