Paul’s letter to the Romans explains to us how the
righteousness of God, a righteousness that we lack (because we are constituted
sinners), can be received once again by the mercy and grace of God when we look by faith to Jesus. When we look to
Jesus, our unrighteousness (our sin) is
exchanged for His righteousness (His sinlessness). This is the gospel which deals
with the greatest need of humanity - how we may escape the wrath of God (1:18)
and have peace with God
(5:1)
Last time, in 1:18-20
we saw that God holds mankind accountable
by the things that are
revealed in in His Creation. This
general revelation (1:20) makes
God‘s existence and His truth sufficiently plain. If people reject this revelation then they
will incur the wrath of God. This means
that a hypothetical man in outer Mongolia, in
Asia, Australia or Africa, who has never heard of Christ (God’s special
revelation) is still accountable to God.
They will of course be judged by the amount of light that they have received.
Later in 2:15 we shall see that God has written His law on the hearts of all
people. By this law (which begins with God[1])
people who refuse to own the fact that this universe and all that is in it is
the work of a personal Creator God will incur His wrath. They will go to that
place where there is weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Their sin will be that of idolatry – worshipping created things
rather than the Creator. Again, what is
idolatry? It is the exchange of the greater for the lesser. It is the exchange
of God for the things that God has made. What does God do when man exchanges the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things
(1:23)? He reveals His wrath (1:18). Please note that God’s wrath is being poured out not simply
against those that have rejected Jesus – for in that case
the hypothetical man in outer Mongolia, who
has never heard of Jesus may have a case.
But no! The man in outer Mongolia will discover that he had superstitiously
served his carved or created idols or the sun, moon and stars – whatever! He
had chosen to worship created things rather than the Great Being who has made
all that is visible. That rejection of God alone constitutes sufficient reason
for God judging him to be unrighteous.
And now the big
question: How does
God respond to this ungodliness, unrighteousness, truth suppressing and all
forms of idolatry? The short answer is this:
He gives people up (Gk. paradidomi –
to give up, to hand over). Paul uses this word three times cf. 1:24,26,28 – not three stages, but a repetition
of the same handing over. We must consider now how and in what way God
hands ungodly, unrighteous, truth suppressing, idolatrous people over.
1.
1:24 “He gave them up in the lusts (desires) of their hearts to
impurity to the dishonouring (Gr.
atimias – lit without honour) of their bodies among themselves, because
they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the
creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen.” When God hands people over (who worship
creation rather than Him – that is the great lie!) He says to them in effect “do as you please”. When God
gives people up He removes any restraints upon what people will do with their bodies
which were made originally to reflect His glory. When people are handed over to
their own desires, they don’t get better. They get worse. They become like
street children. Children that are abandoned to the streets do not become
better. They get worse and they are hard to rehabilitate. This is the loss of God in the life of man.
2.
1:26,27 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions…”. We see that the
primary way in which that handing over materializes is through deviant sexual
behaviour. When people are handed over
their sexuality (which is designed by God) becomes ‘unnatural‘ (para phusin- lit. ‘besides nature’) and therefore contrary to
God’s design. This is precisely what we see in our day with its obsession on deviant sexuality. Here Paul raises the matter of the unnatural
sexuality of homosexuality. “Women and men exchanged natural relations
for those that are contrary to nature”. Paul calls these ‘shameless’ acts. The Bible
teaches here that homosexuality is a supreme example of the degrading of the
body. As such then we may conclude
that a society that endorses homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle is a sign
of a culture / society being handed
over / given up by God. One of
the causes given for the fall of the
Roman empire was this prevalent decline in sexual morality in many forms, and especially
homosexuality
3.
1:28 “And since they did not see fit to
acknowledge God, God gave them up to
a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” When God gives up a person or a society, the
manifestation is a debased mind. A
debased mind does not only refuse to acknowledge God, but at its worst it inverts the truth. When people begin to call ‘good’ evil and
‘evil’ good, then you must know that
God has handed that society over. The
debased mind fundamentally comes from a refusal to acknowledge God. It comes
from a refusal to study theology - the doctrines God has set before us so that
we might truly live a life that is pleasing to Him. Paul is saying that when
God hands the minds of men over, then their lives are filled with an
unrighteousness that touches every part of life – and especially sexuality.
