Romans 1:24-32 (Our Own Way)
The result of humanity’s rebellion is that God has “let us have it.” Paul says that God gave humanity up to their lusts and passions. We have gotten exactly what we desired. When we rebelled against God and wanted to do things our own way, God let us do it. We chose sin over obedience and now humanity is awash in the depravity, exactly where our desires have led us. When we acknowledge that the world is a dark and messed up place, we need to acknowledge what we have made it that way.
The list here is extensive and hard to swallow. This passage has become infamous as the “go to” place to put homosexuals in their place, but that is just a small part of Paul’s description of our fall, and really only the beginning. Sex of all dishonoring sorts is where the list starts, but it quickly moves into areas that are just as evil but even further reaching. Malice, envy, strife, deceit, gossip and all those sins that destroy people and relationships contribute (even more so) to the world being the way it is. Somehow, though, they are the ones that we give a pass to and even practice frequently without much worry or guilt. Try to find a church without any of those sins. Sin has destroyed true and open communication.
Then there are the phrases “inventors of evil” and the part where we “give hearty approval to those who do them.” This is the sad state of humanity in rebellion against the Creator. We have to see this—and own up to the truth of it—before we can begin to see that the Good News Paul is about to describe is indeed good. Boy do we need it!
The list here is extensive and hard to swallow. This passage has become infamous as the “go to” place to put homosexuals in their place, but that is just a small part of Paul’s description of our fall, and really only the beginning. Sex of all dishonoring sorts is where the list starts, but it quickly moves into areas that are just as evil but even further reaching. Malice, envy, strife, deceit, gossip and all those sins that destroy people and relationships contribute (even more so) to the world being the way it is. Somehow, though, they are the ones that we give a pass to and even practice frequently without much worry or guilt. Try to find a church without any of those sins. Sin has destroyed true and open communication.
Then there are the phrases “inventors of evil” and the part where we “give hearty approval to those who do them.” This is the sad state of humanity in rebellion against the Creator. We have to see this—and own up to the truth of it—before we can begin to see that the Good News Paul is about to describe is indeed good. Boy do we need it!
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