06 The Wrath of God – Part 2

The final section of Romans chapter one continues to provide a description of those who insist upon living in rebellion against the Lord.

It was in the previous section of the chapter, that we saw how intentionally the Lord deals with those who insist upon living in such a manner, as He will give them over to their desires.

However, once an individual has determined to live in that fashion, the desire for more enticing sin is rarely unquenched, has sin will most often take over more areas of their lives.

1 Drawn Away by Perversity

As discussed in earlier portions of the chapter, one method in which man has demonstrated their desire to rebel against God, has been to descend into sexual immorality.

In this last section of the chapter, Paul shows that when that decent isn’t checked, it will invariably lead to various kinds of perversity.

In this instance, Paul shows how the sexual immorality between men and women, then lead to them falling into homosexual sin:

Romans 1:26-27

And the reason why the reason why they were vulnerable to such perversity, is because the Lord gave them over to their sinful desires, in effect, the Lord removed His protective boundary from them.

It should be noted, that God loves everyone, and therefore doesn’t desire for any to face His harsh judgment. His great love for mankind is never more evident than seen in the following verses:

John 3:16

And:

1 John 2:2

In the text, we see that the Lord gave them over to “vile passions” or “shameful passions” which literally means “passions of disgrace”.

It’s therefore seen from the original intent, that this behavior should neither be considered as normal, nor should it be celebrated.

Verse 26 highlights the fact that the rebellious women had turned to homosexual behavior as well:

Romans 1:26b

They had therefore departed from God’s natural order and purpose for sexual relations between a husband and wife:

• Procreation
• Pleasure between them

These women were deliberately rebelling against what God had clearly established as being natural. Therefore, instead of experiencing His blessings, they would be recipients of judgments.

Paul spoke of their “exchanging” one type of relationship for another, which shows it to be a purposeful act, in which an individual gives something of value for something else believed to be of equal value.

In this situation, the great deception, is that these individuals falsely believed they could substitute their desires for that which God had already determined as being best.

In verse 27, the apostle then directed attention to the men, who likewise exchanged their unnatural desires for that which God’s natural order:

Romans 1:27

Paul speaks of these men as “burning in lust for one another”.

The Greek word Paul used for lust, is <orexei> which refers to misplaced and unbridled sexual passion.

Therefore, it pictures uncontrolled passions which resulted from their departure from what the Lord had established being natural.

Paul continued, by stating that they then sinned, having “committed what is shameful”.

While some decry that the Bible doesn’t really address homosexuality as being sinful, that is absolutely untrue. Scripture says quite a bit about the sin. These are just two examples, one from each Testament:

Leviticus 18:22

And:

Jude 1:7

Scripture is clear, that He only looks upon sexual relations between a man and a woman as being proper and normal, and as seen in the passage from Leviticus, He looks upon homosexuality as an “abomination”.

Paul would still address other depraved sins:

2 A Depraved Lifestyle

Paul addressed a litany of sinful activities which would constitute engaging in a depraved lifestyle:

Romans 1:28-32

Paul began this final section of the chapter, by stating that these individuals failed to “retain God in their knowledge”.

The word we see translated as knowledge, is a particular Greek word, <epignōsei> which speaks of having “full knowledge”.

Therefore, these are individuals who’ve purposely eliminated God from their thinking., not allow Him to factor into any of their actions or decisions.

In the second half of verse 28, we see that the Lord responds to those individuals, by acting in a very intentional manner Himself, by giving them over to a debased mind:

Romans 1:28b

The Greek word for “debased” is <adokimon> which means disapproved or depraved.

Their depravity is shown in how they “do those things which are not fitting”.

Beginning with verse 29, we see the vast listing of sins which emanate from a depraved mind:

Romans 1:29-31

• “Unrighteousness” speaks of behavior, which is not upright, but rather is unjust and wicked.
• He then listed “sexual immorality”, but since we looked at that in detail in the previous message, we won’t discuss that here.
• The next thing Paul mentioned was “wickedness” which is literally a disregard for righteousness. In many ways, it opens the door for even more sinfulness.
• After wickedness, Paul listed “covetousness’ which is an insatiable desire to find fulfillment in any way (or thing) other than God. Therefore, covetous living epitomizes seeking satisfaction apart from the Lord.
• The next aspect of sinful living is “maliciousness” which is defined as the willful desire to harm or injure another. It also speaks of the personal gratification some find at the misfortune of others.

Interestingly, the malicious attitude will often lead to the next group of sins Paul listed:

• Individuals then become envious and jealous of others.
• If that envy is not sufficiently dealt with, in extreme cases it might even lead to “murder”.
• However, more often it will develop into “strife” between the parties. Strife may be described as “unsettled, unrelenting, and unresolved conflict”.
• The individuals will often practice deceit” as they are usually only concerned about gaining an advantage for themselves in any interpersonal contacts.
• This would cause them to be “evil-minded” in that they would often be found as plotting and having negative thoughts toward others.
• Those actions frequently lead to what Paul mentions as “whisperers” or talking behind someone’s back, which would then lead to them being gossips and “backbiters:.

Even this extensive list was still not complete, as Paul still had additional sinful actions to discuss:

• Paul states that they are “haters of God” which would then cause them to be violent toward other. Yet, they would seeming act in a boastful or proud manner toward God, therefore he also called them “boasters”.
• In their downward trajectory, Paul then speaks of them as being “inventors of evil things”. It pictures how these individuals find new ways to commit sin.
• The individuals are shown as being “disobedient to parents”, which during Paul’s day would have been punishable by death.

Verse 31 presents with what Paul often referred to as the “un’s” since it shows the extreme in negative qualities.

He mentions them as being:

• Undiscerning
• Untrustworthy
• Unloving
• Unforgiving
• Unmerciful

Those actions present an attitude of them being unconcerned with the Lord.

In the concluding verse, we’re shown that even though they may acknowledge God’s existence, they continue down a sinfully defiant path.

The verse (and chapter) concludes by showing that not only do these individuals continue in their own sinfulness, but they endorse and approve of others doing so as well.

Sadly, this attitude as marked a segment of our modern society, where even children are encouraged to engage in some of the sinful activities Paul discussed in chapter one.

That flies in the face of what Scripture says regarding leading children astray or causing them to stumble:

Matthew 18:6