I. Introduction
a. Have you ever gone ahead and done something even though you knew it was going to turn out badly?
b. Even after weighing the consequences have you gone ahead any way, knowing full well, that things were going to end in disaster for you?
c. Have you ever consciously sat down, thought through the ramifications of a decision and chosen to proceed; knowing without a shadow of a doubt that disaster was looming just ahead for you?
d. Have you ever weighed the pros and cons of a situation, seen that the cons far outweighed the pros; and decided to proceed anyways.
e. My daughter Mackenzie, scares me to death. In many ways she is me as a girl. She can have a complete disregard for consequences at times. It frightens me to the very core when I watch her eyes, see her weigh the consequences and decide to do what she wants regardless of what will happen in response.
f. As an example, one day she was repeatedly disobeying Amber and I. After explaining to her what would and would not be acceptable, and what the consequences would be, she still continued to disobey.
g. I took her to timeout, as I said I would. As I sat her down, I explained to her that if she did not sit still for the allotted time, I would have to swat her on the bottom for her continued disobedience as the next step, and asked if she understood.
h. Her response was a swift “yes daddy.” As I turned to walk away, I tripped over a young girl at my heels trying to run away from her place in time out.
i. I was stunned. She knew the consequences. She had weighed out what the response on my part would be. She and I have a past history where she knows that I do what I say, so I was forced to swat her rear end.
j. She broke down crying. I sat her in time out, and repeated the instructions: “You are going to sit her because your disobedience is unacceptable. I love you to much to allow you to disobey and I am trying to teach you the right way to act. If you get up before the timer goes off, I will swat your bottom again. Do you understand?” “Yes daddy.”
l. Even though she knew what the response was going to be, she continued in her disobedience. Even though it was going to end badly, and she knew it; it did not stop her from doing exactly what she wanted to do.
m. This morning, as we continue in Romans we are going to learn that my little girl is no different from anybody else.
n. Even though we know what we do is wrong, and deserving of punishment, it does not stop us from doing the very things we know we should not.
o. This morning, we are going to learn what happens when we give ourselves over to the sinful desires of our heart.
p. Eric talked last week about how we ignore the truth about God. In doing so, we are turned over to our sinful desires. Even though we know those desires lead to our death, we still persist in our sins.
II. Sinful desires
a. In verse 24 therefore, is important; because it links back to the unit of scripture that Eric preached on last week.
b.The big idea from that unit of scripture was this:
i. Subject: Why is the wrath of God being is revealed?
ii. Compliment: Because humans suppressed the truth which was revealed through conscience and creation. Because they did that, God therefore gave them over to the sinful desires of their heart.
c. Humans know God, and yet they suppress the truth of God. The wrath of God is being revealed, because men have suppressed the truth which was revealed through conscience and creation.
d. Because they have done that, God therefore has given them over to the sinful desire of their heart. And they are going to willingly allow those sinful desires to lead them to death.
e. In the next verses, Paul is going to go on to describe the sinful desires that humans have given themselves over to.
f. The word used here for desires is the key to our passage this morning. It is a reaching out after pleasure; a reaching which defies all reason.
i. It is the passionate desire for forbidden pleasure. It is the desire which makes humans do nameless things, and makes them do shameless things.
ii. Humankind has become so completely immersed in the world and the pursuit of sinful desires that they have ceased to be aware of God at all.
g. When verse 24 speaks of God abandoning humans to their sinful desires, there are two things we have to keep in mind.
i. God gave us a free-will and He respects that free-will. Before everyone, there stands an open choice.
1. When Paul speaks of God abandoning humans to uncleanness it is with an air of sorrow and regret.
2. It is with sorrow and regret that humans have abandoned God for their own sinful desires.
ii. In the word abandon there is also judgment. The more a human sins, the easier it is to sin. We may start with a shuddering awareness of our sins, but in the end we go on without a second thought for what are doing.
1. Sin is always a lie, because you think it will make you happy, but in the end it ruins lives, both for yourself and the ones around you that love you.
h. And once we have been abandoned to those sinful desires, it starts a downward slide. From the second half of verse 24 through 31, Paul gives a laundry list of examples of what humans have chosen over God.
III. Sexual Impurity
a. Verse 24b: For degrading of their bodies with one another. One aspect of mankind’s corruption was sexual promiscuity.
i. The sexual immorality of our present day culture, live-in lovers, wife-swapping, group sex parties, and pornography were issues in Rome as well as today.
ii. The same sexual sins we see today, were the same sins 2000 years ago which resulted from God abandoning man to his sinful desires.
IV. Idolatry
a. Verse 25: Paul goes on to say that men exchanged the truth of God with a lie, by worshiping created things rather than creator- who is forever praised.
b. In a sense this verse repeats the truth of verse 23, but it expresses more. The truth of God is that people are creatures of God and can find true fulfillment only in worshiping and obediently serving God the Creator.
c. “The lie” on the other hand says that humans can exist independent of God, and be self-sufficient, self-directing, and self-fulfilling.
d. Mankind made himself his god in place of the true God. Because God the Creator is forever praised in contrast with creatures who are undeserving of worship.
e. Paul added Amen. This word transliterates in both Greek and English the Hebrew word meaning “so let it be.” As an affirmation, not a wish, it places approval on what has just been said.
