March 9, 2025 - Glory Exchanged
Notes
Transcript
Handout
So far in our walk through Romans, we've seen Paul establish for himself a bridge to connect him to his audience of Roman believers.
A bridge to stand on, and speak from...in love.
And we've seen that this bridge, that he's constructed through words on a page, is the Gospel...
of which Paul is unashamed to preach.
Why?
Because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes...
Why? - Because...
In the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
Why?
Because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth.
And so we see that the point that Paul is getting across to these Christians in Rome is that:
Because mankind is unrighteous...
God's wrath is revealed from heaven AGAINST that unrighteousness.
AND, because God's wrath is directed at UNRIGHTEOUSNESS...
ONLY...RIGHTEOUSNESS can remove that wrath.
Who's righteousness?
Paul tells us.
The righteousness of God, revealed in the Gospel, is the ONLY righteousness that can remove God's wrath.
See, the wrath of God can find no charge against the righteousness of God.
So, how do we obtain God's righteousness?
By believing the Gospel...(Death, burial, and resurrection).
Understanding who we are before God (sinners IN NEED of a Savior)...
...and believing in Christ and His work on the cross to be our substitute.
This is why the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
This is why the Gospel is Good News...
But like we mentioned last week, until we understand who we are before a Holy God and the state of mankind before that Holy God, we won't view the Gospel as Good News...
...It will just be news.
Paul knows this...
So, in speaking on the wrath of God, Paul goes into more detail on the effects of and the power of sin.
And for the next couple of weeks we'll be discussing the different forms of exchange that take place, WITHIN US - as a result of suppressing the truth.
See when we suppress the truth, we exchange something of value, for something that's worthless.
Today we'll be focusing back in on verses 21-23, which really characterize the fallenness of man.
We have to remember in context that the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
...namely the truth of God's eternal power and divine nature.
Verse 21 says:
Romans 1:21 (ESV)
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…
And so for this reason, they are without excuse against God's wrath...
God's wrath is just because they have the knowledge, they just don't live it…in their HEARTS
They suppress it...
They make an exchange.
It's this exchange that I want to look at today.
21 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.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
The first thing we should pull from these text, is that the suppression of truth mentioned in verse 18, directly relates to how we handle the glory of God.
...how we view the glory of God.
You guys remember why God does all that He does?
God does all that He does, to display His glory for the full and everlasting enjoyment of all who embrace Christ as their highest treasure.
God forgives...for His glory (Isaiah 43:25)
God teaches us to pray...unto His glory (Matt. 6:9-10)
God supplies us with strength...for His glory (1 Peter 4:11)
God leads us...for His glory (Psalm 23:3)
God works all things...for His glory (Eph. 1:11-12)
God created us...for His glory (Isaiah 43:6-7)
Everything filters back to the glory of God.
If there are problems in a marriage...it has to do with the glory of God and what we make of it.
If there are parenting problems...it has to do with the glory of God and what we make of it.
If there are addictive problems...it has to do with the glory of God and what we make of it.
if there are criminal problems...it has to do with the glory of God and what we make of it.
If there are financial problems...it has to do with the glory of God and what we make of it.
And so how do we handle the glory of God?
And if we don't get this we will continue to put band-aids on the cancer that can only be healed in dealing with the glory of God...
...and getting it in the right place in our hearts.
This question reveals the fundamental problem in the suppression of truth.
This is the fundamental problem with the human race:
The failure to magnify the glory of God in the way we think, and feel, and live.
We do not acknowledge, value, treasure, savor, honor, or make much of the greatest value in the universe...
...the glory of God.
And so the wrath of God is revealed against those who handle the glory of God, by exchanging it for other things....
What’s that called? - - IDOLATRY
And if you know how chapter 1 here in Romans plays out - you know that Paul gets into some pretty heavy topics… YET
Those TOPICS - specifically - ARE NOT the problem.
There's a FAR deeper problem going on here…And it STARTS IN OUR TEXT TODAY!
The weighty topics COMING for us in chapter 1 - are simply a SYMPTOM of this GREATER issue TODAY!
SLIDE:
The Exchange of the Glory of God
And it's THIS problem that we come face-to-face with every day of our lives.
It's THIS issue that you're going to face this afternoon....as you choose what to do with your mind.
The same issue you face every night, every weekend, in what form of entertainment you choose to engage in.
...and oh how we become vain in our speculations, and dark in our hearts..trying to justify the darkness we love.
Let's look closely at this exchange here that Paul is revealing.
SLIDE:
THE EXCHANGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IS ACCOMPANIED BY FOOLISH THINKING
Romans 1:21 (ESV)
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking…
If you were to read other translations of this verse - you’d find that it will say - “They have become futile in their speculations.
