Introduction

Paul has introduced the great theme of this letter to the church in Rome earlier in chapter 1:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Romans 1:16,17

If we are justified before God, it means that we are declared innocent before Him. This is not an academic concept. All of mankind will one stand before God and be judged by Him. Those who are guilty before will be condemned to hell for all eternity, experiencing eternal torment. Those who are declared innocent before God will receive eternal life, eternal joy, being with the Lord Jesus Christ on the New Heavens and the New Earth. The greatest need of every human being is to be declared innocent before God on the coming Day of Judgment.

First Paul will show that all of mankind is guilty before God. In the section before us he deals with the Gentiles, the openly godless. How can God judge them? They may not have a knowledge of God from His scriptures (they have not read them), but they have a knowledge of God through creation. What have they done with this knowledge? They have not only rejected it, but suppressed any thought of God. They are guilty of rejecting God. In His response God judges them, handing them over to the fullness of their sinfulness, which leads to the degrading of their bodies and to the harm of society. Again this is not an academic study. The UK has the hallmarks of being under God’s judgement. Our society, for all its sophistication and technological advancement, cannot thwart God’s purposes or judgement.

God’s Revelation Through Creation

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” Romans 1:20

Paul states that God has clearly and plainly revealed himself to all mankind through creation, leaving man with no excuse concerning his unbelief. Man has to argue himself into atheism, convincing himself against the clear evidence all around him. The well known scientist and atheist Richard Dawkins writes:

“Natural selection is the blind watchmaker, blind because it does not see ahead, does not plan consequences, has no purpose in view. Yet the living results of natural selection overwhelmingly impress us with the appearance of design as if by a master watchmaker, impress us with the illusion of design and planning.” (The Blind Watchmaker, p21)

After stating clearly his belief in no creator, he then adds that the overwhelming impression derived from studying the natural order, is that a mastermind has created and planned the world we see around us. Man has to argue himself into atheism against the evidence.

We see the whole of creation around us and naturally ask, ”How did we, and the world come into existence?” The question arises because we ourselves create. We produce such items as cars, ships, roads, buildings and clothing. Hence our experience leads us to ask, “Did a supreme being create this world?” When natural disasters strike, or death occurs to those we know or love, the question is asked, why? Is there a God in control of these events? Yet the atheist suppresses such questions.

Creation reveals the Creator’s power. The crashing of waves during a storm points to God’s power, as do volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. When man’s plans are disrupted by these events he starts to question if there is a God who controls these events and wonders at His power. The Grand Canyon, Mount Everest and the oceans reveal the scale of His work. A God who can form these natural features works on an immense scale. Yet men reject God’s existence, robbing God of glory.

Creation reveals the Creator’s intelligence. Dean Kenyon is a Professor of Biology (Emeritus) at the San Francisco State University. From the late 1960s to the early 1980s he was one of the leading chemical evolution theorists in the world. In 1969 he co-authored the book “Biochemical Predestination”, in which his main thesis was that life is inevitable due to the laws of chemistry. This became a best-selling textbook for 20 years. However, over time, his doubts grew. The problem was that even a single biological cell is incredibly complex. It contains proteins constructed from amino-acids according to the pattern in the DNA, and by the end of the 1970s he did not believe his theory could explain such complexity. Natural selection, evolution, his own theory all failed to account for the complexity he saw in the cell. His final conclusion is simple. When talking about the process of how biological cells are built, he states:

“This is absolutely mind-boggling, to perceive at this scale of size, such a finely tuned apparatus, a device, that bears the marks of intelligent design and manufacture” (“Unlocking the Mystery of Life” DVD, Truth in Science)

Man Rejects God’s Revelation

“although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” Romans 1:21,22

Paul states what we experience on a daily basis, that although God has revealed himself to mankind, man neither thanks God nor glorifies him. In Ps 104, all of creation is described as being in harmony with God’s providential will. All, that is, except the very pinnacle of that creation, man! God sustains all creation, He controls the weather. He looks after the remote places and wild animals. Yet man rebels against God and the Psalm ends with the statement that sinners will perish.

God has given us much reason to be thankful. We have the gifts of conscience and government. Without these there would be more anarchy than we see now in our society. God has given us health, strength and family. Yet men often use God’s name for cursing or blasphemy rather than for praising and giving thanks to their creator.

Man not only rejects God’s revelation to him, but he thinks himself wise in doing so. In reality however, his thinking has become futile. Man follows a lie, after rejecting God’s truth, and in exalting his own ideas over God’s revelation, his thinking becomes absolutely flawed and hopelessly wrong. Man’s rejection of the idea of a creator is an excellent example of this truth.

God’s truth concerning our origins is clear. The Bible states we are made in the image of the true, pure, holy, just, merciful and personal God. This gives dignity, value and purpose to our lives. We have value because we are His creation, made in His image. To curse or to devalue an individual is to devalue their creator. Our Western society values the wealthy, the beautiful and successful individual, yet every individual has value being made by God. We have purpose in being created to know God.

The Bible’s truth concerning our purpose in life is reflected in our nature. When material possessions, pastimes, work or human relationships do not satisfy, it points to our main aim in life: to know our Creator. Casting all our anxiety on Him in prayer, thanking Him for His provision, rejoicing in His faithfulness towards us, adoring Him for who He is, gives us the deepest meaning to our lives.

