GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR MAN FROM START TO FINISH

Part II: Man's Need For God's Righteousness, Romans 1:18-3:20

A. The Condemnation Of Pagan Man, Romans 1:18-32

2. The Consequences Of Pagan Man's Condemnation

(Romans 1:24-32)

I. Introduction

A. Having clarified why man needs God's righteousness, starting with pagan man's need for it in Romans 1:18-23, Paul continued by explaining the consequences of pagan man's condemnation in Romans 1:24-32.

B. Those consequences are quite revealing as to the true spiritual state of Western Civilization nations in our post-Christian era, so we view the passage for our insight and edification (as follows):

II. The Consequences Of Pagan Man's Condemnation, Romans 1:24-32.

A. After telling in Romans 1:18-23 how God condemns pagan man for suppressing the truth about Him in creation, for ignoring it and perverting God's glory in worshiping false gods, by the verb paredoken, "He gave them over" in verses 24, 26 and 28, Paul showed how God fittingly handed pagan man over to ever more corruptive lifestyles that enhance God's wrath, B. K. C., N. T., p. 443; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 531-532.

B. For suppressing, ignoring and perverting the truth about God revealed in creation, God first abandoned pagan man to the corruptive lifestyle of SEXUAL IMMORALITY, Romans 1:24-25:

1. God gave condemned pagan man over to the indulging of his lusts in sexual impurity that he might dishonor his body by using it contrary to the divine order of keeping sex only for marriage, Romans 1:24.

2. This judgment fits the sin: pagan man has exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served entities of creation in place of God, so God has given pagan man over to exchanging the righteous use of his body in sexual purity in marriage for immorality, Romans 1:25; Bib. Know. Com., N. T., p. 443.

C. For suppressing, ignoring and perverting the truth about God revealed in creation, God second abandoned pagan man to the corruptive lifestyle of SEXUAL PERVERSION, Romans 1:26-27:

1. God gave condemned pagan man over to engaging in perverted, homosexual relationships, Romans 1:26.

2. The words translated "'women'" and "'men'" in Romans 1:26-27 are the sexual words "females" and "males" respectively, what some homosexuals today claim applies only to heterosexual males and females who engage in homosexual relations that are abnormal to them but that are allegedly not a perversion for homosexual male or female parties since they are supposedly naturally homosexual, Ibid., p. 443-444. However, Leviticus 18:22 prohibits men from cohabiting with men as an abomination, and Jude 7 explains that the homosexuality of the men of Sodom was the abomination God judged with fire and brimestone as an example of the divine wrath of hell fire, so Romans 1:26-27 condemns homosexuality itself!

D. For suppressing, ignoring and perverting the truth about God revealed in creation, God third abandoned pagan man to the corruptive lifestyle of GENERAL DEPRAVITY, Romans 1:28-32:

1. Paul added that pagan man's rebellion against God included rejecting the "'full knowledge'" (epignosei) of God (Ibid., p. 444), putting God "out of their minds," so God responded by abandoning pagan man to a "'disapproved'" (adokimon) mind (Ibid.) "which expressed itself in attitudes and actions of "'what is unfitting or improper,'" Ibid., Romans 1:28.

2. These things included "four forms of active sin" -- wickedness (adikia), evil (poneria), greed and "'badness or malice'" (kakia), Ibid., Romans 1:29a; Ibid.

3. Those four forms of active sin produces seventeen "more specific types of wickedness" (Ibid.) noted in Romans 1:29b-31 ESV as envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slander, hating God, insolence (overbearing), haughtiness, boasting, inventing evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness and ruthlessness.

4. Although "'fully knowing'" (epignosei again, Ibid.) that such things deserve death, pagan man not only does them, but encourages others to do them, fully warranting God's judgment, Romans 1:32.

Lesson: Due to pagan man's suppressing, ignoring and perverting the truth about God seen in creation, God turned him over to successive levels of depravity further to inflame God's wrath and set him up for judgment.

Application: (1) As sexual immorality, homosexuality and the vices named in Romans 1:29-32 exist profusely in Western nations today, we must realize that Western Civilization is not just post-Christian, but pagan, in dire need of salvation to escape God's wrath! (2) May we then view Western nations as pagan and evangelize them as such!