Now - what does that mean?
It means "stupid reasoning"...they did not glorify God, and so their reasoning became stupid.
Would you agree - that MUCH of the reasoning we often HEAR from politicians - especially CAREER politicians - is - - STUPID REASONING?
We KNOW what this is - I mean - we’re Clevelanders - who TRY to cheer on the sports teams in this city…
We’ve heard ENOUGH stupid reasoning OVER the YEARS!
Or how about when we look at the reaction of certain cities when their sports teams win championships, and the fans of the winning team go out and trash their city...
- What do we say?....
UUuuggghhhh!
Come on people...use your ( ).
Your God-given brain!
God has given us hands, that we might use them in such a way that they would be unto the praise of His glory!
God has given us feet, that we might use them in such a way that they would be unto the praise of His glory!
Our eyes, our ears, our minds...
...all given to us by God that we might use them unto the praise of His glory.
And so to exchange the glory of God for anything else is to forgo all credible reason.
We can see this quite clear in the story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
He uses his mind and his might to build Babylon, and then says this in verse 30 of chapter 4:
30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
Just reading these words makes you wanna cringe...don't they?
Was God pleased here?
No.
Listen to what God says in the very next verse:
31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,
32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”
See God was so displeased with Nebuchadnezzar for his pride, and for failing to acknowledge God, that God responded.
The bible says - for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart, the mouth speaks....
And so Nebuchadnezzar, in speaking prideful words...in speaking words that ignored God...
...revealed that he WAS prideful in his heart, and whose heart stood in defiance of God.
AND before his words left his mouth...God judged the intentions of his heart.
We can NEVER forget...
SLIDE:
Wherever you are … God is!
No wayward thought ever sneaks past the Lord.
No harmful word ever goes unheard in the Lord's ear.
No prideful boast ever goes unnoticed by Him.
But listen to what Nebuchadnezzar says next...
34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
What a turn of events.
verse 34 says that Nebuchad. turned his eyes toward God..
...and his reason returned.
Why?
Because his mind (our minds) was made for God...and His glory.
This is why Paul says that all speculations and thinking are futile (stupid, useless) when God is not glorified or thanked...
BUT RATHER - exchanged for images.
Remember what futility means - Stupid, Useless...
...and this is what the mind becomes when we don't use it to love, honor, treasure, and value God.
And so just think about the most brilliant people you know...most brilliant in the world...
Well Paul says here that regardless of how great the mind is, IF IT is NOT used to love, glorify, treasure, and value Christ...
...it's all useless.
Everything that you do...minus God....is futile, useless, and vain.
So, don't exchange God for other things.
SLIDE:
THE EXCHANGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IS ACCOMPANIED BY A DARKENED HEART
21 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.
So why is the heart darkened when we exchange the glory of God for other things?
Well, because the only light in the universe that can fill the heart with light is the glory of God.
Let's look at Matthew 6:22:
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
What Jesus is saying is - There is no light-producing element in the body.
...All light comes from outside...
...The eye must be good in order for the light to get into the body...
...and let the body see.
All light comes from the outside, namely...the glory of God.
See, Jesus is the spiritual light of the world.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In Ephesians 1:18 Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened.
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
And in 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul says:
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The only light in the universe that can bring light to the heart is the glory of God.
If we exchange it for other things, we will live in darkness...
SLIDE:
THE EXCHANGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD FOR OTHER THINGS IS ALWAYS FELT TO BE WISE BY THOSE WHO MAKE THE EXCHANGE
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
To the natural man, there's nothing more obvious than to realize that it's better to create your own god than to submit to another.
The benefits of this would be:
You're still in control.
You still call the shots.
Your new god is customizable.
WHICH MEANS - - over time, your new god will end up looking just like you.
You will become your god.
This is what natural man wants.
Think back to the garden of Eden...
Satan said to Eve in the garden, "'God knows that in the day you eat from [the forbidden tree], your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'
When the woman saw that the tree . . . was desirable to make one wise [Romans 1:22!],...
...she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:5-6).
This is the way it was from the beginning and still is. If you want to assume the role of God in governing your life, you will perceive this exchange of God's glory - idolatry - as the wisest thing in the world...
And yet, foolishness is what it is...
This is what Paul's declaring here.
That it's foolish to exchange the glory of God for anything...
And Paul explains this by first showing the infinite difference in value between what you trade away, and what you get in it's place.
The glory of God is immeasurable...
What you get in the exchange is of no comparison.
