Innocent or Guilty?
Romans 1:18-32
What is the biggest problem in the world today?
What is the classic problem of the world?
What is the biggest need humanity needs to overcome?
Poverty? Racism? War? Dealing with natural disasters?
What is the biggest problem that mankind needs to solve?
The ones I’ve mentioned are big problems, aren’t they?
But I believe they are just symptoms of an even bigger problem.
Charles Spurgeon, the very eloquent preacher of the 19th century, gets right to the core of the problem when he writes these words:
"Sin is the mother and nurse of all evil, the egg of all mischief, the fountain of bitterness, the root of misery. Here you have the distilled essence of hell, the quintessence, as the old theologians would say, of everything that is unlovely, disreputable, dishonest, impure, abominable---in a word---damnable."
Sin. It is from this cancerous cell called sin, that all of humanity’s problems have multiplied. We tend to blame social problems, like ignorance and poverty for our situation, but the true disease is within each of us. We are sinners by birth. We are born into sin. We are living in the shadow of death. We are hiding from the wrath of God.
Let me warn you at the beginning here, that there are some truths from God’s Word are nice and easy to talk about, but there are others that are not. The ones we are going to look at this morning fall into the category of "not very pleasant." In fact, they are ugly, sad, grim, and downright depressing. But they are truths we need to hear and face.
I think at this point in our study it’s helpful to review again the overall organization of the book of Romans that we’re looking at. There are 5 major divisions in this book. Each of these divisions can be summed up in one word. There is the introduction to the book which we finished up last week, and there’s a conclusion at the end of the book.
Between those two book ends there are 5 major themes in the book of Romans:
1. SIN It answers the question, "Why do I need to be saved? What do I need to be a Christian?"
2. SALVATION It is on "How can I be saved?"
3. SANCTIFICATION "What happens after I’m saved? How do I grow as a Christian after I’ve become a believer?"
4. SOVEREIGNTY "Why does God save us?" It talks about how God chooses us.
5. SERVICE "How can we serve God?"
Today we’re going to start by looking at the first section which is on SIN.
We cannot appreciate fully, or even see our need for salvation (the good news) if we don’t first of all look at the bad news (sin). In this section, Paul describes very clearly why each of us needs salvation. It makes me think of looking at diamonds in a jewelry store. What does the jeweler do when they show you diamonds? They lay them on a piece of black velvet in order to contrast the diamond, right? That’s what Paul does here when he starts on this section. He gets to the good news in a couple of chapters when he starts on salvation. But he starts here by laying a backdrop of the black velvet of sin.
Notice there’s a lot of legal terms used here. Words like "since" "for" "because" "therefore" are sprinkled throughout the text. Paul is building a case against humanity step by step--exhibit A, exhibit B, etc.
Imagine with me a courtroom scene:
The case of this courtroom scene is man’s guilt or innocence before God. The courtroom is God’s, and He’s the Presiding Judge.
The charge is that man has deliberately rejected God; that every human being without Christ stands unrighteous before God.
The prosecutor is the Apostle Paul,
the accused (defendant) is all of humanity,
the evidence is what we’re going to look at this morning.
We are the jurors. And as good jurors, let’s carefully examine the evidence together to see if the charge that’s made is warranted...
Focusing on sin and doom is tough stuff. It’s not easy. No one likes to hear bad news. No one wants to hear the news that he or she has a malignancy. But, tell me, which is worse: For the doctor to hide the truth and let the patient die, or to tell the awful facts so the patient can find a cure?
In this last half of Romans 1, we hear a chilling diagnosis. It’s one that is guaranteed to wipe the smile off the face of the most optimistic person. The news cuts deep into our hearts. Yet, its pain can bring life if we listen closely to the news and heed the warning.
I. God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18-20)
A. The Fact (v. 18)
v. 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."
Paul starts right off with the wrath of God. When you hear the words, "the wrath of God" some of you right now are probably picturing God with a thunderbolt and a guy getting zapped right on the spot. God is not a spiteful, temperamental God, as the mythical Greek god Zeus who throws lightning bolts at anyone who steps out of line. No!
