Expound: Romans 1:24-2:29 - Part B

We all have preferences and we all have proclivities for a number of different things when we follow those propensities proclivities and preferences is when we get into trouble on a daily basis. We have no certain things yes to other, it's easy to get swayed into living the way the world does today on connect with Skip Heitzigs scriptures wife only God's will and commands nourishes you and fit first want to let you know you can stay updated on the latest from Skip in this ministry and get encouragement and important announcements on social media. Just follow Skip on Facebook twitter instrument.

That's at Skip Heitzigs at Skip HDI to CIG now. Romans chapter 2 as we dive into her study. Skip Heitzigs in World War II when the when the 10 boom family was arrested for hiding Jews in their house and they were taken to the concentration camps. When Corrie 10 boom is a young girl and her sister Betsy were placed in a concentration camp as punishment.

They went from one concentration camp to another concentration camp to the worst of all, Robbins Brook, the worst that they had experience and while they were in Robbins Brook. The barracks were overcrowded and flea infested. And yet one morning Corey and Betsy 10 boom sisters were having their little devotional Bible study together in prayer time and they happen to be reading that date.

First Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 16, 17 and 18, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Betsy closed her Bible look right into the eyes of her sister. According to Cory, we need to stop right now and thank God Cory said I won't do it.

I refuse to think God I'm in a concentration camp. Have you noticed this place that were sleeping and is fully infested, what thank God for the fleas. That's what you said. Thank God for the fleas yet what they noticed, unlike the other concentration camps is they had a certain freedom in Robbins Brook to have prayer meetings and Bible studies and they didn't know why until months later they discovered the reason is the guards refused to come into their barracks because of the fleas which awarded them a certain freedom for prayer and Bible study. What thank God for the fleas nor were they thankful, but became futile or empty in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools. The word fools is a very interesting word in Greek moron us, you know, that sounds like that's exactly where the word comes from morons professing themselves to be wise, they became moron's and they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. It's ludicrous. It's even hilarious were not so eternally sad how people look around at this universe and don't get it. And they say half. It's amazing how everything just so happened to be the way it is. It's just one of those fortuitous occurrences of accidental circumstance really.

You're telling me it just so happened that the temperature of the sun is 12,000°F and that the earth is 93 million miles away from the sun giving us the temperatures that we enjoy on the air.

If the earth was as close as Venus.

We would all burn up.

If we were as far away as Mars. We had all died of weed freeze to death you told me that just so happened you telling me it just so happened that the earth spins on its axis CCCLXV 1/3 times as he makes his journey around the sun.

Why, why not 30 times if it was 30 times our seasons would be 10 times longer than they are and life couldn't be sustained on this planet.

The alternate freezing and burning would be too much, but it just so happened and what's really wild.

It just so happened that the earth is tilted on its axis 23°, which gives us those four seasons that we do enjoy and it just so happened that the earth landmass to water mass is what it is you know they tell us that if the oceans were just an eight larger just in eight more larger than they are eight we would have four times the amount of rainfall on the earth and the earth would flood if the oceans were half as much as they are, we would all in on earth be in a drought couldn't grow anything, but it's amazing how it just so happened in just so happened it was just so designed by God, give me a moron to say it just so happened, at least according to Paul, professing to be wise, it became morons, and they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man the notice. Notice the progressive degeneration, they began making idols of human beings. Men and then birds and then quadrupeds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

Insects didn't get you lower than that if you go to India. I've been there five times in their pantheon of gods they have 33 million dogs and how you keep track of that many gods now that they're not really gods or goddesses.

Their fake there made up.

There's only one true living God. But if you go there and you see even to this day, the grotesque forms of worship that people engage in in front of trees and statues and on the streets of all of these weird looking gods and goddesses. You see this come to fulfillment. Therefore, verse 24 we we better get going.

All that was ketchup. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor 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.

Now, contrary to what people in universities, even high schools general education will teach you, which is man started low and then gradually we ascend generation after generation right we were getting. We start low primitive man, and then now are getting so sophisticated that's what we think that's part of the lie. We actually started much higher, and we fell mankind started. They knew God, but they didn't glorify him as God and each successive step with each generation seems to betray that truth that we go from high to low. We go from familiarity with God to vanity, from vanity to idolatry and from idolatry to immorality.

