Without Excuse: Exchanging Glory For Evil (Rom 1:18-25)

Intro: Good Morning FE, we are glad you are here this morning, lifting up the name of Jesus with us. For those watching online, welcome. I had the opportunity this year to see the beauty of creation and we also had some amazing natural events happen in Arkansas this year. I want to show a few pictures, just to remind us.

We had the opportunity to see the eclipse, in totality. While my family was here in Arkansas, me and my daughter were at Liberty Park in NJ looking up the skies with hundreds of people, on the phone with Noemi as she was taking pictures through her glasses with her phone so we can experience the totality because in NJ it was only 75%. This year while I was in Alaska with Noemi, we wanted to see the aurora borealis, unfortunately the days they were most visible, we had cloud cover. At the same time in Arkansas, Nomi and I were receiving pictures from friends and family of the aurora borealis in Arkansas. In Alaska we were also able to see this beautiful glacier, so blue.

In all of these events you know what I witnessed, when things like the eclipse happen, or you see the beauty of God’s creation like a glacier, most people stand still and look in awe of God’s creation. We are amazed because we as humans made in the image of God created to be glory oriented creatures. We are attracted to glorious things and God built this glory orientation in us, this is why we chase after glorious things, like an eclipse, or it could be getting tickets to experience the world cup, or Oregon Ducks football game with your son. We are in pursuit of glory because God created us this way. All the glorious things we experience are momentary, the eclipse was here at it lasted for 3 minutes, the aurora borealis was here one night and gone the next, your favorite team won but then its over and we move on searching for more glory. God created these temporary glory events so that you can see them and those temporary glory events can lead you to one who is permanently glorious. These temporary glorious events are to lead you to the permanently glorious who can satisfy your whole being.

Unfortunately instead of leading us to ultimate glory, because of our sinful hearts, we have become glory thieves. and as we open our Bibles to Romans 1:16-25, this is what Paul explains for us today.

Romans 1:16–25 (ESV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Porque no me avergüenzo del evangelio, pues es el poder de Dios para la salvación de todo el que cree; del judío primeramente y también del griego. Porque en el evangelio[k] la justicia de Dios se revela por fe y para fe; como está escrito: Mas el justo por la fe vivirá.

18 Porque la ira de Dios se revela desde el cielo contra toda impiedad e injusticia de los hombres, que con[n] injusticia restringen la verdad;

As we learned last week, Paul’s declaration is “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”, why is Paul not ashamed of the Gospel? because

it is the power of God for salvation

for all humanity not jut one particular group of people

in the Gospel the rightousness of God is revealed

And when you read verses 16 and 17, and you read that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation. You have to wonder, salvation from what? What do I need to be saved from? If you are not careful, you will give the the answer that we are conditioned to say if you grew up in Sunday School…Sin. I need to be saved from sin. But when you read this section of Romans, Paul explains what we are saved from, he gives us another reason why he is not ashamed of the Gospel, because

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation from the wrath of God

Romans 1:16–18 (ESV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek…

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Porque no me avergüenzo del evangelio, pues es el poder de Dios para la salvación de todo el que cree; del judío primeramente y también del griego…

18 Porque la ira de Dios se revela desde el cielo contra toda impiedad e injusticia de los hombres, que con[n] injusticia restringen la verdad;

Just like rightousness is revealed, the wrath of God is revealed, this word revealed, the verb tense in the Greek is written in such to denote continuous present action, we could say the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Sinful humanity is under condemnation, and that condemnation is the wrath of God. Most of us know John 3:16, but do we John 3:17-18

John 3:17–18 (ESV)

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

17 Porque Dios no envió a su Hijo al mundo para juzgar al mundo, sino para que el mundo sea salvo por Él. 18 El que cree en Él no es condenado; peroel que no cree, ya ha sido condenado, porque no ha creído en el nombre del unigénito Hijo de Dios.

Whoever does not believe is condemned already. If you have not repented and trusted in Christ for salvation, you are condemned, you are under God’s wrath and in need of salvation.

When we think of the wrath of God, what is it?

When we think of a holy God, because God is perfect in his holiness, he cannot let sin go unpunished. If a judge, set free the person who murdered your only son, would we consider him a good judge? No because holiness demands justice, holiness demands wrath. DA Carson says the wrath of God “is a function of his holiness as he confronts sin.” The wrath of God is God confronting crimes against divinity, crimes against a holy God. This wrath of God is both present, as we have seen and future Rom 2:8 says there will be (future) wrath and fury, 2 Thess 1:7-9, says this wrath will be eternal destruction.

The question is who is God’s wrath against?

The Wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those who suppress the truth.

God’s wrath is against all unrighteousness, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. This idea of suppress is the idea of pushing away, God’s truths are continually in your face and you continually push them away, push them to aside, ignoring them. What is the truth we are suppressing?

