Abandoned
Romans 1:24-32
Man is not good but evil. Bent toward sin. This is
Illustrated and developed theologically through chapter 4.
Man is not going toward God but away from God until finally the restraints of the Holy Spirit will be removed and all hell will break loose! 2 Thes. 2:3-9; Rev. 9:1-11
Man cannot stop this slide because he is a slave to sin.
The major point of Romans 1:24-32 is that when men persistently abandon God, God will abandon them. (24,26,28)
Even His own people. See. Psalm 81:11,12 Hos. 4:17
Acts 7:38-42 Acts 14:16
When God abandons men to their own devices, His divine protection is partially withdrawn.
Judges 10:13 2 Chr. 15:2; 24:20
The essence of man’s sinfulness
"Wherefore “ Refers back to the reasons for God’s wrath.
"Gave them up" an intense verb used of giving one’s body to be burned, Christ Giving himself up to death, men being committed to prison, and of rebellious angels being delivered to pits of darkness. It is also used of Christ committing himself to the Fathers care and of the Father’s delivering His own Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God’s giving men over has a dual sense...
1. Simply withdrawing His restraining and protecting hand allowing the consequences of sin to take their course. Not all of God’s wrath is future.
This divine abandonment is not eternal. As long as they are alive, God provides an opportunity for their salvation.
2. In a direct sense, God gave over rebellious mankind by specific acts of judgment. The flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra are examples.
The expression of man’s sinfulness
Verses 26,27
"For this cause" Because man rejected God’s truth and made gods of his own making. For the second time, Paul says God gave them up. Not only to idolatry (vs. 24,25) but to vile affections which he identifies as homosexuality.
He mentions women first. That is the most shocking.
There is a burning level of lust among homosexuals not known or understood by heterosexuals. Remember the homosexuals in Sodom who tried to break on the door to get to the men inside. Sodomy now refers to homosexuality and other forms of sexual deviation.
It is not uncommon for homosexuals to have 300 partners a year. Even friendly relationships among homosexuals often become physical and bizarre. Officials say that the jealous rage of a homosexual is much more intense and violent than heterosexual. Sex involving violence and even killing is most often linked with homosexuality. Many mass murderers seem to be homosexual.
Now many church denominations in the U.S. have ordained homosexuals to the ministry and established special churches for them. One denominational group claims that homosexuality is no more abnormal than left-handedness.
Bible believing Christianity is blamed for some of the tragic results that homosexuals bring on themselves.
Condemned in both testaments.
In the Old Testament, punishable by death.
See 1 Cor. 6:9-11 Gal 5:19-21 Eph. 5:3-5 Jude 7
All people are born sinners with tendencies and temptations toward certain sins. No one is born a homosexual, murderer, thief, and adulterer. To attempt to justify it is vile but to attempt to justify it on biblical grounds is even more vile.
The extent of man’s sinfulness
The Godless mind is a depraved mind.
Verse 32 is the pit of wickedness. We live in a society that openly condones and defends such evils as those described, also glamorizes them and defends the rights of homosexuals even to adopt children.
