God Gives Up!
Romans: Building the Body Through the Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Attention (Why should they listen to you?) Twilight Zone - “A Nice Place to Visit”
A bank robber shot in the head by police wakes up in a posh hotel room. An Angel is their to grant him his every wish.
“A scared little man who never could catch a brake - now he has everything he has ever wanted and he is going to have to live with it for all eternity and he is never going to escape!” Rod Serling
Many people believe that if they could just have what they want apart from God, then - then they will have true and lasting satisfaction. But this is a lie that leads us down the wide path to destruction.
And it is this passage of Holy Scripture, written in lawyer like fashion from the Apostle Paul, that debunks this notion soundly.
What we will see in the verses this morning are the results of God’s “orge” wrath. And what this wrath looks like is God giving humanity over to “the natural consequences of suppressing the truth, ignoring revelation, and perverting God’s glory (BKC).”
What we will see is that God judges by giving people over to their sinful desires - giving them over to what they really want - Sinful humanity doesn’t want God! They want their own way!
And in this passage God answers their request...
Main Idea: You Want Your Way That Badly? It’s All Yours!
Why would God do this?
God gives people up to their desires to demonstrate that ultimate and fulfilling satisfaction is found in Him and Him alone.
When we go it our own way, apart from Him, we think we are pursuing joy but in reality we distancing ourselves from the only true source of joy and satisfaction. Today’s text proves just how foolish we are when God gives us up!
There are three ways in which God gives people up...
1. God Gives People Up to their Impure Sexual Desires (vs. 24-25)
Lead in…John MacArthur said that when a society/nation falls it starts with a sexual revolution. Ours started in the 60’s. and has been going strong ever since!
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 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.
What is the “Therefore” there for? Well, take a look back at verse 21-23...
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.
“they became fools...” It seems like such a harsh thing for God to say about about people.
Remember this...
Our God is holy!
Our God is perfect!
Our God sees everything through the lens of truth! Because He is TRUTH!
If there is any being that can be honest with us about the condition we are in, it is the God of the Bible! He is the ultimate and perfect Umpire!
So the “Therefore” is there to show the natural progression downward.
Picture in your mind a boat in a river and someone is holding the boat against the current. The boat stays in place because it is anchored by the hand of the person holding it. When the person lets go of the boat, what happens? Boat starts to move along with the current.
That’s what Paul means by “God gave them up...” He took his hand off the boat and now humanity is drifting down the river of His wrath.
The removal of His restraining hand is His “orge” wrath - God is giving people over to their base desires.
This happens three times in this text. Here in verse 24, again in verse 26 and finally in verse 28. And each time is a progression towards the nautral consequense of sin! “Whatever a man sows, that also he shall reap!” (Gal 6:7)
The first “gave them up” we see here deals unrestrained sexual promiscuity.
This, as Paul says, is a “dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.”
“God gave them up in the lusts (ἐπιθυμία - the active lust or desire springing from the diseased soul) of their hearts (the inner person) to impurity (decaying matter/like a grave).”
Jesus supports this idea in...
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Specifically Paul in verses 24-25 is referring to activities like sex outside of marriage, live-in lovers, wife-swapping, group sex parties, prostitution, child sex trafficking, just scratch the surface of the perversion that has gone on since the fall and continues in full force today.
FYI - Michigan is considered the #2 state in child sex trafficking!
Not to mention the devastation of pornography
Why does this stuff happen? Because God gave humanity up! And as a result, humans have perverted what God created and declared to be good!
The bible says that God is the Creator of all that is!
The bible says that God created Adam and Eve. They were commanded to procreate and fill the earth (Gen 1:28).
We see the creator God creating man and woman and giving them the capacity to reproduce for the purpose of filling the earth. It is also a beautiful expression of their intimacy and oneness.
So, sex is a good, wonderful and great thing! It is an amazing gift from God to humans.
We in the church should not be ashamed of sex, but instead celebrate it! Sex is a good gift from God (amen!)
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
I don’t often quote “the Message” translation, but I love how Peterson translates this verse.
4 Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.
Solomon instructs his sons to celebrates sex as well...
18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
Okay, so do you get the point? God created sex. God thinks sex is great! He wants us to fill the earth with mini-people’s, and He wants us to enjoy ourselves with this gift.
But, because he our Creator, He has the distinct privilege and right to tell us (his creation) what to do! And with this beautiful and powerful gift comes a significant responsibility.
Sex is ONLY to take place in marriage. Period! From God’s point of view, this is a non negotiable topic. Sex belongs in marriage!
But God let go of the boat! He let sinful humanity have what they wanted. They bought into the lie and for millennia have pursued sex on their terms.
