Spoken At SGBC
2-2-97
Romans #7
Romans 1:20-25
The Deadly Exchange
(Romans 1:18-25 NASB) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, {19} BECAUSE THAT WHICH IS KNOWN ABOUT GOD IS EVIDENT WITHIN THEM; FOR GOD MADE IT EVIDENT TO THEM. {20} For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been CLEARLY SEEN, being understood through what has been made, so that THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE. {21} For even though they knew God, (By the afore mentioned revelation.) they DID NOT HONOR HIM AS GOD, OR GIVE THANKS; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. {22} Professing to be wise, they became fools, {23} and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. {24} Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. {25} For they EXCHANGED THE TRUTH OF GOD FOR A LIE, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Verse twenty one is an expansion on the statement made in verse eighteen. In verse eighteen we read of people who have truth about God in their possession but put it down or suppress it to go on practicing unrighteousness. This was the subject of last months lesson from the book of Romans. At that time we spoke of the general revelation of God to all men and of universal guilt. All who do not respond properly to what little they do know of God are condemned and will stand before Him with no excuse for their sin.
As to specific examples of men pushing down and suppressing truth while practicing sin we have verses 21 through the end of the chapter.
The people described in these verses are the Nations, the Gentiles as opposed to the Jews. However, in the next chapter Paul proves to his readers that both Jew and Gentile stand on level ground as far as guilt for sin is concerned.
What our text for today reveals is that although the Gentiles did not know God by special revelation, as the Jews did, they did know Him by His works of creation and the internal revelation that is common to all men. This knowledge demanded they glorify, honor and offer thanks to the one true and living God. In reality, however, they neither glorified Him as God NOR DID THEY GIVE HIM THANKS.
Did the Gentile Nations have anything to be thankful for? Of course they did. All men have reason to thank God. Consider God’s kindness, mercy and patience to all men.
(Matthew 5:44-45 NASB) "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you {45} in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for HE CAUSES HIS SUN TO RISE ON THE EVIL AND THE GOOD, AND SENDS RAIN ON THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS.
(Luke 6:35 NASB) "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for HE HIMSELF IS KIND TO UNGRATEFUL AND EVIL MEN.
(Acts 14:16-17 NASB) "And in the generations gone by He permitted all the nations (The Gentiles, all men but the Jews.) to go their own ways; {17} and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, (He did not leave them in total darkness but revealed Himself in the way described in Romans one as well as that described in the following words.) in that HE DID GOOD AND GAVE YOU RAINS FROM HEAVEN AND FRUITFUL SEASONS, SATISFYING YOUR HEARTS WITH FOOD AND GLADNESS."
There were many reasons for Gentiles to be thankful but they were not. Instead they suppressed God’s revelation of Himself and came up with their own ideas. They reasoned in themselves and with each other. They engaged in futile, useless, empty, nonproductive, vain speculating. They knew God as per the revelation but refused to acknowledge Him. They did not honor God! They did not worship God! They did not offer Him thanks! Rather, they dialogued among themselves creating in their minds god’s like they wanted them to be. They put down the truth day after day, and their hearts became darker and darker. Yet, in their estimation they were becoming wiser with each passing moment. They had at last seen the light but their light was utter night. "Their foolish hearts were darkened"and their thoughts and actions followed suit. They had among them wise men, sages, philosophers, soothsayers, and other men who led them and from whom they sought counsel. We still read some of their books today especially the philosophers. But were they truly wise? Hear the word of the Lord.
(Romans 1:22-23 NASB) PROFESSING TO BE WISE, (According to human wisdom.) THEY BECAME FOOLS, {23} and EXCHANGED the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
"What a contrast between claim and reality", says William Hendricksen. They claimed to be wise but in reality they were fools, godless and condemned. They were fools yet very religious. This religious foolishness is illustrated throughout the Scriptures. The references that follow show what results when man’s reason is substituted for God’s revelation.
(1 Kings 20:23-28 NASB) Now the servants of the king of Aram (The King of the Arameans.) said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, (He speaks of the Jews.) therefore they were stronger than we; (That is, the reason they beat us in battle was that we fought them in the mountains where their gods are strong.) but rather let us fight against them in the plain, (Where our gods are strong.) and surely we shall be stronger than they. . . {28} Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys"; therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD." (Of both the mountains and the plains.)
