The Gravity of Sin: Confronting the Darkness Within

Introduction

If you are in any type of serious relationship, either a child parental relationship, a spousal relationship, or even dating situation, everyone dreads when we hear the words, “we need to talk”. Those words denote seriousness and alert the hearer that things are about to become really awkward and uncomfortable. Yet, as horrible a feeling this dialogue conjures up, it is of utmost importance and we must endure the pains associated with this conversation because its avoidance will cost us much more than the temporary discomfort.

The reason why virtually everyone likes Christmas is because we get to keep Jesus in the manger and we need not to talk about the ultimate reason for the manger. The reason why we like easter egg hunts and bunnies and chocolates is because it distract us from the resurrection. Because if we pay attention to the resurrection we will inevitably have to deal with the crucifixion and death and that will lead us to uncomfortable conversation we will be having for the next 6 to 7 weeks, sin. Yes we have to talk about it.

Sin has become so normal that it has become synonymous with humanity. Anytime we make wrong choices we appease ourselves by saying, “I’m only human”

Consider the subtlety of the following lyrics,

Looking out Across the nighttime The city winks a sleepless eye Hear her voice Shake my window Sweet seducing sighs

Get me out Into the nighttime Four walls won't hold me tonight If this town Is just an apple Then let me take a bite

If they say Why (why?), why (why?) Tell 'em that it's human nature

We live in a time and a generation where a teenage boy is commended for “hitting that” in reference to sexual activity with an attractive young lady, but then pitied when the result is an unwanted pregnancy.

We live in a time and a generation where people are encourage to live-out their “authentic selves” meaning forge for yourself what you deem to be real to you and for you and damn anybody and everybody who disagrees or points to truth that is outside of your own fabricated delusions.

We live in a time and generation where the meaning, definitions of words are being manipulated as to not convey real meaning which is offensive, uncomfortable, and does not fit the desired narrative.

For example: Love – Biblically, love (ἀγάπη) is sacrificial, rooted in truth, and inseparable from righteousness (1 Corinthians 13:6, John 14:15). Modern ideology redefines love as uncritical affirmation, where challenging sin is seen as hatred.

Truth – Biblically, truth is absolute and grounded in God’s Word (John 17:17, Proverbs 30:5). The postmodern redefinition sees truth as subjective, shaped by personal experience and social constructs rather than divine revelation.

Justice – In Scripture, justice is rooted in God’s righteousness, impartiality, and moral law (Micah 6:8, Deuteronomy 16:19). “Social justice” now often prioritizes group identity over individual accountability, sometimes advocating partiality and vengeance.

This is all the product of sin and we have to talk about because sin will not go away on its own, and it has corrupted all aspects of our lives, and the way we think and process information. Right is wrong, letf is right, up is down, and all of the ripple effects that come from

Scripture continually condemn the redefining of truth and moral standards for the purpose fitting human desires and ideological agendas. There are repeated warnings against the distorting of God’s Word and altering divine truth for personal , or better yet societal comforts.

Isaiah 5:20 LSB

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

This is the inversion of moral values which is what happens when concepts are redefined to justify sin, so we don’t have to talk about it.

Proverbs 17:15 LSB

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.

When language is manipulated to excuse sin and condemn righteousness, God does not just see this as wrong or unacceptable but an abomination. An abomination is not just a sin. The word abomination (Hebrew: toʿevah, Greek: bdelygma “vedelima”) refers to something that is not just sinful but is utterly detestable, repulsive, and deeply offensive to God’s holiness. So Bridge, we need to talk about. We shall talk about, starting with the gravity of sin and confronting the darkness within.

Romans 1:21–28 LSB

For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, 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 likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 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 dishonorable passions; for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper,

As we discuss this passage please bare in mind that we in western 21st century have a very individualistic way of thinking and although the Scriptures surely address the individual and the soul of a person. This passage uses collective language, meaning that it refers to societies, cultures, humanity as a whole as opposed to actual individuals.

We understand this language. As the Eagles win superbowl 59 everyone associated with that team worldwide, including everyone from Philadelphia says, “we won the superbowl this year” regardless to the fact almost none of them were part of the 11 players on the field at the moment of the win. Yet, millions of people won the superbowl this year as part of the Eagles. So the victory does not only apply to the participants but to all who watched and cheered and betted and hollered.

This is not to distract from personal individual moral responsibility which is also taught here and in chapter 2. But please pay attention to the implications here.

He said, “they knew God” but would not glorify Him as God. They would not acknowledge Him as God. They had no appreciation for His Majesty and refused to recognize Him as Creator, as the Authority, as the mind behind all minds.

Who is the they, people everywhere, civilizations, cultures, countries, societies, ethnic groups. All of humanity as a whole has rejected their creator, this is not ignorance, no matter what comes out of people’s mouth. God has given enough of an over abundance of evidence

Psalm 19:1–4 LSB

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

All you have to do is walk outside and look up. The wonders and the organization of the creative order screams for God. A advanced degree in theology is an extreme overkill for knowing God and yet there are people that have those degrees still claiming ignorance of God.

