A WORLD WITHOUT FAITH
Romans 1:18-32
Key verse 1:18
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness
and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness."
In our Sunday message last week we learned Paul had a world mission strategy and preaching the gospel in Rome was a main goal in his strategy. He was not ashamed to preach the gospel because he knew the gospel was the power of God for the salvation of everyone who would believes in it. He writes in verse 17 "for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that i0s by faith." More than anything else all people, families and societies need the salvation and righteousness God revealed in the gospel. When people do not possess these, their life and all they do is utterly futile before God. People will argue with this and say: " In my life and every where else everything is normal. I don’t need God’s salvation and righteousness" There is no truth in this as Paul will reveal in verses 18-32. These verses will show, those who do not accept the gospel, even as they go about their normal life routine, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against them. Today’s Bible passage describes how the wrath of God is being revealed in the life of individuals, families and society who suppress the truth of God. It is very important for us to accept and believe in this troubling news of God’s wrath. When we accept the past, present and future reality of the wrath of God then we can with glad and thankful hearts personally believe in the gospel for our salvation and righteousness.
Part I. The Wrath of God is Being Revealed from Heaven.
Look at verse 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." God revealed to Paul his wrath against men was not just a future event. The wrath of God is a past, present and future reality for all people, even while they go about what they think is a normal way of life. When it comes to the topic of God’s wrath being revealed from heaven many people react to it like this picture. Here are three people closing their ears, eyes, and mouth to the reality of the wrath of God being revealed from heaven. Closing one’s mind to the wrath of God does not make it go away just as closing one’s senses to rain falling on them does not prevent the rain from soaking them. When Noah was told about the wrath of God, he didn’t ignore the troubling news. He immediately began building the boat that God said would save his family and himself from the wrath of God. Similarly this message of the wrath of God should give us this same sense of urgency to build our life on the good news which God has provided to save us and others from the wrath of God.
Exactly then what is God’s wrath being revealed against? Verse 18 tells us the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Here we see God reveals his wrath against the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. According to the Webster’s dictionary the word godlessness means not acknowledging a deity or divine law. Let us think for a moment how godless people suppress the truth. The Bible in Hebrews 12:16,17 gives Esau as an example of one who was godless: It reads: "See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears." Esau suppressed the truth by placing no value on the spiritual importance of his inheritance. He places all focus on feeding his physical appetites. The wrath of God was revealed when later he realized his short sightedness and changed his mind. Instead of receiving God’s blessing he received God’s curse. In our society a physical life that is focused on eating good food, looking beautiful, being promiscuous, living comfortably and living independent from God is highly esteemed. While a life that follows the truth of God is suppressed by branding it as intolerant and out of date. Later we will see precisely how the wrath of God is being revealed against this godlessness that suppresses the truth.
People who argue against the wrath of God always use the argument: "But how can God’s wrath be revealed against people who never new God?" Therefore Paul next shows no one can give this excuse because God has revealed himself plainly to all people everywhere. Look at verses 19-21: "since what may be known about God is plan to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood by what has been made so that men our without excuse." Through these verses God shows he has always been using what has been made to reveal to people his invisible qualities, eternal power and divine nature. For example the wind reveals God’s invisible qualities. Wind is invisible but has powerful invisible qualities. We don’t see the wind yet hurricanes like hurricane Andrew caused more damage to people and property here on the East Coast than any other natural disaster. Through such an event God is making plan to people his invisible qualities. There is a physical law called entropy. One way in which the word is used is to explain how everything both in nature and society if left by itself goes from organization to disorganization. From order to disorder. What would happen to the University of Maryland if people did not constantly maintain it. University of Maryland spends large amounts of money and time, painting, trimming, building, constructing and cutting the lawns. If the University stopped such work, then after one semester the University would look like a drug infested slum neighbor. The world we live in would also turn into total chaos if it wasn’t for the eternal power of God. Every year, since its creation this part of the world we live in enjoys a lush hot summer, a crisp beautiful fall, a breath taking cold winter and a bird chipping, blossoming spring? The only reason for this is the eternal power of God. The birth of every new baby reveals the divine nature of God. From a man and woman who are both physically and emotionally very different God forms a new life that has immeasurable potential because of the image of God the baby has with in it. My wife and I are very different. Nor did we preplan each of our children. To this day I am amazed I am the father of four children. If anyone was to ask me how I came about to be the father of these children I would have to say God gave us these children to make plan to us and others his divine nature.
