The Sin of the Heathen (Romans 1:18-32)

Paul just tells us of the Gospel and how he longs to see those that are saved in Rome. But now, he is going to deal with sin.

Unless people see their sinfulness they will see no reason to be saved. Preaching against sin is vital in preaching the Gospel.

Three themes occupy the heart of Paul in chapters 1-8 (sin, salvation, sanctification). Few chapters in the Bible deal so devastatingly with the subject of sin as the opening chapters of Romans. The scene we will see is that of a courtroom in which are brought the heathen, the hypocrite, and the Hebrew. Each are to be found to be utterly guilty before God.

You have crude paganism (unrighteousness) and cultured paganism (that which man thinks is right Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.” )

These heathen that Paul mentions first are not necessarily just those who bow down at an idol made of wood or stone, but also those who do not want to know the things of God.

The Willful Blindness of the Heathen (18-20)

God’s Wrath is Upright (18)

Judgment upon sin comes from God. God is holy and will not tolerate unrepentant sin. The wrath of man does not compare in severity to the wrath of God. The very idea of Divine wrath should bring fear and trembling to every soul. When God gets upset about sin, judgment can be very severe—as an example, the flood in Noah’s time and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Is” speaks of the certainty of this punishment. It is not perhaps or maybe but “is.” God “is” already angry with sinners. “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

Because of Human Ungodliness

Ungodliness = disregard of God and his commands and neglect of his worship.

The Bible makes no attempt to prove that God is real. The Bible assumes God is real (“In the beginning God created”). The fact of God’s existence is self-evident. The person who says differently is called a fool Psalm 14:1“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good.” Psalm 53:1“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: There is none that doeth good.” Atheism can be traced to these two verses. It’s not so much that man can’t believe in God so much as it is he won’t believe in God. God’s wrath is kindled against those who deny, ignore, or resist Him.

Because of Human Unrighteousness

Unrighteousness = a violation of the divine law. A habitual course of wickedness.

While ungodliness is chiefly sin against God, unrighteousness is also a sin against man. It is the condition of not being straight with either God or man. Man’s first sin in the garden of Eden separated man from God; his second sin (Cain’s murder of Abel) separated man from man. God takes wrongdoing against fellow man just as serious. (1 John 2:9–11 “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” )

Because of Human Unbelief (hold in unrighteousness)

Rejection of Christ and the truth of the Gospel.

God holds all men accountable for certain basic truths and the deliberate rejection of these truths in unbelief will be judged.

Manifest = evident, plain, visible.

Every person has in their conscience that God is real. No person is born an atheist. (Job 32:8 “But there is a spirit in man: And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” ) Professors, colleges, evolution have deteriorated the minds of those who give into man’s witness instead of God’s witness.

The Jews had the Law, but the Gentiles also knew right from wrong, because of their conscience. (Romans 2:14–15 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”

The Light gives everyone enough light to reveal to every man that God is real. (John 1:9 “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” )

God’s Witness is Unmistakable (19-20)

Divine judgment is not unfair. God has given man adequate opportunities to know Him and to repent of his sin and forsake his sin so that no man has an excuse at judgment time.

Unmistakable Internal Manifestation (in them)

This talk of the conscience (Romans 2:14–15 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”

Unmistakable Illuminated Manifestation (shewed it unto them)

This talks of the clouds (Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.” )

Abraham Lincoln once said “I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.”

This talks of creation (Creation says there is a creator)

One can look at the stars, the sun, the animals, the mountains, the valleys, the rivers, the oceans, the trees and the rocks and tell that there is a God. But that is not enough to get rid of sin! It doesn’t mention the Redeemer! Nature has a voice, but doesn’t have a heart. Creation tells of the works of God’s hands while Calvary tells the work of God’s heart.

This talks of the concealed (invisible things)

God is a spirit (John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” ). You can’t see a spirit.

Can you see love? no

Can you see mercy? no

Can you see grace? no

Can you see attributes of God? no...BUT WE SEE THE EFFECTS

Love (Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” )

(commendeth = to unite parts into a whole)

Mercy (Titus 3:3–7 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” )

Grace (Ephesians 2:5–7 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” )

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR PEOPLE NOT TO BELIEVE THERE IS A GOD (THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE)

The Wicked Beliefs of the Heathen (21-25)

A willful rejection of God’s revelation of Himself is atheism and the glorification of human intellect. Men put human reasoning on the throne instead of divine revelation. When one rejects God’s revelation, they will continue to plunge deeper and deeper into sin.

Godless Intellect (21-22)

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 1:20–22 “Wisdom crieth without; She uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: In the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge?”

Proverbs 1:24–31 “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices.”

God is unimportant (glorified in 21)

Glorified = to render illustrious, to magnify, to celebrate, to praise

In spite of the fact that they knew enough about God to know He should be greatly honored, Godless intellect refuses to honor God.

HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!

God is unsatisfying (thankful in 21)

Remember the 10 lepers that got cleansed by Christ and only one returned. (Luke 17:15–16 “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” ) Glorifying God and giving him thanks are intertwined. God has given so much to sinners, and sinners realize it, but don’t want to glorify or thank God.

These are last days people!