The idea that God is limited in the extent of His rule and power comes from the vain and empty speculations of men. Such thinking did not pass away with the Arameans. We find it today in the evangelical world where professing Christians say that God is all powerful and sovereign but then add, EXCEPT over the will and soul of man. In other words, "He rules on the mountain but not in the plain." "He does as He pleases among the hosts of heaven but not among the inhabitants of earth." This limited God is not found in the Bible. He has been created in the minds of men who will not have a master, they will not be ruled and reigned over. They are not content to be thankful for salvation by grace through faith not of themselves lest they should boast. They will not be told they are dead in sin and helpless before God. Rather, they insist that God is incapable of saving them without their most necessary permission and cooperation. Their foolish hearts are darkened by such speculations and therefore they cannot see the light.
Now let’s look at the ultimate expression of a darkened and foolish heart, Idolatry. This has always been the hallmark of the Gentile nations. The following passage compares the True God of physical and spiritual Israel with the gods of man’s own making.
(Isaiah 46:3-7 NASB) "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have BEEN BORNE BY ME FROM BIRTH, And have been CARRIED FROM THE WOMB; {4} Even to your old age, I SHALL BE THE SAME, AND EVEN TO YOUR GRAYING YEARS I SHALL BEAR YOU! I HAVE DONE IT, AND I SHALL CARRY YOU; AND I SHALL BEAR YOU, AND I SHALL DELIVER YOU.
In the next few verses the God who carries compares Himself to the gods that must be carried.
{5} "To whom would you liken Me, And make Me equal and compare Me, That we should be alike? {6} "Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and HE MAKES IT INTO A GOD; They bow down, indeed THEY WORSHIP IT. {7} "THEY LIFT IT UPON THE SHOULDER AND CARRY IT; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; IT CANNOT DELIVER HIM FROM HIS DISTRESS." This must be the ultimate in insanity! It is certain proof of the Depravity of Man.
Idolatry was characteristic of the Gentiles. However, Israel often joined them in the practice. Even Aaron, Moses’ brother did not escape. You might remember what Moses found when he returned from Mt. Sinai. He found Israel worshiping a golden calf. When asked what happened Aaron, the high priest, explained it this way.
(Exodus 32:23-24 NASB) "For they said to me, 'Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' (He was on the mountain with God receiving the Ten Commandments.) {24} "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.' So they gave it to me, and I THREW IT INTO THE FIRE, AND OUT CAME THIS CALF.". . . {27} And he (Moses) said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.'" {28} So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and ABOUT THREE THOUSAND MEN OF THE PEOPLE FELL THAT DAY.. . . (Will God tolerate or overlook the use of Idols in worship or will He not? It’s hard to tell from this passage, isn’t it?) {31} Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, "Alas, this people has committed a GREAT SIN, and they have made a god of gold for themselves." Even Israel exchanged the Glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible creatures. They exchanged the One who carries for those who must be carried. What fools they made of themselves. The truth that surrounded them and filled them was suppressed until their foolish hearts became darkened and they believed a lie.
Idols come in all shapes and sizes. There are religious images in human form. This is the most common to us. Then there are so called gods in the form of every beast that has ever walked, crawled, or flown. The unbelievers who practice idolatry fear these images and give to them the worship due only to God. They do this while the Never Ending Sermon that surrounds them and is within them plays over and over and over again revealing their sin. But they suppress it. Professing to be wise they become fools. They make a god and take it with them when they travel. A god who cannot deliver from distress. A god who can fall off its chain and be lost. A god which can fall over and must be picked up. A fool always thinks himself wiser than God.
The next couple of verses reveal God’s judgement upon individuals and Nations for rejecting the truth revealed to them.
(Romans 1:24-25 NASB) {24} Therefore (That is, because of the rejection of God’s truth.) GOD GAVE THEM OVER in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be DISHONORED among them. {25} For (Because) they EXCHANGED the truth of God (Which truth had been revealed to them and within them.) for a LIE, (That lie consists of conclusions drawn that are contrary to the revelation.) and WORSHIPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE (Man and beast.) RATHER THAN THE CREATOR, who is blessed forever. Amen."
What further proof of the Doctrine of Total Depravity could one possibly need? Men consistently exchange the truth of God for a lie manufactured in their own minds! How tragic!