The big point is this:
The whole world is held accountable to God for either accepting or
refusing His general Revelation. If that happens He hands societies over and
hence the provocative statement of Romans
1:28. One of the traits of that
decay is the inability to see what is happening. The social conscience becomes so defective that it no longer has the
ability to recognize evil for
what it really is.
4.
And then in 1:29 – 32 we see what
happens in the minds and behaviour of a people handed over. Paul gives us a 21 point catalogue of unrighteousness –
21 ways of expressing a debased mind. Where do these evils in 1:29-31 come from? It all begins with a mind that suppresses the
truth (1:18) exchanging the truth
about God for a lie (1:25).
·
A
debased mind complicates everything
about the plain facts of creation and hides
the magnificence of creation
under the so called respectable
banner of science and particular
its horrible stepmother, the theory of evolution.
·
A
debased mind substitutes the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and
birds and animals … (1:23,24). It
worships the created rather than the Creator.
·
A
debased mind endorses perversions of sex (1:27).
In 1:29
- 31 we see it all heaped up,
and again we
find that God hands
people over to the logic of
their desires. “So you want to suppress my truth? You
want to move me out of the centre of your life?
Alright! See what happens!” And then it is like getting into a slow
sinking swamp. Sin usually does not overtake us quickly, but slowly and
gradually. A little bit of indulgence in
evil, a little coveting, a little strife, a little deceit, a little lying here
and there… When God gradually withdraws His common grace
on society and gives it over to
all sorts of evil and perversion, then that
society is already under the judgment of God. Note – that society
is not on the way to judgement – this
is the judgement! Let's read it again – 1:28b-31. With that in mind we must look
at what is happening in our society in general!
The more a people suppress the truth of God, the more God gives a people
up to their own unrestrained thinking and the more that society will find the manifestations of this catalogue of sins.
So what's the point of listing all
these sins? Paul gives this list as checklist to measure
the true health of a society.
·
And
so if South Africa has one of the highest murder rates, it has to do with God.
·
If
our business men are greedy, if our politicians are deceitful, it has to do
with the God who hands us over.
·
If
gossip, envy, deceit, maliciousness, slander and boastfulness rule in a church,
it has to do with God who has handed the church over to such a mind-set. If
such a church does not repent, God will remove her lampstand.
·
If
our radio and TV stations and our
newspapers ooze with arrogance and insolence it has to do with God.
·
If
our children are disobedient to parents, it has to do with God who has handed
our homes over. If we are untrustworthy and don't keep our marriage vows it has
to do with God.
·
If
we are blind to obvious wrongs and if we are unloving and unmerciful, it has to do with
God. That's the point of this list. Whenever we see a society
in the grip of these things, remember that this is as a result of its suppression of the
truth. God has handed that society over.
WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?
1.
We
need to recognise these symptoms as judgements from God.
2.
We
need to repent and return to God.
a. we need the reversal of God's wrath against our
unrighteousness.
b. we need the reversal of God's handing
us over to a depraved mind.
c. we need the reversal of our mind's
moral decay so that it can be renewed for right and proper use in God's
service.
3.
The
good news is that God in Christ has provided every one of those reversals. You
do not have to sink any further into this dark hole if you will now embrace God
and his provision. The key verse for
each of these reversals of God's wrath is found in Romans 1:17: In the gospel of Christ, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it
is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.' If we live by faith in God’s provision in
Christ, God gives us over to truth and righteousness as much as he once gave us
over to sin. And then let us not forget Romans
12:2. "Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may
prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect".
When God has given us his righteousness by faith in Jesus, and when we
embrace His truth, then little by little we are transformed in the renewing of
our minds and the long list of sins in Romans
1:29-31 gradually dissolves as we grow in the image of God.
This is the gospel.
This is the message that we must take out to our streets,
towns, nation and world.
[1] The
very first two first commandments say, “You shall have no other gods before me”
and secondly, “you shall not make for yourself a carved image…” (Ex. 20:3,4).
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