God is exercising His wrath in the world today. But how? What are the results of God’s present wrath? Pastor Brian teaches that God exercises His wrath by giving people over to their own desires. People have exchanged God for someone or something else. God, in wrath, lets them have it!
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The Results of God’s Wrath
Romans 1:24-32
We have been working our way through the first chapter of the book of Romans, and we have been examining the wrath of God. Romans 1:18-32 is about the wrath of God. God’s wrath is His righteous indignation and holy anger against sin. The wrath of God is being revealed right now from heaven. God’s wrath is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
Last week we looked at the reasons for God’s wrath, and we saw four of them:
- People Know The Truth About God
- People Suppress The Truth About God
- People Refuse To Honor God
- People Choose Idols Over God
Well, this morning the apostle Paul teaches us what are the results of God’s wrath. In other words, when God exercises His wrath against a society, or culture, or nation, what will it result in?
If I were to summarize Romans 1:24-32 into a simple sentence it would be, “When man abandons God, God abandons man.”
So, this morning, let’s see how Paul speaks of man abandoning God. Then, let’s see how Paul speaks about God abandoning man.
1. Man Abandons God
You see, in this passage Paul says the same thing 3 times, in 3 different ways. He speaks of man abandoning God in verse 23, 25, and 28. Then he speaks of God abandoning man in verse 24, 26, and 28. And notice very carefully, that God abandons man because man has abandoned God.
Verse 22-23 says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Then notice verse 24, “Therefore, God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” It is because man preferred images to God, that God gave him over.
We have something very similar in verses 25-26, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions…” Again, God gave man over because man worshiped the creature rather than the Creator.
And then again, Paul says something very similar in verse 28, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”
In three different verses, Paul says that man abandons God. He exchanges the glory of God for images. He worships and serves the creature rather than the Creator. And He does not see fit to acknowledge God any longer.
In verse 23, man exchanges the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man. Then in verse 25, man exchanges the truth of God for a lie, and worships and serves the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. What is the truth of God? It is that He is glorious and to be desired above all else. The lie is that the creature is to be desired above God. Please note that sin at its core is exchanging God for something else. It is worshiping something else than God. It is serving something other than God. Man abandons God when God is not the object of his supreme love and worship. We see this happening all the time. People worship and serve their sports heroes, or their favorite bands, or an actor or actress. In ancient Egyptian culture, they worshiped all kinds of animals. The Hindus worship cows.
Sin is preferring something else to God. And all the pain and suffering and heartache and woe that people experience in this life finds its root in man abandoning God. Sin brings guilt and shame, and loneliness, and destruction of friendships, devastation of families, enslavement, poverty, and death. And at the core of all of that is preferring anything over God! We will never come to understand sin until we see it as putting anything in God’s place. This is the deepest problem of our lives. This is our greatest malady. If we fail to worship God rightly, that is our biggest problem. Once we get that right, we can start to fix all of the other issues mentioned in this text, like homosexuality, sexual impurity, greed, gossip, pride, and arrogance. But until a person understands that they have exchanged something for God, and repents, and puts God at His rightful place in their lives, there is no hope for genuine Biblical change.
Then, Paul tells us about man abandoning God in verse 28. He says that they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer. God wasn’t worth their time of day. They didn’t see fit to even acknowledge Him. They were quite happy to go on with their lives, doing their own will, seeking their own pleasures, without Him in their lives. They wanted to be God, and were happy to get Him out of their lives.
So, I hope you can see that God’s wrath is a consequence of man abandoning God. That’s the first thing we must see very clearly.
2. God Abandons Man
You remember that I said this passage is about the wrath of God, right? And verse 18 says that God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven now, and all the time. So, how is God’s wrath being revealed from heaven? The answer is that God abandons man. Three times we are told that “God gave them over.” Verse 24 – “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” Verse 26 – “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions.” Verse 28 – “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” God expresses His wrath by giving men over, or giving men up, or delivering them over.
This is taught many places in Scripture. You might think that the idea of God giving men over is a strange concept, and surely only taught here in Romans 1. However, that is the furthest thing from the truth. Let’s see some of the other texts in Scripture that teach this same truth.
