THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REJECTION OF GOD

ROMANS 1:24-27

          Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 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; 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 (NASB).

INTRODUCTION

          A couple of years ago, by the stroke of a pen a judge in the state of Massachusetts changed a landmark decision, which has guided this nation for centuries. In the creation narrative, God the Creator saw the loneliness of Adam and said, “I will make a help mate for man to compliment him.” Not only that, God is the one, who consummated the first marriage in the Garden of Eden. The marriage was between Adam, a male and Eve, a female. Since the time of creation, the human race has understood marriage to be between a male and a female, a man and woman. This has been the standard method and practice of marriage since the beginning of creation. However, in recent times diabolical attempts are been made to undermine the institution of marriage, and many Christians have been caught in the middle of this moral and spiritual quagmire. Many Christians have become aloof because they do not have any biblical solution to this moral and spiritual malaise. The Lord has impressed it on my heart to address this issue, which has become not only moral and spiritual but also a political hot-button.

          In the day of the Apostle Paul, Rome was the superpower of the world. There was an adage, “Every road led to Rome.” Rome was the capital city of the world. It was the center of idolatry and immorality. The Greco-Roman world became the seedbed of idolatry and homosexuality. Therefore, in his correspondence to the Christian community in Rome, the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit touched on this moral sin.

          The time is ripe for us to deal with this particular moral and spiritual issue today. Therefore, I would like to share with you on the topic: “The Consequences of the Rejection of God.”

          Last week, I showed you that there is a downward progression when the Gentile world suppressed the knowledge of God’s truth in unrighteousness. The downward spiral led to the espousal of idolatry, which is the worship of something other than the true living God. When this happened something else also happened. That is what we are going to deal with in today’s message.

I.                  IDOLATRY AND GOD’S PERMISSIVE WILL VV. 24-25

          When the human race insisted on worshiping idols, God gave them over to idolatry. When the children of Israel insisted that they no longer want “Theocracy,” the rule of God and Samuel’s heart was broken, God told Samuel that it was not Samuel they had rejected but God Himself. God said, "I will give them what they want." It is a similar statement that God is making here in this text. The truth of the matter is that as creatures we are dependent on the Creator, but when we cut ourselves from the Creator the inevitable result is that the creature can no longer function well. Due to idolatry, the spiral of human sin and sinning is given a sharper twist: God determines the consequence of human sin. “God handed them over, or give them over" or "leave to" (paredoken). The term denotes a measured and deliberate act on the part of God. It also means that God resigned His direct control over the people who are bent on sinning against Him. These people have chosen to reject God, and God allowed them to do it. It is God’s punishment, which we in freedom bring upon ourselves. The unbelieving people wanted to pursue the desire of their own hearts, and so God gave them over to what they desired. God did not give them their desires, rather He gave them to what they desired and the consequences of what they desired. God does not usually stop us from making choices that are against His will. He lets you declare your supposed independence from Him, even though He knows that in time you will become slaves to your rebellious choices—you will lose your freedom not to sin. Let me ask you a question: “Does life without God look like freedom to you?” Look more closely. There is no worse slavery than slavery to sin.

          When God created the human race in His image, He provided us with moral and spiritual parameters, not to steal our joy, but to protect us from destroying ourselves. It is like when parents set moral guidelines for their children; it is not because the parents want to rob the children of their joy and independence, but rather to protect them to become what God intends for them to be in the future. Even in the human economy, when children continue to rebel against their parents, their so-called freedom becomes their downfall in life.

          In verse 25, the Apostle Paul returns to the basic truth he has been hammering in this passage. The word of God gives us the root cause of humans’ corrupted and dishonoring state. They exchanged what they knew to be the truth of God for a lie; they prefer to direct their devotion to the creature instead of the Creator. Here the echo of Genesis 3 is even stronger. Adam and Eve believed in the serpent’s slander and deception: “You will not die . . . ; you will be like God” (Gen. 3:4-5). And the result? Adam became less than human, the creature of creatures rather than that of the Creator. Men and women are worship beings. We are creatures bound by our very nature to worship and serve something beyond ourselves. Therefore, if you reject the only one who is worthy of your worship and service, it is inevitable that you will direct your basic drive for worship to an inferior object. When this happens you reduce your own stature in consequence. Would you think to choose as your master the created thing rather than the glorious Creator? But that is just what men and women have done. The thought of idolatry is so repugnant to the apostle Paul that he uses a benediction to distance God from such perverse folly (v. 25).

          People tend to believe lies that reinforce their own selfish and personal beliefs. Today, more than ever, you need to be careful about the input you allow to form your beliefs. With TV, music, movies, and the rest of the media often presenting sinful lifestyles and unwholesome values, you find yourself constantly inundated by attitudes and beliefs that are totally opposed to the Bible. Be careful about what you allow to form your opinions. The Bible is the only standard of truth. Evaluate all other opinions in light of the teachings of the Bible.

II.   THE UNNATURAL HUMAN SEXUAL

          RELATIONSHIP VV. 26-27

          God’s plan for natural sexual relationships is His ideal for His creation. Unfortunately, sin distorts the natural use of God’s gifts. Sin often means not only denying God, but also denying the way you are made. When people conclude that any sex act is acceptable as long as nobody gets hurt, they are fooling themselves. In the long run, and often in the short run, sin hurts people—individuals, families, whole societies. The story of the “Goat and the Sheep” is always true. In its folly the goat tells the sheep what I do is nobody's business. However, when the goat caused a tragedy, the sheep lost its head as a sacrifice to the King.