Yet our atheistic society, thinking itself wise, rejects the truth that we are made by God in His image. It neither thanks God nor glorifies Him for this creative act. Evolution is an unproven theory – never observed or reproduced in the laboratory. Thinking himself wise man exalts an unproven theory above God’s revelation. True science leads us to marvel in our creator’s masterful creation, as Professor Dean Kenyon illustrates.

But in reality mans thinking has become utterly futile. What does man’s pseudo-scientific reasoning produce? That we are descended from apes, dumb brute beasts! We are but animals, accidents of nature thrown up by chance and time. This robs man of his dignity and purpose. His existence becomes meaningless. That life is devalued is evident in our society. Over 200 000 abortions each year show the disregard our society has for the life of the unborn child. The pressure for euthanasia shows our lack of concern for the elderly. Indeed Baroness Warnock has recently stated that the elderly who suffer from dementia are “wasting people’s lives” and “wasting the resources of the National Health Service” and should be allowed to die [Christian Institute News Item 19/9/2008, “Baroness Warnock says elderly have ‘duty to die’”]. The result of thinking of man as an advanced animal is that if our net worth to society is negative, we should then be “put down”.

Let us always be thankful that the vast majority of people do not live out the implications of the futile thinking our society engages in. If there are only the laws of physics, chemistry and biology governing this universe, then there is no objective right and wrong. What right has one animal to tell another animal how to live? A man driving his car and seeing a neighbour struggling to walk with their shopping, may as well run them over instead of offering a lift. There is no moral difference in these actions because there is no morality. Truly by rejecting God’s revelation, man’s thinking becomes futile.

The Effects of Man’s Rejection of God

God’s Hands Men Over to Sinful Passions

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” Romans 1:24 – 27

Paul now describes some of the effects of man’s rejection of God. In His wrath God hands men and women over to be slaves to their sinful desires. These verses would seem to indicate that the increased homosexuality and immorality that we see in our society, and reflected in the media, are signs of God’s judgement. God gives men and women over to shameful lusts. Individuals are degraded as they satisfy their desires, receiving the due penalty for their sin.

The great irony is that the doctrine the world hates most, that God punishes sin, is the very doctrine at work in people’s lives now. But the principle of uncontrolled sinful desire has a broad application. Drugs and drink have blighted individuals and families. Uncontrolled sexual passion has brought guilt and heartache to relationships and families. Covetousness, expressed through gambling has been the financial ruin of many. The pride of life and the desire to keep up with the Jones’s brings the slavery and worry of debt. These pressures, amongst others, are all symptoms of uncontrolled desire. They have either destroyed or blighted many families in our land.

Justice Coleridge, a Family Division judge for England and Wales, said it “is certain that almost all of society’s ills can be traced directly to the collapse of the family life”. He continued, “We are experiencing a period of family meltdown whose effects will be as catastrophic as the meltdown of the ice caps,” and that its effects pose, “as big a threat to the future of our society as terrorism, street crime or drugs” [BBC website News Item 5/4/2008, “Families in meltdown, judge says”].

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

He gives strength and stability to family life and other relationships, control over the sinful nature and humility when we fail.

God Hands Men over to Sinful Minds

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers” Romans 1:28,29

God not only gives those who reject him over to depraved desires but also hands them over to depraved minds. As men’s minds are darkened and are made more resistant to God’s truth, they shut themselves off from that which can restrain their madness. Men look to education, punishment and psychology to control crime, but they will not consider God’s ability to convert and change us. As married couples are inflamed with desire for individuals who are not their marriage partners, marriages break up with all the ensuing pain for those involved and any offspring. Yet they will not repent of their sin and, with the Holy Spirit’s help, live obedient lives.

In Conclusion – The Depraved State of Man And God’s Just Wrath

“These depraved minds shut themselves away from God’s truth, and instead produce all types of wickedness. In absolute sheer godlessness and disregard for God’s ways, men do those things they know deserve death, and approve of those who do them” Romans 1:32

Man is now completely under God’s judgement. All he will do is reject his creator, exalt himself, and in rejecting God shuts himself away from that which brings eternal life, God’s truth. In doing this he will follow his own sinful desires that God has handed him over to and approve of others’ sinful behaviour.

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” Romans 1:18

God’s response to man’s hardened state is to outpour His wrath on those who sin. God’s wrath is poured forth in every place because man displays rampant sin and does not glorify God. John Calvin put it this way:

“Wheresoever a man may look around him, he will find no salvation; for the wrath of God is poured out on the whole world, to the full extent of heaven” (Calvin’s Commentaries. Romans-Galatians)

The first question to ask is, “Have we realised that we are under God’s judgment?” God has provided a means of being declared innocent before Him – through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are reconciled to God through Christ’s merits, not our own, which are applied to us through faith in Jesus Christ.

Secondly, if we have made our peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, will we pray for our nation? When faced with God’s imminent judgement on the nation of Israel for the sin of the golden calf, Moses pleaded with the Lord to show mercy. Should we plead with God any less for our nation? Who knows what will happen when we pray for a people under judgement?

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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