Paul had a choice of two Greek words for our English word "wrath."
One is thumos from which we get the word thermometer. It literally means a "blast of anger." It’s sudden temper. It’s explosive anger. That’s not the word used here for the wrath of God. The word used here in Greek is the word orge. (It has nothing to do with an orgy).
It literally means "controlled anger." It’s settled, not impulsive.
God gets angry, no doubt, but he never loses control. God’s wrath is not a sudden outburst of anger, but a constant condition of hatred toward everything that violates His moral character. God’s wrath is a righteous and just reaction to evil. It is a holy aversion, that, at least for now, is being restrained behind the great dam of His patience.
Why does God get angry? Look at vv. 19-20....
B. The Reason (vv. 19-20a)
Why is it necessary for God to reveal His wrath?
Because humanity gives Him no choice. We have suppressed the truth and rejected the evidence that He has so clearly given to us in His creation.
According to the Psalmist, nature literally shouts God’s presence:
Psalm 19:1 "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."
We know that not everyone in this world has access to a Bible. Not everyone has yet heard about salvation through Jesus Christ.
On what grounds can God justly declare that all human beings are unrighteous when not every human being has had an equal opportunity to be saved?
The answer is right here in these verses of Romans.
It’s in Psalm 19:1.
Every human being who has ever lived has had access to the same revelation. What’s that? It’s the revelation of God through His creation. And notice, this revelation of God has been clearly seen, it’s not as if it’s seen through a misty fog.
The evidence for God’s existence is everywhere. It echoes through the great canyons of this world. It crashes in the waves of the seashores of this planet. It shoots like the stars in the night sky.
And it even whispers to us within our own hearts.
The evidence is overwhelming. All of creation points to the fact that there is a God. Whether you’re in Europe, Africa, Asia, America... everybody can look up and see the same stars, the world around them. Whether you’re educated or under educated it’s obvious, unmistakable, universal.
So, what’s the result? What’s the logical conclusion we come to?
Look at the last part of v. 20...
C. The Result (v. 20b)
"...so that men are without excuse." We don’t have any defense.
It’s an airtight case. The evidence is overwhelming. The New English Bible says, "There is no possible defense for their conduct."
But wait! "What about the Aborigine who’s never heard about God? What about the people in outer Pago-Pago who have never had the Bible?" What about those people? What about them?
Romans 1;18-20 teaches us that every human being is without excuse. Why? Because we’ve at least got creation. We’ve got to figure that if there’s a creation there is a creator. They can know that much about God.
Did you know that they’ve never found a civilization of atheists? Although the religion may be distorted and way off from the truth, archaeologists say they have found cities without walls, buildings, public areas, but you never find cities without some kind of temple or sort of worship area. It may be way off base but there is a natural desire in man to worship. Why? Because God made us that way.
The problem is that people choose to suppress the truth they know rather than submit to it. On that basis, God can justly condemn all people, including those who have never heard about the Bible or heard about salvation through Jesus Christ.
The problem is that we don’t want to admit that God has revealed Himself because then it makes us accountable.
Did you notice what man does with this revelation of God?
Look at v. 18: "... who suppress the truth by their wickedness..." They try to ignore it, bury it.
The Greek word here means they hold it down, they restrain it.
Paul says that people are intellectually dishonest. They suppress the truth. They try to cover it up. They don’t want people to know about God. How? They suppress the truth. The Bible says men repress the truth. They cover it up.
It’s like that lady complaining about the nativity scene in the mall: "There go those Christians again! Always trying to mess up our holidays!" Men suppress and reject the truth.
And because man has deliberately rejected and suppressed the truth about God as clearly revealed throughout the universe, he is unrighteous and in dire need of the righteousness that only God can give. So, in vv. 21-32, Paul begins to present the evidence for this charge...
II. Humanity’s Sin (Romans 2:21-32)
The evidence mounts with 3 general ways that we express this defiant spirit: idolatry, immorality, and iniquity.
Take special note of the phrase "...God gave them over" in vv. 24, 26, 28.