Notice this 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 women 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 an errant theology will lead to an errant sexuality because when you get God wrong you get humanity wrong. When you get humanity wrong you get everything humanity does wrong so it all begins with having the proper orientation God word for God. When you get that wrong. That's where the degeneration process takes place now. Much of the notice something in verse 26 says. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.

For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. The word nature is the word through sin in the great we get the word physis from that which means the created order or the natural order of things. Now watch what he does with the natural order in the very next verse.

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 receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due the Greek language is much more precise than the English language. He doesn't say men and women. It says literally, male and female and the Greek language is unmistakable. The biological mail and the biological female. So to give you a literal rendering of verse 27 likewise also the males leaving the natural use of the females is unmistakable. What he's talking about, burned in their lust for one another, males with males committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due Nepal wrote the book of Romans from the city of Corinth you know anything about Corinth.

Not a great place a morally degenerate place just above the city of Corinth was the whole of Aphrodite were a thousand priestesses a left their temple in the evening and came down into the city to ply their trade. These prostitute priestesses would sell their bodies to men and would entice these men to worship the goddess of love, Aphrodite, by the act of sex. So when Paul writes to the Corinthians or so he wrote Romans from Corinth listen to how he describes the Corinthians verse I remedy at a first Corinthians 6. Otis, Rita, do you want to turn there don't have enough time do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revile or snore extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you this was your background, Corinthians, such were some of you but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. So, we can never use a practice of personal preference or a personal proclivity as the will of God willed that. That's my desire.

That's what I wish for that's the way I was born because if you tell me you do what you do because you were born that way. I'm gonna say you're leaving the glory of God and exchanging it for the lie. We all have preferences and we all have proclivities for a number of different things when we follow those propensities proclivities and preferences is when we get into trouble on a daily basis, we have to be saying no to certain things and yes to other things.

So back to Romans chapter 1, and even as they verse 28 did not like to retain God in their thinking, or their knowledge, God gave them over. There's that phrase again. God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual morality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil mindedness, there whispers back biters, haters of God. Listen to this list violent proud boosters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents sound like I just read a modern newspaper from cover to cover or news source. Do they even have newspapers anymore digital newsfeeds undiscerning un-trustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, don't lose sight of this phrase, and God gave them over most of the time when we hear the word wrath.

God's wrath we have in our little minds like thunderbolts God's angry all at the wrath of God, we fail to realize that part of the wrath of God is for him to give people what they say they want a really you want this okay like in the Old Testament, they kept leaving the worship of Yahweh and Israel started syncretistic lady that is bringing in a with their worship system of Yahweh, other gods and goddesses and got mixing it altogether and they built idols, and they built altars, and they worship in groves and and God said stop that don't do them Given chance after chance of chance, eventually said really you want idolatry all that much. I'm gonna make you go into captivity, into the land of idolatry. You'll go to idolatry Central which is Babel in itself, and when they were in idle central. They cried out to God. God please deliver us and after 70 years. He did bring them back. So part of the judgment of God is where he he he. Let's go CS Lewis said you could take all of mankind and divide them into two groups. Can we did that last week robes of the Jews of two groups Greek Sentry group CS Lewis says I can divide all of humanity into two groups. Group number one of those who say to God, thy will be done group number to those to whom God those that God says your will be done to your group. Number one is is God. Your will be done group number two God says to them is your will be done. You can have what you say you want and so when people say they want that long enough guts is okay you can have it and that marks the beginning of God's wrath that he is stored up by giving them what they say they want that moral degeneration is aged judicial act of God. Let's finish out at least this chapter who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. If you were to go 2000 years ago to the Roman Coliseum. You would have thousands of people not killing anybody themselves, not not throwing spears to people themselves.