What is the lie? The lie is that you will find satisfaction outside of God’s will and way. The lie is idolatry! That’s what the text says...
25 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.
they “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator...”
By the way, do you know know what an idol is? It is something that attempts to supersede and to take the place of God.
And the problem with an idol is that it never delivers on what it promises!
When people act outside of God’s will and God’s way, they are pursuing something that they believe will bring them satisfaction - yet it can’t! It won’t deliver! (The point of Ecclesiastes)
Who is the creature that Paul writes about? Humans. We are the creatures and we worship ourselves and our way.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, we have elevated ourselves over our Creator - and this NEVER works out well for us.
John A. Witmer said it well...
This truth is that people are creatures of God and can find true fulfillment only in worshiping and obediently serving God the Creator.
When God let us go to do this life our own way, we are forever trying to find satisfaction apart from God and it is a FOOL’s errand!
And Paul makes sure the Roman church understands clearly where all praise, glory and honor must go… “To the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
He is the Creator...
He is to be praised for who He is
He is the only eternal being who has existed for all eternity.
It’s no wonder we are considered fools when we try and live apart from Him...
“God Is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him” - John Piper
Wilt Chamberlain - 20,000 partners. This is his boast. 1.4 women per day from the age of 15 over the course of 40 years...
God gave them up! He has a plan for people that is good and full of grace. But the unregenerate are not interested in his plan.
Now, not every person is like Wilt Chamberlain. On the whole, we are not as bad as we could be...
Remember, he is writing to a local church. What is Paul’s goal for them regarding this truth?
Paul, in the first three chapters of this letter is building a case for the need for saving faith. For three chapters we hear from the apostle how sinful we really are and how incapable we are of earning a spot in heaven.
Do you struggle in the area of sexual sin? Confess it! Run from it! Run to Christ!
What is the responsibility of the Church in this area? (The point of authentic discipleship and fellowship).
We are at war, folks! Not with each other, but with our true enemy - the devil. And we must understand his tactics and war against them.
Church, we must band together, open up to one another and help each other in this challenging area.
Domeniek L. Harris in her article from Christianity today...
“Meet Sexual Sin with Truth and Grace - How to minister to people caught in fornication”
“We must be careful to teach discernment in watching television, especially programs that condone sexual immorality. We must be careful to govern our conversations about sex, including dirty jokes. We must be careful not to indulge in pornography or sexually explicit novels ("girl porn"), magazines, and websites. We must be careful not to "uncover the nakedness" of anyone. We must not touch in a sexual manner anyone we are not committed to through marriage. Nor should we see the sexual organs of anyone other than our spouse. Finally, we must be careful to guard our hearts from the lust of the flesh.”
https://www.christianitytoday.com/women-leaders/2013/october/meet-sexual-sin-with-truth-and-grace.html?start=4
Paul writes to Rome to prove all have sinned.
But there is another reason he writes these words to the church - to remind them that this is no longer part of their lives and they must pursue holiness.
Are you wrestling with fornication? Adultery? pornography or some other perversion from God’s original idea for sex? Confess it to God and to someone who can help you!
Let us help you! Talk to me or one of our elders. We are here to help, guide, minister to and see you through your challenge. We are not your judge, God is. But if he is working on your heart right now, make a decision to do something about it!
Review - You Want Your Way That Badly? It’s All Yours!
God Gives People Up to their Impure Sexual Desires - but then Paul describes a progression downward...
2. God Gives People Up to their Unnatural Sexual Desires (vs. 26-27)
Lead in…Paul then takes us farther down the stream. God gave them up even more!
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
The natural result of God “letting go” is further shame and deeper error.
God gives people up to “dishonorable passions” - literally, “passions of disgrace”
God, through Paul says their women exchanged natural relations (meaning with men in the confines of marriage) for unnatural one with other women.
In verse 37 God through Paul says that Men were consumed or inflamed (NIV) or unrelenting craving for other men in the sexual sense.
There is an argument that says this passage is speaking of only male and female heterosexuals and therefore it wrong for these heterosexual to engage in homosexual activities.
It is interesting to note what John A. Witmer says regarding this issue.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 1:26–27
The words translated women and men in these verses are the sexual words “females” and “males.” Contemporary homosexuals insist that these verses mean that it is perverse for a heterosexual male or female to engage in homosexual relations but it is not perverse for a homosexual male or female to do so since homosexuality is such a person’s natural preference. This is strained exegesis unsupported by the Bible. The only natural sexual relationship the Bible recognizes is a heterosexual one (Gen. 2:21–24; Matt. 19:4–6) within marriage.
Jesus quotes Gen 2:21-24 Proving his belief on the subject..
4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
So here is the bottom line - All homosexual relations are a perversion from God’s original creative plan. God is not pleased with homosexual acts and those that unrepentantly engage in such practices receive “in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
What is this “due penalty”?
