The Evidence Against Us (Part 2) Series

There is a quote that has been around for years that I would like to share with you. “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours. If they do not come back, it was never meant to be.” How many of you have actually heard that? Better yet, how many of you have actually seen this work? This quote has been worded in various ways over the years but the two main truths remain. Truth number one: it is a great act of love to allow a person room to make a choice. Truth number two: you cannot make anyone love you. The entire first chapter of Romans illustrates these two truths. God proves His love in an unexpected way, by letting go. Obedience is not forced upon us or is it a requirement for being loved by Him. So when we demand our freedom, God respects that choice. Although it breaks His heart, God still respects our decision. Why would God give us the freedom to screw up? His hope is that through the bad decisions that we make, we would come to the realization of how much better we are living the way God has called us to. Another reason could be, that God knows that true love is a choice and He wants us to love Him more than anything. True obedience will always flows from the heart of true love. Today as we examine Paul’s second round of evidence against us, we will see the consequences of demanding our freedom.

I. Understanding that at the root of all immorality is idolatry.

A. God’s wrath against mankind is justified because sin is a choice.

1. We cannot use the excuse, “I just couldn’t help myself.” Because sin is not natural because it is in opposition to the will of God.

2. We have been made in the image of God, we struggle with sinful desires because our disobedience to God has tarnished that image.

3. The entire mess that our world is now in can be traced back to one single source. Man’s desire to stubbornly do his own thing rather than obeying his Creator.

4. So God pours out His wrath against sinful man because they have made the deliberate chose to rebel against Him.

5. Being Holy and righteous in nature God cannot not overlook sin.

a. Sin is deliberate rebellion

b. Rebellion must be punished.

c. Our choices have left God no alternative.

B. When we choose to live according to our sinful desires we act as if there is no God.

1. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Psalm 14:1—NIV 2011)

2. Sin is the result of us putting someone else on the throne of our lives which is idolatry.

a. Idolatry always results in sin.

b. Since idols do not live there is no revelation or moral standard.

c. The result is that every person does as they see fit.

3. Paul stated earlier that the truth about the reality of God has been made obvious in creation. However, when we live in sin, we act as if that truth has never been revealed.

4. The humbling truth is this, “We tell the world what we believe about God by the way that we choose to live.

C. God loves mankind too much to force them to love and obey Him.

1. Paul shows that one of the surest signs of God’s wrath is seen in the fact that when man chooses to rebel against Him, He honors that choice.

2. We need to realize that the more we rebel against God the easier it will get to allow our lives to become more and more immoral.

3. Although God loves us, He will allow our choice to sin to continue to degrade us until we turn back to Him.

4. The Greek word atimia is translated “degrading” here. It literally means to disgrace, shame or dishonor.”

II. Paul paints a vivid picture of mankind’s depravity.

A. Idolatry always leads man to exchange the good gifts of God for the temporary pleasures of sin.

1. Paul outlines two main things that man chooses to exchange as a result of their rebellion.

a. They trade the one true God for a worthless copy.

b. They trade natural relationships for unnatural ones.

2. Our text shows us precisely why unnatural sexual relations have always accompanied the worship of idols.

3. The depravity of mankind is shown in the fact they go to great lengths to try and show that they are not upsetting the natural course in regard to sexual relations.

4. These sexual perversions that Paul describes are unique to the human race. They cannot be found in the animal kingdom.