A. Idolatry (vv. 21-25)
Throughout history, people have worshipped idols instead of God. I was especially made aware of this having been born and growing up in India. Idols were everywhere! Especially in the country of Nepal and in the capital of Katmandu where there are actually more idols than people! Descent into idolatry follows a definite pattern:
1. Man willfully ignores God (v. 21a)
Look at v. 21a "For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him."
It’s not that man is ignorant about God. Man knows that there is a God. Man knows about God, but man freely and deliberately refuses to give God the honor and thanks He so rightfully deserves. Rather than submit their wills to Him, they turn away from Him in disobedience.
2. Man cleverly reasons against God (vv. 21b-22)
Look at vv. 21b-22...
vv. 21b-22: "...but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools."
When people morally rebel against God, they create rationalizations in a "futile" attempt to justify their immoral choices. And the more they try to reason their way out of obeying god, the more corrupt they become. As Paul states, "Professing to be wise, they became fools."
3. Man totally replaces God (v. 23)
So, what do we see happening here?
We’ve seen that the rejection of God begins in the heart,
which then leads to worthless thinking in the mind,
which then leads to an even greater moral insensitivity in the heart.
It’s a vicious downward spiral. This spiral ends with the incorruptible, holy God being replaced by what? Look at the end of v. 23...
"... images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."
Rather than worshiping the Creator, man turns and worships the creation! How depraved...how corrupt...how foolish...how pitiful!
We don’t have idols like that today here in America, do we?
Do we? Do we? What is idolatry anyway?
Answer: When we replace God with something else in our lives it’s called idolatry. There’s a god-shaped vacuum in every one of us.
And when we take God out of our lives (reject Him) something is going to fill it -- a person, a thing, an ideal.
It becomes an idol and we create our own little gods.
What are our idols?
Wealth. Success. Physical beauty. Pleasure. Fame.
Our idols aren’t wood and stone. Our idols are made out of metal and plastic -- cars, houses, nice clothes, things that we idolize.
Anything that becomes number one in your life becomes your god!
Why does man create idols? He is selfish. He wants to be served. He creates an idol and "prays" to it so he can get what he wants from it. He wants the idol to serve him. Materialism is idolatry. Today we worship those kinds of things. We worship athletes, movie stars, musicians -- they’re idolized. We even have a T.V. show called "American Idol."
But the biggest idol is: ourselves.
Way back in the Old Testament, God warns against this.
It’s the first two commands in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:3-4 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt make no graven images." Nothing should take the place of God in our lives!
And the sad thing is, no fate could be worse than God abandoning us to ourselves. Look at vv. 24-25...
And here we are introduced to an important phrase in the second half of this chapter: "God gave them over". It’s used in v. 24, "God gave them over in the sinful desires of their heart." v. 26 "God gave them over to shameful lusts." v. 28 "God gave them over to a depraved mind."
This is an important phrase when we understand Paul building this courtroom case. It literally means God handed these people over.
What does it mean when God gives somebody over?
First, what does it not mean? It doesn’t mean these people can’t be saved. It doesn’t mean that there’s no hope for them.
It doesn’t mean that God quits loving them.
Let me explain it like this: Let’s say you have a 19-year old teenage son. He’s making a mess of his life. Maybe he’s into cocaine and all kinds of other drugs. Maybe he’s into alcohol. He’s living a wild life. So you come to your son one day and say, "I can’t run your life for you. But if you’re going to continue to stay at home you’ve got to follow the rules. If you can’t follow the rules, you’re going to have to move out. You’re not going to wreck our life too." So, your son walks out.
And sadly what you do is you give him over to the lifestyle that he wants to live. Do you want to do it? No. Are you glad to do it? No. But you’ve given him a free choice. You give him over.
It’s kind of the prodigal son. We all know the story, right?
The prodigal son came to his dad one day, "I’m going to split this scene. Give me half of my inheritance." He gets his inheritance, and he’s living it up until one day he runs out of money. He ends up living in a pig pen eating pig slop and when he hits bottom, he wises up.