This...
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1
may indicate some additional negative consequences received in themselves, that is, some form of spiritual, emotional, or physical blight.
Now, lest the critic say that this is just a Pauline idea and the bible doesn’t really speak to this, let me be clear that the Bible not only speaks to it, but it also condemn it strongly!
Genesis 19 Sodom and Gomorrah
22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
To be unwaveringly clear - God is against people practicing homosexuality. You cannot read the bible with a proper hermeneutic and walk away with any other idea than this.
The 60’s-80’s we in the USA saw a sexual revolution - perhaps some of you were part of it.
In the 90’s and most certainly the 2000’s we have and continue to see an attempt of the normalization of that which is not natural. There is an overt effort to press this agenda into the fabric of our culture. I think there are powerful forces at work to ensure this takes place.
And, quite frankly other than a concerted prayer effort and an unrelenting verbalization of the gospel, I’m not sure what else to do.
The world is going to do what the world is going to do. And I grieve for those who refuse to repent and attempt to find their satisfaction in something that will NEVER satisfy.
However, my pastor’s heart goes to a different place.
What about the ones who are genuinely wrestling with this issue and a host of others issues that come along with the LGBTQ+ movement?
Those who may be even here this afternoon that understand what God says yet have these desires and proclivities.
What about the ones that God is drawing to himself?
What about that young person who is being told at school that it is completely normal to be attracted to the same sex, yet they hear what the bible says and they are living in a state of despair and confusion.
Listen, Satan is the Author of confusion - and yet the promise from God is the truth shall set you free! And we, Christian have those promises to share!
Please listen to me if you are the one struggling!
First - understand clearly. You very well may continue to struggle. In fact, to be honest with you, you will struggle even more when you follow Jesus!
Second - Be encouraged! For the christian, struggle is a sign of life. It is an internal confirmation that you are a child of God. The Spirit is remaking you - and that is a painful process.
Third - the only answer for any of us is Jesus.
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
What about those of us who do not struggle with this particular sin? How are we to respond?
First - Look at people with the eyes of Christ.
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
Second - Pray for discernment -
Third - Remember, Jesus’ death was for all sin, not just the sin you do not struggle with.
If there is one place a person should be able to come for help, love, support and truth - it should be the church of Jesus Christ.
Rosaria Butterfield - “The Secret Confessions of an unlikely Convert”
With the letter, Ken initiated two years of bringing the church to me, a heathen. Oh, I had seen my share of Bible verses on placards at Gay Pride marches. That Christians who mocked me on Gay Pride Day were happy that I and everyone I loved were going to hell was clear as blue sky. That is not what Ken did. He did not mock. He engaged. So when his letter invited me to get together for dinner, I accepted. My motives at the time were straightforward: Surely this will be good for my research.
Something else happened. Ken and his wife, Floy, and I became friends. They entered my world. They met my friends. We did book exchanges. We talked openly about sexuality and politics. They did not act as if such conversations were polluting them. They did not treat me like a blank slate. When we ate together, Ken prayed in a way I had never heard before. His prayers were intimate. Vulnerable. He repented of his sin in front of me. He thanked God for all things. Ken's God was holy and firm, yet full of mercy. And because Ken and Floy did not invite me to church, I knew it was safe to be friends.”
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/my-train-wreck-conversion.html
Homosexuality is not the issue. Satisfaction is the the issue. And it is the gospel that offers true and lasting satisfaction.
The LGBTQ+ community is not the enemy. The enemy is the enemy. The LGBTQ+ community needs the gospel. And if the church of Jesus Christ looks at them as the enemy instead of the mission field, how will they ever come to know Christ?
Romans Bridging Contexts
In any case, we are clearly called on to offer the same love and hope through the gospel to homosexuals that we offer to any caught up in any forms of sin.
“Compassion means entering the suffering of another in order to lead the way out.” ― Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith
God gives people up to their unnatural Sexual desires, but as long as they are breathing, there is hope that God will open their eyes to the reality that only Christ can satisfy the longing and aching in their soul.
Review - You Want Your Way That Badly? It’s All Yours!
God Gives People Up to their Impure Sexual Desires
God Gives People Up to their Unnatural Sexual Desires
3. God Gives People Up to a Worthless Use of their Minds (vs. 28-32)
Lead in… Humanity’s sins are not contained to just sexual sins. Paul now takes the time to prove that we sin in all areas of life.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
God, in His Bible has some strong words for those who deny his existence. He calls them a fool!
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
And here we are at the point of our boat, no longer anchored by the hand of God, floating even farther away from the Lord.
And the result according to verse 28? What is the last judgement we see? A debased mind.
