Romans 1:18–
32 (ESV) 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, …21For although they knew
God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became
futile in their thinking…24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts
of their hearts to impurity, ... 26For this reason God gave them up
to dishonorable passions. …
28And 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. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil,
covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God,
insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish,
faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though 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.
God’s wrath
is being revealed in that he has given man over to their own sinful
desires. It is not just the consequences
of the sin, but the encumbrance of sin itself.
Many individuals will jump on the homosexuality that is mentioned here
in this passage, but not give the same emphasis to the list of twenty sins that
follow.
The first
two terms translated here, unrighteousness and evil, are general terms applying
to all that follow. Covetousness is
rampant in our society, it is an evil greed that is willing to do wrong to have
more or to do wrong because one does not have something. Malice is wickedness of character and envy is
jealously, pain felt at the happiness or blessing of others. Murder needs no explanation. Strife is the love of dissention or
conflict. Deceit is falsehood and
maliciousness is evil mindedness taking everything with a bad connotation. Gossips and slanders are closely related. Aa
gossip speaks quietly without one knowing they are being attacked, while the
slanderer just speaks outright and openly attacks another. The hater of God is the one who does not
display His image while the insolent is the arrogant one who is invading the
space of another with force, an “in your face” kind of person.
The haughty
is the one who rejects God and the boastful is he that brags and cannot
do. The “inventor of evil” never ceases
to amaze us that one can think up the things that they actually carry out. The disobedient to parents bring their
parents shame and reveal their foolishness, or undiscerning character. The untrustworthy is a covenant breaker that
will drive employers crazy. The unloving
is heartless and the ruthless shows no mercy.
Not only are
these sins condemned, but those who approve or applaud them are condemned right
along with them. Yet, the text says, “2Though
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.”
The only
cure for this sin is repentance and faith in the saving blood of Jesus
Christ. Our prayer is that you might
turn to Him before you face judgment.
The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton FW # 77
No comments:
Post a Comment