Look how Paul explains this:
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
So Paul's saying:
In their folly they "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man."
Literally it reads: "They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for a likeness of an image of corruptible man."
Now notice: man himself is already, according to Genesis 1:27, an image of God and not God.
But that is not what the exchange of God gets.
No, not even that.
Rather it is for an image of man.
No, not even that...
..It is for "a likeness of an image of man" who is himself an image.
Do you see what Paul is doing by piling up words like this?
He is emphasizing the infinite difference in value between the real and the copy.
And he does it by saying: When you make this exchange - even for the best thing you can think of, namely, man - yourself - (not to mention animals!)
...you are bartering God for the image of an image of an image.
You sell the original masterpiece for a copy of a copy of a copy.
Paul also shows us that this exchange is foolish, by...
comparing God's glory as incorruptible, and man's corruptibility...
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Corruptible means = perishable.
God lasts forever...
Man?
7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
And so exchanging the glory of God for anything else, is like exchanging eternal life for a blade of grass.
Foolishness!
If you value other things more than God...if your life is really driven by another value...
then you exchange the imperishable for the perishable.
And it's important for us to understand that our "valuing" of things can arise in different ways.
Essentially, idolatry can rise up in 2 different ways...and it has to do with the world.
The world can kill us in two ways.
It can withhold itself from us...
...or it can give itself to us.
If it withholds itself from me, then...I can crave it.
I can live my life pursuing that which i don't have...but desire (covet).
If the world gives itself to me, then maybe I'm proud of having it. (being rich)
I can spend my life being boastful in what I have.
So there's idolatry in craving creation over God, and there's idolatry in worshipping what you have.
Either way, the world will kill us.
Our hearts are idol factories...and friendship with the world is enmity before God.
We need to be on guard for this...
..Now, how can we gauge this?
How do we know whether we're being foolish, with darkened hearts, having exchanged the glory of God for other things?
There's a fine line between our enjoyments becoming idolatrous.
So, WHAT TURNS A DESIRE INTO IDOLATRY?
Well, this list will help us with this...
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is forbidden by God. For example, adultery and fornication and stealing and lying are forbidden by God. Some people at some times feel that these are pleasurable, or else we would not do them. No one sins out of duty. But such pleasure is a sign of idolatry.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is disproportionate to the worth of what is desired. Great desire for non-great things is a sign that we are beginning to make those things idols.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not permeated with gratitude. When our enjoyment of something tends to make us not think of God, it is moving toward idolatry. But if the enjoyment gives rise to the feeling of gratefulness to God, we are being protected from idolatry. The grateful feeling that we don’t deserve this gift or this enjoyment, but have it freely from God’s grace, is evidence that idolatry is being checked.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it does not see in God’s gift that God himself is more to be desired than the gift. If the gift is not awakening a sense that God, the Giver, is better than the gift, it is becoming an idol.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is starting to feel like a right, and our delight is becoming a demand. It may be that the delight is right. It may be that another person ought to give you this delight. It may be right to tell them this. But when all this rises to the level of angry demands, idolatry is rising.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it draws us away from our duties. When we find ourselves spending time pursuing an enjoyment, knowing that other things, or people, should be getting our attention, we are moving into idolatry.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it awakens a sense of pride that we can experience this delight while others can’t. This is especially true of delights in religious things, like prayer and Bible reading and ministry. It is wonderful to enjoy holy things. It is idolatrous to feel proud that we can.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is oblivious or callous to the needs and desires of others. Holy enjoyment is aware of others’ needs and may temporarily leave a good pleasure to help another person have it. One might leave private prayer to be the answer to someone else’s.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it does not desire that Christ be magnified as supremely desirable through the enjoyment. Enjoying anything but Christ (like his good gifts) runs the inevitable risk of magnifying the gift over the Giver. One evidence that idolatry is not happening is the earnest desire that this not happen.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not working a deeper capacity for holy delight. We are sinners still. It is idolatrous to be content with sin. So we desire transformation. Some enjoyments shrink our capacities of holy joy. Others enlarge them. Some go either way, depending on how we think about them. When we don’t care if an enjoyment is making us more holy, we are moving into idolatry.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss ruins our trust in the goodness of God. There can be sorrow at loss without being idolatrous. But when the sorrow threatens our confidence in God, it signals that the thing lost was becoming an idol.
Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss paralyzes us emotionally so that we can’t relate lovingly to other people. This is the horizontal effect of losing confidence in God. Again: Great sorrow is no sure sign of idolatry. Jesus had great sorrow. But when desire is denied, and the effect is the emotional inability to do what God calls us to do, the warning signs of idolatry are flashing.
