Romans
Chapter 1:18-32
Distributed by:
Internet Bible Studies
Memory
verses for this week: Gal
2:20 I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Introduction: We continue our study on the first chapter of the
book of Romans this week.
Last week, Paul told the Roman church how that he had been
separated unto the gospel of God.
He spoke of how the church there in Rome was known all around
the world due to their faith. Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and
you and I should show forth that same confidence and determination
in our daily walk.
I.
The Wrath of God
Against Sin Revealed
Rom
1:18 For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
We
see that the wrath of God comes because of sin. We know that God hates all forms of sin, but he loves the
sinner and has provided payment for our sins through Christ for all
who will come unto him.
Gen
6:5 And God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen
6:6 And it repented the
LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his
heart.
Gen
6:7 And the LORD said,
I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;
both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the
air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
It
was sin in the days of Noah that caused God to destroy all the
people outside of the ark. God’s
wrath was poured out upon mankind.
Gen
13:13 But the men of
Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
Gen
19:24 Then the LORD
rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD
out of heaven;
Gen
19:25 And he overthrew
those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
The
sin of homosexuality was the cause of the destruction of the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah. When
people glorify sin and call it good, God is not pleased.
We should never pick out one particular sin and be ultimately
hard on it, but when people say a sin is not sin, we should let
God’s Word decide what is truth.
Isa 5:20 Woe
unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet
for bitter!
Isa
5:21 Woe unto them that
are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Verse
18 declares that God’s wrath is against ALL ungodliness and
unrighteousness. It is
also against those who hold (or hinder) the truth in
unrighteousness. You
don’t have to look far around you to see this going on in many
religious circles today. We need to be strong men and women and stand on “thus
saith the Word of God.”
II.
Two Natures
Rom
1:19 Because that which
may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto
them.
Verse
19 speaks of the nature that is in man.
We have the knowledge of right and wrong, but we are fallen
creatures due to the sin nature we inherited from Adam. Verse 19 declares that it is God who has shown
this to man.
Rom
2:14 For when the
Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained
in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom
2:15 Which show the
work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also
bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else
excusing one another;)
Matthew
Henry in his commentary on Romans said this about our sinful
condition. “The
apostle begins to show that all mankind need the salvation of the
gospel, because none could obtain the favour of God, or escape his
wrath by their own works. For no man can plead that he has fulfilled
all his obligations to God and to his neighbour; nor can any truly
say that he has fully acted up to the light afforded him. The
sinfulness of man is described as ungodliness against the laws of
the first table, and unrighteousness against those of the second.
The cause of that sinfulness is holding the truth in
unrighteousness. All, more or less, do what they know to be wrong,
and omit what they know to be right, so that the plea of ignorance
cannot be allowed from any. Our Creator's invisible power and
Godhead are so clearly shown in the works he has made, that even
idolaters and wicked Gentiles are left without excuse.”
Rom 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without
excuse:
It
says that the invisible things of God (His eternal power and
divinity) are see in the universe which is the work of God’s
hands.
Gen
8:20 And Noah builded
an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every
clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Gen
8:21 And the LORD
smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not
again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination
of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite
any more every thing living, as I have done.
Gen
8:22 While the earth
remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease.
God
declared that there would be seed time and harvest.. this declared
that there is a God. When
we look up into the heavens at night, the handiwork of God is
displayed. What could hold all of the planets and stars in place
if it were not for a higher power that exists than man.
The bible declares that it is God that holds the stars in
place and on their course.
Job
9:2 I know it is so of
a truth: but how should man be just with God?
Job
9:3 If he will contend
with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
Job
9:4 He is wise in
heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against
him, and hath prospered?
Job
9:5 Which removeth the
mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.
Job
9:6 Which shaketh the
earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
Job
9:7 Which commandeth
the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
Job 9:8 Which
alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the
sea.
Psa
19:1 To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
Acts 14:17 Nevertheless
he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave
us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with
food and gladness.
God
did not leave Himself without a witness.
Nature itself points to the existence of the mighty Creator
of the Universe. By the
two natures, man can know that there is a God and is left without
excuse. The most primitive of tribes when found are worshipping
something. There
is an indwelt nature of man to know that there is something greater
and bigger than man. But
that knowledge can not save a man or woman, it is by them hearing
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and turning to God with faith and
repentance, both of which are gifts of God.
III.
At the Beginning All Men Knew God
Rom 1:21
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as
God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
In
the early years of man, all men knew God but became foolish and
turned from Him. There
were perhaps men wise in man’s wisdom.
God has several interesting things to say about the wisdom of
man.