I read of a man who earns a living cleaning people’s houses. Got the call to go clean up an apartment for this couple, was given instruction concerning where to find the keys and manage to clean the wrong apartment...

No advance degrees in mathematics, philosophy, or science required to know that order cannot come from chaos on its own no matter how much time you give it....

The clause “although they new God” refers to an original experiential knowledge of God. This knowledge is the quality of knowledge that Adam and Eve had both before and after the fall. How long did this knowledge continue before it was perverted is not stated but God was known by people.

But they refused to glorify God and revere him with gratitude so they “became futile in they thoughts and in their foolishness their hearts were darkened.

The Greek word mataioō “mateó”(translated as "became futile") conveys the idea of becoming pointless, ineffective, or morally confused. Their dialogismos (thoughts, reasonings) lost any foundation in divine truth, leading to self-deception. They became spiritually and philosophically morons.

The futility is both intellectual and spiritual. Their reasoning processes (dialogismoi) became distorted and empty, not just morally but also in their ability to perceive truth correctly. Paul is showing that rejecting God leads to a darkened mind—one that is incapable of true wisdom, even if it appears intelligent by worldly standards.

This is what people mean by living their authentic selves or finding their own truth. They mean finding out who they “truly” are based on their emotions, experiences, and preferences. Living in a way that feels true to their inner self regardless of moral norms.

It means living that is based on the belief that truth is subjective and can vary from person to person. “my truth” means what is true for them personally, rather than an objective universal truth. This is in contrast with reality which dictates that,

Truth is Objective (John 14:6, Psalm 119:160). Truth is defined by God, not personal feelings. What your smart watch can and cannot do is dictated by the manufacturer of the watch not by what you wish it could do.

Authenticity in Christ (Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20, Matthew 16:24). Rather than following personal desires (the flesh), believers are called to deny themselves and follow Christ).

The Heart is Deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 14:12, Colossians 2:8). The Bible warns against trusting our our own desires as the standard of truth. The heart lies, what seems right is absolutely the way to death, we are not to be held captive by philosophical loopholes in order to have our way.

Romans 1:22–23 LSB

22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

This futility isn’t just intellectual but spiritual—an inability to think rightly about God, morality, and reality. It parallels the Old Testament idea that those who worship idols become like them—blind, deaf, and senseless (Psalm 115:8). Paul argues that when people suppress the truth about God (v.18), their thinking collapses into foolish speculation, leading them further into darkness.

When the source of wisdom is rejected, peoples claim to be wise is an empty boast that rooted in nothingness… progressively they became fools literally stupid which is demonstrated by the worship as gods things that are in essence forms of people and animals. This refusal to acknowledge and glorify God leads to a downward path… from worthless thinking, to moral insensitivity, to religious stupidity.

Romans 1:24 LSB

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

Listen the feelings themselves are unnatural as we will see. If a married man was to come to me and tell me that he is having feelings for a woman that is not his wife, sexual feelings I would not say to him to simply make sure he does not act on them.

Wrongful attractions are wrong do not embrace them just because you have not acted on them. An impure heart is a sinful heart… This is the nature of humanity because of its rejection of God so God allowed them to continue in their course more fully…

Romans 1:25 LSB

25 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.

The correct translation in Romans 1:25 is "the lie" (τῷ ψεύδει), not just "a lie." The definite article (τῷ) “oh” indicates a specific deception.

Paul is referring to the fundamental lie—the rejection of the true God in favor of idolatry, which distorts reality. This goes back to Satan’s original deception in Genesis 3:5, where he convinced humanity that they could be like God. It’s not just any lie but the core falsehood that undergirds all sin: worshiping creation instead of the Creator.

In elevating himself to the position where he makes godlike decisions like defining what is right and what is wrong, rather than identifying what is right and what is wrong.

Worship is the act of honoring, revering and giving absolute devotion to someone or something. The moment in our mind we strip God of that position we will place someone or something else in its place.

Everyone worships something—if not God, then self, money, success, pleasure, or ideology. Worship is not optional; it’s only a question of whether it’s rightly directed toward God or falsely directed toward something else.

When people reject God, they don’t become "free" thinkers—they become slaves to the lie that something else can satisfy. This leads to moral corruption, as seen in

Romans 1:26–28 LSB

26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions; for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper,

When a society, a nation, an ethnic group, a culture rejects its creator it begins to worship itself and it begins to replicate its deformities and each generation carries a worse deformity than the previous one

In Romans 1:24, 26, and 28, "God gave them over" (παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεός) means that God judicially abandoned them to their sinful desires. This phrase denotes divine judgment, where God removes His restraining grace and allows people to follow the destructive path they insist on taking.

It’s not just permissive (letting them go); it's active in the sense that God hands them over to the consequences of their rebellion. This mirrors Old Testament judgment language (e.g., Psalm 81:12), where God allows hardened hearts to run their course. It shows that when people reject God, sin itself becomes part of the judgment—a downward spiral of increasing depravity.

We all share in this depravity… Virgin Cruises…

Romans 1:32 LSB

32 and although they know the righteous requirement 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.