The Progression of Unbelief

Though contrary to the world (atheist) belief, God is very active within the world today

God did not create and then become a passive observer

Colossians 1:17 NKJV

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Col 1

God created the world in 6 days, rested on the 7th day, but that was not the end

God not only created but maintains His creation every second of everyday

This called God’s Continuing Providence (Latin word providere which literally means “to forsee”)

This doesn’t just mean “knowing the future” but it also means making preparation for the future

Verse 16-18

In God’s providence of this world though He is a Spirit, He can be clearly seen to all (lost and saved)

These first two verses will show us how God reveals Himself to the world.

We love to talk about the kindness of God

Righteousness

We love to talk about the grace of God

Wrath

But we don’t like to talk about the wrath of God

Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. (verse 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel)

Verse 18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

Wrath

Verse 18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.

Because God is Righteous He is also Just.

God is a God of Love:

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God is also a God of justice

John 3:36 NKJV

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

“God is love”

His justice:

“His loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord”

“let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire”

John ch. 3 contains two verses of almost complete opposite

God is not just a God waiting to judge, He is a God of love.

Psalm 33:5 NKJV

He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

One of love

One of wrath

This is the God we serve.

In these verses Paul is going to speak mainly about God’s wrath which is active in the world today just as His love is.

Though we love to talk about God’s love and we should, we must also understand His justice.

There will come a day when the wrath of God is poured out on the earth (the tribulation period)

For God to be Holy and perfect

BUT there is also the present manifestation of God’s wrath on those outside the Kingdom of God

This wrath is a present reality in our world

This wrath is a present reality in our country today

It is manifest on all those who are under it

This wrath is a present reality within the “church” today

If you want a reason to thank Christ, thank Him that the wrath of God no longer remains on you.

This wrath is not selected by God but by those who choose its path

Everyone outside of Christ has the wrath of God waiting on them

Rom 1:18-20

Unbelief is inexcusable because God has given mankind enough evidence to believe the truth.

The subject of God’s wrath

Verse 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth.

Notice who God’s wrath is revealed upon: men who suppress the truth

Notice how they suppress the truth: in unrighteousness

This is for anyone and everyone who lives unrighteously today.

Even if they have never been to church

How can God do that?

Verse 19 because what may be known of God, is manifest (evident) in them (among them), for God has shown it to them.

What Paul is speaking about here is called a General Revelation

This is the revelation through Creation that all people experience

There is one thing God will never accept is an excuse

Do you ever wonder why there is such an attack on Creation?

If Satan can get people to believe God did not create the world then they begin down this road

BUT it goes even further

In my theology book they have 6 hypothesis to reconcile the “Creation problem”

The flood hypothesis

Science says the earth is billions of years old

The Bible says it is 6,000 years old

Man is given a choice to believe

And even men of God try to say that the word “day” used in creation doesn’t really mean day

Or God created the world in an already “old state”

Or the days were not in chronological order

Or there was a time gap between and the rest of the book

Why can’t we just believe the mighty God of the Bible created this world in 6 days and science is WRONG

This does not mean you cannot be saved if you don’t believe God created in 6 days

My point is that those who reject a 6 day creation harm the generations to come because they automatically reject God’s general revelation (which is an act of grace)

Those that believe science over faith are teaching the next generations to follow suit

Science will never prove the Bible wrong. IT CAN NOT

Science will only have a hypothesis about Creation, but the Bible contains the facts.

When this General Revelation is given over to evolution, and science rather than faith the world is being misled

Paul’s argument is that in Creation God is evident to all people

People must choose that we evolved or there really is a Creator

Not one soul in the history of creation will ever be able to stand before God and say it wasn’t fair

People are not forced to believe, but to reject has severe consequences

How is God evident to all people?

Verse 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse...

What are His attributes?

His eternal power

Creation

The sustaining of Life

The perfect balance of the earth

His Godhead

The Trinity

His Spirit

His Son

Here is what Paul is saying:

God has created this world and mankind in such a way that man can grasp enough of God’s nature that all will be without excuse.

God is just in His wrath upon those who are unrighteous because all men above the age of accountability have enough revelation to be held accountable

Paul is saying God is just to judge all people because all people have been given enough light to come to Christ.