1
Cor 2:4 And my speech
and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1
Cor 2:5 That your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1 Cor 2:6 Howbeit we
speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this
world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1
Cor 1:20 Where is the
wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath
not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1 Cor 1:21 For
after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe.
1
Cor 1:22 For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1
Cor 1:23 But we preach
Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the
Greeks foolishness;
1
Cor 1:24 But unto them
which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and
the wisdom of God.
1
Cor 1:25 Because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.
Rom 1:23
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts,
and creeping things.
We
see man professed himself to be wise, and in so doing became a fool.
We need to understand our weaknesses and look to God for
wisdom. Remember what
the beginning of wisdom is?
Psa
111:10 The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they
that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Psa
112:1 Praise ye the
LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth
greatly in his commandments.
In
verses 21-23, we see several things that these fools did.
·
They refused
to glorify God.
·
They were
unthankful.
·
They became
vain in their imaginations.
·
Their
foolish hearts were darkened
·
The
professed themselves to be wise
·
They became
fools.
What
is it that causes a person to become a fool?
It is their rejection of the light of God’s knowledge.
John
3:19 And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John
3:20 For every one that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved.
John
3:21 But he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that
they are wrought in God.
IV.
The Results
Rom 1:24
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the
lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between
themselves:
The
physical man is going to control us if the spiritual man does not.
Until we are saved, there is just the sin nature.
But when we are saved, a battle goes on inside us.
It is a daily battle, and the only way the spiritual man will
win is if we are walking close to the Lord and reading our bibles
and letting the Holy Spirit direct our lives.
When man reverts to his sin nature, it is displeasing to God.
Verse 24 says God gave them up to uncleanness through the
lust of their hearts.
Rom 1:25
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and
served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen.
Man
changed the truth of God into a lie.
Do we have any of that going on today?
Almost every month a new version (or perversion) of the Bible
is being released, and that is not how God does things.
God settled His word in the Heavens years ago, and we do not
need 15 versions to read to try and figure out what God has said.
While I know that the King James Version of the bible is a
translation from the Greek and Hebrew texts, I believe it is the
Word that God promised to preserve down through the ages.
As man keeps tampering with the Words that God stated, it
becomes more and more diluted and farther from what God originally
said. I’d much
rather read the exact wording of what was said than to listen to
scholars debate what they “think” God meant to say.
God promised to preserve His word forever, and I believe we
still have that “preserved Word” in our bible today.
Verse 25 goes on to say that man worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator.
More and more books are written on how we ourselves determine
our lives. God
gives each of us a brain to use, but our lives are truly in God’s
hands. We need to
worship God and put Him in his proper authoritative position.
From
the beginning, Satan has changed the truth of God into a lie.
Today, we have many preaching a number of things as
prerequisites to salvation… works, baptism, ordinances, etc. etc.
But the truth is that God by His mercy and Grace saves us,
and it is wholly and totally of God.
Salvation is a gift, and we do not work in order to obtain it
nor to keep it.
Eph
2:4 But God, who is
rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph
2:5 Even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye
are saved;)
Eph
2:6 And hath raised us
up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus:
Eph
2:7 That in the ages to
come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph
2:8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God:
Eph
2:9 Not of works, lest
any man should boast.
Eph
2:10 For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
Rom 1:26
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for
even their women did change the natural use into that which is
against nature:
Rom 1:27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working
that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense
of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those
things which are not convenient;
It
is a sad day when God turns a man or woman over to their vile
affections. We need to
crucify the flesh which wars against our spiritual man.
We see condemnation of the sin of homosexuality again in
verse 27. It goes on to
say that they did not retain God in all their knowledge.
People in the world today have seared their consciences as it
were with a hot iron. They
go on in the sinful ways thinking that judgement will never come.
But it will come, many times before we are ready to meet God.
Rom 1:29
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,
debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure
in them that do them.
It
says that they knew that the judgment of God was coming, but they
still committed such things as were worthy of death. Some were even pleased in seeing others commit sin.
We are wrong to feel this way, and should guard ourselves not
only against such things, but stand up and be counted against the
things that God hates. God
is a loving God, but he truly hates sin and those who are still
under that curse and condemnation need to find Christ as Savior.
Psa
7:11 God judgeth the
righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Internet
Bible Studies are prepared and distributed free of charge.
The lessons may not be sold without consent. If you have questions or wish to discuss the lessons,
or possibly need help in finding Jesus Christ as your Personal Lord
and Savior, contact David Parham at 940-322-4343.
Prov 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
e-mail at:
davidparham@cst.net
Website:
http://www.internetbible.net
Practice
Random Acts of Kindness. Each
act spreads, and many will be blessed.