Romans 1:19–20 (ESV)

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

19 porque lo que se conoce acerca de Dios es evidente dentro de ellos, pues Dios se lo hizo evidente. 20 Porque desde la creación del mundo, sus atributos invisibles, su eterno poder y divinidad, se han visto con toda claridad, siendo entendidos por medio de lo creado, de manera que no tienen excusa.

Paul says when you look out at creation, when you look at a glacier, or the eclipse or the aurora borealis in Arkansas, when you see those things you should come to some conclusions, there is a God, and the God that created this world has to be eternal and he has to be powerful. That fascinates me, because we know by looking at creation, that whoever created this world is powerful. But eternal? Why eternal? In order for something to be created, it needs a creator and if something (this world) came from nothing, then whoever created it has to be eternal because, there was nothing before there was something. Listen to Psalms 19:1-6

Psalm 19:1–6 (ESV)

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,

which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Los cielos proclaman la gloria de Dios, y la expansión anuncia la obra de sus manos. 2 Un día transmite el mensaje al otro día, y una noche a la otra noche revela sabiduría. 3 No hay mensaje, no hay palabras; no se oye su voz. 4 Mas por toda la tierra salió su voz, y hasta los confines del mundo sus palabras. En ellos puso una tienda para el sol, 5 y este, como un esposo que sale de su alcoba, se regocija cual hombre fuerte al correr su carrera. 6 De un extremo de los cielos es su salida, y su curso hasta el otro extremo de ellos; y nada hay que se esconda de su calor.

Creation is preaching to us everyday, it is revealing to the world there is a glorious God. This is Paul’s argument, that when we all look out at creation and see its glory, it is a glory that fades that is temporary, but creation is pointing to one who is ultimately glorious who is eternal, and does not fade. But Paul takes it one step further, he says this knowledge of a creator who created the world, which we all have, is enough to condemn you, it is enough to put you under God’s wrath. Paul’s words, you are without excuse! Why?

Romans 1:21–23 (ESV)

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

21 Pues aunque conocían a Dios, no le honraron[p] como a Dios ni le dieron gracias, sino que se hicieron vanos en sus razonamientos y su necio corazón fue entenebrecido. 22 Profesando ser sabios, se volvieron necios, 23 y cambiaron la gloria del Dios incorruptible por una imagen en forma de hombre corruptible, de aves, de cuadrúpedos y de reptiles.

Paul is saying by looking at creation, you can know something about God, but instead of responding to that knowledge of God, humanity refuses to give him glory and refuses to give him gratitude. Instead of giving God glory and gratitude, we become glory thieves. Robbing God of his glory and giving it to another. We were created to give glory to God, but when we do not give him glory, we are giving the glory which God deserves to something else. In Biblical times it was images, but those images represented something they felt would provide for them safety, security, salvation, which only God provides. In the 21st century we are to sophisticated to worship images, but we are still robbing God of his glory, when we pursue and replace God with what we think will ultimately satisfy us and save us. Whether that is money, power, the American dream, the pursuit of happiness, family, relationships, pleasure, all good things to pursue, but when we make those things the ultimate goal, and push God to the side, we rob God of his glory and become glory thieves, deserving God’s wrath. Israel became glory thieves and this is God’s word to the nation when they replaced God,

Jeremiah 2:11–13 (ESV)

Has a nation changed its gods,

even though they are no gods?

But my people have changed their glory

for that which does not profit.

Be appalled, O heavens, at this;

be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,

for my people have committed two evils:

they have forsaken me,

the fountain of living waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¿Ha cambiado alguna nación sus dioses, aunque esos no son dioses? Pues mi pueblo ha cambiado su gloria por lo que no aprovecha. 12 Espantaos, oh cielos, por esto, y temblad, quedad en extremo desolados —declara el Señor. 13 Porque dos males ha hecho mi pueblo: me han abandonado a mí, fuente de aguas vivas, y han cavado para sí cisternas, cisternas agrietadas que no retienen el agua.

They committed two evils, they replaced God, the fountain of life and replaced God with broken cisterns. A cistern is was like a reservoir, designed to hold water for when it was needed. God was telling them I am the fountain of living waters, fresh, flowing glorious but you have replaced me with waters that are stored, and the cisterns you created are broken and cannot hold water. They will not satisfy and they lead to brokenness and destruction.

Notice the progression in Pauls argument, it is very important…

They became futile in their thinking- Their sin started in their thoughts, rationalizing away the God who created them.

Their foolish hearts became darkened - Their sinful thinking led them to sinful felling or sinful desires

They became fools and exchanged the glory of God for images - Sinful thinking, leads to sinful desires, which leads to sinful actions

Sin starts in the mind and if unchecked will begin producing sinful desires in the heart and if unchecked will lead to sinful actions, which all robs God of his glory. That is our problem,

Our problem is exchanging the glory of God for evil.