For anyone to reject the truth is a choice to NOT BELIEVE

Verse 21-23 because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image make like corruptible man-and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

God has manifest Himself in the world today to all mankind

Man has a choice

He can either worship a Creator

Or deny the truth and worship Creation

God has given man enough revelation to prevent him from the error of identifying created things from the Creator,

The great sin here is idolatry

enabling him to keep his conception of deity free from idolatry.

There is one thing God will never accept is an excuse

Not one soul in the history of creation will ever be able to stand before God and say it wasn’t fair

Verse 24-25 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Unbelief allows people to go deeper into their sin

“Therefore God also gave them up”

When a person denies the truth of God, the gospel, God’s clearly seen attributes and power and worships creation rather than the Creator God gives them over to their sin

This does not mean that God will make people sin

It means God will remove the divine influence from their life that was protecting them from serious sin

An illustration:

We learned today that God is continuously working in the world today

God is also keeping sin at bay

Just imagine a boat on a river

And God is holding that boat from going downstream with the current

When God gives them over He lets go of the boat and it drifts anyway the river wishes

Unbelief Leads to Idolatry

Why would God give anyone over to sin?

because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie

because they worshiped the creature rather than the Creator

It is clear Paul is speaking about Idolatry

Idolatry is putting anything over God

animal

another human

ourselves

a material object

animal

Is this “giving over” a permanent thing?

Not in every case

God handed over his own people in the OT to bring them to repentance

In the book of Revelation the wrath of God is poured out to bring men to repentance

From what I have seen is a vast majority never do repent

The Progression of Unbelief Leads to gross sexual immorality

Verse 26-27: For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

Notice the wording Paul uses here

Natural and unnatural

It is very similar to the beginning when men reject the General Revelation of God (which is natural, creation)

This unnatural use of their body is against God’s natural created order

Many today argue (Including some denominations) that this is not a prohibition against homosexuality but I would further argue that Pauls use of the natural and unnatural is against God’s will for humanity.

Homosexuality is a departure from nature (God’s natural order)

Rejection of a Creator

The deepening of Sin

Gross sexual Immorality

The Final stage of Unbelief is Man’s hatred of fellow man

verse 28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who, knowing the righteous judgement of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them”

psalm 106:20

Psalm 106:20 NKJV

Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass.

They became Image worshipers

For a third time Paul says God gave them over but this time to a debased mind

2 thess 10:12

That debased mind has serious implications (worthless, unqualified)

Verse 24 God gave them up to

As before God gave them over to immoral acts

Verse 25 Who Exchanged the truth for a lie

In this case God gives them over to a debased mind (worthless, unqualified)

2 thess 10:12

When sin has progressed this far the mind is unable to comprehend or practice the things of God.

Verse 26-27 God gave them up to vile passions

They not only fail to practice the things of God, they cannot understand God

women began doing what is unnatural

It is a spiritual blindness that only the Spirit can overcome

men likewise

I want you to think about this country in which we live in

receiving in themselves the penalty of their error

Think about the great division within it

Think about the explosion of the LGBT community

Think about the free reign of sin

Think about the idolatry

This is why many preachers believe we are in the last days including myself

Can it be changed? Absolutely

Will it be changed? I honestly don’t think so

2 Timothy 3:1–5 NKJV

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

We need to make ever effort to win every soul to Jesus Christ as we can because I believe if it is not our generation, it will be our kids generation that will experience the rapture.

2 Timothy 3:1 NKJV

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

When we

They Worshiped the creature rather than the Creator

They dishonored themselves with their bodies

They no longer did what was natural.

Evil overtakes them

filled with unrighteousness

wickedness

greed

evil

envy

murder

strife

deceit

malice

gossips

slanderers

haters of God

insolent

arrogant

boastful

inventors of evil

disobedient to parents

wihtout understanding

untrustworthy

unloving

unmerciful

give approval to those who practice such things.

This is the wrath of God on an unbelieving world. What is the other option?

Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the Righteous man shall live by faith”

God reveals Himself through His invisbale attributes

There is no excuse for anyone to not.