Title: “Getting the Gospel Right IV – Man’s Rejection of God.” Script: Rom. 1:18-32
Type: Expository series Where: GNBC 1-31-21
Intro: Picture a guy floating downstream on a raft on a hot summer day. He’s having the time of his life, enjoying the ride as the cool water gently splashes on him. You’re on the shore and you know that there’s a deadly waterfall not far downstream. This guy is floating blissfully and ignorantly toward certain destruction! So you yell to warn him. You throw him a rope. But he rejects it and keeps floating toward certain death. Why won’t he grab the life preserver? Because he loves what he’s doing and he doesn’t want to believe your warning. Why do people reject God’s wonderful offer of salvation through Jesus Christ? You would think that everyone would eagerly grab the life preserver that God has thrown out through the gospel (John 3:16): “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Why would anyone reject such a wonderful offer? Why would anyone want to keep heading for eternal destruction?
Prop: Examining Rom. 1:18ff we’ll realize man’s rejection of God & the consequences of that rejection.
BG: 1. Romans – Edwards said: “Romans shows Gospel truths which are bright and glorious.” Robert Haldane said: Romans was the fountain of heavenly truth.” John Wesley was converted while listening to a message from Romans: “I felt my heart strangely warmed.” M. Lloyd Jones : “The Grand theme of the entire Bible.” J. Stott called it: “The Christian Manifesto.” JM Boice: “The most influential document ever pinned.” Chrysostom 4th Cent.AD: “The fullest, deepest of all sacred foundational truths.”
2. Romans 1:18-3:20 is a lengthy section describes the sinfulness of man before God.
Prop: In Romans 1:18ff, Paul discusses man’s rejection of God and the consequences of that rejection.
I. Man’s Rejection of God. Vv. 18-23
A. Man Shows Contempt for God by Rejecting His Revelation. Vv.18-20
1. Man is without excuse before God.
a. No excuses. We live in a word of excuses. Here are some complied by Readers Digest that have been offered for not showing up for work: I dreamed I was fired, so I didn't want to get out of bed." "I was up all night arguing with God." "A raccoon stole my work shoe off my porch." "I wasn't thinking and accidentally went to my old job." "While rowing across the river to work, I got lost in the fog." "I didn't have money for gas, because all the pawnshops were closed." "My dog dialed 911, and the police wanted to question me about what 'really' happened." We’re great at coming up with excuses to absolve ourselves of guilt. Paul shows us in v. 18ff that man has no good excuses before God.
b. What’s the result of this condition? Man’s due the wrath of God. God’s wrath is His perfectly righteous antagonism towards evil. It’s especially directed towards those who suppress His knowledge which is completely evident in the created order.” The idea of “God’s wrath” is out of sync with our modern world. Many evangelicals object to the concept of God’s wrath. Although they know the concept is in the Bible, they are at best, embarrassed by it. I’ve even heard of professing Christians say very foolish things like, “I believe in a God of love, not a God of wrath.” Dear one, the God of love is the God of wrath, and the God of wrath, Praise God!, is the God of love.
2. General Revelation points man to the existence of and need for God.
a. It was the early church father, Tertullian, who said: “It was not the pen of Moses that initiated the knowledge of the Creator. Rather, it was God Himself.”
Paul states that people perceive God’s eternal “power and deity” through their observation of the created order.
b. Yet, what is the response to this truth? Man suppresses the truth! “The word “suppress” may mean to hold on to, or to hold down, which is the idea here. It implies that men knew the truth (note that there is such a thing as knowable absolute spiritual truth!), but they want to hold it down so that they can pursue their sins. Whether it is evolution denying God as the Sovereign Creator, or philosophy speculating that we cannot really know God at all, or psychology telling us that we are not responsible for our problems (psychologists don’t like the word “sin”!), these are all ways of pushing God away from us so that we can be our own lord.” (Stephen Cole, “Is God’s Wrath Justified”)
B. Rejecting God’s Revelation Leads Man to Idolatry. V. 21
1. It dishonors God.
a. What is Paul saying here? General Revelation shows the power and glory of God. A hurricane or tornado His power. The stars and universe His order. 1. 1.His supplying of everything needed for life on this privileged planet we call “Earth”. General revelation has its limitations. It says nothing about God’s mercy and love in Christ. Paul doesn’t intend to say that it brings people to salvation. Rather, his purpose is to underscore the fact that the knowledge of God obtained thru creation was suppressed and distorted.
b. Illust: A. W. Pink (The Attributes of God [Baker], p. 82) wrote, “A study of the concordance will show that there are more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God than there are to His love and tenderness.” So we cannot shove God’s wrath into the closet! ( R. C. Sproul, The Cross of Christ Study Guide p. 35), “It is partly because sin does not provoke our own wrath, that we do not believe that sin provokes the wrath of God.”
c. Now, how does this suppressed knowledge dishonor God? Because people then make images or objects into their “god”. Paul is giving us the root sin here in vv. 21-23. It is the failure to give God the glory He is due. Illust: Have you ever thought how utterly offensive idolatry must be to a Holy God? People worship a tree, an animal, a statue, an image. Completely dishonoring of God.