V. Shameful Lusts
a. Verse 26-27: Because men felt that they can exist independent of God, they were given to shameful lusts.
i. Women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones and men abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.
ii. God gave them over to shameful lusts (“passions of disgrace”). This involved, as the text states, both sexes engaging in homosexual instead of heterosexual relationships.
iii. Contemporary homosexuals insist that these verses mean that it is perverse for a heterosexual male or female to engage in homosexual relations but it is not perverse for a homosexual male or female to do so since homosexuality is such a person’s natural preference.
1. This is strained exegesis unsupported by the Bible. The only natural sexual relationship the Bible recognizes is a heterosexual one (Gen. 2:21-24; Matt. 19:4-6) within marriage.
2. All homosexual relations constitute sexual perversion and are subject to God’s judgment.
3. But Paul here is not necessarily railing against homosexuality. He is merely pointing to sins which were common to the Romans which they would understand.
4. When he wants to make the point that men and women have been given over to shameful lusts he wants to give a concrete application that they can look at to see what he is talking about.
5. And so he says hey you know all those homosexuals around you, that is an example of people who have suppressed their knowledge of God, and given themselves over to their shameful lusts.
6. That may be an unpopular statement in 2007. But it is not my opinion. It is the word of God making a very direct statement that those who engage in homosexual activity have given themselves over to their shameful lusts.
VI. Depraved Mind
a. Verses 28-31: Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
b. There is no other passage which so clearly shows what happens to a man who leaves God out of his life.
c. When he banishes God from his life he becomes a certain kind of man. We have seen so far some of what he is, but now in full descriptive detail, Paul is going to give us a catalog of dreadful things which enter into the godless life.
d. They become filled with every kind of wickedness imaginable, and we see different actions and attitudes this person displays:
i. Evil – he robs both man and God of their rights. He worships himself to the exclusion of everything else.
ii. Greedy – The spirit which will pursue its own interests with complete disregard for the rights of others. The unbridled lust which takes its pleasure where it has no right to take it.
iii. Depraved – Lacking any quality which would make him good. The forerunner of all other sins. Bad, trouble, a malignancy.
iv. Envious – he resents the good things in other people, or the fine things other people have. It is the most warped and twisted of human emotions.
v. Murder – Not only the act of murder but according to Jesus the act of anger and hatred in our hearts must be eliminated as well.
vi. Strife – contention which is born of envy, ambition, and the desire for prestige and a place of prominence. It comes from a heart of jealousy. It is a God given gift to take pleasure in the successes of others.
vii. Deceit – A man who cannot act in a straightforward way, who stoops to devious and underhanded methods to get his own way, who never does anything except with an ulterior motive.
viii. Malice – always supposes the worst in people. If there are two possible explanations, this person automatically assumes the worst about people.
ix. Gossips – the man who whispers his malicious stories in the listeners ears, who take people into corners to tell character assassination stories.
x. Slanderers – the man who trumpets his slanders abroad, he quite openly makes accusations and tells tales.
xi. God-haters – He hates God because he knows he is defying Him. God is the barrier between him and his pleasures. He wants the license to sin not the liberty of free-will.
xii. Insolent – He is so proud that he defies God. He is so confident in himself, his wealth and abilities; that he does not need God. It is also the man who is wantonly cruel, sadistic and insulting. Someone who hurts others not for revenge but just for the pleasure of hurting.
xiii. Arrogant – Contempt for everyone except self. He refuses to volunteer at church because he does not have time to spare from his own business.
xiv. Boastful – One who pretends to have what it has not. One who pretends to be richer and braver than they are. Who promises to do what they are unable to do.
xv. Invent ways of doing evil- Not content with the ordinary ways of sinning, but who seek out new thrills, and sins.
xvi. Disobey their parents – This is included in Paul’s list because once the bonds of family are broken wholesale degeneracy follows. If you thumb your nose at your parents, there is nothing else and no one else stopping you from doing whatever you desire.
xvii. Senseless – A fool who does not learn from experience. He does not use the mind and brain God has given him.
xviii. Faithless – You can’t count on him. To the Romans a mans word was his bond. By using this word, Paul is saying you can’t be trusted. A mortal blow to a Roman.
xix. Heartless – No love for family. Without natural affections. The natural bonds of human affection had been destroyed.
xx. Ruthless – Human life had become cheap. A slave could be killed for no reason, they were possessions. The quality of mercy was gone.
VII. People are proud of theirs and others sins
a. Verse 32: Even though people have an innate awareness of God. Even though they know their life style choices are going to turn out badly for them, they not only continue to do them but they cheer on others who do the same things.
b. Our society celebrates all manner of alternative lifestyles and choices. Knowing full well the consequences of our choices we can’t stop ourselves.
c. We weigh the cost sometimes, and still decide to do things that we know are contrary to a God who has revealed Himself to us.
VIII. Conclusion
a. Paul said because of your stubbornness, you were allowed to be yourselves and what you are ain’t a pretty picture.
b. Are you going to choose to be this person, or are you going to choose to be a saint because you accept by faith the justifying work of Christ.
c. We know where our sinful desires end. And on the other hand we know one who will accept us and forgive us for being what we are.
d. You can either continue to be what you are, cheering others on in their sins, or you can be the saint Christ called you to be?
e. Knowing what the eventual outcome will be, the choice seems clear cut to me. It did to Paul as well. But there are still people who will choose to live for their sinful desires instead.
f. My prayer is that every person here this morning makes a commitment to live like a saint. Not one who gives themselves to their sinful desires.
Reference: Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans. The Westminister Press, Philidelphia, Pa. 1976. Moo, Douglas J. “Paul and the Gospel (1:24-32)” In NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Romans. by Moo. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.
Post Author: Pastor Kris
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