"This is dumb. My dad’s servants are treated better than this. I’m going home and ask Dad to make me one of his servants." He goes home and his father welcomes him back in.
The father did not force him to stay, but said "I’m going to let you go." God has to do the same thing with us.
It means God chose not to prevent rebellious man from falling into greater sin. The Lord actively abandons those who refuse to acknowledge and obey the truth. This act of God is not only an act of judgment...but it is also (hold on to your hats) an act of mercy.
It is God’s desire, according to 1 Timothy 2:4 that "all men be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." God doesn’t lay aside His desire when He gives people over. God allows people to reap the results of their own choices. God lets you have what you think you want. You asked for it, you got it. You could go out and make a mess of your life and God will not stop you.
Because He’s given you a free will. He won’t stop you.
You are given free rein to ruin your own life.
When we get ourselves in a mess, God doesn’t always bail us out.
We reap what we sow. Some people want to go out and sow their wild oats and then pray for a crop failure. They don’t want to see the results.
People say, "I can do as I feel. I don’t believe in any laws of God. I’m my own person. If it feels good, I’m going to just do it."
It’s like a guy standing on top of the Empire State Building, saying
"I’m free. I’m free to jump off this building if I want to."
So he jumps off. About 20 stories down somebody looks out the window and asks, "How’s it going?" He yells, "So far, so good!"
Do you know any people like that? They have broken one of God’s law but they just haven’t hit bottom yet. But, let me tell you, when we break God’s laws, they break us. Man brings all of this on himself.
v. 25 "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie." In Greek, that literally says The Lie. What is The Lie? The lie is two things:
1. You can sin and get away with it. Satan: "You’re not going to die."
2. You can be your own god.
And what a vicious, wicked, downward spiral man takes when he turns his back on God! From idolatry, the next step down is immorality.
B. Immorality (vv. 26-27)
When God gives us over to our own passions, we don’t get better.
We get worse!
Without God, society’s problems don’t get straightened out.
They get even more tangled up!
We don’t somehow evolve to higher levels of love and virtue.
We sink deeper and deeper into the depths of our basest natures.
[Read vv. 26-27]
This sounds like the sexual revolution, doesn’t it?
Is it just me, or does it seem like this to the rest of you:
America has lost its ability to blush!
Throughout history, one of the marks of a society in decline has been an increased tolerance of and participation in homosexual activity.
It has always been a strong indicator that the foundational unit of a culture -- the family -- was breaking down.
Although the Bible has much to say about homosexuality, there are two major truths that we should consider here:
1. Homosexuality is a sin, not a sickness, or an innate, sexual orientation.
People are born not as homosexuals, but as heterosexuals.
The natural or biological function of a man or woman is to have sexual relations with someone of the opposite sex, not a member of the same sex.
Neither is homosexuality an illness that requires treatment.
If it were a physical disease, then it is the only sickness in Scripture that God says is worthy of eternal damnation (Romans 1:32)!
The biblical view of homosexuality is that it is a sin.
And like any other sin, it is committed freely by those who are in rebellion against God.
2. Since homosexuality is a sin, it can be forgiven and overcome.
Listen as I read from 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals shall inherit the kingdom of God. [but listen to what continues] And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."
Did you notice that some of the people referred to were homosexuals before coming to Christ, but now they are not?
God can and will forgive the sin of homosexuality and help a person to overcome it!
But first, an individual must acknowledge that his or her homosexuality is wrong and then confess it to God.
Note the word of warning in the last part of v. 27 "...and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
What that phrase means is that homosexual involvements sow the seeds of a distinct loss of personal identity. They come to the point where they no longer are sure of their role in life. For many homosexuals, unfortunately, this identity crisis has ended in suicide.
The tragedy of all this is that it can all be avoided by recognizing that homosexuality is sin and therefore forgivable.
I’m not saying that it’s an easy road. But it can be accomplished through perseverance and the care and concern of other believers.
Well, have we reached the end of this horrible downward spiral?
No, not yet. In vv. 28-32 Paul skillfully lays out the charge against humanity. The evidence becomes overwhelming...