Psalm 81:11-12, “But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices.”
Hosea 4:17, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.”
2 Chronicles 24:20, “Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God dhas said, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.’”
Acts 7:41-42, “At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven.”
But what exactly does this mean? There is a passive sense in which God gives men over, and an active sense. The passive sense is where He simply removes His restraints, and allows men to do what they want to do anyway. It’s like a man who takes his dog out for a walk. The dog spots a skunk, and goes crazy, barking and barking, tugging at the leash. Finally, the owner gets so annoyed with this dog, that he lets him loose from his leash. The dog bolts out to where the skunk is and gets a big dose of skunk spray! The owner simply gave him over to do what he wanted. And it didn’t turn out well for the dog, did it? There comes a time when God takes the leash off, and says, “OK. You really don’t want Me in your life. I will let you find out what it is like when you make something else your god!”
So, that is the passive sense of “give them over.” However, there is also an active sense. In other words, it is not just that God takes off the restraints and allows man to do what he wants. It is that God actively delivers man over to judgment. You say, “what do you mean, Brian?” Well, let’s take a look at how this phrase “gave them over” is used in the rest of Scripture. It is the greek word “paradidomai”.
Matthew 4:12, “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee”
Matthew 5:25, “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.”
Matthew 10:17, “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues”
Matthew 10:21, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.”
Matthew 18:34, “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.”
Matthew 26:2, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”
I think you can get a flavor for the New Testament use of this word. It is often associated with delivering someone over to arrest, or prison, or torture or death. It is not just passive, it is active. God is actively delivering people over to judgment because they have exchanged Him for something else. People say, “If we keep on going in the direction we are headed, God is going to judge America.” Folks, God is judging America! That’s why we are heading in the direction we are heading in. He has given us over to our own wicked hearts.
What Does God hand people over to? The short answer is “sin”. God gives them more of what they want. They forsake God to go after sin, and God gives them a whole bunch of it.
Impurity. In verse 24 Paul writes, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” God gives men over to impurity. That word means “uncleanness” or “filthiness.” How do they arrive at this filthy, unclean situation? God allows them to pursue the lusts of their hearts. People are always saying, “Man is basically good. Deep down he has a good heart.” Well, let’s see what Jesus had to say about man’s heart in Matthew 15:17-20, “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
So God gives man up to the lusts of his hearts, and all the wicked desires of his sinful heart are expressed, resulting in an unclean, filthy soul before God. And, as a result of giving them over to the lusts of their hearts, their bodies are dishonored among them. I believe that is another reference to the sexual sin we will see in verse 26 and 27.
Degrading Passions. In verse 26 Paul puts it a little differently, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions.” You can see that verse 23 and 25 are parallel statements, and verse 24 and 26 are parallel statements. In both verse 23 and 25 these people are exchanging God for something else. In verse 24 and 26 God gives them over to their lusts and passions. Well, in verse 26, He gives them over to degrading passions. Whatever these passions are, they degrade and demean a person. As fallen sinners, we have many passions which are perverted and depraved.
So, how do these degrading passions express themselves? Paul tells us the answer in verses 26-27, “for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
The issue of homosexuality and lesbianism has become an extremely charged social issue today hasn’t it? Our entire society has done a 180 in less than 40 years. In 2011, only 35% of people supported same sex marriage. In 2017, 62% support it. That is an incredible shift in only 16 years! Think of it – there has never been a culture which defined marriage to include a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. But, in our own day, marriage has been completely redefined. 83% of people 18-29 years old, say that homosexuality should be accepted by society.
Folks, you know what this means? It means we are living out Romans 1 in our world. It means that God’s wrath is upon us as a nation. It means that God has given us over to the lusts of our hearts and our own degrading passions. Instead of rejoicing that some kind of human civil right has been won by same sex marriage becoming legal, we should weep and mourn that the judgment of God is upon our land.
When Paul wanted to name a particular sin that expresses society’s degrading passions, he chose homosexuality. Now, I realize that people get very passionate about this issue, and sometimes even violent. I’m not trying to make anyone angry this morning. But it is my solemn duty as a Pastor, to teach the Word of God accurately. So, what does the Bible teach about homosexuality? I’m going to limit myself to just Romans 1. Let’s examine it to see what it says.
