Man’s Depravity toward God

Introduction

Last week we discussed the wrath of God and how those who have rejected the gospel will face the judgment of God against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Paul anticipates an objection that many would probably give: Some might say, “But I didn’t know! How can God hold people accountable for a god they have never heard of?” Isn’t ignorance an excuse?

If someone came riding into town in the old Wild West on a horse and he saw a dog on the side of the road. Maybe he doesn’t like dogs so he scowls at it. Maybe one had bitten him in the past. Let’s say this town is in Oklahoma. Did you know that according to David Bosari law firm, it is illegal to make ugly faces at a dog in Oklahoma? Someone sees him making faces at this dog and reports it to the sheriff who hauls him off his horse and throws him in jail. We would all probably say that was an injustice. We have all heard the phrase “ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law” and yet we know there is something inherently flawed in it. That statement was made when law was based on common morality which it is assumed everyone knew. Laws like scowling at dogs do not fit into that category.

So is God unjust to be angry and judge sinful men who have never heard about Jehovah? You can see here that this chapter has the Gentiles primarily in mind. They don’t know God or the Mosaic laws so does that give them an excuse. Paul concludes in vs 20 that they are without excuse. No one can say, “I didn’t know.” No one is able to claim God is unjust to punish them, but how do we know that? Paul begins his answer to that excuse by looking at the depravity of man’s relationship with God. If you do not know that word depravity it means corruption.

It is like when an apple has been sitting on the ground for days. It begins to rot. It is corrupted. The bible teaches that man is totally depraved. This means that every area of his life (the totality of his life) has been corrupted or touched by sin. Because of that our relationship with God has been corrupted by sin. Man’s inherent depravity causes him to respond in three evil ways to God.

What Total depravity is not:

Total depravity in its traditional understanding does not mean that man can’t respond to God’s grace

Total depravity does not mean that man is completely evil

Illustrate total depravity

They Suppress the Truth

Romans 1:18–20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

What does this phrase mean?

Let’s begin by taking a look at the meaning of these words first. This word hold is important because it doesn’t mean what we think it means. This would be a false friend in the bible. When we think of holding something, we think of possessing it or having it in our hands, but the word is more like holding something back, restraining it. A word we often use for this would be suppressing it. We don’t like it so we hold it down.

What is it that we are suppressing? the truth. There are a lot of inconvenient truths in our world: like the fact that there are only two genders. Some people aren’t comfortable with that because they think such a belief is unloving to those who think they are something other than a man or a woman. So what do they do, they suppress it. This is why we get angry when we hear something we don’t like, we want to squash it to push it back down. We silence it. Other opinions cannot be heard. (By the way Christians do this to) It is sinful human nature to suppress the truth. If we can’t squash it and silence it, we deny, mock, ridicule and fight against it. But the truth in this passage is not even some philosophical, political or moral truth. The truth here is the knowledge of God.

What truth are they suppressing?

Verses 19-20 tell us the answer to this question: that which may be known of God or about God. There is a truth about God that is manifest in them. Something about God is clear and obvious and revealed to all mankind. We all have a knowledge of God in our hearts. Every last man. God has made sure that none of us are left without any light inside of us that points to Him. God hath shewed it unto them. But what is this knowledge, this truth?

Verse 20 tells us that the invisible things about God are clearly seen by the creation of the world. The created world tells us something about God and all men look at this world an inherently know these truths. They deny or suppress it but it is within them. We call this general revelation or natural theology. The things that God has shown to all men without a single passage of scripture. Acts 14:15–17 “And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

Now God is invisible so we haven’t seen him, but he has revealed himself in the visible creation. Creation tells us two things about God:

God’s eternal power- God’s power is what created the world. When look out at the stars and the mountains and the raging seas, we are reminded that a power greater than ours made all of this.

His Godhead- the phrase godhead here refers to his diety or divine nature. We know that if there is a being who created even me, I am under His control; but we also see something of the kindness and love of that God. We already looked at Acts 14, but in that passage we saw that God’s goodness is seen in rain, prosperous crops, and all the joyful moments of our lives. All these reflect the nature of God in our common experience.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Men are without excuse because they have suppressed this knowledge. They don’t like it. Back in verse 18 it says they suppress the knowledge of the truth in unrighteousness. Their sin does not want there to be a Holy, creator God who they will have to give an account to someday.

Christians are often viewed as repressed like they aren’t living their life fully, but really it is the one who doesn’t acknowledge God in their lives that is surpassing who they are and what they were created to be. There is a truth nagging at the hearts of men that they are pushing away. Maybe they have become calloused to the point they no longer even acknowledge it, but they are worthy of judgment because God gave them a witness and they rejected it.

They Don’t Glorify God

Romans 1:21–22 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,”

Men never live without a god. Everyone worships something. Because man didn’t like the truth about God that they already knew, they don’t glorify Him or give thanks. All those good things that God has done in giving them life, blessings of rain, food, joy in life; they barely speak a word of praise. They have become ungrateful. We see this depravity even in our own society today. It seems like children and they have been this way for generations now, don’t appreciate the good that is done for them. They are entitled and expect the world to cater to their wants. When people bend over backwards to help them, they think they are owed it. When they are given something, they are not thankful.

Central to man’s depravity is a lack of gratitude to God. I am not going to preach the rest of these verses because I have an entire message on them next week. But we see here that man’s slump into depravity has consequences.

they become vain in their imaginations

their foolish heart is darkened

they become fools

They Exchanged God for Idols

Romans 1:23 “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”

Because they don’t glorify God, they must worship something. So men substituted idols. In this passage mankind created literal physical idols in the shape of men, birds, mammals and creeping things like bugs and lizards. The word changed here refers to exchanging. They put these things in the place of God. This is what is at root in idolatry. I believe idolatry is at the root of all sin in our lives. We worship something other than God. It is easy to conclude that physical idols was at the heart of idolatry, but I think there is more to it than that. I want you to consider a few verses as I build my case:

Consider the connection between idolatry and spiritual adultery in the prophets. Jeremiah 3:7–9 “And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.” Back in Jeremiah 2:11–13 “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” The reason their worship of idols was so bad was that they had replaced God the source of living waters with broken cisterns. God is the only things that can truly fulfill our lives, but we replace him with things that can’t satisfy. We replace Him with money and we have to get more of it. We replace him with sex and we desire it again. These things never truly fulfill our lives. The sin of idolatry was deeper than bowing to a statue; it was replacing God in our hearts.

Jeremiah 22:28 “Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?” refers to a man as an idol not something made of wood and stone. People can become idols in our lives. When we allow and attachment to someone else to lead us into sin, we have chosen for that person to be more important to us than God is. They become our idol. When a girl chooses to sleep with her boyfriend knowing it is sin, she has chosen that boy over God and committed spiritual idolatry. When we follow our friends into doing something wrong, they have become our idol.

Ezekiel 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?” The focus of idolatry is in the heart. What is in your heart will determine your direction in life.

So in an atheistic, humanistic country like ours we may not have as many physical idols as India; but we are still consumed with idolatry in our hearts. We have exchanged God for something else and that something else can never fulfill our reason for being.

Conclusion

All of this came about because man chose not to glorify God and give Him thanks. Because man responds to God in these ways they are justly condemned before God. If you have not turned from your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you have no excuse. You will not stand before God and say, “I didn’t know.” There will even be people who said they were Christians but weren’t standing at that judgment. They will offer their excuses. Matthew 7:22–23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” You can do all the good that you want to do, but if you do not do the one thing that God has required in salvation, you will be condemned.

Believer, this is a wake up call for us to live for God’s glory. That is what we were created for.