Heathen are Unrighteous

21 April 2013 AM – Romans 1:18-32 – Scott Childs

Introduction: After telling us that God’s righteousness is revealed when a person places their faith in God, Paul now tells us that God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Ungodliness is all rebellion against God himself. Unrighteousness is all rebellion against God’s laws.

In the next four sections of the book of Romans, God makes it clear that all people lack His righteousness. The heathen lack it. The hypocrites lack it. The Hebrews lack it. And the whole human race lacks it. Yes, we are all sinners.

Romans 1:18-32 describes why the heathen lack God’s righteousness. When I use the term “heathen”, I am not just talking about those who live in primitive jungles. I am talking about all people who have openly rejected God.

Transition: This morning, we will examine the decline of the heathen and the danger of our culture.

I.              The Decline of the Heathen

God here paints for us a clear picture of the slippery slide away from God as one sinful choice leads to another.

A.     They hold the truth in unrighteousness (18)

1.      People “hold” or literally hold back or resist the truth in unrighteousness.

2.      The “truth” here is not the gospel but the truth of God’s power and divine nature revealed in creation. God shows this to all people through His creation (19-20). Creation tells us several things:

a)      Awesome design points to a powerful Designer.

b)      Every effect requires a cause.

c)      Order is governed by an intelligence.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

3.      Creation gives man enough information about God to cause man to glorify and thank Him. God tells us “that they are without excuse”. Natural revelation does not give man enough information to be saved, but evidently if a heathen would seek God, God would give him more revelation. God says he has no excuse! When a person resists truth and follows unrighteousness, he begins to slip away from God.

B.     They do not glorify God as God (21)

1.      When they knew God through His creation, they refused to give Him glory or thanks for creation.

2.      This choice made them empty in their reasonings and their ignorant heart was covered with darkness.

3.      Boasting of wisdom, they become fools (22). Evolution has done more to rob God of His glory and thanks than perhaps any other human invention.

4.      When a person refuses to glorify and thank God for His creation, he slides further away from God.

C.     They give God’s glory to idols (23)

1.      Instead of crediting God with creation, people deify things and give them the glory God deserves.

2.      Man naturally senses the need to worship a deity. If they refuse to glorify and thank God, they will make their own god. Today many in our society worship themselves.

3.      When man turns to a false god, God gives them up to uncleanness (24). Instead of seeking God for direction, they chase the lusts of their hearts and dishonour themselves.

4.      Idolatry of any kind slides a person further and faster away from God.

D.     They change God’s truth into a lie (25)

1.      Not only did they take away God’s glory, but now they deny the very truth of God’s existence.

2.      They knew the truth that God placed in their hearts through His creation, but they exchanged that for the lie of the devil. They being to worship and serve a created creature as their creator.

3.      Because of this, God gave them up to vile affections like homosexuality (26). “Vile affections” are dishonouring passions. God says people are not born homosexual; they become that because they refuse to believe the truth about God. This sin dishonours God’s beautiful design for marriage, children, and a happy home.

4.      As a result, God gives them over to a “reprobate mind”. This refers to an unfit mind, one that fails the test of quality.

a)      They fill their minds with every imaginable kind of filth (29-31).

b)      They mock warnings of God’s judgment (32).

II.            The Danger of our Culture

A.     We live in a Romans One culture

1.      Our culture has slid to the bottom of sin’s cesspool. Immoral filth has infiltrated every fibre of society.

a)      TV, rock music, videos, Internet, secular education, books, and magazines promote this filth and people see nothing wrong with it.

b)      Government defends much of the filth.

c)      Even many churches defend this filth.

2.      People no longer fear God. Instead, they persecute those who oppose the Romans 1 culture.

B.     It is difficult to be in this culture but not of it.

1.      Remember, the downhill slide begins by resisting the truth in unrighteousness. We have both creation truth and the gospel truth. We must not resist it.

Spurgeon to his congregation: Is there anybody here who is holding down the truth to prevent its entering his heart? I fear that there are some such persons, who have come here for years, and the truth has pricked them, troubled them, made them lie awake at night; but they are holding it down, like one who grasps a wild animal by the ears, and holds it down for fear it should bite him. Oh, sirs, when you are afraid of the truth, you may be well be afraid of hell! When you and the truth quarrel, you had better end your fighting soon, for you will have the worst of it if you do not yield:

2.      If you are a Christian, you must know the Bible and determine to stand for God’s truth. Bible study is not an option. It is our daily duty.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

3.      We must resist the temptation to excuse sin. All sin offends God, whether it is our sin, the sin of our children, or the sin of society.

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

4.      We must teach our children the Bible and protect them from the sinful influences of our culture.

a)      Children’s books are full of evolution, immodest dress, and witchcraft.

b)      TV, cartoons, videos, and video games promote witchcraft, violence, murder, and rebellion.

c)      Rock music (in all forms, even “Christian rock”) is addictive, immoral, demonic, and dangerous.

d)      It is far better to keep these vices from your children than to try to undo them with a Bible story before bed.

e)      God told His people that they must know the Bible and teach it all day long to their children.

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Conclusion: Romans 1 makes it clear that the heathen lack God’s righteousness. As they reject God, they decline in every way and face God’s judgment. If you are not a Christian, you must turn to Him to escape the judgement of God.

Christians, we are in danger of becoming like our sinful culture. Toleration > Compromise > Participation. Every time we tolerate sin in our life or in our home, we slip downward away from God. If we do not repent, we will compromise or change our stand. Once we compromise, it will only be a short time until we participate. If you do not resist the filth of our culture, it will pollute you, and you will lose power with God.

Song: Yield Not to Temptation – 364