Romans – God’s Glorious Gospel
Being Honest
Romans 1:18-32
* When Grace Hawthorne and Buryl Red wrote a song entitled “Would You” over 30 years ago, the purpose was help us realize that the because of the difficulties we appreciate the good which comes our way. Life is filled with good and bad.
* Years ago when the telegrams were delivered by Western Union in person, a young man applied to be a messenger. However, on his application he said there was one thing he could not or would not do, and that was “deliver bad news.” He didn’t get the job. It is true there is no good news like “the” good news of God.
* The Apostle Paul loved giving the “good news” but above all was always honest! When Paul wrote this letter to the church at Rome, he knew they needed this good news but they also required honestly. Like a master writer, Paul interweaves both the good & the honest into this letter. Paul has written what we know to be 17 verses of good news to this group of believer and now in verse 18, he reminds them of the “bad news” or the difficult news. Turn to Romans 1:18-25 & follow.
* When I read those first seven words of verse 18 it leaves a knot in my stomach. Now, understand I am fully aware of Romans 8:1 which says, “Therefore, no condemnation exists for those who are in Christ.” So the knot in my stomach is not for me. Thanks be to God I am in Christ Jesus. However, my concern is for anyone and everyone who is outside of His grace and mercy and thus, not saved through His blood.
* Here is our warning; this text is quite likely, one of the most pointed, penetrating and painful passages in all scripture. This text will cause us look honestly at;
1. The Reality of the Heart – It was less than 2 months ago that I offered truth to you about the heart. The Bible tells us we can know what is in someone’s heart. Scriptures teach us, “As a person thinks in their heart, so are they,” & “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Paul writes, “The wrath of God is revealed-from Heaven.”
a. It’s Impure – To be impure is the opposite of being pure. Being pure would mean to be ‘righteous’ and ‘godly’ as opposed to unrighteous and ungodly. In this passage Paul identifies unrighteousness in many ways. In Verse 24 he speaks of degrading their bodies by giving into the desires of their heart. Verse 26 speaks clearly to the sin of homosexuality & calls these acts “shameful.” He event goes one more step in verses 29 & following by giving a virtual laundry list of qualities of the impure and unrighteous heart. By definition righteousness is doing what is right all the time & the opposite is true for un-righteousness. The Bible says, the heart is “deceitful” above all things.
b. It’s Impractical – Why does the text teach this? The last 3 words of verse 18 says it “suppresses the truth.” The old KJV uses the word “hold” but in the Greek this is a compound word which means “hold down.” How logical or practical is it to obscure truth? Yet in this dark culture of the USA this is exactly what is being done.
* Do you remember the ruckus raised by Pastor Joe Wright in the Kansas House of Representatives in 1996? Scott Dawson said this week, “with the present state of our political climate, it will not be long before we have to find new ways to communicate the gospel.” On every hand truth is held down and lies are held up. We can give a long list of actions which the Bible calls sin and (if we are honest) we know this culture is doing its best to say, “It’s okay, get with it.” Which sins would you like to name? Co-habitation, fornication, homosexuality, or slanderers, disobedient, greedy, all are sins in God’s eyes.
* What kind of person wants to build a life based on untruth? Yet, to suppress truth is to support lies. How practical is this? Yet, it begins in our heart.
c. It’s Irresponsible – Look at verse 21. Like Paul I must be honest. There are many words that I wanted to use here, but I have no desire to put down, I desire to clear up. Studying this text, I first thought the heart is ignorant, but that’s not really the case.
* So my next word was “insane” which more closely expressed the meaning of this verse which has a cause and effect clause. But listen, “they knew God, but they rejected Him”. This is the heart which has not been transformed. When they rejected Him, His love, His forgiveness, and His peace, it literally warped their thinking. This heart becomes nonsensical, senseless, and “darkened.” May I give you the simple explanation? This person just does not think “right.” And because of this, “he’s irresponsible.”
* Most of us have seen this person & know about his thinking and processing. It’s a sad sight.
d. It’s Idolatrous – The reality of the heart is that it is “idolatrous.” There is a place in everybody’s life that, by design, is to be filled with God. He designed us that way because God desires to enjoy our relationship. Verse 25 tells us that in the search for the “God of our lives” the unregenerated heart exchange the truth of God for a lie. The truth of God is that we are sinners by nature and choice yet He loves us so much that He gave His Son. Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God the Father. The old heart has replace this truth with the lie which goes, “we are all going the same place”, “a loving God won’t send anyone to hell”, & “there is more than one way to God.” Here is the truth; to look at these thoughts closely is to embrace an idol worship of the most subtle kind. And “subtle” is exactly how the enemy works making us believe that God is not really God at all. Never forget Satan’s proclamation, “I will ascend to the height.” Today, he wants our worship.
