8/20/23 - The Progress of Unbelief - Romans 1:24-32 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Three times in this passage Paul uses the phrase, “God gave them up”. So what does this mean? Simply put: God will allow men and women to go as far down the path of destruction as they desire. If one continues to deny God then what follows is all kinds of perversion. For example, one of the most popular genres of porn today is incest. Paul tells us there are consequences to depravity. These reverberations reveal God’s truth. We reap what we sow. In 2022 the top five infectious diseases amongst teenagers were: Cold, flu, strep throat, mono, gonorrhea and syphilis. According to the CDC there are 20 million new cases of STDs diagnosed each year, and half of those are among teens and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24.

Now let me be quick to say that everything Paul has mentioned in the text is not a sickness but a sin. And sin can be overcome. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, the same author writes this: 
 
"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, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 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."
 
Paul speaks of what he knows. He calls himself, “the worst of sinners.” He sought to kill Christians before becoming one. God’s grace washed Paul clean.

There is one further dimension of decline that Paul speaks of in verse 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.” Romans 1:32

The final ending point of a culture that has ignored God is this: People give approval, encourage and even celebrate sin. 
 
These are perhaps even more degraded than the one doing the actual sin. I’ll give you an example from Paul’s own time. Which is worse? The Emperor who puts the slave in the Roman colosseum to be devoured by lions or the crowd who keeps cheering the emperor on by screaming, “More!” Those committing the depravity were supremely guilty but perhaps those who were watching, applauding and encouraging were even more wretched.

Does this not describe our own society? Celebrating and encouraging sin is, according to the Bible, the ultimate form of darkness within the human mind and heart.

Christians, we are not immune from this. What are you going along with? What are you laughing at? What are you viewing? What is it that you think you would never do? Your defenses are down. Be careful and remember you have an adversary who knows your temptations well. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the one who washes and sanctifies.