2 Timothy 3:1–4 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”

Luke 6:35 “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

God is unwise (vain imaginations, heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise 21-22)

The word translated “fools” is the word from which we get our English word “moron.” (stupid, simpleton)

Even some Christians would rather have the wisdom of the world than the wisdom of God.

The foolishness of God is wiser than men (1 Corinthians 1:25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” )

These people think that they are way smarter than God.

Proverbs 3:7 “Be not wise in thine own eyes: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”

The only thing that can make one wise is the Word of God!

Psalm 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

Graven images (23-25)

Design of the Images (23)

Corruptible

Just as Dagon, these images are subject to decay and destruction.

1 Samuel 5:2–4 “When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.”

OUR GOD DOESN’T DECAY AND CAN’T BE DESTRUCTED!

Contradicting (downward spiral from humans, to fourfooted beasts, to creeping things)

1 Timothy 4:1–3 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”

SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE WORSHIPING MEAT MORE THAN THE MAKER!

People would rather save a bald eagle than a baby.

People would rather worship Trump more than Christ.

Egyptians worshipped frogs, that why God sent a plague to them.

Catastrophic (God gave them up 24)

Ephesians 4:17–19 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

Deception of the Images (24-25)

Dirty (uncleaness)

Ephesians 5:5 “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

If you want to serve your idols, God will let you, and it’ll make you sin more and more.

Dishonoring (disgrace, despise, insult)

1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” (spiritual fornication/adultery)

Jude 7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Damning (changes the truth of God into a lie)

Jeremiah 10:14 “Every man is brutish in his knowledge: Every founder is confounded (put to shame) by the graven image: For his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.”

Jeremiah 13:25 “This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.”

Amos 2:4 “Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, And for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept his commandments, And their lies caused them to err, After the which their fathers have walked:”

CHANGING THE TRUTH OF GOD LEADS TO DECEPTION! (deceiving and being deceived)

The Wanton Behavior of the Heathen (26-32)

Because of the heathen’s wicked beliefs, God gives these people up to wanton (unrestrained) behavior.

Moral Perversion (26-27)

Romans 2. The Particulars of the Guile (Romans 1:21–32)

Bad worship leads to bad morals.

Think of the 2 sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas.

1 Samuel 2:12 “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.”

“Belial” means “worthless, good for nothing, unprofitable, wicked”

Because their worship was wrong, their behavior was wrong.

1 Samuel 2:22–24 “Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people to transgress.”

THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO STAY IN THE OLD TIME WAY AND NOT MOVE TOWARDS A CONTEMPORARY MOVEMENT. TRUE WORSHIP OF GOD DOESN’T CHANGE BECAUSE HE DOESN’T CHANGE!

Romans 2. The Particulars of the Guile (Romans 1:21–32)

From temple prostitutes of heathen idol worship to the present day immorality of our society in which perverted sex is championed, bad worship is the culprit. This second “God gave them up” judgment is to let idolaters especially become sex perverts—lesbians and homosexuals. Idolaters perverted the Scriptures, so now in reciprocation God lets them pervert sex which destroys these people (“receiving in themselves that recompence of their error”—Romans 1:27).

The preachers of contemporary churches wear skinny jeans and women in the “praise and worship” band wear skimpy skirts. IT’S BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WORSHIPING GOD!

Mental Perversion (28-32)

Since they do not want God in their mind, God gives them over to a reprobate mind.

Reprobate = to abandon to wickedness and eternal destruction

When society becomes disinterested in God, it becomes foul and evil will dominate such a society. Paul names 22 sins that are associated with mental perversion.

Mental perversion leads to corrupt character.

Wickedness (hostility to good)

Covetousness (lusting after what is others)

Maliciousness (desire to injure)

Envy (hateful attitude toward those that are better than you)

Deceitful (misleading others through lies)

malignity (habitual mischievousness)

haters of God (blaming God for one’s troubles and for the troubles of mankind)

Desipiteful (behaves violently)

proud (self-esteem)

without natural affection (homosexuality, abortion, hatred of children)

implacable (unreasonable, won’t take facts)

unmerciful (lack of kindness and love)

Mental perversion leads to corrupt conduct.

fornication (immorality and sexual sin)

murder (abortion, hate)

disobedient to parents (last days talk, encouraged by schools and government)

covenant breakers (taking marriage lightly, nations breaking treaties, promises to others)

Mental perversion leads to corrupt conversation.

whispers (secret slandering)

backbiters (open slandering)

boasters (exaggerating one’s performance, HELLO WASHINGTON)

debate (love of strife, contentious)

Mental perversion leads to corrupt concepts.

inventors of evil things (doing evil and getting others to do evil)

without understanding (they cannot discern truth, they are easily taken in by evil)

Mental perversion also leads to a corrupt continuing.

Romans 1:32 “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Sin is so habit forming that one will continue to sin regardless of the knowledge of judgment.

For a sinner to forsake the eternal rewards of righteous living and gain the short lasting pleasures of sin is judgment from God (he gave them up). (Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” )

Not only do these sinners keep sinning in spite of knowing the just judgment of God, but they delight in others doing the same evil deeds, thus they encourage others to sin.

Unless people realize they are sinners and in need of the Gospel, they will never be saved. Knowing there is a God doesn’t save you, but it does help you to understand where to go when you realize you need saving!