God’s judgement against humanity for removing him from their mind - was to give them a mind that would not/ could not pass the test.
This word is often used in the greek language for a metal that was worthless because it contained too much impurity.
And guess what - As James Allen wrote, “As a man thinketh, so shall he be!”
The point?
Improper thinking leads to improper conduct. And Paul gives quite a list in verses 29-31. And remember, this list is the natural result of looking for purpose and satisfaction apart from God...
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
By the way, it is interesting and important for us to see that this list comes after the list of sexual sin. Why does Paul do this? Dr. Douglas Moo has the answer...
“Paul is simply trying to convey in a general way the different forms that sin can take. After focusing on idolatry and sexual sins, he may have been worried that some readers would conclude that only such “major” sins really were a problem. So he adds at the end of the paragraph a long list of sins, convinced that at least one of them will hit home to every person who reads the letter.” NIVAC/Moo
This list is actually broken into three parts.
Paul starts with a general statement - The mind that fails to acknowledge God creates a vacuum that will only be filled with...
every kind of unrighteousness - injustice
evil (πονηρία ponēría) - depravity
covetousness - desiring that which is not yours
malice - hatred
The next five terms are those that deal with attitudes and actions toward others..
They are full of envy - jealousy, pain felt at the sight of excellence or happiness of someone else.
murder - Starts in the mind and leads to action
strife - Love of quarreling
deceit - lying, craftiness
maliciousness - Mischief
The final twelve are very specific characteristics of the unregenerate, unrighteous person.
Gossips - a whisperer, a secrete slanderer
slanderers - Character assassination
haters of God -
insolent - arrogance
haughty - Proud - no need of God
boastful - braggart
inventors of evil -
disobedient to parents -
foolish -
faithless -
heartless -
ruthless -
These three lists represent the human mind without God.
And, as if this list were not bad enough. Take a look at verse 32...
32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
They know these things are against God? Yes.
15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
The world around them speaks to the creative genius of God. And the internal witness of God’s Law on their hearts only increases the reality that those who reject God know better and consequently are without excuse.
And what’s worse? Verse 32 says they not only participate in these actions, but they are a cheering section for those who do them as well.
“Crabs in a bucket syndrome”
Why does Paul finish with this list?
To ensure he “hits all the bases” - so that no one can boast because all have sinned. There is a universality to our sinfulness. We all have this in common. Remember what the Rabbi lawyer is doing here...
To humble the Roman church - The were all saved from sin by Christ and they dare not think more highly of themselves than they ought to.
To Remind them to pursue holiness - This list represents the old way of life. They are now new creatures in Christ - the old is gone and the new has come!
What should we do?
Everyone is a sinner - You are far worse than you think you are and your Savior is far greater than you can imagine! His grace is sufficient for ALL your sin - This should cause you to worship and praise Him all the more!
Be humble - do not look down on those caught up in sin. Have compassion and love - the same compassion and love Christ continues to have for you! Be angry at the enemy not the sinner! Fight the enemy with weapons God has given - prayer-scripture-fellowship-faith-truth-the Gospel!
Evaluate your life agains the lists Paul gives - They are specific for a reason! As a believer we can easily slip back into old sin
Review - You Want Your Way That Badly? It’s All Yours!
God Gives People Up to an Impure Lust of the Heart
God Gives People Up to a Dishonoring Passion of the Body
God Gives People Up to a Worthless Use of their Minds
Conclusion
Rod Serling had an uncanny ability to catch his viewers off guard and really cause them to think.
The - “A Nice Place to Visit” episode did just that. Whether he meant it our not, he pointed out the profound conclusion that our ultimate satisfaction isn’t found in the created things we think will bring satisfaction. They never will! Idols cannot perform that kind of task. Only God can do this!
True and lasting joy and satisfaction is found in the Creator, not his creation. And anything you place at a higher value than Him or his will is idolatry.
That’s really what this passage is all about!
This passage isn’t about illicit sexual actions, people practicing homosexuality or having a debased mind. This passage proves these actions are a result of God’s creation, humanity turning their back on their Creator and worshiping the created. The big problem here is idolatry.
And please hear me - YOU WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH ANYTHING UNTIL YOU’RE SATISFACTION RESTS IN JESUS.
God Is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him - Piper
Maybe you are struggling - what can they do?
How do I handle when you know someone who is struggling
Guilty of judging Confess that! Resources for that -
Struggling with our culture. How do I deal with pronouns (anti body)(Nancy Persey)
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What do these verses teach me about our character?
2. What do these verses teach me about God and his character?
3. Because these words are from God, they are TRUTH! What truth is he asking me to believe?
4. What do I need to do to obey him?
5. With whom can I share these truths?