2. It demonstrates ungratefulness.
a. v.21 give thanks – eucharisteo – to be thankful – “Eucharist” -term for communion. We give thanks in remembrance of what Christ has done.
b. Illust: Back in the Old West was a traveling salesman who made rounds on a mule. He was so appreciative that he would begin each trip by thanking Jesus for providing the mule. Eventually the animal learned that "Thank you Jesus" meant to go. When he reached his destination, the salesman would again give a prayer of thanks, concluding with "Amen." So the mule learned that "Amen" meant to stop. One notable day the salesman had many calls and worked very late and was quite tired. Day was warm and tired man dozed off. Woke up and realized he was few yards from the edge of a high cliff. Instinctively yelled, "Whoa!, but the mule did not whoa. "Stop!" he commanded, but the mile did not stop. Frantically pulling on the reigns, the man yelled out a desperate prayer: "In Jesus’ Name, save me!--Amen." The mule came to an abrupt stop, just in the nick of time, at the edge of the cliff. Breathing a sigh of relief, the man said, "Thank you Jesus!” (Pause!) Ha! World hears that type of story and justifies their ungratefulness towards God.
3. It clouds their judgment and insight. Suppressing the truth in ungratefulness clouds man’s judgment and insight.
C. Rejecting God’s Revelation Leads to Man’s Self-Deception. V. 22-23
1. They are self-deceived in their assessment of themselves.
a. Man’s self-assessment in rejecting God is that he is wise! Just ask, he’ll tell you. He’s too smart for God. He is too intelligent to pray. He’s too wise to seek God’s counsel. He’s too proud to accept Christ’s offer of salvation. He declares in the depth of his soul as well as to all who will listen: “There’s no God!” And God declares that man or woman: “FOOL!” Psalm 14:1 – “The fool says in his heart there is no God.”
b. Illust: the late John Stott said: “Whether studying the smallest cell or atom or the constellation filled sky on a starry night, the design & order of the universe points man to God. Only a fool can look at creation and not see a Creator.”
2. They’re self-deceived in what they think is correct worship.
a. V.23 Paul says they exchange pure worship with idolatry. Idolatry is putting anything in the place reserved solely for God.
b. Illust: Many of you know I really like to watch “The Amazing Race”. Love to see all the destinations. However, over years have been legs of the race made my skin crawl: Woman cutting off and burning hair for Hindu blessing. Offering incense to gold statue. Contestants going into a guano filled cave to secure an object of the “bat god”. African witch doctor spitting some foul substance in the face of participants as a “blessing”. Setting paper machete cars on fire to secure blessing of an ancestor.
D. Applic: “Rejecting God does not lead to atheism, but to substituting the glory of the one true God with manmade idols “in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Man didn’t begin with idolatry and polytheism and work his way up to monotheism. Man began by knowing the one true God, but when he suppresses the truth in unrighteousness, he falls into the supreme foolishness of creature worship.” (Cole, ibid)
II. The Consequences of Man’s Rejection of God’s Revelation. Vv. 24-32
A. Rejecting God’s Revelation Leads to False Worship. V.24-25
1.False worship follows rejection og God’s truth.
a. Notice what this passage clearly says. When we refuse to worship and glorify God He hands people over to idolatry and sexual perversion. Instead of looking outward to God, the rebel looks inward to his/her own vain speculations. What’s the most commonly bestowed advice today: “Follow your heart!” God says: “Fool!”
b. Illust: Break the laws of agriculture – harvest fails. Break the laws of architecture – your building collapses. Break the laws of health – your body suffers. Paul is saying: look at the world. See how it is constructed. By looking at the design of the world should grasp the knowledge of God.
2. Rejecting God’s revelation results in man’s worship of the creation rather than the Creator.
a. v.25 – “The truth of God” refers to the truth that He has revealed about Himself and about all things. God is not a projection of our ideas or a figment of human imagination. God is. He exists in and of Himself and He has always existed outside of time before He spoke the universe into existence. Our knowledge of Him can only come through His revelation of Himself, which is centered in Jesus Christ and contained in the Bible
b. 3x in this section Paul says: “God gave them over” (1:24, 26, 28). 1st, God gave them over to impurity; 2nd, He gave them over to the degrading passions of sexual deviancy; 3rd He gave them over to a depraved mind, expressed in destructive sins.
