I have sinned, but I have Good Excuses

The Cost of Our Excuses: Facing the Reality of Sin

Bible Passage: Romans 1:18–32

Summary: Romans 1:18–32 reveals the accountability of humanity for rejecting God's revelation. Paul details how every person has suppressed the truth, exchanged God’s glory for lesser things, and consequently faces the moral decline that follows. The passage highlights the universal nature of sin and the seriousness of human rebellion against God.

Application: This sermon will aid believers in recognizing the nature of their own excuses and the need to take responsibility for their actions. It will encourage them to seek genuine repentance and to understand that God’s grace is available despite our failures, empowering them to rise above excuses.

Teaching: The sermon emphasizes that making excuses for wrongdoing does not excuse the sin; we must confront it. It teaches the importance of recognizing our human tendency to rationalize sin in light of God’s truth and embracing the call to repentance.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the broader biblical context, Christ fulfills the law and offers grace, providing a way out from the consequences of the sin that Romans 1 describes. The passage sets the stage for understanding our need for a savior, which is ultimately realized in Jesus, who offers redemption to all who believe.

Big Idea: Humans often make excuses for sin, but true freedom comes when we stop justifying our actions and start confronting our sinfulness in the light of God's holiness.

Recommended Study: As you engage with this passage in Logos, focus on the rhetorical strategies Paul employs to communicate the urgency of accountability. It may be beneficial to analyze how early church fathers understood these verses in terms of sin and grace, providing you with perspectives for both application and theological depth. You might also look into how modern interpretations tackle the issues of idolatry and moral decline in relation to our contemporary culture.

Excuse One, I Did Not Know.

Romans 1:18–23 NASB95

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

People have a tendency to suppress God's truth and exchange His glory for worthless substitutes.

Idols have been a part of humans life since the beginnings.

What is an idol?

My Favorite Illustrations (Do You Have Idols?)

In travels about the world I have seen idols ranging from crudely carved pieces of wood worshiped in the open air to elegant images housed in beautiful temples. The material, workmanship, and location is not what matters, but the concept and purpose represented.

You may say you have never made an idol, neither have you worshiped one. Upon reflection is this really the case? Intellect can become an idol as you sit in judgment upon God, His Word, and His purposes in history. Your body may be an idol if you are more concerned about physical appearance and health than you are about your inner spiritual nature. Business or wealth can come before God and so be your idol. Another person may be your idol as you pattern your life after him/her rather than after God and His will.

Achieving your own goals become your god if they are more important than following God’s plan for your life. Popularity is your idol if you are more interested in being accepted by other people than by God. The mores of society become your idol if you care more about fitting in than you do about living by God’s eternal principles of righteousness.

It is folly to bow before these and other idols of this age and ignore the age-abiding will and way of God.

Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations Knowledge, Worldly

Natural Knowledge of God. The Aztec king Nezahualcóyotl (143–172): “Verily, the gods that I am adoring, what are they but idols of stone without speech or feeling? They could not have made the beauty of the heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, which light the earth, with its countless streams, its foundations and waters.… There must be some God, invisible and unknown, who is the universal Creator.

Jesus embodies the truth and the glory of God, providing a path back to true worship and relationship with the Creator.

Excuse Two, It Was a White Lie.

Romans 1:24–27 NASB95

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.

Consequences of idolatry.

God allows humanity to pursue their sinful desires.

Perhaps this point could address the resulting consequences of idolatry, where God allows humanity to pursue their sinful desires. Discuss the dangerous cycle of exchanging the truth for lies and its impact on human relationships, identity, and morality. Emphasize the need for repentance and the hope found in Christ, who calls us out of our sinful patterns into a life of restoration. The focus here is on Christ's power to redeem our brokenness and restore our relationships with God and others, breaking the cycle of destruction.

Excuse Three, Everyone is Doing It.

Romans 1:28–32 NASB95

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Maybe consider discussing the further degenerative effects of sin on societal ethics and individual lives. This passage reveals how, without acknowledging God's truth, humans are given over to further depravity. Discuss the breadth of sin and its community-wide impact, yet underscore the faithfulness of God who offers a way out through Jesus. Urge the congregation to confront their own sinfulness with God's holiness in mind, and let the grace of Christ empower genuine transformation and renewal.

In what ways do we see people making excuses for their actions?

What are some examples of modern-day idols?