When we pause and think about creation, it is clear God has made himself plan to all men. Moreover it is clear because of all God does for us he wants us to live for his glory and give him thanks. How then does sinful man respond to the obvious gracious hand of God in his life. Look at verse 21: "For although they knew God they neither glorified him as God nor gave him thanks, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." In this verse we find the purpose for our existence on this earth. God created us to give him thanks in all circumstance and to live for his glory. He provided us blessing after blessing to thank him for. He has given us ambition and abilities and opportunities so we could live for his glory. Despite all God has done, men react by suppressing the truth of God so they can be their own men. With great boldness they leave God out of their lives. I remember one student in my math class received an "A" on his exam. When we were talking about our grades and he shared with me he received an "A" I replied: "Thank God." Viciously he growled back at me: "God? He had nothing to do with it, I studied hard that’s why I received an "A". This young man thought God had nothing to do with him getting an "A". When in fact it was God who gave him a mind, the ability to go to school and even the will to study hard. His response reminded me of the arrogant Nebuchadnezzar in Dan.4:30. One day Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he looked over his palace and his Empire and said: "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" These words were still on Nebuchadnezzer’s lips when a voice came to him and said, "You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." Immediately after these words were given to Nebuchadnezzar he went from living in a royal palace to munching on grass out in the field like the cattle. God is the one that gives us the mind that can reason and study. He is the one who puts up or brings down the leaders of this world. If one keeps refusing to thank God and live for their own glory they are endanger of God taking away their ability to think normally. Verse 21b reads: "but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." There are many people of great academic achievement, but all their knowledge and education is completely meaningless and futile in the eyes of God simply because they neither glorify God nor give him thanks.
Part II. The results When Men Live Without Faith (1:22-32)
In these verses Paul goes into descriptive detail how God has revealed his wrath against those who suppressed the truth. In verses 24, 26 and 28 he uses the words: "God gave them over" to show by what form God has and is revealing his wrath. These words mean God has taken away his hand, which restrains people from carrying out the sinful desires of their heart. When people think life is normal even though they are able to carry out the sinful desires of their heart they are deceiving themselves. What it really shows is that God has taken away his hand of restrain from their life. With out the hand of God restraining us, this is God’s wrath because people, families and societies will eventually be destroyed by living out their life of sin.
First, individuals are destroyed when they are bent on living in the sinful desires of their hearts. Look at verse 24: "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their heart to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." When Paul wrote this letter he may have been in Corinth. In this city could be found the temple of Aphrodite with its 1000 prostitutes. Just as it is today so was it back then, sex was at the bottom line of everything. There are volumes of materials, which show medical and psychological statistics which gives undisputed evidence free sex destroys. Nevertheless people want it, demand it, and will pay and do anything for it. Therefore God gives them over to the sinful desires of their heart. God is like the father of the prodigal son. This son wanted nothing to do with living under the rules of his father’s household. Therefore his father gave him his share of the inheritance and allowed him to go and do whatever he pleased. The son went away and spent all his money on prostitutes and wild living. (Lk.15:13,30) After the son spent all his money the only place he could find to live was at business that raised pigs. His only food was the food the pigs ate. He had hit rock bottom. Only then did he come to his senses and realized his father’s love and wisdom. With humbleness and repentance he went back to his father. Like this father God also reveals both his wrath and love by giving people over to the sinful desires of their heart. His love is revealed in that by giving them over to their sinful desires he shows he respects their free will. Also when they may come back to him. His wrath is revealed in that living by ones sinful desires will surely degrade one’s body, ruin one’s name, possibly give one a criminal record and cause some kind of irreparable damage. One 19 year old I worked with wanted to be a porn star. He loved drinking alcohol and he was as hardheaded as a closet full of wood picker bills. No one could tell him anything. One day he went to NC to pick up a BMW his brother who had come back from Bosnia had given him. That night he and his buddies drank till the bar closed. After leaving the bar they called a cab. When the cab arrived another man try to get in it before they did. This man told this 19 year old and his buddies he too had called a cab. The young 19 year old and his two buddies proceeded to beat up this man. The man in response took out a .45 and shot this young 19 year in the chest. There on some unfamiliar street in NC this young man died. Later when I talked about his death to one older man who had spent a great deal of time trying to mentor this young man the only thing he said about him was that he was a hard headed SOB. I’m sure if this young man could come back he would agree the wrath of God was revealed in his life when God gave him over to the sinful desires of his hear.