They wouldn't think of doing, they would go home and throw a spear through each other but they would happily go to the Coliseum and watch violence displayed in front of them. They would enjoy it vicariously and they would applaud they would approve those who do such things. J the Geiger killed the gladiator got gored by that ball on some of the lion tore them apart. Vicious, violent and cruel horrible approving of those who do those things now. Today you can sit in your living room and you can stream a series on Netflix and you can see vice and sexuality, and murder and applaud for the characters approving of the bike save approve because you pay for your paying the monthly fee to get that series downloaded so we have to be very careful so I would never do that but I will applaud those who do that not only do the same but also approve of those who practice now having gone through chapter 1 painting that that horrible picture of the pagan world. Are you would have a group of people listening to bongo Paul, I agree with everything that you set and point their finger at those pagans think those are bad people and they deserve God's judgment. So while they point the finger.

There are three fingers pointing back at them and so Paul now addresses the moralistic those who have a higher standard than the pagan world in in chapter 2, verse one. Therefore you are inexcusable man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself for you who judge practice the same things, but we know the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

We are really good at pointing out other people's faults while we ourselves have those faults. I'm convinced that most of the postings on social media, the responses the people gift if they don't like a person, though, they'll say something about point out why that person is wrong and hypocritical.

But if you are to examine the the personal life of the one who posted that you would find the same thing. Memo Jesus taught in in the Gospel of Luke is the two men went up to the temple to pray, a Pharisee, and a tax collector, and the Pharisee prayed thus with himself as a God. I thank you that I'm not like other men. I'm not an adult, not an extortion or an and I'm not like that tax collector. He's playing this out loud to himself. He said I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess socially talking himself up. He does not see his own sinfulness.

His own problems. He thinks he's great by what he does and Jesus said, but the tax collector would even lift his eyes toward heaven, he stood afar off, and he beat his breast, and he said oh God, have mercy on me a sinner. Jesus said that man went away justified this man is justifying himself pointing the finger at people like that tax collector the tax collector. Jesus said, is justified. So yes, we can point fingers at people's behavior, but we can never pinpoint what's going on in their hearts. Only God So one was pointing the finger at the tax collector. God was Jesus was pinpointing the fact that in his heart because he believed and he knew that he wasn't right before God, and cast himself on God's mercy, he went away justified so you you condemn another.

Don't you know, you condemn yourself we are hard on our we are hard on others, and soft on ourselves.

When it comes to judgment right you know that you sort of a basic weakness. We all have. We are quick to do response. That's wrong and get others to know what will get in Christian circles, it seems it's okay to gossip and lie and slander, but just don't smoke cigarettes or drink that beer.

Wait a minute that's incongruous that's hypocritical right and in this is what the self-confident moralist hopes hopes that God will be soft on him softer than he is on others because he's hard on. He's hoping that God grades on a curve because he doesn't on earth. You can take a situation and tweaking just a little bit just change a couple of the details and and and is an example. David committed adultery didn't see that ascent at first, until Nathan came to him and told him a source it Nathan, there's this rich guy and he had all the sheep and he could've taken any one of them in and killed one for supper, but there was a poor guy got only one little ewe lamb the love that you lamb was a family pet.

They took it to bed at night groomed it washed and the risk. I thought I not to go on my flocking in's and get a lamb for supper from. I guess I'm in a take that poor man's you lamb and kill it and will have dinner and so Nathan's telling this to David and David gets already in the face and angrily goes that man will die.

Nathan said really what you ought to know. You are the man you're that guy you have all these wives you have all this wealth God said he would have given you more if you'd only asked for.

You took one man's wife and you slept with, then David wrote now he's on the message from the series expound to share about a resource issue soul with God's amazing trip joy in the midst of hardship is a hallmark of the Christian life.

Is it really possible is when you hike sometimes what a happy trail turns into dieting Road and we have to figure out how to navigate. A lot of times God's purpose in allowing trial is to get the opportunity to grow to the point where we can genuinely experience joy in the midst of trial were not of face trials with courage and wisdom gives joy with Lindsay's book with happy trials when you get $20 or more today to help keep this Bible teaching ministry of the year will send you a special bond with three booklets by Linda happy trials to meet and speak no evil pitcher bundle three booklets for gift of $20 or more by calling 800-922-1888. Forgive online secure extranet was skip.com/off credit was skip.com/off tune into Mark Skip Heitzig sutures insight about God's goodness and love and patience.

You see God being patient with somebody else. Don't mistake that God is in being versus being patient that is patient with you to give you a break you now believe in Jesus.

There was a time you were following him your phone in your face.

The nasty stuff and now you're a believer