- It is a degrading passion – verse 26. Homosexuality does not lift a human being up. It degrades him. It brings him down. This is not an exalted, holy passion. It is a degrading one.
- It is unnatural – verse 26. Of course, that goes almost without saying. It is obvious that when God created man, He created them male and female, in order to fill the earth. Now, it is impossible for two men, or two women to fill the earth. God’s design from the beginning was one man and one woman for one lifetime. In Genesis 2:24 the Bible says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
- It is an indecent act – verse 27. This word means that which is shameful or unseemly. Other synonyms are “obscene, dirty, or filthy.” Remember, we are only trying to see what the Scripture says about homosexuality, not what our popular culture says. The Bible says it is indecent.
- It is an error – verse 27. This means that it is not right. It is wrong. The Bible does make black and white judgments about many things, and this is one of those things the Bible is very clear on. Homosexuality is an error.
- It will receive a due penalty – verse 27. I believe this probably includes the various venereal diseases and AIDS that largely accompany the homosexual community. God brings judgment upon this sin. Anal cancer is 24 times more prevalent in gays. Hepatitus C is 10 times more prevalent in gays.
The Bible has nothing positive to say about homosexuality. Everything that it does say is negative – it is degrading, unnatural, indecent, erroneous, and receives a due penalty.
Depraved Mind. In verse 28, Paul writes, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” A depraved mind is a corrupt mind, a rejected mind. This is the mind of the person whom God has rejected. He has abandoned God, so God has abandoned him and left him to his own mind, affections and will. Failed worship leads to devolving, not evolving. It causes man to spiral downward more and more into depths of sin and degradation.
So, just what kinds of actions does a depraved mind commit? Well, in verses 29-31 Paul lists 21 of them: unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.
What is true about a society abandoned by God?
- They know the ordinance of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death. Just as all people deep down know there must be a Creator, so too they also know that they are guilty and there is a judgment coming, and they are worthy of death.
- They still commit these evil actions. God has given them up, and their own evil hearts lead inevitably to these kinds of evil actions. They can’t help themselves. They are slaves of sin.
- They give hearty approval to those who practice them. One glaring illustration of this is the pornography industry today. The ultimate destination of our depravity is not just a suicidal love affair with sin, but also a desire to bring others with you to destruction. It’s absolute madness! The whole pornography industry which is in excess of $8 billion a year, is a fitting illustration of this. Those peddling porn, give hearty approval to you viewing porn, and will do everything in their power to get you to view porn, so that they can line their own pockets.
Conclusion
I know that my message this morning has been bleak. Is there any hope for America? Has God handed the whole nation over, and the whole thing is sliding into destruction? No, there is hope. Why do I say so? It’s because of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 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.” When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth he said, “You guys were thieves, adulterers, fornicators, idolaters, homosexuals, drunkards, swindlers – but God saved you! God washed you in the blood of Christ and justified you through faith.
My friends the only hope for America is the gospel of Jesus Christ! Romans 1:17 says that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. God’s wrath is against all unrighteousness of men. The only way to escape God’s wrath is by receiving the free gift of God’s righteousness. That is the only remedy for God’s judgment upon sinners. The gospel is the only way for someone to escape a depraved mind, and degrading passions. Instead of degrading passions, the Lord can give a new heart and put a new spirit within (Ezek.36:26). Instead of giving you over to a depraved mind, people can experience Romans 6:17, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.” This verse literally means “that form of teach to which you were handed over.” God handed people over to a depraved mind. But He can also hand people over to a form of teaching that produces holiness of life.
Folks, the answer to our present moral state in America is not politics. It is not making new laws. I believe the only thing that can change our downward spiral into filth is a heaven sent revival. Therefore, we need to pray for our country. We need to pray for people all around us. We need to be actively bringing the gospel to the lost. And we need to live such a holy life, filled with God’s joy and peace, that a lost world will desire to know where it is coming from. It’s really very simple. Preach the gospel, pray for the lost, and live a holy life.
Let’s recommit together to invest our energy into preaching the gospel and praying for God to move on our land.
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