Second the natural family structure is destroyed when people suppress the truth of God. Look at verse 26,27: "Therefore God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even there women exchange natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandon natural relations with women and become inflamed with lust for one anther. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." These verses speak for themselves. Women who have relation with women and men who have relation with men claim they do it because of genetics beyond their control. The truth is their life style is the wrath of God being revealed in their life. I can say many things about this. But the most obvious is, the population of man kind would eventually become extant if families began to be made up of man-man or woman-woman. Those who do not see this as a form of God’s wrath are like those three individuals who keep their eyes, ears and mouth covered.
Third, society is destroyed when people suppress the knowledge of God. Look at verses 28-31: "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. 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, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless." Anyone who regularly reads the newspaper knows this description of man’s depravity as describe here is commonly found all over this country. Speaking from my heart this troubles me greatly. Honestly speaking I am not ashamed to be an American. My Uncle James Breakenridge gave his blossoming 19 year old life on some hill in South Korea to fight for that country’s freedom. My father fought for and served this country’s military for 21 years. I am thankful to God for how he has used this country to help other countries in their time of peril, while also helping their formal enemies to rise up from their ashes to become world powers. Nevertheless these verses reveal to me the wrath of God is now being revealed upon this nation. Because many of this country’s government and public institutions do not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, God has taken away his hand that restrains the people of this country from acts of depravity. He has given much of this society over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Our society tries to solve its bent to depravity by teaching a humanistic morality. In the recent University of Maryland graduation graduating seniors were urged to practice tolerance and to fight against insensitivity and intolerance." Ironically this intolerance these seniors were encouraged to fight against is exactly what many of our public school system promote as they try to ban all Christian faith teachings and practices in their schools. Public school systems will finance lesbian and gay trips to Washington D.C. But they oppose even little things such as hanging up the Ten commandments on the walls. Even though it is becoming common for us hearing about students murdering other classmates or teachers, still our publics schools do not think it worthwhile to have a piece of paper on their walls that not only read: "Thou shall not murder" but also "You shall have no other gods before me." (Ex.20:3,13) Look at verse 29: "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. The are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice." When I read this verse I think of the two young men Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who killed 10 people in their Columbine school and wounded 12 others. These young men hated God. They hated and attempted to murder everyone in their school. To one of their victims before shooting her to death, they ask her, if she believed in God. When she said yes they shot her. When the media, legal authorities and academic people began looking to pin blame for why these two young men maliciously murdered and wounded people, they blamed the gun industry and fellow students who had disrespected them. The fact is true God fearing Christian students are always being disrespected for their Christian holy faith. They however don’t go around murdering other people. Instead they turn the other cheek and forgive and pray for those who persecute them. Why is there such a contrast in behavior? It is because the value the God fearing Christian places on their knowledge of God, empowers them to turn away from their deprave thoughts. It empowers them to do what Christ would do. There is a saying: "knowledge is power." Certainly this is true for those who believe it is worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God’s word is exactly what empowers people to turn the cheek, forgive those who persecute them and to pray for them. This is exactly what our public schools want from their students but they refuse to give them the power to do it by deliberately taking away everything that will plant knowledge and dependence in the Almighty God of the Bible.
For this reason those who value the knowledge of God must step forward and become the light and salt of this society through valuing and retaining and spreading the knowledge of God. These days Missionary Jacob is strongly urging everyone who is trying to seriously study this book of Romans to memorize each passage we study. These memorizations are not easy but then nothing worthwhile is easy. By struggling to memorize these passages we are doing something concrete to retain the knowledge of God. It is this knowledge of God, God uses to turn us away from a depraved mind so we can have the mind of Christ.
Look at verse 32: "For 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 ending this message on this passage it is appropriate to see how it applies even to us who have believed in the gospel. I still find myself quality of gossiping, slandering and various forms of wickedness and evil. I know these things deserve death yet I find I still do them. This shows me I deserve death. I am like a man on death row who can not save himself. I learn everyday I need God’s grace and salvation. All praise and thanks be to God because he has provided all the grace, righteousness and power salvation for salvation we need through believing in the gospel of his Son Jesus Christ.
This passage opened our eyes to the reality that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven. The good news is those who believe in the gospel can be saved from this wrath of God.