          In verse 26, the Bible is talking about lesbianism, and it cast it in bad taste. The word of God is saying that lesbianism is an unnatural human sexual relationship. Let me share this with you. The downward moral and spiritual spiral continues. Idolatry has led to homosexuality. In the writings of the apostle Paul, idolatry always has a link with sexual immorality. This lifestyle was rampant in Paul’s day in the Gentile world. It was partly due to this kind of loose life that destroyed the Roman Empire. In fact, the Roman Empire did not collapse because of an attack from another nation. The Roman Empire disintegrated from within, because of idolatry and immorality. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality. While the United States should not take the threat of terrorism lightly, it must not concentrate all her efforts on terrorism. Homosexuality and “Gay Marriages” is an insidious assault and evil that has the potential to undermine traditional marriage and destroy this nation and every nation that embraces it.

          Verse 27 appears to speak of homosexual relations as sinful. Today, speaking negatively of homosexuality is often declared to be an attack on civil rights. Several factors have led to this flawed assumption.

          First, postmodern society believes that all personal options are equally good. Thus you need to take pride in your ethnic background or religion or sexual preference. They conclude that none is better than the other and no one should judge another. This is what we call “relative judgment" or “relativism." They claim that there is no absolute truth. Therefore, what is truth to you may not be truth to me. The problem with this line of reasoning is that it takes God out of the equation. (Read my article "Moral Absolutism versus Moral Relativism in my website: christianitycurrentaffairs.blogspot.com)

          Second, genital sexual expression is viewed as a right and even a necessity for emotional health. This is a new view, which ignores the fact that many who cannot function sexually (such as impotent males) can and do live full and meaningful lives. Unlike food and water and shelter, sexual expression is not a need; nor is it a right. There are many Christian single men and women, who remain virgins because they have not met their life partners. Are they less human than married men and women, or those who are single but have chosen promiscuous life? The answer is a resounding no.

          Third, they conclude that homosexuality has found increasing acceptance in our society. However, acceptance does not make something right. Neither does the evidence that homosexuality may be inborn make it right. For example, alcoholism, schizophrenia and a tendency to violence may also be linked to genes, and we look at these as genetic defects. However, we view them as bad and try to control their expression.

          Fourth, there have been attempts to label any rejection of homosexuality as “homophobic” and thus make a rejection of this lifestyle appear wrong. Nevertheless, such labeling begs the question. Is one “kleptophobic” if he or she calls theft wrong? It is not always an issue of fear (phobia) at all, but one of sober judgment about what is right and wrong based on a given standard. For Christians our standard has been the Bible, so that is why looking at this passage is so critical.

          There are several passages in the NT that refer to homosexuality: Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10 and Jude 7. These texts build on the OT attitude toward homosexuality found in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. What conclusions can we draw from these texts?

          First, all of these texts condemn particular sexual acts. None of them speaks of homosexual desires (the Greek word is epithumiais). In the Scriptures it is not homosexual temptation that is wrong, but the actual acts themselves. This is an important distinction, for it reminds us that the Scripture does not condemn people for their temptations. The man who has never been tempted to commit adultery is not more virtuous than the man who has successfully resisted repeated significant temptations (e.g. Joseph in Egypt, Genesis 39). The first man is only untested in that area.

          Second, while homosexual practice was not common in Israel, it was a significant feature of the Greek culture. It is not that Greeks were exclusively homosexual. It is also true that not all Greeks accepted homosexuality. One form of it is "pederasty," ("love of boys") which was debated by Greek philosophers.

          Third, explicit rejection of homosexuality is found mostly in Paul’s letters, because he was the apostle and writer most in contact with the Greek world. It is sometimes argued that Paul’s concern was only with pederasty, that he was entering one side of the discussion, which was common in the Greek world. However, the language of Paul in this text is not a description of pederasty.

          Homosexual practice was not a major problem within the early church. It was a problem in the Gentile world around the church. This was so because the first century church taught fidelity to one’s wife (see Matt. 19:9; Matt. 5:27-28). The church was clear in the area of marriage and human sexuality. The church presents only two options: celibacy or faithful marriage (1 Cor. 7).

          In the early church and even today, most men married out of duty to their family, if for no other reason. The church had only one instruction to such men and women: your wife or husband is to be your exclusive sexual focus. Satisfy one another. There is no option of homosexual relationship on the side. For the few, who were not married the church had two options: remain celibate or marry.

          Now we come to the question everyone has been waiting. Does the Bible really condemn homosexuality? The answer is yes, it does. In every place it mentions homosexual practice, it roundly condemns the practice. In no place does the Bible speak positively of homosexuality. The next question is: "Is homosexuality an unpardonable sin?" The answer is no, it is not. Homosexuality like any other sin is forgivable by God. Those who are trapped in homosexual lifestyle should come to God in confession and repentance and ask for forgiveness and healing. God loves homosexuals just as much as He loves other sinners. Jesus’ death on the cross, paid for the sin of homosexuality just as much as it paid for the sin of lying, greed, prejudice, lust, hate, pride, gossip, and slander. The church is a hospital for sinners, not a showcase for saints. It is a place where those caught in the sin of homosexuality can come to receive freedom and forgiveness. The message of Romans and the entire New Testament is that there is hope for sinners of all kinds through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is the one who is prepared to set you free regardless of your sin. He is the one who can enable you to overcome homosexuality as a lifestyle. Therefore, come to Him as He is waiting. Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28, still stands. It is an invitation to all persons; it is an inclusive invitation to all people regardless of your background and baggage to come to Christ the Burden Bearer.