B. Rejecting God’s Revelation Leads to Sexual Immorality and Perversion. V. 26-27
1. Paul clearly and graphically details the results of this rejection.
a. Read vv. 26-27 – Man rejects God’s truth and accepts a lie. God gave them over to “degrading passions” – degrading – indignity, infamy, dishonor. He says that both men and women rejected their natural for unnatural. Men w/men and women w/women is “unnatural”. Homo/Lesbianism is perversion of God’s design for sexuality. Adultery and fornication perversion God’s design for marriage.
b. V.27 – “due penalty” – Natural result. LGB youth 5x more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth. (Trevor Project). Am. Academy of Pediatrics reported in 2018 study that over 50% of ALL Trans Adolescents attempted suicide in their lifetime. Among non-binary youth 42% attempted suicide. Suicide among homosexuals 3-4x rate of heterosexuals. STD rates infinitely higher. 44% of lesbian and 61% of bisexual women experience severe domestic violence. (2010 Intimate Partner Survey). Surgeries and Hormone blocking or supplementing treatments are being found to have irreversible side affects in many individuals who desire to transition back, destroying God’s design for intimacy and sexuality: procreation!
2. Sexual Sin is the Natural Result of Rejecting God’s Word.
c. Paul clearly teaches that sexual sin is a consequence of rejecting God and His revelation and is the result of suppressing truth and failing to honor Him. How does every affair begin? Not honoring God’s Word. How does every divorce begin: Someone did not honor God’s Word. Why does pornography have such a hold: don’t honor God’s Word. Why every deviant life style? Don’t honor God’s Word.
d. The world delights in bold sinners who flout God’s Word and expect no punishment whatsoever. Our culture celebrates the skillful cold-blooded killer, bold thief, self-righteous vigilante, foul-mouthed recording artist, creative rebel, blasphemous stand-up comedian, naked actress, fornicating “glamour couple,” self-worshiping athlete, occultic mystic, and the like. Perhaps the clearest example in our day has been the movement of alternative sexual lifestyle from something universally seen as shameful to something that ought to be delighted in. The gay rights movement is seeking not merely tolerance of what God calls sinful, but society-wide celebration with corporate and civic sponsorship, and “god” forbid, if you don’t join in.
C. Rejecting God’s Revelation God Grants the Rebel over to a Depraved Mind. V.28-32
1.Rejecting God’s revelation results in God granting our request.
a. V.28 – “abandons”- not angry, but sorrowful regret. Implied judgment. Parents, seen an adult child in rebellion. Can force them to do anything. Love them. But they are going to do what do until come to end of themselves.
b. Illust: Have often heard non-Christian angrily question: “How can a loving God send people to hell?” False! God sends no one to hell. We send ourselves. We do it by rejecting His revelation of His salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ.
2. Sin is its own punishment.
a. It promises freedom, but it enslaves. It entices us by making us think that it will bring happiness and fulfillment, and for a short time, it is pleasurable (Heb. 11:25). But the long-term effects of sin are devastating. It dishonors our bodies, defiles our conscience, destroys loving relationships, tears apart families, eats away at the foundation of society, and results in God’s temporal and ultimately eternal judgment. What’s their response?
b. Illust: “They run off to the psychiatrist, the psychologist, the analyst. They run off to take a vacation to try to forget. They travel. They entertain themselves. They drink. They take drugs. They seek alleviation of the consequences of sin every way possible. That’s impossible! Do you know who has the highest suicide rate in America among any profession? Psychiatrists! God’s judgment is our inability to get out of the consequence of our sinfulness on our own. There’s no alleviation. There’s no freedom from the bondage. There’s no limiting of the pain. There’s no easing of the guilt. And so it is the divine act of judgment on them that they are doomed to compound their sinfulness and have to endure all of its consequences.” Wrath! (MacArthur – “Abandoned by God”)
3. Rejection of God’s revelation results in encouraging others to rebel.
a. Our world heaps abuse on those who stand for righteousness in our corrupt age. Isaiah 5:20 captures the defective moral compass of our age: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness!” So our culture delights in what’s shameful and is ashamed of what God finds delightful. I recently saw a T-shirt that proclaimed, “Homosexuality isn’t shameful; homophobia is.” The new term homophobia (c. 1969) implies that biblical conviction on that sin is itself a form of mental illness.
b. Illust: When University of Missouri football player Michael Sam declared himself to be gay, his fellow students gave him a standing ovation at a basketball game. Anyone who refused to stand and cheer certainly would have been made to feel ashamed. Not content with own perversion, must make everyone else agree to celebrate, or as says in v.32 – “giving hearty approval to those who practice them.”
D. Applic: The Gospel teaches us that we were made for fellowship with God. It teaches us that by nature, we are dead in our sin, unresponsive to and separated from our heavenly Father. It demonstrates that we are constantly twisting His truth, breaking His Law, belittling His standards, and offending His holiness with our sinfulness. Yet, praise God, the Gospel also shows that though we were deserving of God’s wrath, He took the initiative to reconcile us to Himself thru the sinless life and substitutionary death of His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:4-10; Rom 3:21-24)
