18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
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.
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.
In the next section of verses, Rom. 1:18-32, Paul shows that mankind has spiraled down and away from a relationship with the Lord. Salvation is for the righteous, which comes by faith in Christ. There will be people who think they are sufficiently righteous as they are. Paul is telling us to look around us, look at mankind. You don’t even need to look carefully to see we are not righteous; we revel in our unrighteousness!
Campus Crusade for Christ had a definition of sin: Active rebellion or passive indifference to God and His commands.
In the following we will see that:
- We have ignored God (v. 19)
- We have refused to acknowledge Him (v. 21)
- We proceed on this path to sinful activities (v. 24ff)
- And finally, encourage others to join in (v. 32)
The path of destruction starts internally and privately and transitions to public, corporate evil doing. Rebellion is not thrust upon you from external forces, but begins within your heart and mind. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.’“ (James 1:13-14)
The rebellious acts of sin are a symptom of where your heart, mind, and belief system are taking you.
Vs. 18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
“For” - Paul expands on why he is eager to preach the gospel. He preaches because he is not ashamed to be a Christian (vss. 1:15-17), and he knows the wrath of God to come. He has “entered the sanctuary of God, and perceived their end” (Psa. 73:34). Paul doesn’t want anyone to perish.
“wrath of God is revealed” - The wrath of God is not lashing out in anger. It is not a righteous temper tantrum. God is simply executing the justice required for the penalty of sin. The wrath of God is the action taken to eliminate the sin against Him.
“men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” - He is not talking about being misinformed, or ignorant of the truth. People are operating in “ungodliness and unrighteousness”. God is noting those people who purposefully lead others away from the truth. Pilate is famous (at least in part) for asking, “What is truth?” The truth is in the gospel. The gospel is freedom from sin, and eternal life with Jesus when you believe in Him.
Vs. 19 - because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
“that which is known about God is evident within them ” - We don’t need to go on a ‘vision quest’ in search of God. He has placed within our hearts and minds a desire to know Him. C. S. Lewis, in “Mere Christianity”, covers and discusses this much more fully than I can. (I cannot top the greatest Christian apologist of the 20th century.) The concept of right-and-wrong is deeply imbedded within us. It is not a social construct. It is God-given conscience. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, this God-given conscience gets pummeled and modified into selfishness. Instead of being about what is right, it becomes what I want is-right-for-me. If what-I-want does not conform with God’s will for us, then we are committing sin.
These things we can know about God, not “maybe could have guessed”.
“ God made it evident to them ” - A famous quote from Blaise Pascal, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.” This statement is the next step beyond what Paul is saying here: We all know of God because a desire to have a relationship with Him is placed within each of us. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:34) He does not overpower us, even though He is in us.
Vs. 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.
“ being understood through what has been made ” - To be sure, the evidence of God is within us, but He has not left it at that. In addition to the internal evidence there is all of creation showing the magnificence of God. (See: Acts 14:17; 17:24-27) If you are willing (that is a key) you can be bowled over with amazement at the the world around you, the universe beyond. Look at the sunlight striking a snow capped mountain, or a sunset at the beach. Watch a grey whale breach the surface, or a pod of dolphins race along side your ship. See a delicate spider web covered with morning dew. Consider the hoar frost around a gopher hole in early February, created by their breath as they hibernate. Be amazed at the fall colors, or at salmon migrating upstream to spawn. Some of the photos taken by the Hubble telescope of galaxies are astounding in beauty and variety. Hold a new baby in your arms, or a new puppy. How can you not be astounded at what God has created?
“ so that they are without excuse .” - ‘They’ are those people who refuse to acknowledge God’s power and majesty all around them. You cannot say, “I had no idea! I never knew!” Evidence all around you, evidence within you - it is there should you choose to not ignore it. If you ignore, or reject the evidence of God, the problem is you, not God. He will not force you to believe.
Vs. 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. “
they knew... did not honor Him... or give thanks ” - Active resistance and rejection of the truth dishonors God. If you meet the president of the United States, and you do not address him as “Mr. President”, you are showing disrespect. You may dislike the man occupying the office, that doesn’t matter. You show respect because of the office, the power of the office and all it represents. Anything else shows dishonor.
Likewise, not saying, “Thank you” to someone who has benefitted you does not show respect for what has been done for you. Selfishness or arrogance has replaced appreciation.
“became futile... heart was darkened.” - We have just finished reading about the confrontation with the Pharaoh of Egypt in Exodus chapters 7-12. At first, Pharaoh saw each miracle (or, plague) but decided that it was no big deal. It had no lasting effect upon him. At some point, he decides these plagues are getting bad. But when God removes the plague through Moses, Pharaoh appears to think it wasn’t as bad as he thought. So he changes his mind, and refuses to let the Israelites go. Then he tries to negotiate, going from “no-one-no-way”, to allowing the “men only” to leave; or the “men and women but not the children”; or the “adults and children but not the livestock”. The repeated phrase “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened” follows each time he changes his mind, refusing to let Israel go.
Why did I bring this up? The connection is: when there is no perceived consequence to a person’s actions, those actions will persist or get worse. We see this in our children. If we do not follow through on discipline, the naughty behavior will continue. This holds true in adult behavior also. Pro-abortion advocates have gone from “safe, legal, and rare” abortion practices to killing babies as they are being born. Pornography has changed from being in the background and shunned in society to being the biggest money-maker on the internet.
The conscience becomes dulled to the point that almost any action is acceptable. Even worse, people begin calling evil actions as “good”, and good behavior as “evil”. Just the other day, I saw an article in which some pastors were praising Planned Parenthood for doing “The Lord’s work” when killing babies. Their hearts are blinded to the evil in front of them.
Before I start this next section of Romans Chapter 1:21-32, I want to clarify that sometimes the conclusions reached will sound compassionless, harsh, heartless. That is neither the intent, nor my feelings on the matters. Spiritual laws are as firm and unyielding as is gravity. Trying to talk ourselves out of recognizing that the sin within us will exact a price is folly. Rationalizing is not dealing with the problem that confronts us all. The price of sin is horrific - eternal separation from God. Telling ourselves that we are really not bad people keeps us from facing consequences. I feeling sorry for someone who is an alcoholic, but that will not help them. I feel awful for the family destroyed by adultery, but that doesn’t help the adulterer. Compassion and empathy should lead us to a desire to teach the gospel of forgiveness, grace, peace, love, freedom from sin. Not sharing the gospel is akin to driving by an auto accident and thinking, “Hope no one was hurt.”
Paul is showing us in the following verses how much we need Jesus. The letter to the Romans can be summed up in a line from the movie ‘Terminator 2’, “If you want to live, come with me.” Turning away, or recoiling from the stark facts will only lead to destruction. Although the end results of sin in our lives are horrific to contemplate, facing them and turning to Jesus is the wise path to take. Why would you die when salvation is offered, freely. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
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