* This honesty Paul is giving speaks to matters of the heart but he also speaks to:
2. The Revelations from on High – While it is true that the ‘wrath of God is revealed from Heaven”, it is equally true that God loves His crown creation and wants for each of us to receive forgiveness, peace, and life. So He gives us
a. The Attributes for the Father – We should probably begin with availability instead of attributes because the text says, “what CAN be known about God is Evident”
* Why is it evident? God has shown Himself to mankind. Think about this; the God of all creation has made Himself recognizable to His Crown creation. How? Through His creation. One of the reason this culture is attempting to suppress the truth of “intelligent design” is this; “if there is a creator then we have to be answerable to Him.” Guess what? Just because the truth is suppressed doesn’t mean it’s changed. The Bible says we can know Him by His attributes, which are, “eternal power” and “divine nature”.
* Nowhere are both of these attributes more clearly seen than in Calvary experience. Jesus put on human form, died a painful death, and was buried in a cave. If there was NO eternal power the story would have ended at the cross. Had there been NO divine nature, the tomb would be the memorial. Through creation and through Calvary all of God’s attributes are clearly seen. Keep this in mind.
b. The Anger from the Father – This is a topic which few preachers tackle today because it’s not politically correct and it’s not popular. Actually some people will take great offense at the thought which says, “God gets angry.” Yet, verse 18 says “the wrath of God.” Here is my question; if God never gets angry why is there wrath originating in heaven? The Greek word for wrath gives us the picture of “internal motion leading to agitation and results in the natural disposition of temper”. We may not want to believe God gets angry, but Bible teaches us that He does.
* In Exodus 4 God has given a call to Moses and Moses is making excuses and in verse 14, God says, the “anger” of the Lord was KINDLED or BURNED against Moses.
* IN Numbers 11 the Children of Israel “complained openly about their hardships and the Lord’s anger “BURNED” against the people. (grew into fire from Heaven).
* You can read more instances in Numbers 12 and 22. Then in Deuteronomy Moses is making plans to die and all thru the book He warns the people about doing things which anger God. Several examples exist of God’s anger. One time He told Moses to step aside and let Him destroy those stiff necked people. In Moses’ last song, he tells of anger.
Being Honest - Pg 5
c. The Actions by the Father – Please never forget God is a God who takes action. From verse 24-32 we discover some interesting teaching. Interesting is putting it mildly; truthfully it is a part of scripture that we do not care to acknowledge it exists. (Read verses 24, 26, and 28.) In the KJV, it says “God gave them UP”. In fact, years ago I preached a message entitled “The Day God Gave up.” At this point Paul has raised the bar of being honest to an all new level. He literally teaches that WHEN a conscious CHOICE is made to degrade oneself by embracing the craving of the HEART with sexual impurity, or homosexuality, or a worthless mind the results are catastrophic. Please notice verses 29 and 30 at the laundry list of qualities which fills that place in the heart designed for God. Have you ever thought about this truth; all of these things which fill the heart cannot satisfy a soul because the soul was designed for the Father to fill. One last nugget concerning God’s actions (and don’t miss this): Do you remember the first 7 words of this passage? Now watch this in verse 29. “They are filled with unrighteousness” and “they are God-haters.” Is it fair to say that this would constitute unrighteousness and ungodliness? God’s actions are to send His wrath not only on the guilty, but also those who approve of these actions. You can list any one of these sins and KNOW that God will punish them. And if we refused to repent, He will “deliver us up.”
* O.S. Hawkins is the President of Guidestone Financial. Years ago I heard him says these words, “Many people worry about God putting His hands on them to punish them. We were taught to be afraid that God might take His hands “OFF” of us.” That would be “delivered up.”
d. The Attitude of the Father – After all the difficult words of this message, you fully expect me to say, “God’s attitude is this, He loves you.” While this is true there is a more startling truth we must see. Look at the last 4 verses of verse 20, “People are without excuse.” Think, consider, and personalize this truth. Being honest means facing the hard truth, WILL YOU?