Evil, that is a strong word, But that is the word Jeremiah uses to describe what Paul is explaining and is the word we should use, because when we rob God of his glory, when we replace God with that which doesn’t satisfy, It is evil, it is a crime against divinity deserving of God’s wrath. The fact that we do not see this as evil says more about our thinking and our condition and how we have been influenced by our sin and the world to minimize our glory thieving ways.

One of the ways God’s wrath is present is in Romans 1:24-25

Romans 1:24–25 (ESV)

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

24 Por consiguiente, Dios los entregó a la impureza en la lujuria de sus corazones, de modo que deshonraron entre sí sus propios cuerpos;25 porque cambiaron la verdad de Dios por la mentira, y adoraron y sirvieron a la criatura en lugar del Creador, quien es bendito por los siglos. Amén.

because we exchanged the glory of God for idols, because we exchanged the truth about God for a lie, by worshipping creation, worshipping idols instead of the Creator, God gave us up to the lust of our hearts to impurity and to dishonoring our bodies. So much can be said here and we can study this passage for weeks, with that being said this is how the wrath of God is displayed presently against those who refuse to respond to the revelation they have of God, against those who continue to rob God of his glory, and refuse to give God glory and gratitude. God gives them up to pursue the evil in their hearts.

We see this perfectly pictured for us in a famous and beloved parable that Jesus told, the parable of the prodigal sons.

Luke 15:11–24 (ESV)

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’

11 Y Jesús dijo: Cierto hombre tenía dos hijos; 12 y el menor de ellos le dijo al padre: «Padre, dame la parte de la hacienda que me corresponde».

We may not have the full understanding here, but in Jewish culture the first born son would receive 2/3rd of the Fathers estate and the younger son would receive 1/3rd. All of this would happen, when the Father died. In essence the son came to his Father and said I wish you were dead, give me my inheritance now. robbing the father of glory, robbing the father of gratitude.

What does the Father do?

And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

Y él les repartió sus bienes. 13 No muchos días después, el hijo menor, juntándolo todo, partió a un país lejano, y allí malgastó su hacienda viviendo perdidamente.

What does the father do? He gave up his son to the lusts of his heart and impurity, just like Paul describes in Romans.

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

14 Cuando lo había gastado todo, vino una gran hambre en aquel país, y comenzó a pasar necesidad. 15 Entonces fue y se acercó a uno de los ciudadanos de aquel país, y él lo mandó a sus campos a apacentar cerdos. 16 Y deseaba llenarse el estómago de las algarrobas que comían los cerdos, pero nadie le daba nada.

The younger son sinful desires left him empty, unsatisfied, and destroyed. This is where robbing God of his glory leads and eventually, if a person dies without turning from sin and turning to trust in Christ for salvation from the wrath of God, he will eternal destruction.

If you are robbing God of his glory this morning, if your are living for your own glory and recognize the error of your sin like the younger son, there is hope. The parable continues

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

17 Entonces, volviendo en sí, dijo: «¡Cuántos de los trabajadores de mi padre tienen pan de sobra, pero yo aquí perezco de hambre! 18 Me levantaré e iré a mi padre, y le diré: “Padre, he pecado contra el cielo y ante ti; 19 ya no soy digno de ser llamado hijo tuyo; hazme como uno de tus trabajadores”». 20 Y levantándose, fue a su padre. Y cuando todavía estaba lejos, su padre lo vio y sintió compasión por él, y corrió, se echó sobre su cuello y lo besó. 21 Y el hijo le dijo: «Padre, he pecado contra el cielo y ante ti; ya no soy digno de ser llamado hijo tuyo». 22 Pero el padre dijo a sus siervos: «Pronto; traed la mejor ropa y vestidlo, y poned un anillo en su mano y sandalias en los pies; 23 y traed el becerro engordado, matadlo, y comamos y regocijémonos; 24 porque este hijo mío estaba muerto y ha vuelto a la vida; estaba perdido y ha sido hallado». Y comenzaron a regocijarse.

The father saw him, the father felt compassion, the father ran, embrace him, kissed him. The son expresses his repentance, Father I have sinned against you and heaven, I have robbed you of your glory, i am no longer worthy to be called your son. The father hears the sons repentance and doesn’t even let him finish his speech, prepare the crane asada, tortillas and guacamole, let us eat and celebrate, for my son was dead and is alive, he was lost and is now found. If you are here this morning and you are still robbing God of his glory, the wrath of God is upon you and what awaits you is the fury of God’s anger and eternal destruction. BUT… there is hope, there is salvation from the wrath of God, the Gospel. Jesus died on a cross, the wrath of God was poured out on him on the cross, for all those who repent and trust in Christ for salvation from God’s wrath, they have peace with God and eternal life with him for forever.