Sermon Tone Analysis

Thursday June 21, 2007

Romans: Romans 1:24-God Gives Human Race Over to Immoral Degeneracy for their Rejection of Him

Lesson # 29

Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:18.

Last evening we completed our study of Romans 1:18-23, which deals with the basis for Gentile guilt before a holy God.

This evening we will begin a study of Romans 1:24-32, in which Paul presents the results of Gentile guilt.

This evening we will note Romans 1:24 in which Paul writes that God gave the human race over to immoral degeneracy as a result of rejecting His revelation of Himself in creation.

Romans 1:18-19, “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.”

Romans 1:20, “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.”

Romans 1:21, “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.”

Romans 1:22-23, “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.”

Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.”

“Therefore” is the inferential conjunction dio (diov) (dee-o), which is an emphatic marker of result, denoting the fact that the inference is self-evident, referring to the reasons Paul set forth in Romans 1:18-23.

In Romans 1:18, Paul writes that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth of God by means of their unrighteousness.

Then, in Romans 1:19, Paul writes that the reason why God has revealed His wrath against the human race is that they have rejected knowledge of Him that He has made available by observing creation.

Then, in Romans 1:20, Paul writes that knowledge of God is acquired by observing creation and so therefore, all of humanity is held accountable by God who rejected this revelation since He has provided sufficient evidence of Himself.

In Romans 1:21, Paul presents four results that stem from the human race rejecting God’s revelation of Himself in creation: (1) They never worshipped God.

(2) They never thanked God.

(3) They became ignorant.

(4) They were unable to comprehend spiritual matters.

In Romans 1:22, Paul presents the fifth result of the human race rejecting God’s revelation of Himself in creation, namely, they became arrogant.

In Romans 1:23, Paul presents the sixth and seventh results of the human race rejecting God’s revelation of Himself in creation, namely, self-deification and idolatry.

Therefore, in Romans 1:24, the inferential conjunction dio introduces the result of these negative decisions by the human race against God and denotes the fact that the inference is self-evident.

The self-evident inference is that since mankind has rejected God’s revelation of Himself, God has given mankind over to sin and its consequences.

People cannot rebel and disobey God with impunity.

In context, “God” refers to the Trinity functioning in their role as the Supreme Court of Heaven since the verb paradidomi, “gave them over” is used in a judicial sense.

“Gave them over” is the 3rd person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb paradidomi (paradivdwmi) (para-did-omee), which is used in a judicial sense and means, “to give into the hands of another, to give over into one’s power or use.”

“Them” is the accusative (direct object) masculine plural form of the personal pronoun autos (au)tov$), which refers to its antecedent in Romans 1:18, namely, the plural form of noun anthropos, “mankind.”

Since men chose to reject God’s revelation of Himself in creation and refused to be accountable to Him and rebelled against Him, God could do nothing else but give them over to the power and control of the sin nature, which they preferred to God.

God would not violate their volition but permitted man to live independently of Him and let them experience the consequences of their negative decisions against Him.

Inevitably, sin creates its own penalty and so therefore, divine judgment is God permitting people to live independently of Him.

Obadiah 15, “For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.

As you have done, it will be done to you.

Your dealings will return on your own head.”

God’s judgment against the human race for rejecting Him was to permit sin to run its natural course.

Therefore, we can see that the wrath of God mentioned by Paul in Romans 1:18 is not an “active” display of His displeasure with sin but the removal of restraint that permits sinners to reap the fruits of their disobedience and rebellion.

Psalm 81:11-12, “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.”

However, we must understand that God still loves the human race and is concerned with it since He gave them over to the power of sin and its consequences in order that they might learn the futility of a life that is in rejection of truth and that they might learn to hate it (See Isaiah 19:22).

Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.”

“Lusts” is the noun epithumia (e)piqumiva), which refers not only to sexual lust but also power lust, approbation lust, social lust, monetary lust, materialism lust, inordinate ambition resulting in inordinate competition, revenge lust, criminal lust, chemical lust, crusader lust, and pleasure lust.

In Romans 1:24, the articular noun epithumia is employed with the prepositional phrase eis akatharsian, “to impurity,” which refers to immoral degeneracy and thus refers to the sexual lust pattern of the indwelling old Adamic sin nature.

Every person born into the world without exception received the imputation of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden and the nature of Adam, which is always disobedient to God and making them all physically alive but spiritually dead, having no capacity whatsoever to have a relationship with God.

Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (when Adam sinned).”

But the fact that every member of the human race possesses a sin nature does mean that the entire human race is qualified for grace, which is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior.

Galatians 3:22, “But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

Romans 11:32, “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”

In the New Testament, the old sin nature is called the “old self, the flesh,” which according to the Scriptures is being corrupted meaning that it is not getting better nor can it be rehabilitated but rather it is getting worse and worse everyday.

The old sin nature resides in the genetic structure of the human body and this is why the apostle Paul in Romans 6:6 calls it the “body of sin” and this is why we need a resurrection body.

Prior to salvation, the believer was enslaved to the lust patterns of the old Adamic sin nature since he was under real spiritual death meaning he had no capacity to experience fellowship with God (See Ephesians 2:1-3).

At the moment of salvation, through the baptism of the Spirit, the omnipotence of the Spirit identified the believer with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session (See Romans 6:4-7; Ephesians 2:4-6).

Also, at the moment of salvation, God gave the believer a new divine nature that gives him the capacity to experience deliverance from the lust patterns of the old Adamic sin nature (See 2 Peter 1:4).

Therefore, since the believer has been crucified, died and buried with Christ and has been raised and seated with Christ and given a new divine nature, he is commanded to abstain from the various lust patterns of the old sin nature, which wage war against the believer’s soul and is to flee them.

1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”

Since the believer has been crucified with Christ, he is commanded to consider himself dead to the sin nature.

Romans 6:11, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

The believer who appropriates by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died and buried with Christ will experience deliverance from the lust patterns of the old sin nature.

Galatians 5:24, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

The believer is to consider the members of his body to be dead to these lust patterns of the old sin nature since they were crucified at the cross and he has died with Christ.

Colossians 3:5, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

The will of God is that the believer obey the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ, which constitutes experiencing sanctification.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”

The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified so that the believer might not live for the lusts of the old sin nature but for the will of God (See 1 Peter 4:1-3).

The believer who experiences sanctification is obeying the command to be holy like God.

1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’”

The believer sins because he chooses to disobey the teaching of the Word of God and thus allows the sin nature to control and influence his soul so that he produces mental, verbal and overt acts of sin (See James 1:13-15).

The believer’s sin nature will not be totally eradicated until he physically dies or when the rapture of the church takes place when the believer will receive a resurrection body to replace the body he now has, which contains the old sin nature (See 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Philippians 3:20-21).

Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.”

“Heart” is the noun kardia (kardiva) (kar-dee-ah), which refers to the dominant lobe of the soul, the right lobe and is the mental activity or function of the soul.

The human heart is deceitful and desperately sick and only God can understand it.

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that verbal and overt acts of sin originate from within and out of the human heart.

Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.

All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

“Impurity” is the noun akatharsia (a)kaqarsiva) (ak-ath-ar-see-ah), which means, “uncleanness” since it is composed of the alpha prefix and the adjective kathartos, “clean, pure.”

“Dishonored” is the verb atimazo means, “to degrade” meaning to lower something in character and quality or rank especially as punishment.

The “impurity” that Paul is referring to is explained as the degrading of the human body through immoral degeneracy or sexual immorality, which is further defined by Paul in Romans 1:26-27 as homosexual behavior.

The human body was designed for a more noble purpose, namely to serve and worship God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”