In the following verses Isaiah is describing a man who has cut down a tree and built a fire for cooking and then with. . . "the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for thou art my god." (The people who practice Idolatry. . . do not know, nor do they understand, for He (God) has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they CANNOT COMPREHEND. {19} And no one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding (In other words, these have no conviction that what they do is wrong. At first they had to push back the truth but now their foolish heart is darkened by a judgement from God. "He has smeared over their eyes" so they cannot see the truth. Their actions defy common sense. It does not seem strange to them that with part of a tree they build a fire and with part they make a god to worship. It is insanity but they cannot see it as such, they cannot reason with themselves . . . ) to say,"I have burned half of it in the fire, and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!" {20} He (The Idolater) feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. AND HE CANNOT DELIVER HIMSELF, (The Sons and Daughters of Adam are totally Depraved. That is, fallen men and women are impotent to do anything about their condition. They are dead in their trespasses and sins. They are deaf and cannot hear, blind and cannot see. Slaves and cannot break free.) nor say,"Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isaiah 44:17-20 NASB)
Fallen men and women are not in their right minds! They are spiritually insane! They cannot tell the truth from a lie! In the context the lie is the Idol. It was created to represent the person’s imaginary god who is no god at all. Many today in defense of their images say, "They just help me worship the real God." Both uses of the image dishonors God and deceives the worshiper for the Idol, the Statue, the Picture is a LIE. It does not and cannot represent God or His Christ in an honest accurate way, it is a LIE. It is forbidden!
Those who insist on trading the knowledge of the Invisible God for a lie, may very well be given over to the lusts of their own hearts to reap the consequences of the same. The phrase, "God gave them over" is used three times in this passage to describe God’s response to those who persistently refuse to honor, worship and thank Him in an appropriate way. (See verses 24, 26, 28) But what does the phrase mean and what does it imply?
It means that God, at some point in time let go of them. He stopped keeping them back. He stopped getting in their way. He let them go after the desire of their fallen hearts. It implies that all men are presently being restrained by God so that no one is as bad as he could be. God keeps all humans from being as bad as they are capable of being. He keeps them form themselves until He saves them or in judgement gives them over to their own reprobate mind. God can and does abandon men to their sin and therefore to certain judgement.
Has He done this with all sinners? No, if that were the case society would come to a sudden and bloody conclusion. Here is yet another reason for both the heathen and believers to offer thanks to God.
Our text reveals something of what happens when God lets men go the way of their evil hearts. People like serial killers and Hitler come to mind don’t they? What a horrible judgement it would be if the next time your heart was filled with hate God set you free to murder. This is one possibility when God lets go. But there is another direction men will go when let go by God. That is to extreme immorality.
(Romans 1:26-32 NASB) For this reason God gave them over to DEGRADING PASSIONS; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is UNNATURAL,{27} and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing INDECENT ACTS (God’s words, not mine!) and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Homosexual men and women claim that their sexual orientation and behavior is natural and therefore good. God says they are governed by degrading passions which are contrary to nature. I wonder who is correct?) {28} And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO A DEPRAVED MIND, to do those things which are NOT PROPER, (Homosexuality is just one result of God letting one go the way of his own rebellious heart. Homosexuality in all it forms is sin! God says these things are indecent, unnatural, not proper, the result of a depraved mind. He says that the passion or desire to participate in homosexual acts is degrading, it is sinful. Therefore even if one is plagued with homosexual thoughts and desires they must be confessed as sin and resisted by grace through faith in Jesus as Savior. Those who have been let go are people . . .) {29} . . . filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, {30} slanderers, HATERS OF GOD, insolent, arrogant, boastful, INVENTORS OF EVIL, disobedient to parents, {31} without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; {32} and, although THEY KNOW THE ORDINANCE OF GOD, that THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS ARE WORTHY OF DEATH, they not only do the same, but also give HEARTY APPROVAL to those who practice them. These have exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
The "Deadly Exchange" occurs when one sees, hears and has revealed to him Knowledge of God but chooses instead to defy that truth and go after gods of his own making. These gods may take the form of a carved or molded statue. But more likely they will be one’s feelings, likes, dislikes, desires lusts and preferences. A god can be a person who is worshipped and served instead of God. The bottom line is this, when you choose to Exchange God’s Truth as revealed in the Bible for anything at all you have engaged in spiritual suicide, you have murdered your own soul. The revelation of God in nature, conscience, and in the Bible demands that you and I bow in humble worship, repentance and faith. God demands that we recognize His greatness, power, mercy and grace. He demands that we be thankful for all things. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36 NASB)