C. Iniquity (vv. 28-32)
There are 21 different types of sins cataloged here. This section is often referred to as: "sinerama."
In this list, Paul gathers together people from all levels of society.
Gang members line up beside disobedient children.
Prostitutes line up beside church gossipers.
The same horrible evil that fired up the ovens in the Nazi concentration camps burns in our hearts as well!
What a dark picture of the depravity of humanity!
And just when it seems like it couldn’t get any worse, Paul adds the ultimate blow. Look at v. 32 "Although they know God’s righteous decrees 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."
The Greek word for "approve" can be translated "applaud."
Rather than be ashamed it says people approve of it. They applaud evil. You don’t think today that people are entertained by watching evil today, do you? Nah... Nobody would be entertained by watching violence and senseless perversion, would they?! This sounds like a soap opera, doesn’t it? We give Academy awards for movies that promote sexual promiscuity and violence!
This verse strongly implies that those who applaud, are amused, or in any way approve of these things is worthy of death! Wow!
This is pretty depressing, isn’t it? Paul doesn’t pull any punches here. He gives a pretty bleak picture. Man isn’t getting better, he’s getting worse. When God put man in the Garden of Eden everything was perfect and since then it’s been downhill. It’s getting worse!
I can’t leave you here on this depressing note. Is there any hope?
Yes! Look ahead a few chapters in Romans to Romans 5:8-9...
Romans 5: 8-9 "But God demonstrated His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him?" Saved from God’s wrath! Paul paints this bleak picture to say later that we don’t have to suffer the penalty from all of this because we’re saved from all of that. It’s only because of Christ’s redeeming power and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we are able to oppose the darkness inside every single one of us!
Listen, the church is not for perfect people. This church is for sinners. If you are a perfect person, please do not come back to this church any more. This church is a hospital for sinners. Paul says, "...such were some of you..." It doesn’t matter how low you go, that God’s grace is not there. Often, when we hit bottom you begin to finally wise up and realize that’s not the way to live, right? Some of you here this morning can give testimony to that, can’t you? Some of you have told me that you didn’t become a Christian, or back to Christ, until you hit bottom and realized you couldn’t do it on your own.
Thank God for the good news and His grace. Amen?
Later in Romans, Paul switches his role from prosecutor to attorney for the defense. He starts showing what we have in Christ and how we won’t be judges, how we can be forgiven, how we can start over,
and how we can have a clean slate.
So, what is our response to this passage? What can we do?
Our Response
I see at least 3 choices we can make, each of which will shape the direction of our entire lives:
1. We could become passive
In his book World Aflame, Billy Graham describes the danger of this response:
"Mr. Average Man is comfortable in his complacency and an unconcerned as a silverfish ensconced in a carton of discarded magazines on world affairs. Modern man has become a spectator of world events, observing on his television screen without becoming involved. He watches the ominous events of our time pass before his eyes, while he sips his beer in a comfortable chair. He does not seem to realize what is happening to him. He does not understand that his world is on fire and that he is about to be burned with it." (p. 15)
Christ calls us to be His salt and His light. We need to be part of the answer! Not part of the silent, tolerant majority sighing an "Oh, well" in front of our TV!
Another response:
2. We could become anxious
Rather than doing something constructive in the world, we could run to our nice safe homes, shut and bolt our doors, and hope that the whole situation will just kind of blow over.
We could start categorizing people as "us" or "them."
We could build tall, barbed-wire fences to keep all those "bad people" away. Is this Christ’s attitude? Is this what Christ calls us to? No!
3. We should become available
We should and must become aware of the sins that plague our community and then become involved in correcting the wrongs.
What does this response require? This response requires:
regular prayer; a personal pursuit of holiness; evangelistic outreach, and involvement in the lives of those who don’t know Christ.
This response has the perspective of: "Lord, I realize that, except for Your grace, I would be struggling in a pit of sin so deep that I’d never climb out. I am available as your servant, to speak whenever, in whatever circumstances, and in whatever way that would honor You to help people who have lost their hope."
Which response will you choose?
